English Dub Review: Date A Live “The One Who Pulled the Trigger”

Overview

Shido is shocked when Mio tells him that all the Spirits are dead. Stunned and unable to move, Mio nearly wipes his memories as Shido, but there is still one Spirit who’s survived…

Our Take

In an otherworldly space, Tohka encounters Dark Tohka, who reveals the origin of the spirits and helps Tohka uncover her true identity. After some light-hearted banter, Dark Tohka hugs Tohka and then leaves her with Shido and Mio. Mio explains that when she divided her power into ten Sephira crystals, one of them developed its ego, and she asked Shido if he noticed something unique about Tohka. Shido realizes that Tohka is the only one without a name, but Tohka reassures him, saying it’s fine since he named her. A battle ensues between Mio and Tohka, where Tohka borrows power from other spirits and Mio, gains a significant power-up.

Despite Tohka’s enhanced abilities, Mio summons her trump card, “Ein,” and the world is bathed in light, causing Tohka’s silhouette to vanish. Of course, just when things seem decidedly bleak, Kurumi jumps in, or at least a copy of her shows up to help turn the tides in a very unique and unexpected way by reminding Shido that he has one more trick up his sleeve he didn’t know he had, and let’s just say it’s a doozy…

Overall, this episode stands out as the best in the series, seamlessly blending world-building, emotional weight, and action. The episode also balances intense battles with touching character moments, and successfully ties together past events, and sets the stage for a hopeful future. And with the way it ended with that big cliffhanger/twist at the end. I’m curious to see where this goes next!