English Dub Review: Assault Lily BOUQUET “Forget-Me-Not: True Love, Memories”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Riri is amazed and overjoyed that Miss Yuyu accepted her Schutzengel pledge, but her amazement is tempered by the rigorous training regimen the older Lily puts her through. Riri finally manages to connect with her Magie and find her fighting power, but then a Huge attacks and Yuyu is called away.

Her mentor instructs Riri to stay back, but when Yuyu activates her Lunatic Trancer ability and goes berserk, Riri finds that she can’t stay back. She gives in to the urge to help her idol, and manages to rescue her from the brink. Together, they finish off the Huge with a final blow and maybe, Yuyu’s self guilt as well in the process.

Our Take:

We’re only on the third episode of Assault Lily Bouquet, but the show is moving pretty fast. Riri has already gotten what she came to the school for — a Schutzengel pledge with Miss Yuyu. That happened in the second episode, so for this third outing, it was only a matter of time before the series ratcheted up the drama. We learn more about Yuyu’s dark past as well as her future now that Riri is involved.

Apparently, the reason why Yuyu has resisted taking on another pledge is that her first one was killed three years ago. And not just killed — murdered by Yuyu herself. It’s definitely an interesting choice for the show to go ahead and spell it out for us, leaving no uncertainty that Yuyu was responsible for the girl’s death because she went too far using her Lunatic Trancer ability. It explains a lot of what makes Yuyu tick, from the quiet depression to the bouts of passionate temper.

Obviously, one would think that this knowledge might make Riri think twice about remaining on as Miss Yuyu’s pupil. But no, this is an anime, and it’s an anime where destinies collide and characters don’t think twice about it. Riri knows that she and Yuyu are connected — she just needs an opportunity to prove it. That chance comes during the battle between a returning Huge and Yuyu. The master warrior sees all the CHARMs from past battles lodged in the monster, tokens it claimed from dead Lilies. This drives her to engage the berserker abilities she’s kept under wraps ever since that incident.

When she loses control, Riri goes after her. It’s the kind of dumb move that only works out for anime protagonists. Riri is inexperienced and can barely fight, yet somehow she hold her own against Yuyu’s strength and is able to talk sense into her. It’s kind of cool in theory, but a little lacking in substance in actuality. We know Riri likes Yuyu because she saved her as a kid, but after hearing that she killed her former pledge, I’d expect Riri to do some rethinking — or at least take a step back. Seeing her throw herself all into defending Yuyu is a little too far for me into the realm of unbelievability. Which says a lot, because this is a series about magical girls fighting off giant monsters with superpowered swords.

Next week’s episode will hopefully be more of a breather where some of these events can get deconstructed. Yuyu should be on a path to a more healthy life now that she seems to have moved on, at least a bit, from her former melancholy existence thanks to Riri. Now if only she doesn’t accidentally kill again…