Warlords of Sigrdrifa

Episode 11

I said in the last review that I didn't have high expectations for the climax, but there was one thing I was expecting: Cool plane fights. And in that regard, this episode delivered. We're back to the Pillar in Mt Fuji where the Valkyries suffered a huge defeat earlier in the season, but this time the girls have a plan, and they all get to have a badass moment. I have no major complaints.

There are a few things that bugged me as this episode played out, though. The anime's tendency to mash tone-clashing elements together was once again on display in the first part of the episode. Emotionally speaking, I have no idea how I'm supposed to parse an undressing scene focusing on the girls' boobs and butts while the soundtrack plays a stirring trumpet fanfare. Also, an insert song is normally reserved for big emotional moments, but in this episode it plays while the girls are merely flying out of the base, and then cuts off at what felt like an arbitrary point in the song. I sometimes have to question the directorial decisions in this anime when they actively take me out of the story.

On the other hand, the direction in Odin's big scenes is great. I got the chills as Claudia and Odin confronted each other in a dream, and without hesitation she stabbed him with her sword. I never felt like there was any lost love on Claudia's end even before this point, but when Odin reached out to her with a plaintive expression I got the feeling that he really did feel attachment to her as his daughter. He soon reverts to his usual smarmy attitude, but that face he made still lingers with me.

In general, I find Odin rather difficult to read. He contrived the current situation because he can't accept that the era of Norse mythology is over, and he does seem genuinely hung up about that. But he also has a way of obscuring his feelings behind 12 layers of irony. When he watches over events, it's through the filter of a film or video game. He genuinely does come across to me like a gamer who is mad about losing but doesn't want to let on how salty he is. Basically, he's this meme. I would find it hilarious if that is really what his character boils down to, but surely there's got to be more to him than that, right?

In any case, there's only one episode left. After his badass form change at the very end of this episode, I'm looking forward to seeing Odin get his ass kicked within twenty minutes. That was always the satisfying thing about killing God in a video game.

Rating:

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