The moment has arrived at last! In the midst of an attack by the fierce savages to the north, Neviril has finally been forced to make her choice. Of course, “forced” is the wrong choice of word there – one of the key recurring points of the show so far is the importance of being able to make your own choices, and make them in your own time. Nevertheless, the violence of the highlanders’ actions seems to have shaken Neviril awake, and driven her to recapture the confidence and air of authority that once made her such a natural leader. And Aaeru’s corresponding admission of uncertainty, her fear in the face of this horror, ended up being exactly what Neviril needed to hear. The two are different in every way, from their outlook and attitude to their upbringing and reputations, but both of them are driven by a fundamental uncertainty. That uncertainty may eventually lead them to question the assumptions of their rigid society, but for now, I’m content to let it inspire them to kick some serious highlander ass. With the dream team finally assembled, let’s see Chor Tempest take flight!

Episode 9

A somber instrumental interpretation of the already-somber opening song. Certainly a better fit for this scene than the show’s absurd high-action theme

“I’m also uncertain. Whether it’s right for us priestesses to fight…” ‘Uncertainty’ might seem like a thin basis for their bond, but given their uncertainty expresses itself as doubt regarding the base assumptions of their society, it definitely works. While characters like Mamiina have overcome their difficult initial circumstances through embracing the “rightness” of their path, Aaeru is the only person who can meet Neviril on her level, one of wondering whether this society’s choices are meaningful or right ones at all

Mamiina is definitely shaken by not being picked, but Jun actually comes in with the emotional rescue. Jun’s in a very different position from most of these characters – she’s the scarred combat veteran, the one who knows this is nothing more than an ugly job. But seeing her validate Mamiina’s desire to be a needed fighter demonstrates she’s more than that, and still both attuned to and invested in the happiness of her new teammates

“The Hearing.” Ooh, that’ll be fun

We’re getting some unusually fluid running animation for this important episode, which really lets the character designs demonstrate their strength. Simoun’s aesthetic qualities are deeply imbalanced, but it has some really profound visual strengths

“Are you scared?” “Not at all.” Well, I am.” And Morinas also gets a kind little moment. Nine episodes in, they’ve successfully sold the team, so we can jump between members to make this dash an ensemble drama

“The one way we are the same… what is it? Well, doesn’t matter.” That is extremely Aaeru

“You’re the Sybilla Aurea’s auriga now. Be worthy of it!” It’s interesting how the show has been able to hold off introducing “true Neviril” for eight whole episodes. We were barely introduced to her when she was first shaken by losing her partner, but before that, she was presumably a genuinely great leader. Now the team is getting that leader back all at once, and we’re meeting her for the first time

I feel like this episode’s character art has more consistently uneven line weight than usual, which I like with these designs. And given the show’s mix of CG and traditional art is already very disjointed, the show doesn’t really suffer from further introducing variable line weight that helps these characters stand out from their environments

“Diamond Ri Majoon!” So apparently there are also defensive Ri Majoons, and they don’t just all create a beam of obliterating light. That kinda makes it seem like they actually were created for combat use – a death beam is more “aggressive,” but if that were the only thing Ri Majoons did, it would be easier to assume they were all intended for some other specific purpose

Well, they handled that quick. I wonder if this show’s creators understand that its fight scenes will never be a highlight, and thus it’s better to focus more on the political/character drama. I say “I wonder” because oftentimes, it seems like shows don’t necessarily see their bad CG as bad at all – they’re happy to focus on fight scenes between objects that look truly terrible. “Mitigating the necessary evil of our CG” is an important quality in CG-leaning shows, but some such shows just don’t seem to see the CG as an issue in the first place

It looks like Neviril will be the only one attending the hearing

The rest of the team all gather on the bow of the ship to mope together

Having the other girls listen to Aaeru’s music box is a nice visual illustration of their growing unity

Jun acting as mediator between Mamiina and the rest of them. Mamiina is very lucky to have someone like Jun around

Some great shots of capital city architecture. I wish we got more scenes within the Holy Land’s own cities, if only because they’re such beautiful places. It feels like a waste to have such great art design and then spend the vast majority of the show on that big CG ship

Dominura is consulting with some shadowy figures about the potential of Chor Tempest. Guess we’ve got some other political force to worry about

All male adults here seem to be played by female voice actors who are only half-trying to affect a deeper voice. I get the intent, but I’m not sure it’s an effective choice

Dominura hints at some form of intentional sabotage being involved in the Highlander betrayal, and also mentions a “Plan B,” but seems genuinely invested in making sure Chor Tempest continue to fly. So I’m guessing she’ll end up siding with our heroes eventually

Dominura pauses briefly to pose for her dramatic still frame

The judicator of Neviril’s trial is an incredibly imposing figure that looks almost like a feminine version of a buddha

The reason for Chor Tempest’s disbandment is framed as “they have many achievements, but they have conducted themselves in a shameful way.” That framing neatly contrasts the two visions of priestesses: that as warriors whose only guideline is achieving victory, and that as religious icons who are more important as symbols than pilots. Neviril’s father is using this framing for utterly self-interested reasons, but his choice unintentionally (but intentionally in a dramatic sense, of course) makes this into a formal argument regarding the series’ most enduring question

Ah, it’s Onashia, the lady from the shrine. A lady with golden-and-red eyes. So is she some supernatural figure? She seems to be the final arbitrator of religious ceremony, and considering this is a theocracy, I guess that also makes her the empress

I didn’t realize Simulacrum was actually the name of their country overall. Simulacrum means a model or a fake – the physical version of a simulation. I assume that plays into this show’s overall Latin-indebted naming in some other way?

Having been given permission to speak, Neviril pushes hard on the opposite framing – that priestesses are soldiers, and their job is to perform Ri Majoon in order to kill a great number of enemy soldiers

“That was not a battle!” “We lost three of our precious sisters in that battle.” Neviril’s insistence on this brutal framing thus becomes a way of actually honoring her fallen sisters. It clouds the issue to paint war as some fanciful thing, to paint their fighting as “prayer.” They are fighting and dying for their country, and their religious order just doesn’t want to look at that truth

“There was no falsehood in that Highlander girl’s devotion to her god.” Man, this is some incredibly provocative stuff she’s saying in this high holy council. It’s clear now that Neviril wasn’t just uncertain in a general sense – she’s been actively considering what it means to be a priestess all this time, taking thoughts like Aaeru’s and all that she’s experienced under consideration

Meanwhile, Chor Tempest are off performing the funeral rites for their dead companions, the job that sybilla are ‘supposed’ to do

Neviril doesn’t turn her argument around with any sort of final twist. She just says the religiously inappropriate things she’s been genuinely feeling, and asks if she’s still a sybilla

The leader of Chor Rubar, Vyura, appears

And she argues that Chor Tempest are the best of them. Nice to see

Then we cut back to the rest of the squad. The camera frames us along with the civilians, who are dazzled by the Ri Majoon. Nice to get an illustration of why these priestesses seem so untouchable from the common person’s perspective

But then the enemy appears. The episode thus illustrates its core argument in immediate terms: from a mission focused on acting as traditional priestesses, they must immediately leap to being soldiers defending the peace

Dang, that was a genuinely thrilling battle! They smartly focused on rising stakes over visual thrills, and had a very appropriate last-minute save by Neviril

Neviril seems happy for the first time since the first episode. And the wind is again tied to freedom

And Done

Whew, that was definitely one of the show’s best episodes. And rightly so – this was essentially the payoff to eight full episodes of questioning what it means to be a priestess, and how their identity as religious icons could possibly be compatible with their work as soldiers. This episode didn’t offer a clear answer to that question, but Neviril received the strongest assurance she possibly could: having presented that question in its starkest possible terms to the highest religious figure in her society, she was told “you are both, and that is fine.” Thematic payoff aside, it was also very nice to see Neviril expressing herself to defiantly, and fun to watch all those religious leaders harumph so mightily about her unacceptable word choices. Simoun has clearly turned an important corner now, and I’m excited for whatever comes next.

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