While on a cruise ship, Rin disappears. Nerine searches for him, but doesn’t return. When Sia, Asa, Kaede and Mayumi go searching for him, all they can find is his clothes, as well as Nerine’s. This worries Kaede, who believes that maybe Rin chose Nerine because of her chest size. However, the next one to disappear is Mayumi, ruling out that theory. Kaede goes to cook instead of searching for Rin, but has gone psycho again and eventually starts to chase Asa with a knife, thinking that everyone’s playing a trick on her. While trying to hide, Asa disappears due to a mysterious light. Hearing Asa, Kaede investigates, but all she finds is Asa’s clothes. Then the same light takes Kaede too. She wakes up naked with Rin. The others are all there too, but apparently they’ve somehow been shrunk. This is because of a mirror-like artifact that Rin found on the ship. Needing to be restored to their normal height, they look for Sia. To reach her, Rin has to climb and then jump on her, but he lands between her breasts. Due to this ordeal, Sia is unable to do anything before she’s shrunk too. Soon though, Primula opens a door, hitting and breaking the mirror. They’re all returned, but are still nude, looking conspicuous. Later, they go watch fireworks while Primula catches a fish.

Figured I should get this up before the new season starts. >_< I am so not ready. Anyway, this was admittedly quite funny. It just wasn’t worth the wait of recap episode after recap episode. I especially liked seeing psycho Kaede again. Although it bought some comedy, there was way too much fanservice in this episode. The part with the eels reminded me of an episode of Girls Bravo. I don’t really mind though. Fanservice is to be expected in a show like this. On the plus side, I got to see Rin in very little clothing as well. This show overall was one of the single most pointless things I ever watched. If something else were to win my annual “I can’t believe I watched the whole thing” award, it’s going to have to be pretty awful. Usually, if something is that bad I just drop it, so I think Shuffle Memories is already secured an award. I guess the main reason I watched this anyway is because I did enjoy Shuffle and this was essentially the same show, just in a different order. It was kind of interesting to rewatch it this way. The new OPs and EDs each week also made things fun. Kaede’s OP was my favorite and either Primula or Asa had the best ED. Primula’s was cuter, but I can’t help but love Asa’s Rin plushie from her ED. I want one now. I wonder if there’s any new Navel anime planned for the future. I couldn’t stand more than an episode of Lovely Idol, but I liked Shuffle and Soul Link, so I’ll still keep them on my radar.

Apparently, Buguese and Aqune must’ve went off somewhere in the time before Quake entered the room and what they’re doing will be left up to my twisted mind because they’re not there when Quake stops Hunter from making his deal with Mantid. Quake also reveals that Mantid was indeed the one who blocked the sun from reaching the Invectid world. Mantid refuses to confirm this and instead sends soldiers to attack Quake. He stops them by use of a weapon which gives them the illusion of peace. Quake proceeds to explain to Hunter and Shadow that the Oracle gave life to the once-barren Inner World by creating its sun. Her ultimate life-giving power is in the Oracle Keys. Once, Mantid tried to forcefully extract their power and this caused the light to disappear. According to Quake, Mantid knew in the first place that there would be such dire consequences. Quake then argues with Mantid, who wishes to try it again. Hunter is angry at Mantid for lying to him, but Mantid thinks that his goals are worth whatever negative things may result. The fact that he’s been using the other Invectids angers Hunter, who tries to attack, but Mantid retaliates. Quake saves Hunter from being sliced up, and they escape on Shadow. Buguese returns and Mantid tells him that Hunter was taken by Quake. He orders Buguese to destroy them. Once outside, Quake yells at Hunter for being foolish. Shadow asks whether the Oracle sun will disappear if Mantid gets all four keys, which Quake confirms is true. He reminds them of the incident that occurred when Mantid got the 2nd Oracle Key. He adds that if not for the fact that Hunter also had two Keys, things would’ve been worse. Hunter and Shadow realize that they made a poor decision. However, Hunter still wants to stop the fighting. Quake thinks that the humans and Invectids both need a hero and Hunter wonders if maybe he’s that hero. Back at the citadel, Mantid thinks about how he needs to get the Oracle’s power quickly, so he can destroy the Inner World. He also reveals that he didn’t even know that Quake was alive. Buguese sends out soldiers to look for Hunter. He regrets following Mantids plans, thinking that he should’ve taken care of Hunter when he had the chance. While they hide, Hunter asks Quake if he’s ever fought Mantid before. According to Quake, he’s messed up Mantid’s plans before. Hunter next asks about the past Spider Riders. Quake says that they were all very different and one came from the surface world. Hunter wonders if it was Digger Steele, his grandfather. At this point, the two have to wait for the other Spider Riders to return from the labyrinth. Quake predicts the time of their arrival. Buzzrays then attack, but Hunter is reluctant to fight, due to the fact that the Buzzrays are only being manipulated by Mantid. Quake approves of Hunter’s thinking. He then converts his staff into what he calls the Sword of Surrender. It causes the Buzzrays to fly away, because it attacks the fighting spirit of one’s enemies. This validates the legend that Quake had saved the world without killing. He tells Hunter that his motto is “never give up,” which is of course the same as Hunter’s. Hunter finds Quake even cooler after hearing this. Afterwards though, Quake falls over from back pains and needs Hunter’s help to get up, lowering his cool factor. Hearing what Quake did to help the Spider Riders angers Mantid further. He decides to move ahead with his plans. Back in the labyrinth, Igneous finally finds the exit. The Spider Riders are shocked by how desolate the land is. They soon see Hunter, much to Corona’s joy. She and Igneous both start to run to him, but Magma stops Igneous, saying that Corona should say hello first. Corona is about to hug Hunter, but Quake jumps in the way and she hugs him instead. She’s freaked out by this. Magma is of course excited to see Quake. Corona throws Quake off of her, hurting his back further.

Aside from the hysterical bit at the end where Corona accidentally hugged Quake, this episode was kind of boring. There were indeed some revelations in it, but they were mostly things we already knew or could’ve guessed. For example, I didn’t doubt that the legends about Quake were true (unlike a certain other person I know) or that Mantid was the one responsible for taking the Oracle sun away from the Invectids. I already knew Quake would stop Hunter from giving Mantid the Oracle Keys. I honestly didn’t expect much from this episode, but I was hoping they would surprise me and do something interesting or shocking and that wasn’t the case. I know slow-paced is one of the first words one should use to describe a Bee Train anime, but I just wish they’d get to the point sometimes rather than having episodes based upon explaining the obvious like this. At first, I was a bit annoyed over the fact that Buguese and Aqune didn’t get to hear what Mantid and Quake revealed in the beginning, but I think it was actually clever of the writers to keep it from them. It might create problems. Though we already know that Buguese is against Mantid, he doesn’t believe that Mantid was responsible for what happened to the sun and I don’t think he knows that Mantid wants to destroy the Inner World. Having him find out this much might’ve created craziness and it’s a bit too soon for that. In Aqune’s case, she’s still very much in the dark (no pun intended) about everything. I wonder if she’d be so willing to help the Invectids if she knew what Mantid was really planning. I doubt that, and it’s also a bit soon to have Aqune switch sides. I’m getting way off topic though, so I think I’ll wrap this up.

Only the basic 4 caps, because there’s only so many pictures I can take of Quake and Hunter talking for the whole episode.

Cut for mass amount of images.

(more…)

Kanon is officially over (and has been for a few days. I just haven’t been home to watch it.) While the ending didn’t have the same emotional effect on me as the conclusion to Air, it was still a satisfying end for a completely different reason. It was totally shocking and mind-boggling. Right from the start, I sat there wondering how the heck Shiori got back, considering it was implied that she died. I knew something was up when the talk of miracles began, and my only thought behind that was Ayu, whom I was still convinced had to be something supernatural. The revelations involving Ayu were quite interesting and I’m quite sure I misinterpreted them somewhat. As it turned out, Ayu never died like Yuichi thought, but was in fact in a coma for seven years. The part I’m confused about is her dreams. I got the implication that her dreams actually caused most of what happened throughout the course of the series, including the miracles revolving around the other girls. The rest was caused by Yuichi, who suppressed his own memories due to wanting to forget what happened to his closest friend. After he realized the truth, this awakened Ayu from her coma and caused the tree to start to grow again. Okay, so Key has create a wonderful marketing scheme. They confuse the viewer so much that they spend time analyzing their shows to figure out what the heck happened to the point that they become interested in something they wouldn’t normally like. Admittedly, I think an ending full of happiness and miracles would really turn me off. Happy endings are fine, but you can’t be too happy. The crazy plot-twists are what saved it for me. Not that one more cute Yuichi/Shiori moment didn’t hurt. I’m a fan of their relationship, although I see that Yuichi and Ayu are definitely meant to be and they were also really cute together. Overall, my favorite girl though was Nayuki. She really seemed to get the least character development though and was the only one who didn’t get to have any brief romance with Yuichi. She’s someone I had to feel bad for, because she really did love him too. Some time in the future, I’ll have to watch the original Kanon and compare the two. If it ever becomes a possibility, I’d also like to get my hands on the game. Overall, I enjoyed this series, despite the fact that some of the arcs dragged on for way too long and the ending was a bit too happy for my tastes. I look forward to seeing Clannad when it comes out. If it’s anywhere near as interesting as Kanon or Air, then it should be a good watch.

The remaining Spider Riders and Grasshop ponder about what to do involving Hunter. Corona is particularly worried and stares at the Oracle Keys. Meanwhile, Hunter finds that Mantid just wants to talk with him. Shadow doesn’t believe this, but Hunter allows Mantid to continue. Mantid reveals that the Invectid world is in an eternal darkness and that the Oracle is responsible for it. Therefore, they began a war to get the Oracle Keys, so that they could have something to thrive on. Though he’s surprised to hear this, rather than sympathizing with Mantid, Hunter believes that the Oracle must have a reason for it. Shadow, however, doesn’t see it as justified. Mantid then presents Aqune to Hunter. Hunter is still mad at Mantid for imprisoning Aqune. Mantid tells Hunter though that Aqune is not a prisoner and to prove this, he removes her mask. He tells Hunter that he can take Aqune if she wishes. Hunter takes Aqune’s hand, wanting her to leave with him, but Aqune states that she can’t, apologizing to him. Back in the labyrinth, the Spider Riders attempt to find the correct path, but are having difficulties. At Mantid’s citadel (fine, I’ll start calling it by it’s proper name now) Aqune cooks for Hunter. She tells him that her place is with the Invectids and this is by her choice. If she didn’t the Invectids couldn’t get any sunlight at all. After serving her soup to Hunter (in which she apparently had the recipe for before she lost her memory), she’s excited to see that he likes it. Hunter then asks Aqune to take him to a particular place, which turns out to be Grasshop’s house. She has Hunter disguised as an Invectid, so they can safely travel through the town. Hunter wonders why the Invectid town is bright, but Aqune explains that they got some light back after receiving their second Oracle Key. Although it’s still not as good as real sunlight, it’s made many of the Invectids a lot happier. Aqune seems happy about this too. Back at the citadel, Buguese requests to Mantid that he get to deal with Hunter (for the purpose of revenge of course ^_^). Mantid doesn’t allow this, as he says he wants to get Hunter to trust them. He does tell Buguese to watch Hunter though. Secretly, Buguese sits there wondering to himself if Aqune and Hunter are on a date. Kidding, we don’t even get to see him watching them, and this disappoints me, because it would probably be hysterical. I must write a fanfic about that! Hunter and Aqune eventually reach Grasshop’s house. His family is pleased with the news that Grasshop is doing well and his kids are excited by the thought of Grasshop being a Spider Rider (which technically isn’t the case, but their fantasy is adorable.) During this time, the Spider Riders begin to fight against the slugs in the labyrinth, while Corona protects the Oracle Keys. Dungobeet is watching them. He makes the slugs retreat. Hunter gets the chance to communicate with Corona, but his signal dies. However, they at least know that Hunter is alive. They decide to continue through the labyrinth. Quake creates a portal so that he can get to the citadel quickly. Hunter tries to get the signal back, but he and Shaodw come to the conclusion that they’re too far underground. They watch Aqune, who’s began praying to the Oracle again. Shadow belives that Aqune’s desire to aid the Invectids is honorable, but Mantid’s probably isn’t. Neither Hunter or Shadow can really figure out the logic behind what’s going on, but know that they should try and help everyone. Buguese enters the room, saying that it’s all the Oracle’s fault. Hunter tries to convince him that maybe the Oracle didn’t take the sun away and somebody else is blocking it, but Buguese disagrees with this. Knowing Hunter’s implication that Mantid was the one responsible, Buguese argues that Mantid watches over his people, so he has no reason to go against him. Buguese wants to save the Invectid world, but needs the keys to do so. Tired of fighting, Buguese wants to just take the keys from Hunter now, but can’t because Hunter doesn’t have them. Depressed, he starts to leave, but Hunter tells him to wait. He wants to know if Buguese will really end the war if he can restore his world. Buguese says that this is true. Because Huinter has had all the Invectids lack for years, he takes it all for granted and doesn’t understand what a difference this will make for the Invectids to have their sun. Seeming interested in their talk, Aqune turns around to listen. Hunter tells Buguese that he believes in him. Buguese is surprised to hear this. He asks Shaodw if he agrees and Shaodw says that he doesn’t want anyone to have to live in such conditions. Therefore, he also believes in Buguese. Aqune smiles at them. Buguese is surprised that Hunter, his enemy trusts him more than Mantid, his master. Mantid then appears, asking if Hunter will give him the Oracle Keys. Hutner says that once he gets them back, he will. Then, there can be peace. Mantid pretends to be touched and says that he’ll stop the fighting, but he smiles evilly and laughs to himself. However, they’re interrupted when Quake appears. It’s revelaed that he’s met Mantid once before.

I positively despise the number 46 for one stupid reason, so I spent all day dreading this episode, convinced that something would happen that would really upset me. Thankfully, it didn’t do anything of the sort. In fact, it was quite good. My highlight was the ending by far, in which Buguese and Hunter were actually starting to *insert loud gasp here* come to an understanding. Even better, Aqune seemed really happy about it. Hunter and Buguese seem to be the two people Aqune care about most and seeing that Aqune’s been against the fighting the whole time, I suspect she’d like them to get along. I was also surprised by the way in which Aqune was rid of her new mask. Mantid himself removed it, to prove a point to Hunter. Aqune got to be cute and awesome again, now that she wasn’t acting all zombie-ish. (Well technically, she was still cute and awesome sometimes in zombie mode, like when she was practically hugging Buguese in episode 34, just not as often.) I’m sure some fans will read this differently, but I really didn’t see anything romantic in all the Hunter/Aqune interactions this episode. They were just all cute and fluffy in a different way and seemed more like best friends or siblings to me. Sure, she cooked for him, but Aqune’s just a sweet person. This episode ultimately proved the questionable point of whether she wants to help the Invectids or not. As I thought, she does, because she really does feel bad for them. While episode 31 really threw me off, making me wonder if she didn’t really want to be with them at all, I suspect that was more to show how she just wanted to be with the Spider Riders more, to avoid having to fight. Actually, I spent too much time theorizing things about Aqune yesterday. This is way off topic from this episode, but I had been wondering if Aqune ever had to fight at all before Mantid ordered it of her in episode 4. After all, Buguese seemed surprised (and perhaps a bit unhappy) by the idea. In the following episode, Corona acted as if she had never seen Aqune before, but it’s been proven that she did fight against Invectids before Hunter’s appearance in the inner world. If that’s the case, it just shows even more how much of an evil creep Mantid is. It was slightly chilling at the end to see Mantid laughing evilly to himself once he got Hunter to trust him. While I think Buguese’s trusts in Hunter were sincere, Mantid’s clearly weren’t. I also loved Hunter’s theory that perhaps the sun was never taken away and someone else somehow blocked it. Of course, the person he was referring to was most likely Mantid. That sounds like a very valid possibility, because I don’t think the Oracle is evil enough to just steal the Invectid sun for no reason. In the dub she had more of a reason, due to the whole Invectids devouring all the plant life thing, but in the Japanese version, there was no reason at all for the Oracle to do it, and the plant life was taken away due to the loss of the sun, not by the Invectids. I totally think that 1) The dub made a big mess of things by changing the facts and 2) Mantid is Buguese’s real enemy. My next point is the appearance of Quake at the end. Finally, he’s reached Mantid, and apparently they’ve met before. I’m betting that he’ll join the battle soon. Now all they have to do is to get Aqune and Buguese to fully switch sides, and perhaps find Beerain and Stags. I’d rather they ditch Beerain altogether, but I know that won’t happen.

First thing’s first. I’ll be leaving tomorrow for a robotics competition in Connecticut (yep, it’s that time of year again) so I won’t be back until Saturday night. While this shouldn’t drastically effect my posting schedule (I always write about KyouSora late anyway) it will effect my ability to reply to comments while I’m gone. Be back soon!

Our wonderful collection of recap episodes continues with the ending to Sia’s story arc. Covered this time are the introduction of her sister and alternate personality Kikyou, her date with Rin while in the persona of Kikyou, and then later her confessing to Rin both her love for him and the truth about her other half. She’s turned down, but that’s okay with her. Besides, gods practice polygamy, so even if Rin loves somebody else, she still has a chance. Rin’s reaction to that statement is quite amusing. Initially, I always thought Sia’s arc was the weakest, just because it was way too similar to Nerine’s. I was disappointed just because there was already an arc about a character with multiple personalities. Now watching it from a fresh perspective though, it’s really not so bad. I think Sia’s story is actually more interesting than Nerine’s. Perhaps it would’ve had more impact if it was covered first in the actual show. Of course, now it’s still just a boring recap. Recap episodes be gone! I want new footage. I’m looking forward to the beach episode that Omni mentioned, because at least it will be something different.

Grasshop talks with Beerain, who is beginning to realize that humans and Invectids will have to start getting along. Still being unsure of herself, she goes off, but not before leaving Grasshop with the information that the only way to get to Mantid’s castle is through something called “the labyrinth.” Magma and Igneous watch them and decide that they’ll have to start trusting the Invectids, in order to set an example to them to hopefully win their trust. Meanwhile, Buguese apologizes to Mantid for not getting the Oracle Keys. Mantid forgives him due to the circumstances and shows him a new weapon created with the power of the Oracle Keys. He gives it to Buguese. Slate and various soldiers catch up to the Spider Riders and they discuss their plans. They decide to cross the labyrinth. However, Lumen doesn’t want Sparkle to come with them. Ebony tells him that it’s important for all eight Spider Riders to be there. Everyone is shocked by the fact that Ebony spoke, but apparently, he can speak. It just has to be under really important circumstances. Therefore, Sparkle has to come with them. Having knowledge of the labyrinth, Grasshop is terrified of it and doesn’t want to go, but Sparkle and Lumen convince him to come along as their guide. Dungobeet watches as the Spider Riders begin there journey and brings news to Mantid. Mantid sends Aqune to the labyrinth to help Dungobeet capture the Spider Riders. Using a combination of their power, all the spiders and riders open the door to the labyrinth. Once inside, Lumen tries to protect Sparkle, but Sparkle isn’t worried, due to having Grasshop with her. Lumen isn’t particularly pleased to hear this. Corona is worried over the fact that something bad will happen, just as she was in Nuuma. Back at the castle, Buguese is unhappy over what he had to do to Beerain. He thinks to himself that once Mantid gathers all four keys, he’s going to take them and face Mantid himself. In the labyrinth, the Spider Riders are faced with a large cliff, with no bottom in sight. They’re going to have to be very careful in crossing it. Sparkle starts to get worried, but chooses Grasshops protection over Lumen’s, making her brother quite jealous. Dungobeet and Aqune spy on them and Aqune signals Dungobeet to do something. He plays an instrument, which disturbs a bunch of slug-like creatures native to the labyrinth. Though according to Grasshop, they’re usually docile, they now start to attack the Spider Riders. Magma is anxious to fight them, but Igneous states that it’s too dangerous to do so here. Instead, everyone starts to run. However, Hunter and Shadow are knocked from the cliff. As Hunter falls, he throws the Oracle Keys to Magma and Igneous. Corona is incredibly concerned over Hunter and doesn’t want to leave, but the others force her to. She continues to call out to Hunter though, through the manacle. Hunter survives his fall, but is badly injured. He hears Corona’s voice and realizes that he must be alive. Upon seeing a figure, he believes it’s Corona, but then realizes that it’s Aqune. Then Hunter loses consciousness. Meanwhile, Quake reaches the labyrinth and comments that Hunter’s lack of patience might’ve doomed everyone. Hunter and Shadow wake up in Mantid’s room. Hunter asks if he’s a guest or a prisoner, in which Mantid responds “we shall see.”

Enjoyable, except for one scene which made me cringe heavily. I’ll see if anyone can guess which one I’m referring too. (Hint: It’s not the one with Beerain.) Lumen was hysterical this week, with getting jealous over Grasshop. Actually, it makes me wonder who Sparkle really does like best. Probably Lumen, but I don’t know. Aqune was at least in the episode, although she didn’t do a whole lot. She was probably the one who bought Hunter to Mantid, although that was off-screen, so nobody knows. Maybe it’s because I have little-to-no care for his character, but I never even noticed before this that Ebony couldn’t speak. I just thought of him as “Lumen’s personality-less Spider.” Maybe he didn’t have a personality because he never spoke before. He still doesn’t have much of one. Spiders other than Shadow and Brutus have gotten little development though, so I don’t really think they matter too much. I’m watching the show for the humans and Invectids anyway, even if Hotarla is one of my favorite characters. I’m still not keen on the idea of Hotarla speaking English, but she was super-cute in this episode. For the Hunter/Corona fans, more stuff for you to enjoy. Corona was hugely worried over Hunter, yelling his name more times than usual. XD And I personally thought it was funny when Hunter thought that Aqune was Corona. They really have little resemblance, despite being sisters. Perhaps it means that Hunter likes Corona better. Points for you, Hunter/Corona fanbase. I get nothing again in the lines of Buguese/Aqune. *sigh* Maybe next week in some alternate dimension.

-Kazuya attacks Tarurotte and Soujirou. Tarurotte tries to defend Soujirou, but is easily defeated and taken by Waruteisha
-Kuu is still writing letters, despite her memory loss
-Soujirou tries to get Kyoushirou to go with him to fight Kazuya, but fails at this. He does manage to get Jin and his army of bishounen, because the two knew each other as children.
-Tarurotte starts to scream at Waruteisha for Soujirou, so to shut her up, Kazuya kisses her to take her mana. This puts her to sleep. Kazuya then takes the AAs into a bath with him.
-Soujirou saves Himiko from falling off a mountain.
-Kazuya is getting the AA’s dressed for a wedding. He notices Kuu’s brooch, which she thinks is junk and so Kazuya throws away. Setsuna sees this.
-Himiko convinces Soujirou to take her with him so she can save Kaon
-As Kazuya continues to prepare for the wedding, Soujirou and his group get closer. Kazuya has Waruteisha send out the Koutetsu Tenshi (Steel Angels,) which are clones of AAs, to face them.
-Kyoushirou appears to help Soujirou’s group. The battle is very close, with a lot of people injured on both sides.
-Kazuya is having the AA enter a strange machine in the shape of a cross. Only Kuu, Setsuna and Waruteisha are left. Before Setsuna enters, she hands Kuu something.
-Setsuna decides to try and help Kyoushirou instead of going inside, but Kazuya stops her with his vines and uses the same mana draining kiss as he did to Tarurotte.
-The thing that Setsuna gave to Kuu was the brooch and when looking at it, Kuu’s memories of Kyoushirou start to come back.
-Kyoushirou, Himiko and Soujirou enter the building. Kyoushirou yells out to Kuu before she goes inside the cross. Kuu turns around.

Not as insane as some previous episodes, but still highly enjoyable. Kazuya is getting even more insane though. He wants to marry all the AAs? I’m not even sure if that’s the case and maybe he was talking about the wedding thing in more metaphorical ways, but he still had all of them in wedding dresses. This guy is seriously messed up in the head. Sure. It makes him a highly interesting character but he’s just too freaky. What I liked best about this episode is that Tarurotte finally got a little development. She actually does like Soujirou. Seeing the way she acts around him most of the time, I never would’ve guessed. It’s so cute though. And I can so totally ship them now. Soujirou was also really cool in this episode. Without him, Himiko would probably be dead now and Kyoushirou might not’ve gone to help. He still might’ve though, I think. Setsuna also continues to be awesome. She gave the brooch back to Kuu and tried to save Kyoushirou at the last minute. Of course, Kazuya had to stop her, but at least she tried to do something. Next week, I hope to see what Kazuya’s giant cross thing does. It looks like some kind of weapon. Stupid vague previews!

And here we have Asa’s ending, followed by part two of Nerine’s story. I can’t really call that an “ending,” since just like in the original, she didn’t get with Rin. No new footage is evil. At least the Rin/Asa date episode was still super adorable. I still don’t have a clue why I’m watching this, but I’m just happy to get some of my backlog out of the way. Now I can watch something with actual plot substance, like Kanon. Speaking of plot substance, I wonder if the Primula episode is going to be about anything. Since her story was covered during Nerine’s episode, there’s really not much left. The obvious solution is that they’ll just recap recaps again, but I’d rather pretend otherwise.

After Beerain makes it safely away from those who were still pursuing her, she falls off a cliff. In Arachna Kingdom, Slate reports to Lily in a Panic that Sparkle and Grasshop are missing. Lily thinks the only thing to be worried about though is that Grasshop might not be able to keep up with Sparkle. That’s quite the case, but Sparkle encourages Grasshop not to give up. The two hear something in the bushes and are surprised to find Beerain. Meanwhile, Mantid sends Buguese off to get the Oracle Keys once again, telling him not to return until he has them. The Spider Riders are all questioning Hunter’s plans to try and negotiate with the Invectids. They don’t think that it will do them any good, but they do want peace, so they let Hunter test his theory when Buguese arrives. Grasshop tries to help Beerain by bandaging his wounds. Apparently, he’s become quite skilled at doing such, due to all his defeats at the hands of the Spider Riders. Sparkle apologizes for this, but Grasshop is okay with it. The two then decide to go and find lunch. Beerain is touched to see a human and Invectid getting along the way those two do. Meanwhile, Hunter proposes his idea of negotiation to Buguese, who thinks it’s a trick. Hunter says that this isn’t true, asks what the Invectids want and offers to help. Buguese replies that all they want is the Oracle Keys. The attempts at negotiation get them nowhere, but Hunter decides that he will give Buguese the Oracle Keys. Beerain finds out from Grasshop that Buguese is in Darkland. She’s still very weak, but is determined to get there. Back in Darkland, Igneous stops Hunter from handing over the Oracle Keys. The other Spider Riders are also against the idea, so Buguese decides that the only way to settle their differences is to have one final fight against Hunter. Magma, still angry at Buguese, wants to fight instead, but Hunter states that it’s his fight and accepts the challenge. While they fight, Grasshop and Sparkle discover that Beerain has disappeared. Buguese is confident that he’ll win the fight, due to the fact that Hunters Oracle Keys still don’t work. Because he’s stronger, he takes the upper hand. Hunter is saved though at the last minute when Corona’s powers suddenly activate. The battle is then interfered with again when Beerain appears. She tells Buguese the truth about Mantid, but Buguese refuses to listen. Even though Beerain brings up the fact that Buguese was doubting Mantid, Buguese has decided now to remain loyal. He leaves, making Beerain very upset. Back on his ship, Buguese regrets no listening to Beerain, but thinks to himself that he has to keep following Mantid, only because he’s the Invectids only hope to get their sun back again. Magma and Igneous are now very set against the idea of negotiation, but Lumen and Corona agree with Hunter. Hunter believes that because of what happened with Grasshop and Sparkle, it is possible for humans and Invectids to get along.

Quite an interesting episode, even if Aqune wasn’t in it. Boo! The negotiation thing was quite funny to me. Negotiating with Invectids probably would be difficult, but doing so with Buguese is like a death wish. He’s the most set on following Mantid’s orders and now he’s extremely loyal again. He should’ve listened to Beerain though. I can’t believe I’m typing that. The whole point was that Mantid has no plans of restoring the sun to the Invectids. Maybe it’s true that he could and he’s the only hope, but that doesn’t mean he intends to do so. I can kind of understand Buguese though, because I tend to put blind faith in things that could happen, even if I’m explicitly told that they won’t. This will only lead to consequences though. Beerain was again really whiny in this episode. She didn’t really bother me as much as she did last week, but she still could’ve toned it down a bit. I blame it partially on the voice actor though. She doesn’t sound nearly as bad in the Japanese version. Maybe I also found it a small bit hypocritical that she commented how she always wanted to see humans and Invectids get along, but personallydislikes the only other close relationship between a human and an Invectid. But then, theirs is quite, quite screwed up and always has been(and that’s probably why I find it fascinating), while the Grasshop/Sparkle thing is super-cute and innocent. Another really interesting point in this episode is how by the end, the Spider Rider team is divided on their opinions of the Invectids. While Hunter, Corona and Lumen (and of course Sparkle) believe that peace is possible, Magma and Igneous’ opposing viewpoints were proven true. Seeing that Buguese and Beerain couldn’t even trust each other, it will definitely take a lot of effort to get the two races to live in peace. Personally, I’ve always thought it could happen, but maybe that’s just another example of hoping for something that’s not going to happen. Then again, this is an optimistic show. It’s going to be happy in the end (unless you’re me, who wanted to see Buguese and Aqune get together Mantid.) There’s definitely a good chance that someday peace will be obtained.

Not really a visually interesting episode, so no pic-spam this week.