With a blast and a powerful flare of magic, one of our heroes’ enemies is defeated! Confident and sure, they press forward their momentum, heading towards the confrontation with the final boss!

Astral: Wow. There’s a lot I want to talk about this week, but i’ll start by saying that Episode 10 was, by far, my favorite episode of the series yet. It started out so innocuously, but just got better and better the longer it went on. If the next few episodes keep to this same level, I think the whole show will get a massive boost in my opinion. What did you think of it?

Aria: Well, it was better than the last few episodes, to say the least. The monster’s name pun was still terrible – c’mon, Ojii Santa? – but…did you get what sort of monster he was meant to be? (I know the answer because I checked the website, but I’m not sure if you know.)

Astral: I have no idea what kind of monster he was supposed to be… His name was pretty goofy, and not at all conspicuous, probably the least so of any so far. He may end up being the last monster though, seeing as Ata has been nicely set up as a final boss.

Aria: I was thinking you’d call him “turtle monster”, but there’s more to him than that…In the folktale Urashima Tarou, there’s this box (tamatebako) the title character opened that turned him into an old man, and prior to that he rode a turtle to go to the Dragon King’s Palace. That’s why the monster is the Tamatebako Monster and not the Turtle Monster like I thought you’d respond. (Just thinking about it though, Dark Aurite from season 1 didn’t count as a standard monster so I don’t think Ata’s “Dark Knight” form does, either…)

Astral: While I didn’t understand the origins of the monster, I did like how he was introduced. We got a lot less expositional dialogue; the monster just shows up without warning. It’s only near the very end of the “fight” that we actually learn the monster’s true name, motivations, and intentions That change of pace from the standard, formulaic layout the episode have had so far is part of what made me enjoy the episode so much, I think.

I also thought the gag with them getting older and older was actually pretty hilarious; it had me genuinely laughing for pretty much the first time in the whole show. The continuity was great as well, taking that old man gag and applying it to everything, including the transformation and “hero” scene, slowing the music down and everything.

Aria: Well, they did a similar thing when the Battle Lovers were aged down in season 1, but that time you could tell the same voice actors were involved. With this one, there’s a real discrepancy between the voices of the young and the old versions of the boys…except maybe Kyoutarou…which makes it a lot more hilarious. Considering the staff’ve used both ageing up and down now, if there was a subsequent iteration of Boueibu, what would they do instead, I wonder?

Astral: Hmmmm… Well considering the typically fanservice nature of the show, I WOULD say genderbend, because that’s what people like to ask for, but… On the other hand, Boueibu is notorious for not having any females in the show whatsoever, so…

Aria: Exactly. Maybe they all become mascot animals or something, kinda like that one plotline in Smile PreCure where the mascot and the pink Cure do a bodyswap?

Astral: So Kyoutarou becomes Karurusu, and uses his magic to create a world of naps? THE TRUE FINAL BOSS!

Aria: I meant that for the subsequent iteration and not Happy Kiss, but that does bring up the fact Kyoutarou seems to get every wish of his granted. (I think Nanao said that.) Any thoughts on that?

Astral: Maybe Kyoutarou is secretly an alien prince just like Furanui and Karurusu? But doesn’t know that he has powers…

Aria: What is this, Superman? (<- sarcastic) But seriously, if Kyoutarou only became Fiore Kiss in episode 1, that speculation doesn’t make sense. He would probably have more helpers than just Ryoma (and maybe Ata????) if that were the case.

Astral: So, remember when we talked about using swords to fight? It looks like Ata… or, I guess, Dark Knight, is going to use his sword to fight. I’m happily looking forward to some great action with the beautiful animation this show likes to use… though my fingers are not crossed…

Aria: This show isn’t in any anime database’s “action” category for a reason. I guess that’s all I’ll say to that, considering how seasons 1 and 2 ended.

Astral: I think my main concern is how they plan on wrapping things up, with two episodes still to go, and what looks like the final confrontation already here. If there’s not a battle, how are they planning on filling up the next few episodes with content?

Aria: Normally how the structure goes is that episode 11 will work on the overarching story, ending on a cliffhanger, and then episode 12 has the big fights and resolution. I think, with that in mind, there should be enough time to wrap up most major plot points, like whatever’s going on with the Furanui/Karurusu conflict.

Astral: True, there’s also that piece of the story we’re not aware of. I hope we get a good resolution for them, as well as for Ata and Kyoutarou’s story. Of course, petty is the name of the game as always, so it’s most likely a grudge over something stupid that he’s been clinging to for waaaay too long.

Aria: Yeah. But in the end, all the action in this show starts and ends in the bath, so I don’t think you need to worry about the very last scene.

…oh. Speaking of Karurusu, did you notice he didn’t seem to age all that much?

Astral: Yeah… I suppose being aliens with powerful magic or whatever, they must age more slowly than ordinary people… or, they’re just very resistant to other magic. After all, Karurusu’s Happy Powder immediately reversed the aging effect on everyone.

… Why didn’t he just use that right off the bat so they could fight in their young forms right away?

Aria: Maybe the aliens don’t show physical ageing and yet suffer lethargy and all the other signs associated with age once they’re old enough? Or maybe (but less likely to have been the case) he just couldn’t be bothered? That’s something I don’t think we’ll ever get answered.

Astral: Another possibility is that he can only use his Happy Powder once a day, and needed to save it until after the fight. Or perhaps he uses the residual magical energy from the fight to create the Happy Powder?

Aria: …Was there a limit on how many times Karurusu could use Happy Powder though?

Astral: I don’t think it’s explicitly stated anywhere… But I feel it’s a possible explanation for why he didn’t use it earlier.

Aria: On that note, I think we can wrap things up here.

Astral: I agree. Got any ideas how to take this guy down?

Aria: Well, it seems like our last two or three attacks haven’t been working, so we need to change our approach…

How about something like this? *whispers an idea to Astral*

Both: Aurora Halation!

This combo attack summons auroras from both ends of the earth. It’s not particularly powerful when one person uses it, but when paired with the Geomagnetic Storm attack from a previous post, it accumulates enough power to work even against a final boss!

Villain: Gegegegege! You think a puny attack like that can beat ME? You’ll never make it to our boss with that mindset! *Jumps into a portal and vanishes.*

Astral: Dang it! Get back here! We didn’t come this far for nothing!

And so our heroes pursue the enemy further into their territory… return next week, to discover our hero’s origins, as they reflect, and prepare for the final confrontation.

<To be continued…>

We’re very very near the end of this Collab. Mahou Shojo Ore is already done, and Boueibu Happy Kiss! Is nearing the end of its run. Thanks to those who have stuck with us through this collab, and look forward to hearing my personal compiled final thoughts in a later post. For now, though, make sure you check out the Finale of Mahou Shojo Ore on Aria’s blog, and leave us a comment if you have enjoyed this collab!