Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 7 Review

Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts

Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 7 Review – Quick Summary

In Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There episode 7, “The Princess’ Decision,” Piña Co Lada felt aghast that her knights, under the command of Bozes Co Palesti, had assaulted and captured Itami. It wasn’t clear just how badly Itami had been injured, because he fell unconscious as Hamilton tried to assess his wounds. What can Piña do to bring the situation under control? Will Itami be okay? Even worse, from Piña’s perspective, what will the JSDF do? Will they turn their military might against her? Meanwhile, Itami’s recon team waited for night to go in to retrieve Itami. While they waited and talked, Shino Kuribayashi learned something about Itami that made her question her worldview. Will she treat him with any more respect, assuming he recovers? Or is that simply impossible for her?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 7

No, in point of fact, Piña did not want to fight the JSDF. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I think you can tell the quality of a leader by the caliber of people they surround themselves with. Want to know the character of a United States President? Look at their cabinet. A CEO? Look at the type of people they place on their executive team.

In Piña’s case, you might be expecting me to question her judgement, given what Bozes did in this episode. Or maybe I’m just putting words in your mouth! But in all honesty, Bozes behaved as any Imperial knight would have if they had encountered someone they considered an enemy. In fact, I’m a little surprised she didn’t just kill Itami.

In this case, though, I’m actually talking about Grey Co Aldo. I liked how in the flashback to Piña’s childhood, he threw himself into helping Piña knightly order. I like his current dedication to the princess. He has earned her trust, and he showed that in my favorite quote. He suggested that Piña simply apologize to Itami for what happened.

Piña initially responded as an Imperial princess, saying (03:08), “You’re telling me to bow my head to him?”

Grey’s answer was pragmatic and absolutely what she needed to hear. He said (03:10), “Would you prefer to fight them?”

That clarified the situation for Piña.

Best in Show Moment for Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 7

Sometimes it’s okay to just relax and get to know people. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: Gate is Not One Note

I’ve written before about what a good job this series does with politics. Back in episode 2, we saw how deftly Emperor Molto Sol Augustus manipulated conditions with the Allied Armies to cover for his miscalculation at sending the Imperial army through the Gate. The result was the massacre of tens of thousands of soliders.

We also saw in episode 6 how Piña’s political calculus in Italica nearly cost her the town — and maybe her life and the lives of her knights. She’d tried to use Itami and his recon team as bait, but the bandits, having faced the Men in Green before, knew better to do so again.

By this episode, Piña understood the dire consequences of standing against the JSDF. So much so that she sent Bozes to make sure it didn’t happen. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

One of the things I like about Gate is that it’s not one-note. In the previous two examples, when two cultures encountered each other, devastating violence resulted. While it makes perfect sense, seeing that pattern repeated would become tedious to watch. So, Gate switched it up.

Delivery: Cultures Need Not Clash

When Itami awoke, he found that he wasn’t alone. He probably recognized Kaine as Countess Myui Formal’s head maid. But I don’t think he’d ever seen the maids Aurea, Mamina, Mome, or Persia before. Of the four of them, only one was human, so Itami awoke to find a bunny girl, a cat girl, and a gorgon-girl around him.

Needless to say, Itami was not displeased.

And that’s the way it should be. Let me explain. When Itami’s team arrived at the mansion, Kaine sent Mamina and Persia to escort them to where Itami was resting. The team showed shock at the sight of a a maid with bunny ears and one with cat ears (and a fang) formally greeting them. They were even more amazed at how they’d treated Itami. They could plainly see that what Bozes had done had to have been a mistake. Itami confirmed that by declaring that they treat the encounter like a cultural exchange.

For a little while, at least, the people from two different worlds got along and enjoyed each other’s company. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

There was a series of great, short shots of the two groups interacting. Sergeant Kurata Takeo stumbled all over his attempt to introduce himself to Persia (09:19). She didn’t belittle him for it. She laughed delightedly instead. Mamina actually embarrassed Kuribayashi by lavishing praise on the sergeant’s prowess in battle. Even Lelei and Tuka enjoyed meeting new people — Lelei trying to learn the secrets of gorgon snake/hair skin shedding and Tuka marveling sharing her astonishment at how light and flexible her shirt was with Mome (09:45).

Of course, we can’t have an entire series of people meeting and making small talk. But in the context of the momentous events that have taken place so far, it was a real treat to see folks just enjoying each other’s company.

What did you think of Piña’s reaction to arriving in Alnus? What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments!

Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 7: Other Posts

Other Anime Sites

• Reddit: [Spoilers] Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri – Episode 7 [Discussion]
• RABUJOI: GATE – 07
• Chibi Reviews: Gate Jieitai Kanochi nite Kaku Tatakaeri Episode 7 Anime Review – To Japan

This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)

• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 1: The Self-Defense Force Goes to Another World
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 2: The Two Armies
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 3: Fire Dragon
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 4: To Unknown Lands
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 5: The Battle of Italica
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 6: Ride of the Valkyries
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 7: The Princess’ Decision
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 8: Japan, Beyond the Gate
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 9: The Hakone Mountain Night Battle
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 10: Despair and Hope
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 11: Visitor
• Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There Episode 12: What Would Itami Do?