English Dub Review: TSUKIMICHI -Moonlit Fantasy “The Heroes Fight Bravely” 

Overview

Tomoe, Mio, and the residents of the demi-plane are ordered by Makoto to take back Kaleneon and enter enemy territory. Meanwhile, in the Gritonia Empire, Tomoki and his friends head to the battlefield, where they encounter Sofia standing in their way.

Our Take

As Makoto’s orders, Tomoe, Mio, and the Demiplane army launch an attack, demonstrating their rigorous training by devastating the demon forces. As the battle rages, the story flashes back to the Gritonia Empire, where Tomoki and his team face Sofia, a powerful human adventurer now aligned with the demons. The episode showcases the results of intense preparation, yet leaves the outcome of Asuka’s first battle uncertain.

If there are any major problems it would be the pacing of this episode’s proceedings that dragged things too long, such as Tomoki’s encounter with Sofia, while more compelling characters like Mio and Makoto get minimal focus. It’s sort of a big deal given that the return of Sofia highlights the power imbalance and how powerful she was o the season one finale, as she easily defeats Tomoki’s squad despite his trump card. Meanwhile, unusual costume choices for certain characters make things quite jarring given the stakes, near the end when Makoto finally makes a grand entrance.

Overall, while the focus on character development is appreciated, the pacing of the episode, however, feels slow, and the substantial advancement in the storyline leaves much to be desired. The interesting dynamics of Mio and Makoto’s storylines are mostly sidelined due to the attempted focus on other characters at least until near the end with Makoto having an unexpected trick up his sleeve. But with four episodes left, I predict that this is subject to change, and hopefully for the better…