The battle between Rin and Ichika begins but even if that is the assumed plot, it all ended up with some unmanned IS ruining it. Aww, I was expecting to see more Shenlong action with retractable claws… just kidding! The amount of time it appeared is enough for me to talk about it abilities!
Note: Second sentence never happened in the series. It happened in a different series that involves a different Shenlong.
The battle between Byakushiki and Shenlong was more intense compared to Blue Tears shooting aimlessly on the evading Byakushiki. I mean, asides that Rin is good in using her IS in short range, Shenlong can deliver one strong laser attack… and it is not yet on its full power! This is, how I can say it, if the match continued without that unknown IS crashing in, Shenlong will definitely win.
As for Shenlong, I love the fact that it is advantageous in both close range and long range combat thanks to its dual swords and mounted cannons. As for the design, the good amount of red made a clear reference that this IS came from China, the dragon antenna found in Rin’s head adds the Chinese touch with the IS.
For the gate crashing IS, my first impression is that from afar, he kinda looked like Vilgax from Ben 10 due to its fat arms but hey, at least those arms back quite a punch and fire power! In this situation that the arena is closed and that Rin and Ichika are alone in the area with that mecha, this is when we saw much of Ichika’s potential both as a pilot and as a lead protagonist.
As a pilot, he was able to think fast with the situation he is facing right now. Even though he does not read his manual much, he was able to manage it with his personal instincts and I salute Ichika with that. As a lead protagonist, he doesn’t want to leave Rin alone, in the battlefield and it is enough to tell me that his harem will continue on growing as time passes.
Also in this episode, we saw more of Chifuyu's sister side when she thought Ichika more about the original sword that she used in which Byakushi's sword was based upon. Also, we saw more of Rin trying trying to steal a kiss from Ichika! It seems that Houki and Cecilia will have one tough love rival!
As for the battles, it is still as impressive and stunning as ever. Sure there are rough edges such as the transition between CGI and traditional but it is forgivable.
Overall, the episode is still visual eye candy and with the introduction of a new IS with an unregistered core; it seems that this show is finally becoming more interesting. Because of the introduction of an unregistered core, a question surfaced, where is Dr. Tabane? Is she responsible for all of this? If so, I guess I know what will happen next! Speaking of next, in the next episode, asides from Ichika, a new boy in the IS Academy appeared!