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CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon
Episode 24

by Theron Martin,

The penultimate episode of Cross Ange demonstrates a relatively common phenomenon late in mecha series (heck, anime action series in general) that run longer than 12-13 episodes: the episode which is almost constant fighting and yet very little seems to get accomplished. In fact, in some cases the repetitive nature of the battles feels like filler to pad out an episode which really only has about 10 minutes of actual plot content.

That does not mean that there aren't some highlight moments, though. While Rosalie and Hilda's effort to save and redeem Chris is far from the most important element of the story, it is the one thing that the episode does fully resolve, and as a result Rosalie's formal confession of love to Chris (and the latter's acceptance of it) is the episode's most satisfying scene. Another such moment does not result from anything being resolved, but instead from Tusk finally and truly getting Embryo's goat during their battle. And how does one do that to an ultimate playboy? Simple: describe in detail how you have already slept with the woman that he most values. Although that does not thwart his efforts to get Ange back, he is clearly irritated enough by it that speculation about Embryo also having a thing for virgins has to be raised. And in the episode's one amusing moment, Momoka is going around handing out snacks to the bridge crew of the Aurora during the battle. Something about seeing Jasmine command the ship's part of the battle with a rice ball in hand is perversely funny.

In terms of actions that actually affect the overall plot, the highlight scene is the freeing of Aura by Salamandinay, an event which Embryo is clearly not happy about. Why, exactly, he would care is unclear, though, as he clarifies at the end of the episode that the most important part of Aura's role in this affair is already done: Aura was needed to get the convergence started and moved towards a critical mass, not to finish it. Certainly Aura's release does not seem to affect his ability to use his powers, as he is able to free himself from Alektra's attempt to entrap him and pull off his teleporting trick – although the scene at the end does seem to clarify that having to physically touch someone in order to teleport them is another small limitation on his powers. Perhaps his displeasure comes from knowing that, with Aura freed, the others might have a chance to halt or even undo the convergence? Finding out about that, and where, exactly, he teleports off to with Ange (sans her clothing, naturally!) will have to wait for the next episode. Beyond that, a minor character or two dies, Alektra lays things out for Salia, and Ersha sorties out, but the only other events of major importance are that Embryo shows that his loyalists are fully disposable and that the surviving DRAGONs rally around the Aurora, which gives us the classic “former enemies uniting” scenario. Still, enough is going on that Ange has less screen time, and less time at the center of events, than at almost any other point during the series. (The early episode where she was sick might be the one exception.)

To this point the reason why “Cross” is in the title of the series has been left unexplained, and I had always assumed that it was just more awkward Engrish. The Next Episode preview brings up the amusing notion, however, that the “Cross” may actually refer to Ange's default attitude throughout much of the series. Although normally such in-character drivel would be ignored, the series does have a precedent for taking such comments seriously. If that is, indeed, the actual case then it fits the attitude of the series pretty well. However, that does not change the fact that this episode is, overall, a significant drop-off from the heights that the series reached last episode.

Rating: B-

CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.


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