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Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6: Etiquette Training and Harsh Patriotism

Quick Summary of Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6

In Izetta: The Last Witch episode 6, “On a Quiet Day,” the Archduchess Finé takes advantage of a lull in the combat to let Elvira Friedman and Bianca teach Izetta some courtly manners. Germania pursues technology and other less concrete means of defeating Izetta. Finé learns she wasn’t nearly as stealthy as she’d thought she was when she stole out to eat pie. Major Belkman continues piecing together the puzzle that is Izetta’s weakness. And Jonas comes to understand the harsh realities of state secrets.

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

What’s In This Post

Quick Episode Summary
What Happened in this Episode
What I Liked in this Episode
What I Liked Not so Much in this Episode
Thoughts about the Episode
Related Posts

What Happened in Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6

Izetta Learns Courtly Manners

Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6: It's safe to say that Izetta does not like corsets. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
It’s safe to say that Izetta does not like corsets. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Jonas, after hearing Izetta’s secret while gathering water, returns to camp in a panic. He blurts out to his sergeant that he may have learned a terrible secret about Izetta. Unfortunately, his sergeant is the Germanian mole.

With the Germanian advance stalled, Finé and her close associates take Elvira’s advice and turn their attention to less pressing matters, like courtly manners. First, they try to fit Izetta into one of Finé’s dresses, which went well enough (though Izetta hated the corset) until the top didn’t fit. That prompted the Archduchess to wonder aloud if her small country had a chance against the more abundant resources of an empire like Germania. Next, they practiced ballroom dancing. As they were relaxing afterward, Lotte tells them that a famous bakery is making pies tomorrow. The bakery had been shut down because of sugar rationing, but tomorrow, they will use the sugar that the Archduchess released as a celebration of her coronation and their military victory.

Basler’s New Airplane

Having found the photograph that Jonas had dropped, Sieghard Müller send a spy of his own into Jonas’ company. Elvira objects to the man Sieghard brought in, but Sieghard said he’d sacrifice anything to protect Izetta’s secret and the country.

Basler's excited to see a new Germanian airplane that might keep up with Izetta -- and let him avenge his humiliating defeat. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Basler’s excited to see a new Germanian airplane that might keep up with Izetta — and let him avenge his humiliating defeat. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Rickert takes Captain Basler to the empire’s secret technology/occult research facility. Basler’s very excited to see a new aircraft there — one that presumably can keep up with Izetta. In another section of the base, Belkman, armed with orders from the emperor, asks the facility’s head to show him Design Division 9. She takes him to an impressive-looking door covered by the imperial seal.

Finé Is Too Recognizable

Trying to go incognito, the Archduchess takes her close associates to the bakery, where they enjoy the first pies baked since the war interrupted. She’s startled when the owner welcomes her by name, and Finé is chagrined to learn that even the Royal Guard knew that she’d sometimes sneak out to visit. They couldn’t find it in their hearts to tell her because she looked so happy and carefree during those visits. Embarrassed, Finé shakes her head, dislodging her scarf and knocking her pie to the floor. When Izetta dives to save it, her fake glasses come off, and a child recognizes her. Finé turns the scene into a speech saying that she wants to win the war and return the country to a state where they can all enjoy simple things like pie again without fearing an attack.

Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6L Izetta seemed surprised that the Archduchess wanted the two of them to attend the war conference. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Izetta seemed surprised that the Archduchess wanted the two of them to attend the war conference. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Finé, Izetta, and Bianca meet with Sieghard and Elvira. The meeting’s interrupted by a call from Sieghard’s agent; they need to act quickly to contain Izetta’s secret. Sieghard asks Finé and Izetta to go to Britannia to represent Eylstadt and ask for more resources in their conflict with Germania. They prepare for the journey while he leaves to attend to other matters.

The Perils of Patriotism

Jonas’ sergeant leads him a secluded place in the woods, ostensibly to ask what was troubling him. When Jonas thanked the man and said he wanted to mull it over longer, the sergeant drew a pistol, shot Jonas in the leg, and threatened not only Jonas, but his family as well. Sieghard and one of his men interrupted the meeting, and as his associate chased the spy, Sieghard asks Jonas if he’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect his country. When Jonas answers yes, Sieghard thanks him and shoots him in the head.

Jonas agreed that he was willing to do whatever it took to protect his country. He just didn't understand how quickly that sentiment would come due. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Jonas agreed that he was willing to do whatever it took to protect his country. He just didn’t understand how quickly that sentiment would come due. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

What I Liked about Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6

Kids Will be Kids

I hesitate to say I liked this, but I liked Jonas coming back to camp and blurting out that he learned a dangerous secret about Izetta. He’s just a kid, and he didn’t know how to handle the knowledge, so it’s natural he would consult an authority figure. He didn’t know the sergeant was a spy. Still, I feel terrible for the poor kid. He idolizes Izetta and he loves his country. What he learned had to be a terrible shock, and he had to be terribly confused about what to do.

Izetta just can’t allow herself to be treated like royalty. She has to keep busy and feel like she’s earning her keep, much to Lotte’s consternation and Finé’s amusement.

Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6: Izetta is not comfortable with the trappings of state; she's only happy when she can be useful and productive. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Izetta is not comfortable with the trappings of state; she’s only happy when she can be useful and productive. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

At the very end of the last episode, there was a comment about “Miss Izetta’s breasts.” I feared the worst: that there’d be some spurious bit of fan service regarding her anatomy. And sure enough, there Lotte was trying to stuff Izetta’s figure into a dress made for the more slender Finé, with Izetta’s bossom about to burst out. But then something interesting happened: In most anime I’ve seen, the slender character would sit, feeling embarrassed and inadequate, and lament that her friends had a larger bust size. That didn’t happen here. Instead, the situation made Finé wonder if her smaller country, with its less copious natural resources, could compete against the likes of Germania. That took me aback. The show fiented towards spurious fanservice, then delivered drama.

Lotte’s Determination

I also had to laugh at Lotte’s determined expression as she tried to tie the corset around Izetta’s waist.

Elvira maneuvered Bianca into helping Izetta learn to dance. And into helping her Princess practice dancing. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Elvira maneuvered Bianca into helping Izetta learn to dance. And into helping her Princess practice dancing. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Elvira showed again how shrewd she is when it comes to manipulating people. She convinced Bianca to take the male role in helping Izetta and the Archduchess learn to dance by telling her the alternative was calling in Hans Obermayer or Sieghard. Of course, Bianca didn’t want to let those men near her princess (even though she’s now an Archduchess, I think Bianca still sees Finé as her princess), so she agreed to help the lessons.

Basler takes an unintentionally condescending attitude to Rickert’s goals of self-reliance just before he sees the new airplane. Then, he begins acting like a kid in a candy store, prompting Rickert to wonder who was the child now. That was an interesting and deft little character moment for both of them.

Izetta’s Popularity among the People

Izetta saved the pie -- but in doing so, she let the cat out of the bag! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Izetta saved the pie — but in doing so, she let the cat out of the bag! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Finé was surprised that Bianca and the Royal Guard knew about her pie excursions. Her embarrassment was endearing! Then she did was a good leader would do: turned her embarrassment and the resulting public spectacle into something important. She turned a potentially dangerous situation into a rally to raise her people’s spirits. Nicely done!

I’m beginning to doubt by suspicions about Sieghard. He had plenty of opportunity to leak Izetta’s secret; he almost had an excuse to do so! Yet, when the opportunity came, he acted decisively to protect the secret. Very decisively.

When the spy shot Jonas in the leg, I had to applaud the realistic bleeding. Not only did the leg wound bleed from the top, but you could see blood pouring from underneath, as well. Apparently, the bullet passed all the way through.

Sieg could have just walked up and pulled the trigger. Instead, he asked what Jonas was willing to do to protect his country. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Sieghard could have just walked up and pulled the trigger. Instead, he asked what Jonas was willing to do to protect his country. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

This is another one of those things that I hesitate to say I liked, but the drama and realism struck me: Sieghard killed Jonas to keep Izetta’s secret. And he didn’t just walk up and shoot him. He asked Jonas if he were willing to do anything to protect his country. The act was necessary and brutal as such acts often are in war. The enemy was aware Jonas knew a secret. Jonas, his family, his friends, and anyone he ever knew would be in danger as long as he lived. Sieghard’s action convinced me that he’s not a spy. Or if his loyalty is not fully with Eylstadt, it’s certainly not with Germania.

What I Liked Less about Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6

Looks like someone’s animation budget was strained this week! The shots of Izetta, Finé, and Bianca dancing were all stills. I guess I can’t expect all of the series to show the lavish attention to detail that the fifth episode of Sound Euphonium Season 2 did. What am I talking about? Read the review of that episode by Nick Creamer at the Anime News Network site. It was a great review of a great episode!

Thoughts about Izetta: The Last Witch Episode 6

The Importance of Politics

From the almost frivolous concerns of matter of court and courtesy to a soldier dying for his country — at the hands of one of his fellow countrymen, no less — a lot happened in this episode. The three big events, though, were Izetta and Finé leaving for Britannia, Belkman’s visit to Design Division 9, and Sieghard dealing with Jonas.

Sieghard was going to attend the allied meeting in Britannia, but that was before he received the call from his agent in the field. Then he acquiesced to Finé’s suggestion that she and Izetta should attend. If Finé can convince the other nations to become involved and take the pressure off Izetta, then she and Finé might have a happy ending — along with all of Eylstadt and most of the rest of the world (except for Germania). I would like to see such an ending, where their biggest concern is how to deal with Bianca’s feeling over a relationship blossoming between Izetta and Finé.

What will Belkman find in Design Division 9? Will he ever earn the Frau's trust? Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
What will Belkman find in Design Division 9? Will he ever earn the Frau’s trust? Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Does Belkman know what he’s looking for in Design Division 9? Or is he just being thorough and checking all alternatives? We know that witches have not taken over the world. Is their reliance on ley lines their only major weakness? Or are there some weapons, perhaps occult weapons, that Germania’s learned of or are developing, that exploit some other weakness?

Jonas: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Finally, we come to poor Jonas. It was just his bad luck at being in the wrong place at the wrong time that doomed him. Even had he not said anything when he got back to camp, Sieghard knew that Jonas knew, and if the enemy got even a hint that Jonas knew something, they’d torture him and/or his family to make him talk. It’s no exaggeration to say that Jonas died for his country. Moreover, it’s no exaggeration to say he died protecting Izetta. With his death, the only people who know about Izetta are now off of the front lines and back at the capital.

At least, they will be when Sieghard returnes from the field. I wonder if he has taken precautions in case he’s captured? Like having a cyanide pill or false tooth with poison in it?

Do you think I’m right about Sieghard not being a spy? Do you think he has some other agenda? Let me know in the comments!

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