zero no tsukaima 13 (last episode)
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ZERO kara hajimaru hi wo.
Louise puts up a pantheon-class ツンデレ act to kick off the last episode when Saito tells her that he’s thinking of leaving during the next solar eclipse. Actually, isn’t this really the token “fight on the way to the airport” that’s in the Female Codebook than ツンデレ behavior? I loved the Pink Haired Zero Magic Mage’s face at the end when she has her “Wait, why can’t I admit my true feelings?” face. Shakugan no Shana DVD 1 comes out next month. No clue why I’m bringing that up now.
We’re reminded that there’s– gasp– plot-like substance trying to occur. Albion is planning on invading Tristein, and I find it funny that in a room full of men, the only one brave enough to volunteer to lead the army to defend the country is Henrietta. Now I officially can’t wait to see her in her Joan of Arc outfit. She can siege my Orleans any day.
That night, Saito is going emo over leaving, and the Claws and Fangs of Violation correctly point out that Saito is getting attached to Louise, and Saito goes ツンデレ on us. Shucks… I was hoping that he’d go Tamaki on us and start referring to Louise as his daughter.
Meanwhile, the magic academy is adjourned due to the war. Most of the students head home, except Guiche has to stay and fight. Louise decides to fight as well and leaves Saito a parting note saying that he’s fired. Funny thing is that even though Saito can’t understand Louise’s moonscrawl, he can understand her words. Saito eventually learns from Kirche that Louise has departed for war, and he experiences a few seconds of angst before the scenary switches to the superior Siesta harvesting grain in Tarbes. New moe mode? Anyway, Albion starts their conquest… where else? Tarbes.
We’re treated to Henrietta in her Joan of Arc outfit, and she bounces her way to the front lines. Basically, a queen, Louise, and some knights on horses vs. a floating battleship. Basically, it’s like Home Depot vs. your neighborhood hardware store. Saito takes off in his zero and “heads for home” the same way Miki “heads for her next ramen delivery.” You know what’s going to happen next.
Henrietta’s forces get pretty much smashed by Albion– a la the mysterious high-level dude smashing Cartman and friends in World of Warcraft in South Park. Actually, Henrietta’s battle commands sound almost as ridiculous as Cartman’s… “Mom, bathroom! I need to sunder armor!” I don’t recall any of Henrietta’s troops taking down any of Albion’s. Louise just kinda stands there. They’re going to go in flames worse than the 2006 Oakland Raiders.
Like clockwork, just when Tristein is about to get routed, Saito appears in his zero and starts downing dragons like Shana downs melonpan. I learned from this sequence that dragons explode when shot at with a gatling gun. They don’t bleed– they explode. Like Rau or Ray, Ward-o-sama sees the carnage and decides to head out in his dragon even tossing out the mandatory, “It looks like I’ll have to go out.”
On the ground, Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche team up and embarrash Fouquet– weren’t they unable to dent her golem earlier? And why didn’t she just resummon another golem? Anyway, she loses. Louise meets up with them and has Tabitha give her a ride, and she jumps (!!!) from Tabitha’s dragon into Saito’s lap. I mean, talk about bravery/rash judgement. She would have been a loli pancake if it weren’t for Tabitha.
After some lovey-dovey moments between Saito and Louise, Ward-o-sama almost downs their zero… but not before Louise enters SEED mode and pwns everything in sight. Game. Set. Match. (For good measure, The Peloton of Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche manage to recover Wilhelmina ‘s ring.) Unfortunately, because the battle is occuring the solar eclipse, right after Ward-o-sama gets downed by Louise, the eclipse ends, so Saito is stuck in Louise’s world a bit longer. (If Saito asked any of the girls– from Louise to Jessica– if they would go back to Japan with him, who would say, “Yes.”? I’m going to guess Louise, Jessica, and Siesta.)
Louise and Saito kiss (again!) to renew their contract… anyway, the series ends with everything back to normal.
Zero no Tsukaima Character Power Rankings™
Three things about Siesta this episode:
1. After seeing Siesta work in the fields, I suddenly craved whole grain oats. That’s saying something.
2. I also liked her expression in scene during the final credit roll montage when she’s flirting with Saito, and Louise pops up. A cutsy, “Oops, I’ve been caught!” face.
3. New outfit! One decision that I do agree with JC Staff with is that while they haven’t changed Saito’s outfit at all, they’ve been pretty good at mixing it up with Siesta. Still, Harvesting Siesta isn’t as hawt as…
… Joan of Arc Henrietta. Wow. I find a disconnection between her very conservative princess outfit compared to her very leggy warrior outfit.
They’re perfect for each other. I’m not just typing this because I don’t want to see Siesta fawning over Saito. They’re both major ツンデレ in denial.
The Pink Haired Zero Magic Mage was pretty useless up until her SEED mode at the end. Overshadowed by Henrietta’s skin and Siesta’s smile, Louise didn’t do much to make herself stand out this episode. Out of the major female characters, I find Louise fairly weakly developed. Okay, she’s a wrathful ツンデレ loli. That’s not exactly a new moe mode. Whenever you see her on screen, you pretty much know what she’s going to do and can pretty much guess her dialogue. This aspect of Louise hasn’t changed despite the massive amount of screentime that she has had.
While Zero no Tsukaima isn’t exactly chock full of development, I can’t say that when I first saw Siesta back in episode one that she was going to share a hot tub with Saito a few episodes later. Episode 13 Louise is still pretty much episode 1 Louise.
Even though the relationship between Saito and Louise has somewhat progressed, it doesn’t really feel any different from before because they both have a major case of ツンデレ denial. The sad thing is that even if this anime spawned 52 episodes, I doubt that anything would be different. Basically, an extreme case of Giroro and Natsumi.
The Peloton has basically become the sideshow. They’re good for a minor subplot or deus ex machina save, but Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche are definitely not instrumental in the plot.
They lost to Zero no Louise! Shameful!
(I like how basically Saito, Kirche, and Tabitha turned the tables on Albion. Basically, Tristein’s troops were completely useless and didn’t do anything. And then Albion lost to some hormonal teenagers. Just like Gundam Seed! How would you like to lose to Guiche? Isn’t that as bad as having Aaron Brooks put up 400 yards and 4 touchdowns against your defense?)
Zero no Tsukaima is at best a guilty pleasure. There’s not a lot of substance for the series, and it’s carried largely on the appeal of Saito’s harem. To bill this series as anything more than a fantasy setting harem show would be giving it too much credit. As with most harem anime, the enjoyable of such is directly proportional to the enjoyability of the harem. Louise is an one-trick pony, only able to go ツンデレ. Siesta, who I feel is the superior haremette, doesn’t get a lot of screentime and doesn’t contribute much to the overall “plot.” Nonetheless, I find the more haremish episodes more enjoyable than this Albion/Reconquista “plot.” Jessica’s only in one episode. Kirche and Tabitha are just dragged along for the ride. Henrietta would be a great playmate for Louise, but, alas.
Watching this anime, I just can’t help but think, “There’s a lot of good pieces to work with. If only they did something with the pieces.” Guy out of place premise? Magical academy? Hawt, nubile women? That sounds promising to me. I think JC Staff tried a bit too hard to make this series into a harem/fantasy action hybrid, and being 13 episodes, it didn’t work. Not enough time was devoted to either aspect, and whatever time they did devote, it was just not enough. I started dreading seeing the swinging sword wipe because it usually means some jump in the plot.
(Pacing is something Battlestar Galactica does well. I love the pauses and breaks… makes everything more lifelike because in real life, we’re not constantly talking. There’s going to be gaps and pauses in conversatin. Nevermind the ridiculous plots, it’s cinematography is top notch. Zero no Tsukaima had basically no pauses or breaks, and Saito could be talking about one thing, the screen does a swinging sword wipe, and he’s on another topic but it’s like two days later. Ugh.)
The novels for Zero no Tsukaima are about as long and as popular as those for Haruhi Suzumiya, but I just don’t find myself rooting for more Zero no Tsukaima anime. Instead, I’m more intrigued by what the novels offers especially in the harem department, and I hope these get picked up by an US publisher not named “Tokyopop.” Until then, it’s farewell to the Pink Haired Zero Magic Mage.
22 Responses to “zero no tsukaima 13 (last episode)”
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Yeah! They tried their best with Zero no Tsukaima but failed… that’s why a graphic novel is best as that way only… well, maybe Full Metal Panic was an exception.
So… until next J. C. Staff project… and don’t forget Kanon
Siesta is a testament to why meidos are so moe. If I were Saito I’d be working Siesta’s “field†from dusk tell dawn, screw that other damned pink haired tsundere.
So… what is the moral of the story? That men prefer to have abusive girlfriends instead of the sweet girl next door?
i’m going to miss siesta, good thing the manga and novels are being scanslated by KH Fansubs and some other groups working jointly with them.
FYI, the Zero isn’t armed with a Gatling, it has 2 20mm cannons and 2 7.7mm machine guns.
I honestly thought this was going to be a 26 episode series… Wasted potential IMO.
They were Fire Dragons, maybe he ignited their fuel?
>>> They were Fire Dragons, maybe he ignited their fuel?
Ahh, Everyone seemed to have forgotten their Dragon Biology class by Smrgol in Flight of Dragons. Fire dragons eats various minerals which will release hydrogen gas from their stomach acids. Their buoyancy and flame comes from the hydrogen gas, so if a hot bullet penetrates into their hydrogen chambers, you are now a fireball.
Well put! Another season, it would be fun to watch, but I’m totally ready for the texts instead. We’ve seen her pink hair and frilly pantsu (and the horsewhiping-action), give me words and let my imagination fly away. The plot should have been better developed, but the series seemed to rush the plot and put emphasis on character interaction. Hey JC, don’t run fighter planes shooting exploding dragons by me and expect the awesome display of ツンデレ to entirely cover those tracks. Can something like this even be called bittersweet?
>> Okay, she’s a wrathful ツンデレ loli.
And I enjoy it, though, developement of her character would be very spectacular!
Sousuke saved me from the temptation of being a know-it-all and pointing out that muliply rotating barrel cannons did not become commonplace until 1960s (and Russians made do with their excellent GSh-27 twin until 1970s). Robert Shaw’s “bible” has a good recap, not too long and not overloaded with details.
I really think that should’ve summoned something armed with massive amounts of rockets. In fact, something not overtly sexy, but carrying 4 or more 40mm pods would be awesome. BAE Hawk or L-39 in COIN loadout would not make sports enthusiasts ask themselves just how exactly dragons exploded. As for landing into someone’s lap, using a Harrier like in True Lies would prevent questions just how such a feat was possible without A6M’s prop making mincemeat from Louise. Well, maybe it’s too much to ask from this show. People worried about small details of this nature should be watching something like Black Lagoon.
>>Funny thing is that even though Saito can’t understand Louise’s moonscrawl, he can understand her words
he coundnt understand her words either in the 1st episode, until Louise uses her Seal Speech spell on him… which basically means she made an explosion right in front of him. they could understand each ofter after tat
Gentlemen the A6M Type 0 Model 21 had two 20mm canon in additon to the twin 7.7 MGs for its day it was firepower heavy. Disregarding the fact the supreme dullard Saito expended an inordinate number for his first kill, but the shells are explosive. From what I hear you don’t simply bleed from a cannon shot. Worse still is Saito’s school of aerial combat via using a dive, spraying and praying, not using the harness let alone a parachute, and never using that lovely turn radius the Zero was infamous for…Then there is the issue of that self sealing fuel tank. What comrade Zaitcev proposes is essentially an IL-2 if we stay in the realm of prop planes, not best thing to do dog fighting despite the armored tub. Still 23mm cannons, 7.62mm MGs, and rockets all of which were explosive or incendiary very much ideal for blowings up those sacks of hydrogen gas.
Dang it JC staff if you are going to pay tribute to your only legendary Fighter of WWII do your bloody homework at least Saving Private Ryan had the distinct turret hum of the Tigers even if there were none of the first few days of Normandy.
Still I would not mind a “Siesta and Jessica family reunion” OVA or Siesta-tan type deal.
Oh well.. there’s always the video game if you want more Zero no Tsukaima.
http://www.mmv-i.net/game/ps2/zero/movie.html
Poor Zero no Tsukaima. The anime was seriously just too lackluster, although I did find myself wanting to keep watching it. Perhaps it was because I hoped it would get better. Oh well, Shana 2.0 ends for the season so we can look forward for Shana 1.0’s movie in ’07! :)
Or get the figurine
http://www.figure.fm/post/4951.....0Tsukaima/
13 episodes were too few.
I’ll just add that I can’t wait for the next anime featuring the Rie Kugimiya/Satoshi Hino tandem, they fit so well together in term of voice acting.
Then again, I think the same thing about Aya Hirano and Tomokazu Sugita.
>> I’ll just add that I can’t wait for the next anime featuring the Rie Kugimiya/Satoshi Hino tandem, they fit so well together in term of voice acting.
I kinda don’t want to see them together again outside of more Shana. Kinda typecast for me. I’d love to see some new blood.
>> Still I would not mind a “Siesta and Jessica family reunion†OVA or Siesta-tan type deal.
This reunion OVA would be rated 18+, right?
>> They were Fire Dragons, maybe he ignited their fuel?
If the dragon needs to ignite the flame to spew out fire, then yes it’s a possibility. But thinking in evolutionary terms, dragon’s don’t ignite their fuel with flames– wouldn’t they explode themselves if they did this. I think a more reasonable method is for the dragon to combine two substances that create a mixture with a low flashpoint that flames.
>> Siesta is a testament to why meidos are so moe. If I were Saito I’d be working Siesta’s “field†from dusk tell dawn, screw that other damned pink haired tsundere.
Yep, these are my readers.
>>> I think a more reasonable method is for the dragon to combine two substances that create a mixture with a low flashpoint that flames.
Back to Dragon Biology 101 from Flight of Dragons. Fire Dragons have spark generating organ in their mouth. The methode of generating the spark varies from dragon kinds with some having such sophisticated electric charge storing/releasing organ, that they actually shoot out more electricity than flames, thus a lightning dragon. The hydrogen gets ignited by the spark, but dragon’s lungs are powerful enough to create enough wind velocity to make sure the flame only goes outward. The hydrogen chamber automatically closes when the the air pressure from the lung has decreased below certain value. In other word, dragons are flying version of hydrogen flame torch who carries a flint and steel in their mouth. This fact has been used by one of the knight in the Flight of Dragons movie to defeat a dragon.
Wow. People actually remembered Flight of Dragons?
Time to download this series then. Thanks for the recommendation.
>>> Wow. People actually remembered Flight of Dragons?
How can I not? That was the movie that enabled me to form what is now recognized as the first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons meeting in Korea. The animation quality is very low, but it makes up for it with interesting characters and story plots.
I think this anime has very cool and have a good story but unfortunately the episodes has to short! I think anime like this at least have 26 episodes
Cute, but totally underdeveloped. It’s really too bad, considering the promisisng background and the jaw-dropping graphic settings. Anyone knows any really good anime of this genre? And is there anyone other than Rumiko Takahashi who can handle the angle of romantic denial properly?
(And I did find the idea of using the Zero fighter a bit overboard- surely they did not need to go this far to make an allusion to the series’ title?)