Screenshot taken from: http://www.crunchyroll.com/classroomcrisis/episode-11-to-each-his-own-rebellion-682159
Review:
Despite all of his planning Nagisa’s plans have ultimately failed, yet his brother is not the least bit mad. In fact, he had planned for most of this and anticipated it—although he admits that Nagisa did surpass his expectations. Rather than become mad at Nagisa, Kazuhisa actually reveals the truth behind his plans, and he offers Nagisa a position at the head of this new plan. At the same time, Kaito is taken by Dr. Li to an unspecified location where he, too, discovers the truth about Kirishina’s goals. Elsewhere, Iris comes to terms with her true identity and plans to tell Nagisa, and A-TEC realizes how dire their situation is now that their prototype is wrecked. Mitsuki sets to work repairing the damaged engine and is confronted by Nagisa, only to bring his true feelings out. Later, Nagisa and Kaito have a heart-to-heart that opens Nagisa’s eyes to what is truly important for a business, setting him on a new path to save A-TEC. Unfortunately, just as everything looks to be going well, tragedy strikes…
Classroom Crisis continues to present itself as powerful dark horse for this season. Nagisa started out as a detestable character, yet at this point we wait with baited breath to see how things will turn out for him, fully expecting the end of his career to result from his scheming, only to discover that the whole thing fell right into Kazuhisa’s plans. It was an unexpected plot twist, especially when coupled with the fact that Kazuhisa also knew that Nagisa was really just a stand-in for the real Nagisa for all these years. In general, the entire presentation completely obliterated any theories about Nagisa facing backlash for his actions.
Perhaps this episode’s greatest strength was its focus on the various character relationships, though. Of course we see the interplay between Nagisa and Kazuhisa, but there are several other interactions that take place, as well. Iris, for example, meets with Angelina and vaguely discusses her plans to tell Nagisa the truth about who she is. The care that Angelina shows for Iris in that scene is a complete change from her initial attitude towards the girl. Naturally, the Mizuki/Nagisa interaction is probably the most powerful moment in the episode, although the following scene between Kaito and Nagisa certainly helps to push the plot into its next (and most likely, final) stage.
If there is one criticism that can be given about the show, it’s that the Mizuki/Nagisa relationship was sort of just there. Granted, everyone probably expected the two of them to fall in love from the beginning, but the story would have benefited with a little more time put into establishing the romance. It was played in such a way that the resulting romance was a given, so it is easy to not think much about it, but outside of Mizuki’s tutoring session, there wasn’t much time spent with the two alone, getting to know each other. Part of this is probably thanks to the thirteen episode limit, but the series’ slow beginning certainly didn’t help things.
Beyond that, this was just a downright satisfying episode. It still leaves the whole plot of Iris being the real Nagisa unresolved (for example, what are the ramifications of this?) on top of the cliffhanger ending, meaning that there is more than enough reason to come back for the next round. If you happen to be reading this review and have given up on Classroom Crisis, consider going back and giving it another chance. You will not be disappointed.
A Christian Perspective:
Read Matthew 4: 1-11, the testing of Christ
As I watched the exchange between Nagisa and Kazuhisa in this episode, I saw a clear parallel to the account(s) of the devil tempting Jesus. As Kazuhisa revealed his ultimate knowledge of Nagisa’s plans, he also revealed the direction that he hopes to take Kirishina in with new military developments. He proceeds to offer Nagisa a high position in this new endeavor, promising him power, money, and more, yet it is clear that Nagisa is at least somewhat conflicted over this information. This is shown in tandem with Kaitos’s discovery of the same information, which further suggests that this isn’t the “good” option, yet Kazuhisa sells it with tempting promises, much like Satan tried to sell his temptations with promises. The results for giving into those temptations may sound good at first (instant satisfaction, power, etc.), but compared to everything that Jesus would have given up had He given into those temptations, it is obvious that Satan’s promises only sounded good on the surface. In all things let us practice discernment to make sure that a promise that sounds good is actually good, and not just something meant to get into our ears and lead us astray.
Content Guide:
Spiritual Content: One character mentions “gods”
Language: 1 “cr*p”, 1 “d*mmit”
Alcohol/Drug Use: None
Nudity/Sex/Fanservice: None
Violence: Kaito punches Nagisa; a character is stabbed
Blood/Gore: Blood is shown in different flashbacks—floating in space, pooled under dead bodies, etc; blood is seen soaking through a character’s clothes after he is stabbed
Christian Anime Review 