Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 8 Review

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

Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 8 Review – Quick Summary

In Gate Thus the JSDF Fought There episode 8, “Japan, Beyond the Gate,” Piña Co Lada, Bozes Co Palesti, Rory Mercury, Lelei, and Tuka traveled through the gate and emerged in Japan. What they saw amazed them. Piña and Bozes felt dread at the further confirmation that the Empire’s new enemy was well beyond them. But Rory, Lelei, and Tuka felt excited and wanted to learn more. Their handlers led Piña and Bozes to a meeting with an assistant to the Prime Minister, while Itami and the others went to the Diet. Can they escape the trap that the anti-JSDF political faction laid for them? Could they evade the even bigger trap outside the Diet? And who in the world keeps texting Itami about food and heat being shut off?

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

Favorite Quote from Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 8

Well, someone’s happy to see Rory! Capture from the Blu Ray.

I had to laugh at the expression on Mizuki Kouhara’s face. She had just asked Rory how old she was, and Rory answered, “I’m 961 years old” (14:25). Mizuki’s shock grew when Tuka said she was 165 years old. Mizuki’s relieved expression was almost as funny when Lelei said she was, in fact, as old as she looked: 15.

Lelei explained the differences in how the various races aged. Humans in gate-world aged about like humans in our world, adjusted for lesser technology to extend life. Elves like Tuka “do not age and live long,” Lelei said. “She is a rare fairy type, who live almost eternally.”

Lelei really got the crowd’s attention — and the attention of people following on the internet — when she said that Rory was a demigod. “Thus,” Lelei said (15:13), “the concept of a ‘lifespan’ does not apply to her.”

My favorite quote is from the internet’s reaction. One of the posters said (15:20), “The goddess descends!” Crunchyroll’s stream said “A god has descended!”

I preferred the Blu Ray translation this time!

Best in Show Moment for Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 8

Itami managed not only to shock Kuribayashi, who seems often shocked at Itami and his accomplishments, but Rory as well. That’s something! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: Itami, Man of Mystery

I really, really wanted to choose Rory’s “Are you stupid?” as my favorite moment (12:06). I mean, every time I see it, I have to laugh. But Mizuki is almost a cliche, and the setup is so obvious, that I reluctantly set it aside.

But I still laugh every time I watch it.

Instead, I’m going to choose another moment that shows us just what kind of man Itami is. It started in the first episode when this lazy otaku attacked a foreign invading army, practically by himself (at least to start with!). It continued in the previous episode when a shocked Shino Kuribayashi learned that Itami had earned a Ranger designation, which meant even among the normally tough soldiers, he was a badass. Seemed almost incomprehensible, didn’t it? The lazy otaku was actually an elite solider?

The sergeant should learn to relax. The world’s full of stuff that won’t meet her expectations! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Well, that was only the start. In this episode, Hideyo Komakado, who might be my favorite supporting character, dropped another secret about Itami. He wasn’t only a Ranger. He was S class — special operations. In other words, among the elite badasses in the army, he was an elite badass.

I almost felt sorry for Kuribayashi. I thought she was going to have a heart attack. Itami just did not fit her image of what an elite elite would look like.

Maybe that’s because she only knows what normal badassery looks like.

Delivery: Even Rory Was Shocked

That wasn’t the biggest shock this episode gave us about Itami. That came later. We caught brief glimpses of someone texting Itami, asking for food, or for heat, or for water. We didn’t really know who that was. It didn’t look like we would find out, either, until bad actors blocked Itami and company’s subway escape. They headed above ground, where Itami said he had an idea of where they could go to hide.

Kuribayashi, still having no frame of reference to acknowledge that Itami was more than a lazy otaku, said (21:00), “We’re not going to Akiba.”

Nope. He didn’t plan to go to Akiba. Instead, he bought some fast food and lead his team to a run-down apartment. When they entered, they found a young woman who was almost freezing. With obvious gratitude, she accepted the bag of fast food.

She was in such bad straits that even the warmth of a bag of fast food comforted her. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Did you see the look that Itami gave her? He obviously adored this young woman. The others were confused — who the heck was this, and why did Itami think he could just walk into her apartment? Why was he smiling at her like that? He hadn’t shown that expression to anyone else.

“Oh,” he said (21:51). “This is my ex-wife.”

That shocked even Rory, the demigoddess who had been alive for over 960 years.

That’s how we met Risa Aoi. Did I say that Hideyo was my favorite supporting character? Nah. I was wrong. It’s Risa. She’s just precious. And though I’m reviewing this episode by episode, in order, I can’t help by feel melancholy about what we later learn about her circumstances.

What did you think of Piña and Bozes’ reaction to Japanese food? What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments!

Gate Thus The JSDF Fought There Episode 8: Other Posts

Other Anime Sites

• Reddit: [Spoilers] Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri – Episode 8 [Discussion]
• RABUJOI: Gate 08
• Chibi Reviews: Gate Jieitai Kanochi nite Kaku Tatakaeri Episode 8 Anime Review – Politics (YouTube)

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?