It can only go downhill from here.
What They Say:
Kazamatsuri, a modern, well-developed city renowned for its burgeoning greenery and rich Japanese culture, is home to Kotarou Tennouji, a high schooler least privy to the place's shared values. Content to fill his pockets with frivolity, the proud and nosy boy whiles away his time pestering the self-proclaimed delinquent Haruhiko and indulging in his amorous feelings toward the oddball Kotori.
Equipped with the superhuman ability to permanently rewrite any part of his body to multiply his strength or speed, Kotarou is naturally drawn to the supernatural. One special meeting with the lone member and president of the Occult Research Club, the "Witch" Akane Senri, leads to Kotarou reviving the Occult Club by recruiting Kotori and three other members: the clumsy transfer student Chihaya, the strict class representative Lucia, and the unassuming Shizuru. As Kotarou unveils hidden secrets of each member of the Occult Club through their shared adventures, he will inevitably encounter a fate that only he might be able to rewrite.
The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)
With Kagari still not quite understanding exactly who she is (Or perhaps even what she is), she and Kotarou continue her search for clues pertaining to her existence. At the same time, however, Lucia and Shizuru decide that it is important to keep an eye on Kotarou in case Gaia decides to do something about him. After all, normal humans shouldn't be involved in any of this end-of-the-world mumbo jumbo, right? Needless to say, Guardian deems it inappropriate for Lucia and Shizuru to personally spy on Kotarou, considering they've already been involved with him once before. Instead, a higher-ranking Guardian officer sets his sights on our protagonist and begins doing some recon work. However, he isn't the only one keeping an eye on Kotarou. Remember Gil and Pani from the pilot episode? Yeah, they're back too. And at Kotori's behest, they are also watching over Kotarou.
Of course, Kagari is abnormally smart, so she catches on to being tailed almost immediately. The thing is, she just sees the stalkers as her 'fans'. Oh Kagari, you're so funny. Anyway, Kotarou realizes what's actually going on and decides that the best course of action is to get away as quickly as possible. After a brief run in with Yoshino, Kotarou and Kagari come across that blonde guy with the dogs who totally tried to end the series like six episodes ago. This time around, we discover that he's an agent of Gaia and that his mission is to capture Kagari. But with some help from Chibi-Moth, the attacker is subdued and Kotarou x Kagari escape back home, only to discover that the apartment has been raided by...oh nevermind, it's just Gil and Pani.
Following a short interrogation of the fairies, Kotarou receives a phone call from none other than Kotori herself, asking him to come to the forest as quickly as possible. When he gets there, however, Kotori is nowhere to be found. That is until she emerges from a frickin' portal in the middle of nowhere and yanks him and Kagari through with her bare hands. It is at this point where we ultimately realize that Kotori isn't just a normal girl. (Just in case the whole tea party with tree monsters last week wasn't enough of a hint). It is also revealed that this 'key' that everyone has been searching for is actually Kagari. Called it. Kotori then proceeds to talk a little about how both Gaia and Guardian want to save the world, but they just have different methods of doing so. Basically, it all comes down to Kagari's 'judgement' or something like that. I don't know, man. The visuals were really nice here and they were totally distracting from whatever was actually going on.
One more thing we find out, though, is that the rainbow forest from way back when wasn't caused be environmental pollution -- it was caused by something called a "power spot." You know that tree that Kotarou keeps winding up at (The one where he was murdered by Kagari in that dream/alternate universe thing)? Well, there's a sort of mana bank underneath it which Kagari was apparently born from. In addition to that, this same power spot is what gives Kotori the ability to create monsters and maintain domain over her secret, druidic realm thing. The best part of this scene, however, is a quick flashback revealing the past for the Kotarou/Kotori relationship. It appears that several years ago, Kotarou actually confessed his love to Kotori, but was ultimately shot down. This flashback is brought on by what I assume is a trigger-word for Kotarou -- best-friends. Man, poor guy. He's still upset about being forced into the friend zone. However, maybe now he can find solace in knowing that perhaps he was only rejected as a means of not becoming involved in Kotori's secret life.
After the credits roll, we're given a parting scene -- hundreds of members of Gaia sacrificing their lives in order to create a dinosaur. Uh-oh.
In Summary:
This episode appears to serve as a sort of "calm before the storm" for the events (Or perhaps even a war) that are about to follow. With that, we're given several more Kagari comedic highlights that once again bump up the lovability of her character almost tenfold. Kotori's secret realm, once revealed, is perhaps the most visually impressive setting we've seen thus far, laden with blends of neons and vibrant greens, all spun together by a stunning centerpiece -- Rewrite's essential "World tree." Even though it was brief, the flashback to Kotarou's past with Kotori is almost essential in defining his character's motivation and will ultimately impact the way we look at him from this point on. With Gaia apparently constructing a dinosaur, things can only get more interesting from here on out.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
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