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The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 8 Review – Quick Summary
In The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc episode 8, “Visitor Arc VIII,” the parasites decide that they don’t like one of their kind inhabiting Pixie, and they make plans to retrieve her. Will Tatsuya Shiba be ready when they do? Meanwhile, Colonel Virginia Balance lamented the failure of her operation, including a very public seizure of her military’s destroyer off of Japan’s shores. What she didn’t know was that her day was about to get a lot more difficult. Are her diplomatic skills up to the task? Is her courage?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 8
Tatsuya could not fathom why he should look away while a robot, who wasn’t even anatomically correct, changed clothes. Capture from the Hulu stream.
Tatsuya had a plan to thwart the parasites, and he needed Pixie’s help to do it. Flanked my his sister Miyuki and his friend Honoka Mitsui, he asked Pixie to change clothes. After all, it wouldn’t look right to traipse around the city with a maid. So he handed her the street clothes and asked her to change. She began to disrobe as Tatsuya waited.
Miyuki objected loudly.
Tatsuya didn’t understand her reaction, saying (08:18), “Why? Miyuki, Pixie is a robot, you know.”
Miyuki was unmoved. She waited, her hand outstretched, until he gave her the clothes. Then he began to turn around.
The exasperated look he gave her was hilarious.
Best in Show Moment for The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 8
This lovely young woman might be one of the most dangerous people I’ve ever met. And she’s so polite about it! Capture from the Hulu stream.
Setup: Balance Thought She Had Her Hands Full
At the end of the previous episode, we had no idea what happened to Virginia Balance or her support team. I was mildly surprised, then, to see her back on screen in this episode as if nothing had happened.
But “nothing” wasn’t what had happened to her. In fact, she couldn’t really remember what happened. What she knew was this: She was back in her apartment/office in Japan. The USNA destroyer that had been supporting her off the coast of Japan had experienced “engine trouble” and was even now being “assisted” by the Japanese defense force.
In a phrase: Her mission had suffered catastrophic failure. Worse, she didn’t seem to understand what had happened or how.
Balance was having a rough day. She knew that her mission was a complete failure and she had a terrible headache. What she didn’t know was that it was about to get worse. Capture from the Hulu stream.
Then an assistant came in an announced that a representative of the Yotsuba family had arrived. Balance froze. She knew that name. She thought (10:48), “The Yotsubas, known and feared as the ‘Untouchables.'”
One of them wanted to meet with her.
In walked Ayako Kuroba, dressed in a cute frilly dress. Her manners were absolutely impeccable. She sat upright, dainty hands folded in her laps, and she wore an attractive, pleasant smile. When she spoke, it was in a quiet and polite voice. She was the epitome of social grace and civility.
Delivery: Ayako Kuroba Broadened Her Perspective
And yet, there was something about her that made me mentally review my surrounding, looking on one hand for weapons and on another for an escape route. There was something about this petite young woman that screamed lethal danger.
Balance saw that right away, but as a Colonel in the USNA military, she wasn’t intimidated. So when Kuroba said that the leader of her family cordially requested that Balance and the USNA immediately halt their “excessive interference,” Balance merely listened intently. It was only after Kuroba said that the family didn’t want these events to trigger any kind of escalation that Balance said in a waspish voice (11:47, “Is that a warning?”
Balance is a Colonel in the USNA. She’s extraordinarily difficult to intimidate. Difficult, but as we just saw, not impossible. Capture from the Hulu stream.
Kuroba, her smile never faltering, tilted her head, gave a tiny giggle, and asked (11:56), “Colonel, did you sleep well last night?”
Balance’s facade shattered. She demanded to know what they’d done. But Kuroba’s smile didn’t change, and she admitted nothing. She said she’d merely noticed how tired Balance looked and was concerned for her health.
Kuroba’s quiet confidence, her perfect manners, and her command of understatement utterly dominated the conversation. She went on to offer Balance a way out, but the way the scene had played out had already made a huge impression. So much so, that I would almost rather face Tatsuya himself than Kuroba in a fight. Because with Tatsuya, I’d only being going against the equivalent Shiva, the “The Destroyer.” I have no idea what this little creature is capable of.
What did you think of the confrontation with the parasites at the end? What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments!
The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 8: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Raihousha-hen – Episode 8 discussion
- Random Curiosity: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Raihousha-hen – 08
- The Anime Rambler – By Benigmatica: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Raihousha-hen Episode #08
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 1: Visitor Arc I
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 2: Visitor Arc II
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 3: Visitor Arc III
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 4: Visitor Arc IV
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 5: Visitor Arc V
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 6: Visitor Arc VI
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 7: Visitor Arc VII
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 8: Visitor Arc VIII
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 9: Visitor Arc IX
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 10: Visitor Arc X
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 11: Visitor Arc XI
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 12: Visitor Arc XII
- The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc Episode 13: Visitor Arc XIII
