This episode is… SOMETHING OUT OF A FREAKING HORROR MOVIE!
The first half is so sad and beautiful at the same time. Some of the scenes were anime-original to give us backstory for Medusa(both versions). And I must say this is the proper way to add original content to a series without making the storyline suffer. We finally get to see Euryale and Stheno animated in a beautiful and heartbreaking scene, though they really didn’t have any lines at all.
The references to Hollow Ataraxia, specifically the devouring of Euryale and Stheno, is extremely good and a great tribute to followers of the VN. There are also a few teases of future storylines here, especially that brief appearance of what I assumed to be Fou’s true form.
But the highlight of this episode is definitely the last 12 minutes. Now imagine a zombie movie, but replace the zombies with Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. Now give them the personality and voice of 4-year-old children.
That’s how the last 12 minutes turned out. And it is probably the creepiest thing I have seen in a fantasy action anime. Forget about Sakura’s dream sequence in Heaven’s Feel. This episode blew that out of the water, enough to make me question myself if I’m still indeed watching a fantasy or a horror movie.
One thing I didn’t like, and really the only thing that somewhat reduced my enjoyment, was the Siduri scene. For me, the fast pacing of this episode made that part a bit lackluster compared to the game. The shock is there, yes. But it’s not as heart wrenching as the game, which somehow dilutes the shock factor of finding out what happened to Siduri.
But despite that one blunder, this is still a nearly perfect episode. A 9/10 for me.