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The Asterisk War
Episode 24

by Theron Martin,

How would you rate episode 24 of
The Asterisk War: The Academy City on the Water (TV 2) ?
Community score: 3.9

Episode 24 marks the season finale for The Asterisk War, and indeed, it does handily wrap up the most immediate story arc (the one about the assassin Gustave). However, it is not even remotely close to wrapping up the whole story. Everything about the episode feels like a set-up for the next big story arc. But will it ever get animated?

The episode ends with no indication of future projects for the franchise, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. It makes such a hard push to fit in all sorts of ongoing plot elements, though, that it comes off rather choppy in its pacing, especially in its last few minutes. Ayato gets reunited with his sister in a sudden development, but it's a bittersweet reunion since for some reason she has used her sealing power on herself and thus is essentially in a state of suspended animation. An Arlequint evil scientist type who calls herself Magnum Opus also pops up claiming that she might be able to get Ayato's sister out of her state, but she's also the one behind a project to create artificial Genestella – and that project is what created Ophelia, so her trustworthiness is decidedly low. Claudia also discovered that her father was the one trying to stop her from assembling her Gryps Festa team, apparently because he's worried that his company Galaxy will come after her even harder if she uses the Festa's prize to pry into things she shouldn't? (The logic here is thin and vague, although admittedly that's hardly an unusual feature for this series.) And there's only a brief montage to show the main quintet training together in preparation for the Gryps Festa. The point where they're posing ready for battle is where the series ends, which means that it glosses over a whole bunch of potential content in between.

First, though, have to take out Gustave, who orchestrates distractions to convince Julis that the orphanage may be endangered – pretty clever, actually. He then sets a hydra on her and Ayato, but Ayato isn't without back-up; Saya has his back as a sniper and Kirin makes sure that Gustave doesn't get away, while Julis arrive back after evacuating civilians to help with the final blows. This teamwork aspect is still the best part of the series for me, and anytime the heroes are shown making plans and coordinating efforts, it's a treat. Julis using her flame powers to fly is also a pretty neat trick; I don't recall if she used it earlier, but if she didn't, why didn't she? It makes for a pretty good climactic battle, all-in-all.

That being said, there are problems. The animation gets ambitious in the hydra battle, but it also uses a lot of abrupt cuts, giving it the same choppy feel that the storytelling has in the last quarter or so of the episode. The Most Annoying Voice in Anime (i.e., Flora) is also back, though that stupid maniacal laugh by Magnum Opus isn't far off on the irritating front. And if Ayato's sister put herself in suspended animation then why is she naked? That might make sense if someone else had done it, but was she taking a bath when she did it? Too many unanswered questions, but hopefully there will be more animated to answer compelling mysteries like that.

Rating: B-

The Asterisk War is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.


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