English Dub Review: Warlords of Sigrdrifa “Umihotaru Sea Assault!”
Overview (Spoilers Below):
After the party with the members of Tateyama base, Claudia recalls her father’s words on the Japanese from his time stationed in Japan and how his image of them clashes with what Claudia has seen so far. Miyako finds her and says that the girls should get together. The girls meet at the cafeteria where they introduce themselves to Claudia and to bond as a team. Unfortunately, Claudia’s introduction is interrupted by the Gjallarhorn horn as a Pillar appears at Umihotaru. After the recon team is sent out the Valkyries are on standby until the Pillar puts up a barrier made with the surrounding water.
Azuzu makes up a plan using the tunnel that Claudia spotted on the map to get to the Pillar from the inside. After getting in the girls hit from above when the Pillar forms another barrier that’s only surrounding it. The Pillar has an unexpected surprise as it absorbs the heat of the attacks leaving the girls unable to attack it. Until Sonoka bombs it with coolant and Miyako reveals the Vandrande for Claudia to finish as she’s making her introduction to the crew. Afterward, Claudia and Miyako discuss the teamwork and her fitting in with everyone at the base.
Our Take:
This week’s episode was cute and dangerous as Claudia settles in with the other Valkyries at Tateyama base. Even though we didn’t see the welcome party, the reactions from the characters, and the brief glimpses of it suggest that it was a wild night for everyone. A-1 Pictures does a good job with the animations, and I especially liked the camera work when Claudia was entering the tunnel. The first person perspective was good at making me feel like I was going along with the ride. Also, I’d like to mention how amusing the plan names for the Valkyrie operations are.
The introductions of Miyako, Azuzu, and Sonoka only solidify our understanding of them. For Miyako, she’s the cheerful type that can pack a punch with her Hero Cannon. Admittedly, Miyako’s quickly growing on me thanks to her voice actor, Sarah Wiedenheft. Then there’s Azuzu, the genius of the group as she’s able to modify her Hero Wing and come up with plans. Lastly, there’s Sonoka who’s known for her demonic speed. Meanwhile, Claudia’s was a good introduction as it was pretty straightforward.
In this episode, we get to see the destruction of the Pillars from making people unconscious to popping a barrier around itself. Even though it’s in a fixed position, the Pillar can do a significant amount of damage, especially with that heat absorption mode. Fortunately, the girls managed to take it out and a brief glimpse shows that the people are conscious afterward. Hopefully, the next episode will have an explanation of what happens to people after a Pillar makes them unconscious like any side effects. There’s the mystery of the Pillar that continues as this Pillar like the one in the first episode appears on the water. Could it be that Pillars are adapting somehow? It’s a mystery that I’d like to keep watching to find out why.
On the other hand, we get some detail about the Hero Wings and how the planes are a gift from God presumably from Odin since he’s the only named god around. It’s interesting to know that they can also be modified as Azuzu has clearly modified hers at the risk of it being a bit unstable. Speaking of Odin, there’s gotta be a particular reason why he calls Claudia his daughter. Is it because she’s a Valkyrie? From Claudia’s memories, it’s clear that she has an older looking father, who was stationed in Japan from his time as an aviator, and how she’s following in his footsteps. At any rate, Odin is an enigma that I will enjoy seeing more often.
Overall it was a good second episode giving us more details about the world and a glimpse of what the Pillars can do to people. I looked forward to seeing how the situation will continue with Claudia and this unusual base.
