…What bugs me is… this episode makes it clear that Germania could have invaded Eylstadt whenever they wanted, Izetta or not. The difference in firepower is way too overwhelming. If the US decided to invade Luxemburg, it would take more than a witch on a anti-tank rifle to stop them.
And yeah, Sophie is a bit too punkish for a legendary witch, although the contrast might be deliberate… I still would have prefered a Beatrice-like personality.
I don't really mind Berkman's plan going smoothly. You Can't Thwart Stage One after all, and it's kinda justified in-story, although in a clunky way.
I don't mind things going smoothly for the villains, but even when Izetta revealed herself to the world, Berkman was like 'ah yes, just as I predicted'. I understand that geopolitical maneuvering and intelligence agencies aren't the focus of the show and would bog down the story about Fine and Izetta, and that the current situation is necessary for the arc of the show, but I don't think Berkman has ever been wrong, and it makes it feel like the Allied defense and intelligence leaders are a bunch of idiots. This guy apparently just strolled into a costume party hosting all the leaders of the Allies, cornered Fine and Izetta away from any guards, and then strolled out after assaulting Izetta. If he'd had a gun, Fine at the least would be dead, since if I recall he also got the drop on them.
And yes, it does seem clear at this point that the only reason Eylstadt lasted that long was because the Kaiser wanted a chance to revive his own Witch. If they had the forces to muster a believable feint (even though giving Sieg any credit at all as an intelligence agent at this point feels like a stretch) and then crush the Corridor anyway, they had the forces to take Eylstadt anytime.
It's been fun.
Germanian science is absurd
Sophie is pretty iffy as a character in general. The way she carries herself in particular is way too generic villain
Starting to feel really rushed
The Cat Knows Where It's At
I'm highly tempted to just wait the series out now and see how it plays out before watching any more episodes.
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I had a post here, but the site ate it. Basically, it did feel rushed - we've known since last week that the attack would be at the Sellun Corridor, so it doesn't work to make it a feint for tension; we knew an attack would be coming, so all the peace scenes were hard to enjoy. Instead, Sieg looks like an incompetent for falling for an obvious feint, especially when he's spent the rest of the series dancing to Berkman's plans.
Sophie could have made a satisfying payoff for that, but instead she's a generic villain who went from 'tragic legendary figure' to 'annoying teenage punk' in two lines of dialogue.
I still have hope things will end well (moreso now that it's clear the dark part is coming this far from the end of the series), but come on. There are ways to create dramatic tension even with a heroine as overpowered as Izetta is.
It's been fun.
hard to believe sophie is a legendary hero with the way she talks.
What? What is this?
Snow Ghost
Wasn't that hard at the beginning...it just devolved.
YO. Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie.
That's the thing - the shift with the way she's speaking happens exactly as suddenly as her shift in attitude. It just didn't rub me the right way.
It's been fun.
Yeah, this is some bullshit. Plot keeps back-flipping to make Berkman nigh-omniscient and infallible, while all the good guys stumble around like children in the mist. Germania fucking cloned Sophia and she actually came back with all her memories due to Izzeta blood that they extracted somewhere off-screen. Oh and she also has a hax magical stone because their spy found it after it reacted to a vial of Izzeta's blood... but not to actual Izzeta it seems.
Sophie is a terrible character, she goes from a meek almost crying "oh we shouldn't get involved in human wars" to "Man, you're so annoying!" and "Muhahaha, feel despair, descendants of traitors!" In literally a second.
And then of course Izzeta got captured, because of course it was bound to happen, no original ideas here.
Shit, at this point I'm of half-mind to drop this series, but I will be bothered if I won't see how they escape out of this situation.
Man, and this show started out so good too.
Sora No Woto gives Yoshino enough goodwill in my book that I'm willing to keep going until the end. All this happening in episode 9 suggests that this is the Darkest Hour and isn't going to just drag along until the end of the series also ends on a depressing note.
Maybe Sophie's character can be salvaged still. I didn't like her quick shift, but she was the original 'witch who fell in love with a human', so maybe once she sees that Izetta and Fine really do love each other and Izetta isn't just swearing loyalty to her as a political figure, she may be swayed.
It's been fun.
I fear that the next episode will be very unpleasant to watch. Especially with that title. Will have to power through it.
Sophia is so uninteresting "Muhaha revenge!" is just about the least imaginative thing they could done with her. If it wasn't for the jarring shift in attitude she would probably not evoke any sort of reaction from me.
Yeah, basically. I'm resigning myself to at least one episode explaining why we should feel sorry for her while she terrorizes Eylstadtian citizens.
It's been fun.
Do we have something where the opposing side seems to have everything handed to them on a silver platter? Because that's how Belkman and the Germanian Empire feel right now.
Villain Sue is probably the closest
I'm just hoping we get to see Berkman fall apart before the end... but seeing as he has no real character aside from guessing perfect intelligence victories for Germania, he has nothing to personally disappoint him. Maybe if Sieg was able to outmaneuver him- pfft, no, I'm sorry, I can't finish that with a straight face.
It's been fun.
Brenner's Wolves Fight Again
Is Bianca left handed?
Where there's life, there's hope.
The way Izetta got beaten and captured rubbed me the wrong way.
Like other people have been saying, because of the way it's connected to Berkman having everything go right for him makes it bug me.
I'd fine it Izetta's loss and capture much less irritating if Sophie was clearly superior to her in combat skills. but the way it plays out is more like fight, fight, instant win from the red gem.
^Pretty much. Fight, fight, oh, by the way, this gem negates ley line power somehow.
It's been fun.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
It didn't look like she negated the ley line per se, but the gem seems to be a Mana sponge — it drains the magic in the area to charge itself. And remember at the start of the episode, where Belkman and his goons were there with Sophie at the start of the episode? It's the exact same spot where Izetta crashed later on.
So not-Hitler wants to break the non-agression pact with not-Russia and invade them… I'm sure this isn't gonna backfire horribly. >.>
And after being fired, Berkman transfered his plot-luck to Sieg, it seems.
Izetta is 15… wut?
Snow Ghost
Is that surprising...she was acting quite youngly.
YO. Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie.
Well, I can buy that Izetta is 15, what bugs me is that that would make Archduchess and Commander-in-Chief Finé 15 or 16 too, which is harder to believe…
edited 3rd Dec '16 11:52:46 AM by Lyendith
Snow Ghost
At most...she could possibly be 17. Which isn't too bad for an age gap.
YO. Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie.
Wow, Kaiser Otto is nuts isn't he?
And with the introduction of Sophie's stone, it was OBVIOUS at this point that Sieg had the other half. That said, don't really like what I heard about what that stone can do. Sure, it can leech and store the magic in an area, but if this is the same episode where it was also mentioned that it burns through the witch's life force... Or did I hear it wrong?
Seriously, the strategy that felled Eylstadt was 'what if we pretend we're attacking from the west, and then attack from not that direction?'. Apparently Sieg's spies withdrew from the damn Sellun Corridor the instant one of them spotted a Germanian on the Lake - and again, we see no improvement in fortifications after three months?! They spent probably thousands on designing and creating new aerodynamic lances for Izetta and a rideable Gatling gun, but they're still using shitty tactics against a blitzkrieg tactic they had three months of peace to analyze and counter.
Though I will say - if the anti-Witch guns Sieg mentions he set his R&D team on designing are used to take down Sophie, I would laugh at that.
Really, the biggest problem I have with Sophie is that sudden shift in her attitude and way of speaking. She goes from 'do you intend to fight, no matter what?' to 'god, you're so annoying, ugh'. I don't know how well this came through for non-Japanese-speakers, but she's talking like a high school girl.
It's been fun.