This review contains spoilers. You’ve been warned.
Last week’s episode was a good balance of comedy and action. Honoka’s feelings toward Tatsuya is finally revealed thanks to a possessed robot, Pixie, which has also developed an attraction toward Tatsuya due to the Parasite imprinting on Honoka’s thought patterns. Then we have another confrontation between Lina and Tatsuya, ultimately ending in the former’s defeat and the latter eradicating some of Stars’ support unit.
Episode 8 begins with the news of a USNA vessel found adrift near the coast of Japan, and it is clear this time that Tatsuya wasn’t involve in that. Instead, the Yotsuba clan has made its move by utilizing their massive resources to teach the USNA a lesson. This is evident in a later scene when Ayako Kuroba, one of the prime candidates for succession besides Miyuki, engaged in a negotiation with Colonel Balance. Supposedly, Ayako would have been introduced first in the Reminiscence arc, a prequel for the story which may or may not be adapted in this season.
As always, Mahouka will not be complete without an incest scene. And this time, Miyuki took it to another level by promising herself that no one but her brother may touch her body. Frankly, the anime made it look tame compared to the novel counterpart where Miyuki actually detailed which part of her body that Tatsuya could touch, which is everything—including the private bits. It is probably the most uncomfortable(and disgusting depending on the reader) monologue in her POV, further confirming that her feelings went beyond the typical sibling bond.
Tatsuya’s interrogation of Pixie has remained mostly intact, and we finally learn how Parasites reproduce and possess bodies. One important scene that the anime removed, however, was a confrontation between Erika and Tatsuya. In this scene, Erika finally realizes that Tatsuya is connected deeply to the Yotsuba clan, and she grew terrified when Tatsuya warned her not to investigate the matter further. It was a scene that I wished they could have kept since Erika is the first one among their friends to know the real identity of Tatsuya. Hopefully, they would merge this removed scene to a future one.
With more information finally in his hands, Tatsuya is ready to confront the Parasites. And he’s not alone. Besides his ever-present sister, and Pixie acting as bait to attract the attention of her fellow Parasites, Honoka also tags and joins the fight. Now what the anime failed to explain is why Honoka was with them in the first place; after all, she has little to nothing combat experience, and her magic is not for offense like Miyuki’s.
The truth is, she was there simply by accident. In the novel, Miyuki only possessed the access card to enter the school after classes. But when Tatsuya requested to have it, Honoka was there and decided to tag along without knowing his plan to bait the Parasites.
Despite that, she proved invaluable when she put to sleep the intelligence unit sent by the Saegusa clan to tail Tatsuya, using her Light-based magic that even Elder Kudou acknowledged with interest.
The funny thing in this particular scene was how happy Honoka is in helping Tatsuya, even though she didn’t know that she was not even supposed to be there. It’s funny, and also a little sad because no matter what she does, Tatsuya’s feelings for her will likely remain as a friend rather than a potential lover.
The confrontation with Marte is every bit as epic as it is in the novel, even though it is quite short. Tatsuya proves once again that with enough information, he can obliterate anyone standing in his way. Their verbal spar also shows a side to our favorite Onii-sama that he rarely shows; that is, his genuine concern for his friends.
Miyuki’s ice magic is useful as always when the battle began, but it is Honoka who stole the spotlight as her magic resonates with Pixie, creating a powerful blast that knocked out a Parasite attacking them. One interesting thing to note in here was how Pixie actually protected Honoka despite being created from her brain patterns. By rights, Pixie could have simply abandoned Honoka due to her own feelings for Tatsuya. But it is really nice to see that she would protect the one who is technically her sister.
There are quite a lot of things they skipped over in this episode, some of which are important to the story as a whole. Nevertheless, the episode itself is good. Definitely a solid 7.5/10.