Reaction Shot: Fate/Apocrypha and Princess Principal episodes six

[spindizzy]

I promised that I’d be back with the bullet points and yelling, and look! Fate/Apocrypha is back! Oh my beautiful darling show, it’s been too long! *dreamy sigh*

So let’s get this rolling by yelling about Fate Apocrypha Episode Six!

• Look, look, it's a Necrodad and Mordred episode! Yeeeeeeeesssssss!


• The fact that Mordred admired Arturia so ardently that they became a knight of her court and couldn't see how having "exactly the qualities required of a king and no others" could possibly be a flaw makes me so sad for them. Their mother specifically said that Arturia was the person they were to set themself against, and now look! Look!


• Mordred's hatred coming only after Arturia refused to acknowledge them. ;_; And just – that death. That was cold.


• ... Why are all of the witches in the Fate franchise elves, I must know. Medea was an elf as well! And it was never explained!


• "Stop giving me weird dreams." Oh, Necrodad.


• Hey, guys? I think the Predatory Lesbian has flipped so thoroughly that she's now just axe crazy. Like, full-on "sitting in a dungeon in her underwear covered in blood because she's a) smashing dolls, b) hacking a (female, I think?) homunculus into pieces, and c) planning to track down Sieg and take him apart in front of Astolfo just to hurt her. WHAT THE FUCK, PREDATORY LESBIAN. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH YOUR STORY ARC.


• ... Oh, oh, this is the episode where Berserker's Master dies horribly! I guess he's going to sacrifice himself to save his sister instead of his sister being the one who murders him? And then Berserker flips out?


• (Man, the anime posters really clash with the castle aesthetics they've got going.)


• ... Berserker is so proud of herself for unplugging the computer!


• Darnic: We could sacrifice a sufficiently talented Mage [to power the Golem].
  Me: God I hope they kill Moustache Guy.
  Show: *cuts to Moustache Guy sprawled on a couch in a drunken stupor like it agrees with me*


• Necrodad: Lord El-Melloi.
  Waver: The second.
  Me: No, wait. Pause this. Isn't El-Melloi the guy who kept fighting Kiritsugu, that Kiritsugu [spoilers]?
  Lex: Yes, but in the main continuity, he didn't have an heir, so after his death his title passed to Waver as technically his student. That's why he's so insistent about The Second.
  Me: *looks at this new continuity where Waver is someone strange and new that I suspect may have done terrible things* D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D:


• You know, considering the sheer amount of corpses they show us, they must have sent a lot of mages after Jack the Ripper.


• Mordred being so disappointed that they're in a town whose tourist appeal is its medieval aesthetic warms my heart.


• Jack the Ripper: *cheerfully goes to commit murder*
  Me: Oh, they're going for the murder schoolgirl aesthetic? Okay, I guess.
  Jack the Ripper: *changes outfit mid-leap into a fucking murder tankini*
  Me: FOR FUCK'S SAKE TYPE MOON!


• I think that the way Necrodad uses his cigarette to draw magic and hypnotise that police officer is really cool and a neat little visual effect!


• ... Wait, one of Jack the Ripper's abilities is to summon a poisonous fog? I guess that's actually quite thematic considering the time she was supposed to be active, but also I'm not sure how much you'd be able to breathe through a leather jacket, Necrodad.


• The fact that Necrodad has a creepy hand to draw protective fields to stop other people getting involved is still grim.


• Jack the Ripper sniffing Mordred to be like "Heeeeeeey you're a girl!" is never going to stop being creepy.


• CHIRON WHY DID YOU INTERVENE, IF YOU'D LEFT THEM TO IT FOR THIRTY SECONDS LONGER ONE OR BOTH OF THEM WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD. I get that the narrative says that that's not allowed to happen (yet) and that also Chiron was probably betting on being able to take them both out, but come on my dude.


• (I genuinely thought that Archer's Master had mechanical wings there for a while. NOPE.)


• Chiron jumping off a fucking building to get away from Saber is a bold move. ._. Especially because after he jumps off the building he decides that he can't take Saber out without hurting himself.


• Chiron: This is Pankration.
  Me: I KNOW WHAT THAT IS! Oh, I guess it makes sense that he would do that, because Greek? And he doesn't have horse legs right now so wrestling isn't a terrible plan? Maybe?


• SHE HAS MAGICAL ROBOTIC TENTACLES TO HELP HER GET AROUND AND ALSO ATTACK PEOPLE, that is so cool! They look kinda like the Valkyrie Skirt in Buso Renkin, but with fewer knives and more ability to shoot people. I find it inter


• (The fanart probably already exists and no one is to confirm that for me because I DON'T WANT TO KNOW.)


• Archer's Master: *gives a speech about how he should run away*
  Necrodad: Did you think that would work?
  Archer's Master: ^_^ No, I just needed something to pep myself up! ^_^ *shoots him*


• The fight between Necrodad and Archer's Master is pretty good!


• I like that the show does acknowledge that cars aren't perfect protection from bullets because they can shoot you under the car.


• Necrodad: *throws a heartgrenade*
  Archer's Master: *deals with it*
  Necrodad: *DRIVES A FUCKING CAR INTO THE TENTACLES BECAUSE SURE. WHY WOULD HE EVER NOT DO THAT.


• I love the way that Fate lets you know who has had a classical Mage education by whether they think of doing things like "using muggle means to deal with a problem." Kiritsugu fighting Mages was my favourite part of his character, and I'm glad that Necrodad is keeping up this trend.


• ... I don't know if it's cool or grim that Necrodad is firing fingertips at people as bullets.


• Episode: *ends on a cliffhanger*
  Me: WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT ENDS THERE, THE BROTHER IS SUPPOSED TO JUMP IN FRONT OF THOSE BULLETS AND DIE HORRIBLY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!
  Lex: *laughs for days*

And this episode of Princess Principal was really fucking bleak in an entirely obvious way, but it was still bleak, as a fair warning. Caution warning for physically abusive parents and alchoholism! Let's go and yell about episode six.

• Oh, we've jumped to Case 19? That's way aways from where we were at!


• Oh no, apparently this episode is Dorothy's tragic backstory? ... Oh that's not okay.


• ... So I'm starting to wonder if Beatrice isn't the protagonist of this series. She's the one with the character arc and she's definitely the viewpoint character that everyone explains things to.


• Dorothy named herself after her mother. D: D: D: D: D:


• Oh no, abusive fathers, no.


• Beatrice is a lot less flapped about the corpses than I thought she'd be. I mean, she's not happy, but she's calmer than I expected.


• Me: Is the show going to... Acknowledge that Beatrice also has massive daddy issues?
  Dorothy: I brought you because I thought you would understand.
  Me: That is terrible but understandable.


• Beatrice trying to stand up for Dorothy is so great.


• Dorothy trusting the kids. ;_;


• (She doesn't like jobs with killing people or corpses!)


• Okay, so the Princess becoming queen is the only way that she and Angé can be together. THIS SURE SOUNDS LIKE THE PRINCESS IS MANIPULATING THE FUCK OUT OF ANGÉ, NOT GONNA LIE.


• This is... Actually a more nuanced look at a relationship between an abusive parent and their child once the child is out and safely away from their power than I was expecting? It's not necessarily a great take, but I was expecting so much worse. At no point does anyone tell Dorothy that she should forgive him! The closest anyone gets is pointing out that in this one specific thing he was not a shit human being! Legit that is better than Stargate ever managed.


• He just... Picks Beatrice up and toys with her voice like a kid, and that's horrifying.


• Dorothy taking those guys apart was very soothing to me.


• See, I knew as soon as he showed up that this was going to happen. He was going to decide to be a good father and die, the dudes were going to attempt to buy Dorothy as a sex slave, and that was the only way that could possibly shake out. The fact that it happens while Beatrice is singing and keeping the pub cheerful doesn't make it better.