The storytelling in this episode was surprisingly effective, especially considering that half the episode was nothing more than Basara playing with Yuki’s butt.
Like many previous episodes, there is a fanservice half and a story half. This go around the fanservice half is all about Yuki’s (heavily censored) initiation ritual. Though the ceremony itself is unlikely to have anything that was actually worth censoring, it was still quite sexy in an aberrant and twisted kind of way.
It’s times like this that I wish I were more articulate. The magic in this scene isn’t generated from the usual methods (bikini babes or bare boobs or other traditional methods), but rather the atmosphere of something dirty happening, maybe even something that crosses the line just a little. The acutely shameless and unapologetic nature of this scene is precisely what creates the sense of eroticism.
This is really driven home by some especially lecherous commentary from Maria*. I normally don’t include subs in my screencaps, but you need to know the dialogue from this scene to get an idea for how unsparing it is.
*(based on what I’ve read from the show’s twitter feed and sources like CDjapan, it looks the disc specials will also be centered around Maria’s lewd style of commentary. Everything on those specials will likely go up a notch or two, including Maria’s color commentary).
Here’s Maria talking to Yuki (lying face down off the bottom of the screen):
Whereas Mio was powered on by having her ample chest rubbed, it appears different girls have different body parts that their rituals are attuned to. And for Yuki that area is her ass.
It would be wrong to suggest that BDSM was a theme in this episode, but what Yuki goes through is definitely embarrassing, degrading, and humiliating. It may not be something people discuss in the open very much, but I think most would agree that when these kinds of things are done exactly the right way, it can be very sexy.
Testament has the right touch here, especially since Yuki is always very clear about this being HER idea, even when she meekly “assumes the position” and Basara does some pretty damn pervy stuff to her unmentionable areas. A lot of erotic anime miss the mark with scenes like this (Vanquished Queens in particular), but Testament skillfully navigates some arduous waters and delivers a scene that is as sexy as it was challenging to pull off.
Some other screens from the ceremony:
While this scene was very fun, it definitely feels like this series is censoring way too many things they really have no business censoring. I guess you could say the mass censorship lends a feeling of this scene being dirtier than it really is. But in terms of using censorship to get viewers excited for the BD, sometimes less is more.
There ceremony itself is only the first act, as Maria has some extra-curricular activities in mind:
This leads to everyone getting undressed and jumping in the bath together, against Basara’s fading efforts to protest.
One of the odd moments of this scene was Basara getting his backside censored, which might be the first time I’ve ever seen that in an ecchi anime. I think it’s safe to say IMS got a bit carried away with needless censorship in this episode.
The last shot here is Zest peering in on the four having naked time together through a window (note Zest’s blushing expression). While watching, Zest wonders aloud how nice it would be to have such a pact with a male master.
This little moment (the pic directly above) will likely have nudity on BD, but the rest of this episode probably won’t.
Later on, a convenient minor injury sends Basara to the infirmary where he encounters:
Chisato’s rack. We get a super close up camera pan over her body that gets veeeeery slow once her chest enters the picture. So shameless, I love it. What, have these guys been watching my videos or something?
Then just like that the story begins to pick up. A strange girl (presumably a demon) tries to seduce Basara. Things don’t go quite as planned, she and another presumed baddie end up in a battle with Yuki as Basara flees.
We get some interesting back story for Mio. We get a flashback scene of her foster parents being murdered in surprisingly graphic fashion by the conniving Zolgear. Mio is betrayed by Maria and given into Zolgear’s hands, though we find out that Maria only did so because Zolgear took Maria’s mother hostage. (Today I learned Succubi have moms).
There’s also a bit of a disturbing scene where Zolgear is about to have his way with a tied up Mio. Maria intervenes with a call from the newly christened Demon King, who calls for Zolgear’s presence immediately. That’s really nice since the last thing this anime needed was a quasi-rape scene from a super creepy lookin’ dude. And if there’s anything worse than rape, it’s getting raped by the guy that brutally killed her parents right in front of her. Thankfully, such a danger for Mio is avoided for now.
Zest is also part of this plot by Zolgear. Which is great because Zest had been so deprived of screen time to this point and the clock is running out.
Now if you’re like me and you’ve been waiting for Zest and Chisato to get their screen time all series long, you probably raised an eyebrow by the ending of this episode.
Yahiro approaches Zest with an unconscious Basara and strikes a bargain. If Zest hands over Mio, she’ll recieve Basara in return. Obviously, this isn’t something Zolgear would want, it’s just something Zest would want for her own personal purposes.
This would be a totally absurd plot point in most other shows, except that we know that every female in the Testament universe wants to have Basara’s babies, and the show had hinted just a few minutes prior that Zest is a part of his fan club.
So yeah, I would expect Zest to have a big scene with Basara in the next episode or two. And with three episodes left, maybe Chisato still has a chance to butt in too.
