CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon

Episode 23

Ange has always been the star and central character of the show, but for the first time in the series an episode is completely dominated by her will. And boy, is it fun to watch.

For all of the other characters and stories circulating, how much she owns this series becomes clearer here than anywhere else. In a juxtaposition of their relationship from earlier in the series, she is the one who marches into Jill's room and both smack-talks and physically smacks some sense into Jill, getting her to sortie out and rejoin the fight in the episode's final scene. (And that Jill uses her true name, Alektra, when she declares that she is ready to sortie is not insignificant.) When Hilda offers her command, she takes it, and when Hilda expresses her feelings towards Ange, she is the one who, somewhat surprisingly, seizes the moment. (I'll get back to this.) When she runs across Sylvia during her battle against Salia, Ange is the one who institutes the toughest of tough love in order to correct the pathetic state that Sylvia has descended into, and her harsh, unhesitating rejection of citizens' pleas for salvation from the space-time quake shows, without any needed explanation, that she has no intention of forgiving them for their rejection of her or hesitating in the slightest if she feels threatened. When she seeks a token to give Tusk as an indication that she will return, she goes quite amusingly bold. When she gives the orders initiating the final execution of Libertus, she also does so without hesitation, and her role as the leader just feels right. This is Ange at her absolute strongest, which is just as it should be, as nothing less than that will take down Embryo.

The episode also answers a few questions and points of speculation. A theory had been circulating that Embryo may have brought Tusk bask to entice Ange into coming back to Embyro, but that is decisively shot down when Embryo expresses surprise that Tusk is still alive. We also finally get the answer to Embryo's physical reality: he can keep coming back from being killed because the form that has appeared throughout the second half of the series is not his true body, which actually resides in “undefined space.” The only way to kill him is to get into undefined space, which is why only the pilot of the dimension-hopping-capable Villkiss can do it. How the Aurora was going to be an integral part of the mission, despite being a submarine, is also addressed: it can apparently fly, generate an energy shield, and fire a pretty nasty beam cannon, too.

The scene involving Ange and Hilda also deserves special mention. While I think they are stretching a little to say that Hilda has so completely fallen for Ange romantically, the dynamic here is quite interesting. Apparently part of Ange's new attitude is that she does not any longer see anything wrong with same-sex relationships. Whether their kiss means that she is merely accepting Hilda's feelings or is truly bisexual, and whether or not her “I need you in the new world” comment means that she is willing to take Hilda as a second lover, is open to interpretation.

On the visual front an interesting observation is that, from episode 21 on, Ange's hair has gradually been getting longer. This is rarely done in anime, since a whole new set of reference drawings have to be created, so it must have some intended meaning. (The speed at which it is happening also seems unlikely, but the series has shown a willingness to ignore inconvenient details before.) Ersha also has arguably her finest moment of the series in the Next Episode preview.

With only two episodes left, Cross Ange now has everything in place for its climax. And who isn't now aching to see Embryo get his smarmy ass handed to him?

Rating: B+

CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.