Brave Witches

Episode 10

Takami is back in action, having finally made it to the 502nd. Unfortunately, that also means Hikari doesn't have a place there anymore.

That's the cruel truth levied in this episode, which sours the reunion of Takami and Hikari. Hikari being directly ordered by Takami to immediately report to the base where she was originally headed isn't too surprising, as there are multiple factors – some practical, some emotional – that play into the decision. Although Takami initially welcomed the idea of potentially fighting with Hikari, being concerned for Hikari's safety is entirely reasonable, especially after her own injury. Not having siblings in the same unit was also standard practice for some WW2-era military forces, as it was intended to lessen the chance of multiple siblings being killed off in a single bad turn of fate. Also, having the two people whose magical abilities are keyed to locating Neuroi cores in the same unit isn't necessarily wise, as splitting them up distributes the critical ability more widely and lessens the chance of both ability users being wiped out in one disaster. (In other words, it allows one to be kept as a back-up, as callous as that may sound.)

Of course, none of that assuages the devastation Hikari feels, both because her sister feels she needs to be stern rather than loving for Hikari to accept the decision, and because it so powerfully runs counter to all of the effort Hikari has put into getting stronger to earn her place in the 502nd. The production staff did an exceptionally good job of portraying the impact that the blunt order has on Hikari and a pretty good job managing the mixed reactions of the other Witches. Particularly telling is the reaction of Naoe, who was so eager to team up with Takami and so critical of Hikari's presence for so long. Now she's getting what she wanted, and her reaction is very ambivalent. Hikari has steadily grown on Naoe, with the way that she can find the locations for Naoe to strike perhaps being the final support for them having a good relationship. Though she never says as much, it's obvious through the sisterly duel between Hikari and Takami that Naoe doesn't want Hikari to go. Takami's appreciation for how much stronger Hikari has become undoubtedly makes it tougher on her too.

With the plot finally having a firm direction for its final episodes, too much is at stake at this point for Hikari to not somehow get involved in taking down the Grigori nest. The real question is how that's going to happen. My guess at this point is that Hikari will have to end up coming to the rescue when the 502nd gets in trouble, but with two episodes left to set that up and carry it through, I don't expect the story to be too quick about it. Right now the pace seems just fine.

(As a side note, Takami is based off Japanese ace Takashi Oshibushi. He's a much more obscure figure who I couldn't find much about, though apparently he was most active near the end of the Pacific side of WW2.)

Rating: B+

Brave Witches is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.