maiji: Star Ocean EX: Episode-by-episode list of interesting ideas

[image: Collage of six screen grabs from the Star Ocean EX anime, showing various members of the party on very cool flying sci-fi hover bikes that do not exist in game or anime. 1) Opera flying through a forest on a hover bike. 2) Opera and Ernest on hover bikes charging enemy robot sentinels. 3) Ernest and Opera swoop in between enemy robot sentinels to pick up Claude, Rena, Ashton and Celine. 4) Claude and Rena riding on one hover bike, with Celine and Ashton on the other, flying through rocky terrain towards the camera, their hair and cloaks billowing in the wind. 5) Closeup of Claude and Rena with focused expressions, hair and clothing being blown by the wind as they travel. 6) Zoomed out side view of Claude and Rena on the hover bike, glowing lights visible on its underside as it powers through the air.][I have completed my Star Ocean EX rewatch! It’s very easy to rag on the anime for things I didn’t like and areas needing (sometimes significant) improvement. But as I’ve mentioned, it does raise quite a few intriguing ideas. I decided to make a list of all such things that could be handy for fanwork. (Hilariously, part way through making this, I discovered I’d made a list back in 2006. But that list was more like a rant on execution, and it was also not helpful in terms of being able to actually wayfind the episode to rewatch the specific instances.)This list is broken down by episode and specifically covers anime-only things that did not exist in the games or the manga.  This is purely based on the ideas themselves, and not necessarily on execution, though I will comment on execution when it’s relevant to the interesting-ness of the idea. Periodically I have some comments, e.g., comparing to manga and game where I remember something of note.  There are a few screenshots of things that particularly amused me or that I think may be helpful for reference in the future. A few things to be aware of regarding the anime: It is technically based on the manga, not the game. It does sometimes draw on the game for inspiration to bring in things not present in the manga. From Episode 14 onwards, the anime takes a dramatically different approach. The general framework follows the game’s, but details of events that take place are often wildly different and difficult to predict even if you know both game and manga. It’s overall a much heavier fantasy/mystical interpretation of the story. However, it does bring in some interesting sci-fi ideas. Case in point, see screenshots above. Wish I had hover bikes to fly in all super cool on the enemy at this point in the game. Or any point in the game. That would've been so awesome. Except only Ernest, Opera and Claude should be allowed in the front seat, given that there is zero time for driving lessons. It eliminates most of the perspective-driven misunderstandings between Claude and Rena in the game/carried through in the manga around her relationship with Dias. As a result, there is little-to-no high school triangle drama, Dias and Claude’s relationship is much more clearly positive / supportive / productive for everyone watching at home, and there are multiple instances where they actually work together that don’t exist in the game/manga. The Underdeveloped Planet Protection Pact (UP3) / concerns about breaking UP3 (direct, transparent interaction between an advanced civilization and an underdeveloped civilization, in particular concerns on using or sharing advanced technology) generally do not seem to exist Around episode 10 or 11 I couldn’t find a Japanese sub version so the comments are based on the dub script, which may have had further creative deviations due to translation. Format of the headingsEpisode # Japanese title, romaji, my attempted English translation(One line summary of what the episode covers in terms of the game equivalent)Cut for spoilers! [READ-MORE]Episode 1 時空転送 Jikū Tensō “Space-time transfer”(Claude’s opening in the game, meeting Rena in Shingo Forest) Claude performs some ensignly duties on the Calnus: bringing reports to the Commodore, doing something on a computer.  While giving Ronixis reports, Claude accidentally addresses Ronixis as “‘Tousan” (“Father/Dad”) and then corrects himself with the Commodore’s proper title.  Ronixis demonstrates his leadership and executive decision-making skills with an unexpected asteroid belt encounter while everyone else freaks out. During the incident itself, Claude expresses realistic doubt and fear about Ronixis’ highly risky decision to drop the Calnus’ shields in order to divert all power to the positron cannon to take out the largest danger. Ronixis later talks to Claude about his reaction during the emergency. Claude makes friends with cute little rabbits when he first lands on Expel. (A commenter was like “This Claude came with Love of Animals [one of the possible Talents Claude can start with in the game]!” I also always wondered if it was an intentional reference to the Bunny Call ability, haha.) Rena welcomes Claude directly, upfront, as the Warrior of the Light after he saves her. Episode 2 遭遇～コンタクト～ Sōgū ~Kontakuto~ “Encounter ~Contact~”(Claude seeing Arlia for the first time, the Salva kidnapping and rescue) Arlia experiences regular minor earthquake tremors from the disasters afflicting Expel. Villagers comment that possessed Alen’s fashion sense (blood-red robes and cloak) seems tacky and unlike him. Rena introduces Claude to the entire village as the Warrior of Light. (Hilariously the villagers seem to be like “Sure whatever Rena” and switch to other gossip, implying she does stuff like this a lot and it’s not notable whatsoever.) Claude sees a stained glass image of the Warrior of Light in the Arlian church. Episode 3 魔石 Maseki “Demonic Stone”(Return to Arlia, Rena asking to go with Claude on his journey) Claude uses his communicator to analyze the energy in the stone that possessed Alen. He discovers it’s the same energy present in the dome on Milocinia, creating a direct connection between the Milocinia ruins and the Sorcery Globe/rest of the story. The anime in general highly emphasizes the influence of Sorcery Globe-type stones on humans and animals throughout. Expel is shown to have two moons. One seems to be quite a bit larger. Episode 4 紋章術師 Monshōjutsushi “Heraldry/Crest Sorcery User”(Treasure hunt in Cross Caves)Claude uses his communicator to analyze the environment in the Cross Caves.Episode 5 空破斬 Kūhazan “Air Slash”(Mars Village plot) The party catch and disrupt the kidnapping of the children who are gathered in a carriage en route to a magic training field trip. They meet Dias when he also appears to stop the kidnapping. Rena tells Dias about her belief that Claude is the Warrior of Light. (This unsurprisingly does not impress Dias and the followthrough from Rena is also terrible, but I liked the idea that the topic is raised. Also if I were Dias I would have asked Rena, “What makes you think that?” followed by “Are you stupid?” Which he of course doesn’t, but his expressions here convey the thought perfectly, so I can pretend that’s what he said.) [2 screenshots of Dias looking down at Rena with dubious raised-eyebrow expressions that seem to line up perfectly with what his expression would be if he said “What makes you think that?” and “Are you stupid?”]Claude tries to make nice with Dias even though Dias insulted him. (He fails. But it’s the thought that counts and I appreciate Claude’s attempt at being more mature here. Unlike some people lol)[Screenshot of Claude’s legs sticking up in the air as he lands in the distance past a tree, after being tossed there by Dias] Dias demonstrates his skills by wielding his sword with only one non-dominant (left) hand. Claude puts up enough of a fight in his indignance at being called a con artist (for causing Rena to think that he’s the Warrior of Light, even though he consistently says he’s not) that Dias is forced to use both hands.  Claude learns Air Slash from Dias. (One of my favourite callouts despite the fact it always makes me laugh since it's the most basic Killer Move for both of them. I just appreciate that they translated a gameplay feature/convenience into the story!) Episode 6: 双頭竜 Sōtōryū “Two-headed dragon”(Recruiting Ashton) Ashton lists examples of his bad luck as a child: he always pulled the worst result in a fortune (omikuji), it always rained on his picnics, no one played with him. Gyoro and Ururun try to communicate with Ashton mentally in his sleep, and pull his body in various directions to take him to certain things. Episode 7: 異邦人［テトラジュネス］Ihō-jin [Tetorajunesu] “Stranger [Tetragenesis/Tetragene/Tetragenoit]”(Mountain King sidequest part 1 and finding Opera in Mountain Palace) Claude’s reveal to Opera by whispering into her ear when she stumbles from a leg injury and he catches her: “You’re not from this planet. Weapons like this don’t exist on this planet. The same is true for me.” (She seems surprised, though she could’ve figured it out by looking at his clothes and the Federation patch on his jacket lol.) Claude and Opera have an early morning conversation before anyone else gets up about their practical off-worlder situation. Claude explains he’s been trying to contact the ship he was on every morning with no response, and Opera explains to him that she crashed her ship, so they’re both stuck. (Game: they apparently never talk about it unless you see her crashed ship in the Shingo Forest, and she thought Claude might’ve had a ship to be able to leave. Manga: Claude is all the way in Linga by the time he’s like “herp derp I forgot to ask her about how she got on Expel!! She must have had a ship… womp womp”) More traces of Ernest. He sold a copy of his map of the Mountain Palace to a shop at the foot of the mountain; he left a holograph message for (presumably) Opera to find. Episode 8: 涙 Namida “Tear”(Mountain King sidequest part 2, meeting Xine) Claude asks Xine to show them how to separate Gyoro and Ururun from Ashton without killing them. (To no avail, probably because Xine doesn’t know either lol but a nice moment.) Claude has an extended conversation with Gyoro and Ururun about being friends/comrades (since the term used is “nakama”, as opposed to “tomodachi”), and everyone fighting alongside Gyoro and Ururun against Xine. (Technically everyone fights Xine in the game, but it’s mostly Gyoro and Ururun talking directly to Xine, without any real interaction with the party.) Rena heals Xine after its defeat. Episode 9 潮風［ハーリー］Shiokaze [Hārī] “Sea Breeze [Herlie]”(No equivalent aside from passing through Herlie to get to Lacour)Gyoro and Ururun go crying to Claude to save them from Ashton’s barrel fetish by buying a 5000 Fol barrel so that they can leave. I am guessing they picked Claude because he has the wallet, or they think he’s the most dependable one in the group.[Screenshot of Gyoro and Ururun snaking up from Ashton’s back, crying, with their heads pressed against either side of Claude’s head. Claude seems somewhat resigned. Rena looks on in concern.]Episode 10 幽霊船, Yūrei Sen “Ghost Ship”(No equivalent) Dias and Claude fight together to destroy a monster possessed by a Sorcery Globe-type stone. Dias smiles at Claude and says “Claude! Let’s go!” which Claude somehow manages to correctly translate as “Claude! Let’s kick this monster’s ass with a combined Air Slash!”  Episode 11 発明少女, Hatsumei Shōjo “Inventor Girl”(Linga, Meeting Precis, Eleanor PA, meeting Bowman) Gyoro and Ururun help out as Ashton and Precis try to hunt down Eleanor’s ribbon. Bowman says the Sanctuary of Linga started becoming overrun with monsters after the fall of the Sorcery Globe. Episode 12 月光花［メトークス］Gekkō Hana [Metōkusu] “Moonlight Flower [Metox]”(Sanctuary of Linga combined with Eleanor PA)Claude recalls his martial arts training in the academy. There’s a flashback of him in a white gi throwing an opponent. (Hilariously, in the equivalent scene in the manga, Claude is like “I should have taken my martial arts classes more seriously!! *crying face*” In the original game, combat arts is actually Claude’s major at the academy, and official profiles state martial arts is one of his strengths and one of the few areas of study he was paying attention in lol. Also, his mom.)(This screenshot is smaller because I found it in my files from a long time ago, hahah)[Screenshot of Claude in a white gi throwing an opponent as described above.]Episode 13 暴走 Bōsō “Rampage”(Hot pepper jam tea PA, taking the book to Keith) Precis tells Claude about how much she admires Dr. Leon D.S. Geeste, the most prominent scientist/inventor of Lacour. She (and it appears the general population) have no idea Leon is actually a child genius. Keith and Bowman recommend they go to Lacour to see Leon because he’s been doing research on the Sorcery Globe and should be able to provide them with more info in their investigation. Episode 14 魔剣［ラクール, Maken [Rakūru] “Demon Sword [Lacour]”(Lacour Tournament of Arms) The party is informed that the winner of the Tournament of Arms could request an audience with Leon when they meet with the king. Ashton recognizes other famous fighters entering the tournament. Claude decides not to enter the tournament because he feels the risk is not worth it over their Sorcery Globe investigation. (This aligns with the more cautious Claude we see at the beginning of the anime. Also, anime Dias never mentions training for the Tournament, nor does anyone else ever mention the Tournament before this episode, so Claude’s original game motivation to enter doesn’t exist.) Ashton decides to enter the tournament to try to help Precis meet Leon. Celine comes to Sufia’s rescue and is the first one to meet Sufia. Gamgee’s sword is stolen by an unscrupulous smith, Shaizen (anime-only character), and mocked up with Shaizen’s emblem on it. (Weirdly, Claude seems to recognize the sword even though he’s never seen it nor met Sufia before that day. He may just be overly keen on being helpful.) Claude gets righteously angry and impulsively steps in to announce his entry to help Sufia recover Gamgee’s sword. Cooler names for Dias and Claude’s swords as I explain in this post. Claude’s sword from Mayor Regis at the beginning of the anime (and game!) is revealed to be a masterpiece of Gamgee’s son/Sufia’s father and apparently the only weapon he ever forged that challenges Gamgee’s work. Confirmation of manipulation of the Tournament. War hero/General Gaizel (anime-only character) who is also Tournament committee chairman basically confirms to Shaizen that he’s manipulated the matchup of fighters, presumably to Shaizen’s advantage. Dias is revealed to be the swordsman hired by Shaizen. While everyone is busy being shocked, he mostly just seems happy to see Claude. (The episode ends with Dias registering, and then looking over his shoulder to smile at the rest of the party/viewer at home. The initial context makes it seem like an evil “hehehe I am representing the bad guy reveal!!” smile, but hilariously, the anime then shows you a second, more pulled-back shot where you can see Dias’ line of sight is actually pointing at Claude, so he’s actually smiling at Claude, probably because he’s happy they’ve both entered lmao. See it for yourself. Pulled back shot is at 20:29, literally the fourth last shot of the episode before it swaps between closing cuts of Claude and Dias’ faces.) Episode 15 疑惑 Giwaku “Suspicion”(Lacour Tournament of Arms bizarro universe continued) Celine tries to push Claude’s buttons about Rena running off to find out what Dias’ real motives are. Unlike the game, Claude actually has a mature response to it, probably because the situation is very different. (Precis and Celine then continue gossipping loudly behind him.) More lore about the Tournament. Gamgee explains that General Gaizel presents the winner with the award (this is done by the king in the game). Conversation between the general and the king that makes things feel more plotty. Dias is the first match. (He no longer needs to retrieve his stolen weapon, the way he did in the game/manga.) Claude watches Dias’ match from an alcove separate from the rest of the crowd, presumably because entrants are not to mix with the crowds in the stands in this version of the tournament. (This makes more sense to me than what they do in the game/manga, where contestants seem to mingle as they wish, but the original approach allows for more interaction with the party.) Gamgee gives commentary during the matches. Ashton mentions his heraldic swordplay. (Sadly it’s only in his imagination.) Rena sneaks back in time to see Claude’s first match. Dias loops Celine in on what he’s been up to so that she can get Ashton and go to Lacour Castle, find and save Leon, who’s been locked away as part of a plot. Dias interrupts Rena and gives Claude the message about getting to the finals himself. Episode 16 少年［レオン］Shōnen [Reon] “Youth [Leon]”(Lacour Tournament of Arms - Dias VS Claude finale) Gamgee sees the finale not as him VS Shaizen, but the skills of his son VS his own skills. The force from Claude’s attack both injures Dias and knocks off Shaizen’s fake emblem on the Ouma. (Fun fact: in the anime Dias receives the injury as a cut on his arm; in the manga, it was on his cheek.) Dias recognizes Claude’s skills in the midst of their match and tells Claude his plans for what he needs to do if he wins the Tournament—that whomever wins will receive the award from General Gaizel and must then stop him. When Claude acknowledges the plan and then asks him why he picked such a bad time to reveal it, Dias says because he was looking forward to getting to fight Claude. (Fun fact: In the manga, Dias actually busts out another Killer Move: Houkouha / Hawk Scream Blast / Phoenix Drive.) The match is cut short because the monsters masquerading as humans have figured out their plotting. They try to turn it around by surrounding Dias and Claude and accusing them of being monsters trying to assassinate the king.  Precis is shocked that the famous Dr. Leon is 12 years old. Leon reveals that the monsters (via the fake General Gaizel) kidnapped him to prevent the completion of the Lacour Hope, and to kill all the best fighters in the Tournament. Dias and Claude work together to defeat the monsterized Gaizel. Dias and Gamgee have a silent exchange to acknowledge that the Ouma is Dias’ to keep. One more thing to note. Dias’ explanation of the plot to Claude has a lot of gaps in it. For one, it doesn’t explain why he bothered agreeing to be hired by Shaizen. Dias’ actual goal was to win the Arms and then kill Gaizel when he’s presented with the honours in the ceremony, and his secondary goal was to fight Claude in the finals. He could’ve done both without resorting to this; the connection with Shaizen seems largely incidental/coincidental. The only reasons I can think of for why he did this are: Dias saw the Ouma and was like “That’s a great sword. I’d like to use that sword.” However, it seems like rumours about Shaizen hiring a powerful swordsman were already going around before Shaizen stole the Ouma.  Dias did it to give Claude more motivation to enter and get to the finals. Again, however, the timeline appears to indicate Dias already agreed well before Claude got involved in the situation. So Dias’ refusal to tell Claude anything about the plot was more likely his attempt at riling Claude up to get him to fight harder in the finale.So my theory is that it’s most likely, Dias just wanted the extra cash. This is my anime headcanon lol. Episode 17 遺跡 Iseki “Ruins”(Hoffman Ruins) It’s not the first time Leon has gone to the Hoffman Ruins to retrieve Energy Stones. Leon and Claude as his bodyguard are (initially anyways) the only members of the party who go to the Hoffman Ruins. An earthquake (likely related to the Sorcery Globe) blocks off the Hoffman Ruins’ usual entrance. Claude watches Leon and relates to Leon’s behaviour, connecting it with his own behaviour. Precis saves Leon, and also scolds him to act more like an adult. Rena’s pendant glows in response to the stones inside the ruins. Leon recognizes it as a very pure quality Energy Stone. Rena and Celine recognize Ernest due to the holograph he had left Opera.  Ernest guides them through the ruins with a map he made. Ernest saves Leon twice with his Thunder Whip. Celine mentions that Acid Rain would be effective against the monster with its strong exoskeleton. Precis mentions that she heard Leon knows the spell. (In the manga, Bowman is the one who encourages Leon to use it.) When Rena heals Ernest and says that it’s a power she’s always had, Ernest seems to almost make a comment asking if she’s…. A NEDIAN??? No idea, he doesn’t finish his sentence. But I guess if any of the group would’ve had some knowledge of a Nedian civilization it would’ve been Ernest. The Cross Cave book plays a much more significant and active role in the story. Bowman reveals Keith has managed to decipher a passage of the book from Cross Caves, and it contains a prophecy about a black moon appearing when all lands are in calamity (assumed to be the Sorcery Globe), and when it disappears the planet of Expel will perish. Leon blushily asks Claude to please come with him to the Frontlines. (This one is kind of not super effective at this point in the anime because they actually took some of the things Claude did and spread it around to other people between the manga and the anime, thus diluting the Claude-as-big-brother-to-Leon relationship, but it is what it is.) Bowman and Keith continue to work on the deciphering of the book while the rest go on to the Frontlines The transportation to the Frontlines being shown. Four horses pull the oversized covered wagon that contains the Lacour Hope. Episode 18 要塞 Yōsai “Fortress”(Lacour Frontlines, first boss fight VS Shin/Cynne, first use of the Lacour Hope) Large group of Lacourian soldiers, along with Ashton and Claude, haul the Lacour Hope up the mountain along with the horses.  Yuki gets to have her concert finally, for the troops! (A cute reference. Fun fact, Yuki's concert was actually a PA developers wanted to put into the original game but they ran out of time. Apparently graphics for the concert hall were actually completed?? I’m surprised they never put it into the newer remakes.) Commander Harvest (...I think his name is Harvest… based on the commander from the manga who is based on the nervous commander in the game) is negligent/incompetent and has been ignoring communications/requests from Leon (a child) due to his personal pride. Dias had arrived ahead of them and went on to El as part of the initial scouting party before they got there. Harvest accuses the party of spying (partly due to Gyoro and Ururun’s presence, but mostly so that he doesn’t need to bow to Leon’s orders) and throws them into the dungeon. Gyoro and Ururun bust out of jail in outrage/indignance. They have learned enough of human language to speak out loud instead of through Ashton. Gyoro and Ururun recognize Shin/Cynne as another indigenous demon of Expel that has aligned itself with the forces from the Sorcery Globe, as opposed to a monster generated by/from the Sorcery Globe Episode 19 孤独 Kodoku “Loneliness” or “Solitude”(Lacour Frontlines continued, reveal of Dias’ past, Dias’ conversation to Rena on his views about Claude) Yuki plays a guitar and sings as everyone rests. Dias returns from El as the sole survivor with heavy injuries.  Claude helps Dias back to bed. The murder of Dias’ family is shown to be much longer ago than depicted in game or anime, when Dias was a child (as supposed to a mere 2 years ago in the game). This episode (and the equivalent in the manga) are interesting because the observations characters share about Claude are actually extrapolated from a conversation Dias has with Rena in the original game. Basically Dias’ observations get spread around to everyone else. In the manga, Celine says it Opera; in the anime, she says it to Yuki.  Leon lectures Commander Harvest, who responds obediently in public but takes to bitter drink in private at the embarrassment. As a result of the above, Shin lures Harvest to serve him, telling him he will be saved when the rest of the world is destroyed. Harvest steals the Energy Stone from the Lacour Hope, and is confronted by Claude. Shin kills Harvest, then attacks Claude. Dias saves Claude, and specifically calls out to Claude to watch carefully as he demonstrates a new move. (Sadly, it’s Houkouha / Hawk Scream Blast / Phoenix Drive, a Dias-only Killer Move in the game, resulting in much cognitive dissonance throughout the remaining anime episodes. However, the track Motoi Sakuraba composed for this scene/attack is actually one of my faves from the anime soundtrack.) [2 screenshots of young Dias with short hair talking to Rena before he leaves. In the second screenshot, he suddenly has a green headband that wasn't in the previous screen, an animation inconsistency.]Episode 20 希望 Kibō “Hope” (interestingly, English dub renders this as “Faith”, and incorporates the theme/word well into this episode, and references it again in later episodes.)(Shipwreck to El continent, Claude finds Leon washed up on the beach) Shipwreck is caused by natural forces, not Shin. Or by other Sorcery Globe forces, but it’s only suggested and could very well have just been nature. Leon doesn’t freak out to the same extent he does in the game/manga, likely because in the anime his parents weren’t on the ship so he would not assume they are dead. No slapping Leon back to reality this time, though we still get a conversation that achieves a similar result of Claude motivating Leon to continue.  We get to see much more of Claude and Leon traveling/surviving together before they rejoin the rest of the party. The first night, while Leon is sleeping, Claude cries privately because he also thinks everyone is probably dead. He stops when he hears lying crying for his parents in his sleep, and covers Leon with his jacket. The first view of a settlement on El is damaged, abandoned and overrun with monsters. Leon finds and bandages up a small bird with an injured wing. It becomes a symbol of hope for them on their journey. Leon uses his spell Delay to help Claude fight a giant sand worm. The Lacour Hope washes ashore. Ashton is the one who left the colony to look around for survivors/other useful things. We see a church on El with a badly damaged stained glass of the Warrior of Light. Episode 21 再会 Saikai “Reunion”(Colony of El reunion, sort of) Rena finds Claude’s communicator on the shore. Rena finds Opera on El. Opera says she heard a rumour Ernest is on El. The elderly survivors on El refuse to flee their village / the land for Lacour. One man compares their refusal to abandon their sick land to a mother refusing to abandon a sick child. They express faith in the Warrior of Light. Opera asks Rena if she can look at Claude’s communicator and finds it still seems to be working. She explains its application to Rena and that it can communicate with anyone within a certain range, likely all over this planet. Rena is excited at the idea it could be used to communicate with Claude, until Opera explains the other person has to have one too.  Rena expresses her desire to find Claude again and compares it to Opera’s search for Ernest. Leon attempts to repair the Lacour Hope. Chin (“leader” of the trio of comedic thugs from manga/anime only) has a conversation asking Claude where his motivation to keep going comes from. Claude thinks of his father and says his motivation is a mountain. (My memory of this line when I watched Star Ocean EX in Japanese a long time ago is that his first line was something like, “I want to surpass a mountain.” In English, he leads with the visual of a shadow: that he’s been living in a shadow, and that the shadow is a mountain that he’s been trying to climb over his whole life.) Eluria where the Sorcery Globe fell is described. In the dub: “Eluria was an artist’s paradise. Once it was the most prosperous town on El continent.” Rena encounters a robotic sentinel. It carries a recording of Claude saying “Rena” which is what caught her attention. (It’s never explained where it recorded his voice from but it’s an interesting point to expand upon.)  It scans and detects Rena’s necklace and tries to take it, recognizing it as an Energy Stone. Keith finishes translating the book. Bowman, Precis and Yuki try to get to El to explain the situation. Opera and Leon assess the fallen robot sentinel with comments from Claude. It’s powered by an Energy Stone. Opera explains to the others that Energy Stone is not controlling the robot, but rather powering it. Episode 22 仲間 Nakama “Comrades” (No equivalent) Leon needs missing parts to repair the Lacour Hope.  Celine has a map of the area of El. There’s an industrial town called “Smiton” (??? English dub). Claude, Rena, Celine Ashton go to try to find parts while Opera and Leon and the former thugs stay behind with the Hope. The party is unsuccessful as the town is pretty much destroyed. Robot sentinels appear in search of the Energy Stone stored near the Hope and steal it.  Rena gives her pendant to Leon to see if it can be used for the Hope. Leon reconfirms it is an Energy Stone but that it can’t be used. Claude volunteers the parts of his (broken) phase gun and communicator for use to see if anything can be used in the Hope’s repair. (Not believable, but interesting.) He explains them to Leon and also that the phase gun was from his father to protect himself—and that his father would never have imagined it could be used to protect a whole world.  Conversation between Rena and Claude where Rena says if they’d never met he would probably have been able to find a way home a long time ago [instead of being here trying to save Expel.]. Claude says “If it wasn’t for you, I would never have become the person that I am right now”, and that after he met Rena he finally started taking responsibility for his own future. (To my recollection, in the original Japanese he says if he hadn’t met Rena he would probably have died.) Celine seeking out an opinion from Gyoro and Ururun. The Calnus connects with the communicator while Leon is napping next to it, and he runs to wake Claude up. It’s gone by the time Claude gets to it. The Cross Caves book is revealed to be a chronicle of prophecies of Expel. It starts with the Sorcery Globe, then an army of monsters. A black moon will appear in the sky, a crest of ruins will become visible for all to see. 7 days and nights after the crest appears. All life will end. Another 7 days and nights and then the planet will crumble and vanish. Bowman notes that there are no references to the Warrior of Light and that it is probably a myth. Precis reveals her new inventions run on Energy Stones and she has various parts Leon needs as well. Leon says he couldn’t use the parts of the phase gun but he fixed it. (Again, completely not believable, but interesting. Dub voice Claude’s “Huh!” of surprise is perfect lmao.) Leon’s blushy response at being thanked by Claude lol. This is from when Rena walks into the room to have the conversation about if they'd never met. I really like the setup of the secene, the lighting, and the pose.[2 screenshots of Claude sitting along the railing of a balcony looking out at the night sky. One is from the outside of the building, looking up at the balcony; the second is from the inside, looking at him as if you were standing in the same room as him.]Episode 23 決戦［ラクールホープ］Kessen [Rakūru Hōpu] “Showdown [Lacour Hope]”(Eluria Tower. From this point onwards all episodes are basically reimagining of the Continent of El and Eluria Tower) Claude has some kind of power binoculars to assess the Sorcery Globe/tower. (Where did he get these??) From this point on the anime/dub treats the tower itself as the Sorcery Globe. Precis and Leon work on the Lacour Hope together. A floating mechanical orb-sentinel greets them at the tower.  They find Eluria’s underground sewer system and try that route to enter the Sorcery Globe/tower. Sorcery Globe is revealed to be some kind of organic plant-like thing with a lot of roots that gives birth to monsters. And also has robot sentinels. I guess. Ernest’s spaceship arrives with him and Opera on board. (I will make a separate post specifically for reference screenshots of Ernest's ship. Update: Here it is!) Leon reveals the Lacour Hope can only fire once after repairs due to all the damage. Claude suggests loading it onto Ernest’s ship to fly to the tower and get a good shot. (Dub Ernest says “Yup no problem” lol.) Claude is sharing some kind of plans/discussing with Ernest when Rena says that Ernest’s spaceship could help Claude get back home. Ernest clarifies that it’s only an escape pod and can’t generate enough thrust to exit Expel’s atmosphere. Rena expresses to Celine her guilt that when she learned Claude can’t get home via Ernest’s ship she felt relieved. Ernest flags that as the ship nears the Sorcery Globe, its sensors are being affected and he’s losing control. They decide to land further away and bring out the Lacour Hope. Episode 24 機械城 Kikai Jō “Machine Castle” Ernest says something about “receiving high energy signatures from the Eluria star system” (dub translation) when the tower/globe reveals its second high tech form. (Which makes no sense, but something sciency happening here.) Bowman quotes from the Cross Caves book (presumably): “A tower shall pierce the sky like a giant sword, and then a blackened moon will eclipse the light.” Ernest refers to the robot sentinels rising up again as drones reactivating. Ernest uses a high-tech gun and throws a grenade at the robots. Lots of grenades-throwing from multiple people in later episodes. Claude’s communicator goes off again. It turns out the Calnus is flying around Expel. Claude responds to the operator; Claude’s father then comes on and speaks directly Claude. He explains they detected a strong energy source from the star system and came here and that Claude had been “channeled an incredible distance”. He also says Expel is protected by a kind of energy shield so they can’t send a ship to pick him up but they can teleport him if he gets to a place with less electromagnetic interference. Some beautiful shots of the Calnus here! Claude says he can’t leave the planet. Ronixis says the black sphere that has appeared seems to be an anchor attached to an enormous unbreakable wormhole connecting it to “Infinity 6” (garbled—I can’t hear this very clearly) planetary system to suck all the life out of the planet. The alien technology is too advanced for them to be able to do anything. (Lots of plotholes here but at least there’s a convo happening.) The entire crew of the Calnus hears Rena saying to Claude that he should go. Celine also says goodbye to Claude to try to make it easier for him. Ronixis asks who’s with Claude. Claude responds that it’s his friends, and he reaffirms his resolve to stay. He requests breaking all radio contact and advises the Calnus to leave and he cuts the communication. Everyone on the Calnus is stunned. Ronixis accepts Claude's decision and has the Calnus exit orbit, returning to its regular course.  Hover bikes!! Super flying hover bikes!! Ernest and Opera come to the rescue on hover bikes from Ernest’s ship; everyone flies all super cool to Eluria Tower to kick ass. (Until they get blasted off their bikes. But it was super cool while it lasted.) Ernest reads the Cross Cave book and notices a passage: “The tower is a shining scythe, a monument of death. At its tip resides the devil.” He and Claude discuss their thoughts on the meaning and they are aligned, though Ernest expresses some caution to Claude. Episode 25 輝光石［エナジーストーン］Teru Kōseki [Enajī Sutōn] “Glittering Stone [Energy Stone]” Dias went to see Xine. He brings Claude a magical feather that he says Xine asked him to take to Claude. The feather can apparently generate protective barriers. Rena finds the environment inside the Sorcery Globe familiar. Another excerpt from the Cross Caves book. “All life depends on the holy light. If its ray is guided properly, the black moon shall perish and disappear. The hope of every living thing resides in that beam of light.” “Filia” (the anime interpretation of her, since it uses Mayumi Azuma’s design of Filia) guides Claude and Rena inside the Sorcery Globe. The Ten Wise Men know Rena specifically, not only as a Nedian.  Episode 26 勇者［クロード］Yūsha [Kurōdo] “Hero [Claude]” Claude sees a device in the tower that is the same as the one that transported him from Milocinia to Expel. Milocinia was apparently a world drained of life by this version of the Nedians.  Xine appears and stops time. Gyoro and Ururun exclaim that as the King of Demons he is the only one who can do this, and that sustaining it drains Xine’s life. “Filia” appears and tells Claude to come with her through a device like the one on Milocinia.  [/READ-MORE]