Review: Brynhildr in the Darkness, Episode 6: The Reason for Her Smile

Screenshot taken from: http://www.crunchyroll.com/brynhildr-in-the-darkness/episode-6-the-reason-for-her-smile-653009?t=912

Review:

As you’d probably expect, we pick up right where we left off last time. Their mission failed, our heroes naturally return safely to their home without risking their lives, right? Well, if you believe that, then you need to watch more anime. A conflict was bound to happen, and though it’s not the most intense fight ever, it happens. More to the point, it sets up a series of events to bring a conclusion to Kana’s visions from the last episode as well as to explain some of Kotori’s back story. Yep, it’s sad, but we now know why Kotori was smiling in those visions.

A large portion of the episode centers around the resolution of the conflict at the waterfront and the resolution of an incident with Kotori. I won’t ruin it by saying what the incident is, but it sheds some light on her character, and ultimately brings her into the fold of characters hiding in the observatory. If you want laughter and cheer, then look elsewhere (although you should know that by now). Nevertheless, the writers did choose to break the tension (again) with fanservice, although it’s nothing as extreme as the last time. Still pointless. Still aggravating. Thankfully, it was only a minor portion of the show (just skip the 16:00 – 17:00 portion of the show… you won’t miss anything important).

The end of the episode brings things back around to plot, as Ryota exposes the fact that he has a friend who may be able to help them. Ah plot devi…. I mean, convenient friend who we never hear about until it’s convenient. Well, okay, it’s not that bad, although one does have to wonder how a high school student would acquire such a… unique acquaintance. Also, if this guy can help in the way I think he may end up helping, then it will raise the question of why Ryota didn’t go to him first instead of raiding the pill factory….

Well, all that said, this episode delivers and provides a bit of character development. If you’ve liked the show thus far, you probably won’t stop now.

A Christian Perspective:

*Spoiler Warning*

Sacrificial love is a huge theme in this episode. First, there is Kotori’s intention of sacrificing herself to save Kuroha by switching places with her. While it may be a stretch to call this an act of love (since Kotori was close to death anyway), she still could have chosen to live out the last bit of her life in peace, but chose instead to lay down her life for a friend. Later, when we find out about Kotori’s back story, we find out about her friend (Chie, I believe) who stopped taking her pills so that Kotori could have a larger supply to ultimately make it to her 16th birthday. Chie even enrolled Kotori in school so that she could live out her dream of going to school. Putting aside our own wants, needs, and desires for the sake of the same for somebody else is a part of the Christian life, and though most of us may never be in a position to live it out to this extreme, we can still put the lesson into practice in small ways every day.

*End Spoiler Warning*

Content Guide:

Language: 2 “s**t”; 2 “j**z”

Alcohol/Drug Use: None

Nudity/Sex/Fanservice: There is a zoom in on Kuroha and Kotori’s chests, both of whom have wet shirts–you can see Kuroha’s bra through her shirt, and apparently Kotori isn’t wearing a bra, although this is only revealed through commentary (16:25 – 16:27); Kuroha removes her shirt, and is seen in her bra (and, thus, cleavage) 16:33 – 16:39; Kazami is shown topless, although glare censors her breasts, and she removes Kotori’s shirt, although glare also censors Kotori’s breasts (16:46 – 17:01, although angles change during this time)

Violence: A character fires several beams; a character is bound and pinned down; Kuroha makes some stuff blow up

Blood/Gore: A character is shown lying in blood; a witch pulls the hanest out of a dead witch’s neck–you can see a bit of red under the pulling skin, and there’s blood on the removed hanest; an image shows another character lying in blood; a character is shown with blood coming from her mouth; a character is shown sitting on the floor with a lot of blood on her (and in front of a bed with blood on it); another character is shown in a flashback covered with blood