Hmm... there's something else I used to do when I wasn't level grinding in poorly made ROM hacks, wasn't there?
Oh, right. Watch bad anime.
...
Why do I hate myself so much?
Anyway, let's get this... actually, no, we're not starting just yet. What's with that title? "The Two Who Lived"? Are Q-feuille and Ascoeur special now somehow because they survived last episode? The title might as well be "We're going to make an episode about Q-feuille and Ascoeur angsting a lot over Trixie and Troisienne's death last episode."
Personally, I can't stand angst in anime. Anime has a tendency to exaggerate things as it is. A well-written anime will avoid this, having fleshed-out and believable characters reacting to situations in ways you would expect them to. Such characters are easy to identify with because they seem more real. Sadly, in many anime, characters tend to greatly overreact instead. It almost makes one wonder if the people working in anime have ever actually interacted with other human beings before. Wonder what I mean by this? Well, let me show you.
First scene in this episode has the girls in the bath. Both of them are just kinda sitting there in the water and Di-air is just looking at them like "What's wrong with them?" Di-air being this quite is incredibly unusual. Actually, same for Ascoeur, whose eyes have been blacked out. Alisa and Belle show up and try talking to the two... only to be completely and utterly ignored. Who the hell just goes quiet and ignores people when they're depressed? You would expect someone to at least be capable of a weak greeting followed by, "I don't want to talk about it..." But, no, they're being completely anti-social now. In the bath. Which they went to together. With Di-air.
After a scene in which Mi Nou complains about the news covering up the events, our heroines are now suddenly standing outside what I'm guessing is some kind of medical ward for ES Members. Un-oh and Tweedledum are in jars tube things recovering from their injuries. I should point out that, in the previous scene with Mi Nou, the cafe was revealed to be closed. Yet now the girls are clearly dressed for waitress duty. The girls are called to the director's office for a meeting and decide they're willing to give a weak greeting now. The shadow over Ascoeur's eyes is gone now as well.
Sommer informs the girls that, due to the G-Society's obvious plot, the GTO has been closed. Obvious? If it's obvious, then why is the GTO being treated like they're the bad guys? He then informs the girls that, because ES Members can't act, they want these three to act in their place. Really? So ES Members can't act, but the cadets can? One would suspect that the only two cadets there would be under just as much scrutiny as the ES Members themselves. Sommer also mentions Trixie and Troisienne as he says this, giving us our first flashbacks of the episode along with sappy violin music. Ascoeur mopes some more. The director says she'll have a mission for them soon. Before that, how about some counselling? Or maybe a memory wipe? Hell, an organization like the GOT should REALLY have specialists or procedures to help their ES Members through a personal crisis.
As this scene ends, we get the director mentioning that they can't replace dead ES Members anymore but apparently Di-air might be able to bring them back somehow? Right then.
Now, remember what I said before about the cafe? That it was closed? Guess where Ascoeur and Q-feuille are working now! Q-feuille, probably acting a bit more like a normal person might, is being a bit clumsy today whereas Ascoeur is just going about like a robot. Q-feuille is at least talking now. It's obvious now that Q-feuille is rather upset and trying to hide it, but her sadness at the loss of Trixie and Troisienne is still affecting her. Of course, Q-feuille's actions now make one wonder about that bath scene earlier where she refused to even acknowledge Alisa and Belle's presence. Really though, how about some counselling for these two? Time off work?
Mi Nou then decides to try cheering up Ascoeur with pumpkin pudding. But, gasp! Even pumpkin pudding, Ascoeur's Trademark Favorite Food and the reason for that horrifying Episode 2, will not shake her from this bout of depression! Don't know why I'm complaining, though. A quiet Ascoeur dutifully going about her work? Can we keep her like this for the rest of the anime? Mi Nou then decides to just give them both the day off.
Pumpkin pudding aside, the cafe scene is probably the most realistic. Ascoeur is depressed but not completely shut off from the world, instead just quietly going about her work. She speaks when spoken to, at least. Q-feuille isn't quiet, but as mentioned before she's suddenly going through a bout of clumsiness. And like any real manager would - at least, any that isn't a total jackass - they're given time off to deal with their loss. The pumpkin pudding scene is a bit overdone since Mi Nou tries offering five of them when one doesn't entice Ascoeur, but it would still have worked had she kept it to just the one. It's not unusual to offer someone their favorite food to try to cheer them up, afterall.
After leaving the cafe, Ascoeur teleports off to visit Trixie and Troisienne's graves. How much time passed since that ceremony, anyway?
More flashbacks ensue. Q-feuille shows up with Di-air. Apparently Ascoeur has been visiting the graves every day, so several days at least have passed. So, is this supposed to be their first day back to work since the ceremony? Because a lot of this seems like it should have happened a day after at most. Q-feuille reflects on how useless they've been as cadets, thus we get more flashbacks. Some of which come from episode 7. The episode where Trixie and Troisienne would have been killed in action if not for the cadets being there.
While Q-feuille is doubting they could really be ES Members, Di-air declares her intention to be an ES Member. She mentions Trixie and Troisienne's promise, cuing another flashback to their death scene. Ascoeur decides it's impossible for her to uphold that promise. Di-air says she'll become a real ES Member and protect them, then stares off at a blinking light on a nearby island. I honestly don't remember that water being there, personally. Cue eyecatches.
The first eyecatch just has the girls staring off into the sky where Trixie and Troisienne's faces are seen. Second is the same... except with Tweedledum and Un-oh's faces angrily protesting that they're not dead.
When we return, the girls are back in their dorm room and have changed into casual wear. Di-air sees that light from the window again and prepares to set off with TAMA, declaring again that she's going to be an ES Member. Why didn't she just go there earlier, then? The girls question Di-air's claims, but Di-air is pretty adamant about being an ES Member. We get yet another flashback when she mentions the word "protect".
Di-air then heads out to that island on her own. Seems the G-Society goons are there, somehow keeping tabs on the cadets from the island. Yes, they've actually been posted there to keep an eye on the cadets apparently. Back at the dorm, Q-feuille gets a premonition and heads out. Ascoeur still refuses at first, but then heads out on her own.
Back on the island, Di-air is walking out into a clearing when suddenly a wild Robot Snake appears! Go, TAMA! Robot Snake used Tackle! It wasn't very effective... TAMA used ZAP CANNON! But, it missed! TAMA used Protect! Robot Snake used Thunderbolt! TAMA protected itself! TAMA used FLAMETHROWER! There's no PP for that move! Robot Snake used THUNDERBOLT! It's Super Effective! TAMA fainted! Di-air lost to Unnamed G-Society Grunt!
Anyway... in spite of her loss, Di-air isn't giving up yet and charges the grunt. The grunt just trips her, though, then uses a freeze gun on her. Just when the grunt is about to grab her, red needles suddenly impale the robot snake and explode. Ascoeur teleports in and Q-feuille arrives shortly after, throwing bombs at the grunt. They decide to push their angst aside and kick G-Society ass.
The remaining grunts, at this point, decide to call out the rest of their pokem-err, Genetech Beasts. Di-air unfreezes and we get a touching moment between the girls before the battle starts. Q-feuille and Ascoeur go on the offensive, but their bombs and needles are countered effortlessly. Di-air then charges into battle again, running up to one of the lions and punching it repeatedly. She gets casually swatted away.
The remaining four beasts move in to finish off the cadets. Then something weird happens. One of the lions attempts to pounce upon Di-air... and is suddenly frozen in the air. It's not just this beast though, they've all been frozen! Then the one attacking Di-air is cut by a spacial disc controlled by... ASCOEUR!?
Yes, it turns out that Q-feuille and Ascoeur somehow inherited Troisienne's and Trixie's powers respectively. How? Beats the crap out of me. The four beasts are quickly finished off by Ascoeur's newly obtained power and the remaining grunts retreat in an escape pod. Di-air then says that all three of them can now be ES Members. On their way back Ascoeur mentions something about her body somehow remembering how Troisienne and Trixie fought. If this is supposed to be an explanation for how they got their powers, it's a pretty flimsy one...
We then get a brief scene at the cafe where everyone comments on how Q-feuille and Ascoeur are better now. Everyone being Alisa, Belle, and Mi Nou. There's no other customers in the cafe.
And now we're in the director's office, where the girls receive official ES Member badges. Correction, "warrant ES Member id's", since their actions would be restricted if they were actual ES Members. I don't see why the distinction is so different. Maybe you'd be better off, I don't know, firing them so they're not associated with the GTO as well? Just throwing that suggestion out there.
In addition to their id's, they're being given first-class equipment. Their new high-speed cruiser is in the docks and their guard robot has been repaired. A repaired and repainted Triumph then comes through a door behind the director. It's purple now and in one brief frame you can catch a glimpse of smiley faces on its arms I think. It's new name is Typhon.
So! Now that the girls have all this stuff and new powers, think we'll finally get some real action? Plot that makes sense?
I honestly don't know, but I can at least say... not in this half of the anime.
On the bright side, this episode wasn't TOO angsty. Most of the moping around was dealt with in the first half of the episode and the cafe scene was actually pretty well done. The action scene wasn't that great, but it had its moments. Just try watching that battle between TAMA and the snake Genetech Beast without thinking of a pokemon battle. Doesn't help that TAMA's turtle form kinda resembles Blastoise...
Next Episode: Shadow Workers. Hooray for another lazy title that gives only the vaguest idea of what the episode is about. I smell more faffing about!
