CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon

Episode 9

The episode's title is “The Home of Betrayal,” and that should be taken To Heart. As both Ange and Hilda discover in harsh ways, there is simply no place for Normas in the regular world.

For the second time in the series an episode is split between a focus on Ange and one of the major side characters, in this case Hilda. While Ange and Momoka infiltrate the former Empire of Mitsurugi, Hilda returns to her former home. Flashbacks show us that, unlike the baby taken at the beginning of the series, Hilda was taken from her mother and an idyllic-seeming environment as a young girl, possibly one who was 7-8 years old. Combine that with what was shown in episode 8 and Hilda seems to have never lost sight of her desire to be reunited with her mother in the 11 years since being taken away. Disappointingly, Hilda's mother doesn't recognize her at first, and more disturbingly for Hilda, she soon discovers that her mother has had another daughter in the intervening years whom she has also named Hilda. The elder Hilda discovers, to her dismay, that her mother has come to reject her over time and definitely does not want a reunion because it would only bring up painful memories. Meanwhile, Ange is treated as a frightening monster by her former teammate, but she is thrown much more by the eventual discovery that Sylvia being in trouble was all just a ruse, and that she was actually working with her brother to draw Ange out for some not-entirely-clear reason. Tusk is also lurking around observing, although he doesn't get involved in events this time. (Given one shot in the Next Episode preview, he is probably setting up for some kind of rescue next episode.)

Of the two sides of this episode, the one involving Hilda is the stronger one. Getting the audience to have any sympathy for Hilda after the nastiness she pulled in earlier episodes is a hard sell, but after what is shown here it is hard not to feel at least a little pity for her. Though the flashbacks are oversold to the point of treacle, Hilda was nonetheless both physically and emotionally replaced by a mother who wanted to move on with her life after what was probably a lot of anguish, and in such situations rationalization can be pretty brutal, especially when propaganda casts your daughter as a monster. No less brutal is the way the police beat up the dazed, defenseless Hilda as they capture her, and the way the melancholy closing theme starts over her broken expression is an effective play.

Ange's side starts promisingly, with the former teammate who has turned against her (because she is a Norma) and Ange going Rambo, which results in some nice non-mecha fight and chase sequences. Ange is even fairly impressive with how level-headedly she handles all complications. What happens at the end of her path, though, is a confusing mess. If Sylvia really was working with her brother to set Ange up, what was the point to it? (Or was she brainwashed after being caught sending the message to Momoka?) Ange was under control, ostracized, and out of the picture, so what did her brother have to gain by this ploy? Almost certainly he could have had Ange dragged back for public trial and execution at any time if that was his goal (which is implied here), and he certainly didn't need to demonize her further. His actions just make no sense from a plot viewpoint. From a storytelling viewpoint, showing that even Sylvia is now against her might be intended to give Ange the final break from her previous life, and the Next Episode preview suggests that the story is, indeed, going in that direction; for that matter, this episode should function the same for Hilda, too.

The episode is also notable for having zero fan service, but the awkward way a couple of points are handled cuts into the recent increases seen in storytelling quality. Still, it is a decent episode which moves forward the overall story while also setting up some potentially interesting developments for next episode.

Rating: B-

CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.