Greetings! Today at Anime Rants, we are covering episode 8 of the following series: Black Butler Emerald Witch, Kowloon Generic Romance, Lazarus, and Your Forma. Most of these episodes were not quite as good as those from last week, in my opinion. However, I really enjoyed Black Butler Emerald Witch episode 8 in particular. Let’s go over some notes.
Contents
- Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc Episode 8
- Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 8
- Lazarus Episode 8
- Your Forma Episode 8
Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc Episode 8
Episode Rating: 10/10
This was an impressive episode and one that was powerful for me during some of the key moments. The poor little “emerald witch” discovered that her world was all lies. The conspiracy around raising Sieglinde to think she was a witch was a little hard to believe. They literally had to built the whole village. However, it’s acceptable if we assume Professor Sullivan was rich and had a lot of connections in the military. Anyway, one of the best moments was when Ciel said that children are not tools for their parents.
The part that was most powerful to me was when Miss Sullivan said she wanted to live. Ciel held her at gunpoint, offering to kill her if she wanted to “rest in peace” and be free from the burdens of living. I’m so proud of Sullivan for choosing life even when it’s hard. She learned a lot faster than I did. After my own life crumbled and I realized it was all lies, it took me several years to want to stop dying. I guess everyone’s story is a little different. The point is: it does get better. So don’t give up.
Importantly, I don’t think Ciel intended to kill Sullivan, even if she had begged for it. He correctly predicted that she felt like she wanted to be gone forever. Rather than let that fester, Ciel dragged the issue into the light and made the suggestion that she could save countless people with her brilliant mind. In his own way, Ciel was trying to help Miss Sullivan. It was rather cold behavior, but his heart was in the right place.
On a final note, it was amazingly bad-ass when Sebastian set fire to the lab, burning the plans for mass production of the toxic gas. It was also satisfying to see him kill Sieglinde’s mother after she was so abusive to her child. A character like Sebastian is impressive because he’s both creepy and hella cool. It’s scary to think that this is Sebastian when he’s behaving himself. If he actually went on a rampage against humans, it would be utter destruction. He’s simply one Hell of a butler.
Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 8
Episode Rating: 8/10
Compared to the previous installment, this one had a lot less Miyuki and Gwen. However, it was still an excellent episode full of interesting clues and well-written drama. Gwen did a good job explaining the rule that copies and originals cannot coexist in Kowloon. If the original enters Kowloon, the copy will vanish. I also appreciated the online conversation of Yaomay and Yulong, since it made me feel like I understand where we currently stand on the mystery of Kowloon.
Although her personality hasn’t been very important in some time now, Kujirai B is still my favorite character and the one I have the biggest crush on. Last time, we found out that she killed herself. This episode revealed that Kujirai B was taking sleeping pills every night, and that the official cause of death was overdose. However, there is simply no way she had enough sleeping pills for a successful suicide. At least, that’s what Yulong and Miyuki concluded. So, we still don’t know exactly how or why Kujirai died.
There was a strange scene in this episode where we saw what appeared to be a male version of Xiaohei. I have no idea who he might be. In other news, Yulong seems like a good character and an intelligent, curious person. His friendship with Miyuki is the reason he wants to prove Kowloon exists, assuming he was telling the truth to Yaomay. On a final note for today, Reiko and Kudo finally hooked up. It was after Reiko told Kudo not to leave her. When he embraced her, it was very romantic. To be continued.
Lazarus Episode 8
Episode Rating: 8/10
The whole plot with Chris and Inga was a tragic lesbian romance. I absolutely love tragic lesbian anime romances. Chris and Inga were in a Sapphic relationship when they were both Russian spies. When Chris defected and “died,” she left Inga behind. She thought getting Inga involved would lead to her death. Inga was resentful at being abandoned. At first, she wanted to kill Chris, but she realized she was still in love when Chris explained her reasons. They were still in love, but that man ruined everything by shooting Inga. Rest in peace, cool lesbian character.
It was difficult to watch Chris getting beaten, but it was also super impressive how well she did to remain defiant and keep trying to escape. The action sequences in this episode were good, but the music could have been little more intense. I have no idea how Axel and Chris propelled themselves out of the water. They held on to some kind of object that propelled them, but I don’t know what it was. In addition, I seriously doubt that everyone would be fine jumping into the water near the fucking North Pole.
Lack of realism aside, I enjoyed this episode a lot. I think it’s really sweet that the members of Lazarus all care about each other now. None of them wanted to let Chris die. That’s all for my notes on this episode.
Your Forma Episode 8
Episode Rating: 7/10
Raissa was discovered to be a spy for E. Harold and Echika cornered her when she went to visit her brother in the hospital. I couldn’t find the name of the brother, but he’s the one who lost his mind and can no longer hold a conversation. He’s like a zombie. Anyway, the AI known as E existed in the brother’s computer. The brother got the AI from somewhere else and edited it to make it smarter and more dangerous. Now that the brother was unable to do anything, Raissa was using the computer to be the voice of E, posting threats online and coordinating attacks.
Initially, Raissa resisted arrest. She tried to stab Harold with a hospital knife (which didn’t even look sharp enough to cut a slender hair if you ask me). Just when Raissa was about to stab Harold, the brother moved for the first time in a long time, pushing Raissa and Harold apart and embracing his sister. He was clearly upset by what was happening, even if he couldn’t understand everything or communicate well. After seeing her brother’s reaction, Raissa finally allowed herself to be arrested.
With Harold assisting, Echika brain-dived into the brother’s Mnemosynes (memories recorded by Your Forma). By doing this, Echika discovered that E was originally a file called Tosti, which was sent mysteriously to the brother. In his memories, there was a name for the developer. But when they tried to track him down, Echika and the police found out it was a completely fabricated identity. For now, the true identity of the developer of Tosti remains unknown.
I have three other quick notes. First of all, Bigga told her dad she was quitting the dirty business of biohacking. It was very brave of her. Secondly, the cat Ganache is alive because, if I’m understanding right, apparently he wasn’t a real cat. His artificial mind was backed up on a drive. So even though Ganache died once, a new “cat” exists now with all the same memories of being loved and cared for by Chief Totoki. Thirdly and finally, it was good to see Echika and Harold restored as partners.
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke
