Princess Connect! Re:Dive Season 2

Episode 5

Since last week's episode was a stream of questions, it's only fitting that this week's is a stream of answers—and a setup that raises even more questions.

After a season and change, the series finally makes clear what it's been hinting at since episode one: that what we've been watching so far is a sort of time travel story. In the original version of the world, Yuuki and his myriad of female friends battled against Kaiser, but it didn't go well. They were on the edge of defeat and Yuuki himself was gravely wounded. Labyrista and Ameth gave him the choice to either return to the hopeless battle or to have them reset the world and give them all a second shot at victory. Of course, this would mean losing all his friendships—and seemingly his memories—in the process. However, to save his friends' lives, he made the obvious choice.

The twist is that it obviously wasn't a perfect reset of the world. Ameth, Neneka, and Labyrista (along with her guild) all remember the first world. Kaiser likely remembers as well (given her usurping of Pecorine's life and her knowledge of the shadows). This disconnect between the pre- and post-reset versions of the world is likely why the shadows exist—they are the remnants of old world data interacting with the new world in unexpected ways. And while the world does seem to have its own automatic defenses to eliminate such bugs, Kaiser is interfering with that system to boost her own power.

It's great to have all this finally laid out for us. Now that we know the actual stakes behind the light-hearted adventures we see each week, there is an ever-growing sense of tension knowing that the big battle is coming—one that our heroes have already lost once.

But even as the big mystery of the world is finally revealed to us, another takes its place. As Yuuki attempts to save Kiiri from the shadows, we get a vision of another Kasumi—not the fantasy version we've seen these past two episodes but one seemingly from our world. She and Yuuki solve the mystery of the destroyed flowerbed and find the culprit—a cat named Kiiri. Ameth explains this as a “memory” that Yuuki isn't suppose to see yet and sends him back into the fight.

What's great is that this supposedly errant memory raises all sorts of wonderful questions to be explored going forward. Is this memory a vision of a parallel world? Do all the female characters have real world counterparts (and is Kiiri really the cat's counterpart)? Or is this anime actually an isekai tale in disguise with Yuuki and Kasumi (at the very least) having been transported from Earth to the fantasy world? Or are our heroes trapped in the digital world of some sort of VR game with their memories altered? Who knows at this point? But regardless, it is a solid mystery that makes you want to look for clues in future episodes even as it recontextualizes what you have seen so far.

Now, while this upheaval of the status quo is a great way of rejuvenating interest in the series, it also feels a bit out of place pacing-wise. To put it another way, this episode feels like a season finale rather than episode 5 of the second season. Heck, with the exception of its cliffhanger ending, last week's episode felt like any number of the series' one-off adventures. So, while I am happy with the results of what happened, I wish we would have had a better transition into the big action climax—one that really got us primed for something this important.

Yet, even with the double lore-bomb and flashy fighting scenes, the real star of the show is the face-to-face confrontation between Pecorine and Kaiser. From what we've seen, Kaiser is a user and a manipulator. She seems to have no remorse for her actions and cares nothing for the people she rules. She stole Pecorine's life from her and seems to use it only for selfish reasons. Pecorine has every right to hate Kaiser (and she does) but instead of acting upon that, she seeks to understand Kaiser—and hopefully help her become a better ruler for the sake of her people. Yet, Kaiser only wants one thing: for Pecorine to suffer. Only when Pecorine's sunk to the depths of despair will Kaiser kill her.

What's so interesting about this is that none of the flashbacks to the events at the end of the first world imply that Kaiser hates Pecorine more than anyone else. Their past—a past that Pecorine doesn't remember—remains a total mystery. I just hope it's one we get to see explained in the anime and don't have to go to the game to get an answer for.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• The moment our heroes forgot about Neneka, I just knew it was going to bite them in the ass.

• I'm not sure if Karyl figured out the ring was responsible for Pecorine's disappearance, but she definitely knew that Kaizer was behind it in general.

• While Pecorine wants to know Kaizer's motivations, I can't help by wonder if her having a “good reason” would change anything. Motives matter little when pain and death are the results.

• I feel like I need a primer on Labyrista's powers at this point.

• This episode seems to imply that Yuuki's power is a “cheat” power—one that might even be able to break the world if overused.

Princess Connect! Re:Dive is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.