Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 2 – Quick Summary
In Infinite Stratos Season 1 episode 2, “Class Representative Match!,” Ichika Orimura experienced serious second thoughts about challenging Cecilia Alcott for the position of class representative. So much so that he asked an initially reluctant Houki Shinonono to help him train. To her disgust, Ichika was terribly out of shape, and he didn’t even have his IS suit yet. Is there any point to him taking the field? Can Houki get him ready in time? And why does Ichika’s sister Chifuyu Orimura seem so calm about everything?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 2
Not one of Ichika’s finest moments! Capture from the Blu Ray.
In last week’s episode, random young women from the supporting cast delivered my favorite quote. It happened again in this episode!
Houki agreed to train Ichika. The dude had never flown an IS in his life, and he was about to go up against Cecilia. For all of her bragging, she really was a representative contender. In terms of skill and experience, well, let’s just say that even the generally dense Ichika knew how the match would likely play out.
But Houki knew that without a strong core, learning to fly an IS wouldn’t help. So they started with kendo. And she beat him down without little effort. It was so bad that after she’d flattened him, she demanded (09:07), “Okay, what in the hell is going on here?”
He tried to explain that he had not kept up with kendo club after they’d parted ways. That’s when she angrily (she pretty much says everything angrily, doesn’t she?) told him he had to get back in shape first.
He tried to protest. But three young women who had tagged along to watch spoke in very loud whispers.
The first said (09:33), “Man, Orimura is…”
Her friend finished, “…kinda weak.”
The third, apparently unsure if they’d made their point, added, “Do you think he can really control an IS?”
Clearly, Ichika had not made a favorable impression!
Favorite Moment from Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 2
Ichika decided he wanted to step up his game. Capture from the Blu Ray.
Setup: It’s a Romp, Not a Documentary
I admit that Ichika’s winning despite his bumbling attempt to to fight Cecilia felt way too lucky. I know Byakushiki is a great IS suit and all, but I’m pretty sure that in real life, Ichika would have gone down in seconds.
Then my common sense taps me on the shoulder and (very politely) asks, “Did you just suggest anything about this show would work in ‘real life’?” My common sense has a point. This show is a fun romp, and from this point forward, that’s how I’m going to look at it.
If this were a realistic battle, this is the last thing Ichika would have seen before the end credits. Capture from the Blu Ray.
It’s not my favorite moment, but did you see the World’s Best Info-Dump Without Seeming Like an Info Dump? Ichika couldn’t believe that there were only 467 IS suits in the world. A random student (maybe Shizune Takatsuki?) slid up beside him and said (03:08), “That’s because the central component of all IS technology, the core, has never been released. As a result, there are only 467 machines in the entire world.” She then went on to say that only Tabane Shinonono could make them.
They kept it fun. That’s how you do an info-dump!
And did you notice that Cecilia joined Houki and Ichika in the ED?
Delivery: Ichika Takes a Step Forward
My favorite moment is a subtle thing. Hardly worth mentioning. But I think it fits well with Ichika’s humility and the show’s overtone of feminine strength. We don’t know why yet, but he feels like he’s been protected all his life. We know that because, just after his suit re-configured itself to match him and just after mentioning that his sister had always protected him, he said (18:20), “But, I think it’s about time to change the relationship where I’m the one who always has to be protected.”
Now, I half-expected him to proudly proclaim that he was going to do the protecting instead. But no, he said something close, but very different. He said, “From now on, I’m going to be protecting as well.”
Cecilia had no idea what Ichika was going on about. Capture from the Blu Ray.
“As well,” he said. Isn’t that cool? He doesn’t see himself as superior. He doesn’t see the people around him as weak and in need of protection. He sees himself joining their ranks as a strong person able to protect others.
Like I said, it’s a small thing. But I liked it a lot.
What did you think of Ichika’s match against Cecilia? What were your favorite moments in the episode? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 2: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: [Rewatch] IS: Infinite Stratos – Episode 2 (Spoilers)
- AngryAnimeBitches Anime Blog: Infinite Stratos 2 – Cecilia Alcott gives me…feelings..
- Lost in Anime: Infinite Stratos – 2
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 1: All of My Classmates Are Female
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 2: Class Representative Match!
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 3: The Transfer Student is the Second Childhood Friend
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 4: Showdown! The Class League Match!
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 5: Boy Meets Boy
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 6: My Roommate is a Young, Blonde Nobleman
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 7: Blue Days, Red Switch
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 8: Discover My Mind
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 9: Ocean’s Eleven
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 10: Thin Red Line
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 11: Get Ready
- Infinite Stratos Season 1 Episode 12: Your Name Is
