English Dub Review: Assault Lily BOUQUET “Freesia: Innocence”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Riri and the Hitotsuyanagi legion are scouring a beach where remains of dead Huge have appeared when they discover something stranger than they could’ve imagined: a girl, naked as the day she was born, reaching up from the sandy surface. Riri takes her back to the academy where it’s revealed that she’s an unknown Lily.

The amnesiac girl becomes attached to Riri due to the devoted care Riri takes of her. But Miss Moyu isn’t sure that the two of them don’t have a deeper connection, and she sets out to study them without their knowledge. Meanwhile, outside authorities appear to be studying the academy itself, for sinister unknown purposes.

Our Take:

It’s been a little while since Funimation released a new dubbed episode of Assault Lily Bouquet, but now the New Year has come and with it the return to a more standard release schedule. The seventh episode of Assault Lilies introduces a mysterious girl who comes with plenty of new questions about the nature of Lilies and the world they inhabit.

The episode starts off with a different mystery altogether: there are the remains of dead Huge washed up on the beach, and nobody seems to know why. But perhaps it’s connected to the girl, who rises up out of the wreckage to wrap her arms around Riri, her savior. It’s one of the weirdest parts of the episode that isn’t really questioned too much — you’d think Riri would at least ask her why she ended up where they found her.

But of course, she turns out to be rather stricken with amnesia. It’s a common ploy for keeping a myserteous newcomer mysterious for as long as the story needs them to be, and it while it might strike some as being a little annoying, it didn’t really phase me. Amongst giant Huge monsters and Magia charms, amnesia seems pretty pedestrian honestly. What is confusing is the supposed connection between Riri and her newfound discovery. The girl has the same levels of Magia that she herself did when she first arrived, and Miss Moyu thinks it may not be mere coincidence that Riri is the one who found her.

Riri ends up giving her the name of Yuri, which is eye-rollingly funny considering the nature of the show and what kind of fans it’s targeting. In universe, it’s also pretty funny since Yuri is the ship name given to Riri and Yuyu — Thai Mai even says it’s like the newfound Lily is their lovechild or something — perhaps she’ll be the connective tissue between Riri and Yuyu that allows them to become even closer than before?

Finally, there’s a hint of a plot line outside the academy, as the director receives an aggressive phone call from the government requesting them to turn over the amnesiac girl to them. There’s clearly some behind the scenes tension here, as the director tells the caller and us about how hard he fought to make sure the academy remained independent from outside forces and influences. It seems like Yuri may not be all that unknown to everyone.

Freesia: Innocence is a solid return to the show after a short break. With a new character and new mysterious to be solved, it sets the stage for some exciting episodes down the line — as well as a potential battle between the Lillies and the government that they help protect.