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Izetta: The Last Witch
Episode 8

by Theron Martin,

How would you rate episode 8 of
Izetta: The Last Witch ?
Community score: 4.0

Episode 8 had a lot of good story content and gave us a clearer picture of what direction the rest of the series is going in. However, it also left me with a lot of mixed feelings.

A big chunk of those mixed feelings came from what the episode doesn't address – namely, that the allies have an information leak that led to the surprise attack on the carrier last episode becoming an ambush. Granted, their security forces don't have the omniscient view that viewers are afforded, but even so, I have trouble believing that they are so incompetent in wartime that they wouldn't have figured out that something was off about the situation. (Heck, the crewman on the support plane even openly proclaimed that it was an ambush.) But nope, not even a hint of concern is voiced about this; instead we just get the implication that Izetta can run a fever if she pushes it too hard. (Or perhaps it was the dunk in potentially frigid waters that did it?) Maybe something's going on behind the scenes here that we haven't seen yet, but not even having a word about the issue strikes me as a significant plot hole.

On the other side of the coin, I was happy to see that the Eylstadt security forces aren't incompetent. They were able to deal with both the young guy and the soldier-spy Laurence quite handily, so much so that I did wonder for a moment if the series might surprise us and not carry through the expected acquisition of the leyline map by Germanian forces. In the end though, the person who salvaged the mission wasn't much of a surprise, since the irony would be too fitting. The only question remaining is whether he was another sleeper agent or just a Germanian sympathizer; the latter is more easily believable. Seeing that Sieg wasn't completely coldhearted about offing Jonas was a nice touch, as was Laurence realizing that Jonas's death was an important clue.

Despite being with the antagonists and too loyal to “the fatherland” to set aside his mission, I was actually a little sad to see this young Germanian spy die. He had always seemed like a decent fellow, and they had a good story going with how his eyes were being opened about the people he perceived as enemies. He had started relating to Bianca, and his take on appreciating the desire of people to want happy endings for stories was interesting, in light of the alternate darker ending to the tale of the White Witch. It's well-documented that the original versions of many fairy tales are much darker (Red Riding Hood immediately springs to mind), so it's probably true that the story of the White Witch has a much nastier twist in the end.

The episode also gives us a lot else to ponder. What is the mysterious stone that Laurence and the young Germanian discovered in the chamber, and why didn't it appear when Izetta was viewing the leyline map? Is the silver-haired girl with Berkman at the party the presumed artificial witch shown in the tank from the previous episode? If not, who is she and why did she kiss and bite Izetta? (And why was Izetta's attention drawn to her?) There's also the matter of what underhanded goals the Atlantans might now have. It's only natural, I suppose; what world power wouldn't want to control something as powerful as Izetta? Besides, it fits with the generally negative portrayal of the United States and its stand-ins throughout anime over the years.

The technical merits in this episode are shakier, as the animation was more limited and several shots were far from the series' normal prettiness. Balancing that out are the exquisite shots of Finé dressed like a prince with Izetta in that lovely dress (see the screenshot). That seemed like even more of a yuri tease than the actual kiss scene, since the silver-haired girl was clearly after Izetta's blood as her primary motive. Seeing them together dressed up like that is the true fanservice of the episode, even over the scene of the young spy walking in on a bathing Bianca.

Rating: B

Izetta: The Last Witch is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.


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