Debut
These are two interesting episodes, with a sprinkling of some nudity between both. I would say that things are building towards the climax, but episode 9 brings things to a halt plotwise. Most importantly, we get the first nude shots of Saphir.
Episode 08:
We start the episode with the mysterious and obviously villainous woman finishing her manipulation of Marse. His insecurity and feelings of powerlessness are not helped by flashbacks to his father scolding him for his incompetence. Though deeply conflicted, Marse has agreed to kill Satou and take the rings. Though it is implied that there is some kind of mind control at play.
We don’t get this shot of a nude Saphira in the manga.
Plans are established for future battles, and Satou is left behind to protect Maasa. Hime kisses Satou out of nowhere, causing Granart and Nephrites to follow suit. Hime’s reaction is jealousy.
A monster attacks, and in the ensuing chaos, Marse attacks as well. Satou realizes that Marse is not in his right mind, but is unwilling to go all out with his ring powers and risk killing him, so he takes a risk himself and allows Marse to hit him which succeeds. Marse hits but is unable to bring himself to seriously hurt Satou. Depressed after yet another failure, and the thought that he’s lost Saphira’s love, Marse asks Satou to kill him. With a bit of a pep talk, Satou talks him out of it, but is also helped by destroying the gem that was manipulating Marse.
I was hoping for a bit more squish given the obvious tentacle play, but then again it seems Saphira isn’t the most well endowed woman on this show, nor is she the focus.
There was a later frame showing her crotch as the camera pans down (though covered with light beams). I might try to get the stitch to work again some time later this week, in which case I’d post it in the comments. Regardless, enjoy the first nude shot of Saphir.
The phrase “bubble butt” applies here, for obvious reasons. It’s a shame her pose isn’t as appealing or dynamic as in the manga though. It’s almost enough to make you not notice how stiff her hair looks.
The obviously evil female is defeated after Saphir shows her powers. Satou and Marse make up, and Marse’s determination and confidence are renewed. We then get a sappy scene in Maasa’s throne room in which all matters are settled.
A conversation between the woman and the Emperor (yes, Marse’s father) indicates that his goals do not necessarily align with that of Satou’s or the rest of the “good guys.” If that weren’t enough, the ominous green fog and darkness enshrouded setting should be enough to show you that he’s a bad guy planning bad things. It’s a shame the girl died without showing anything. They went out of their way to show her huge tits in a ridiculous outfit, but they didn’t go that extra step.
Episode 09:
The “plot” of the series takes a large step back here, in favor of some lighter (and spicier, at least in the first half) content. Most of this episode will be still frame shots, as the production didn’t seem to want to put in any service beyond still shots of nipples, with only occasional bounce.
The episode starts with the princesses arguing about who gets to sleep the closest to Satou. The narrative reveals that distance is an impediment to the transfer of magical power, leading to the obvious conclusion that the girls all but pounce on him. To settle things, Satou once again declares that Hime is his #1, but the rest of the girls aren’t necessarily bothered by that.
It took a while for the manga to start showing nipples, and even when they do start to make their appearance, the manga never pushes the boundaries into “ecchi” territory. I’m curious to know what compelled the writer/artist/whoever to start adding nipples, but I think the production for the anime deserves at least a bit of credit for realizing what they had when making this and adding them where they were not in the manga.
Satou and his awkward looking right arm asks Hime on a date. Nephrites is hurt when she realizes it will be just the two. It appears Satou wants to emphasize again that Hime is his #1. Granart encourages the two, which Satou notes is unusual. The reason will soon become evident.
I’m pretty sure this is an anime original scene. I can’t say for sure because I didn’t double check, but what I can say for certain is that it at least was not sequential. I do have to say that this is one of if not the cleanest nude shots we’ve got so far – I’m guessing they didn’t want to leave Hime after showing the other three princesses nude earlier in the episode.
Granart, Saphire, and Nephrites trail Satou and Hime during most of their date, but leave after realizing that Satou is too timid to push things further along.
We get a Kabedon after Satou, yet again, emphasizes that Hime is the only girl for him. Satou through both words and action repeats this so many times I suspect it’s a point of insecurity for the author. That being that he doesn’t want other girls to eclipse the girl he’s designated as his “main girl.” I don’t normally express my opinions on things like this so freely, but I feel compelled this time because it annoys me when harem authors do this. I don’t mind there being a main girl in a harem, but to go out of your way to put down the other girls to bring another up feels cheap. Giving (soon to be) 5 girls as a harem only for the main character to almost flat out not want it seems ridiculous to me, especially for an obvious power fantasy like this series is. I simply feel that there are better ways to emphasize one girl over the others, to say nothing of not writing a harem at all if he was going to treat it in this way.
The next destination is the Land of Earth, but not before Saphir pouts a bit about having to travel so far. It is here we’ll meet our 5th and final princess, and also where this first season is likely to end. With the end of this episode, we are through Chapter 24, but the best is yet to come.
