Infinite Stratos episode 8

The duo match, transformations, and resolutions.

The Ichika/Charles and Laura/Houki teams are armed and ready to go. Charles and Ichika’s teamwork is great, as compared to Laura and Houki, who… don’t cooperate as well. With Ichika keeping Laura busy, Charles takes out Houki.

With Houki gone, the two can concentrate on Laura. Since Laura has to concentrate on what she wants to stop with her AIC supershield, one team member takes advantage of her distraction while the other is being AIC’ed. With Charles unleashing an Ignition Boost of her own, she and Ichika overpower Laura.

As Laura gets smacked against the wall, the scene fades out to reveal some background on her. She was genetically modified at a young age and trained for warfare. When IS were revealed, she had nanomachines implanted into her left eye to increase her compatability, yet still sucked using them. As a result she was considered a failure, at least until meeting Chifuyu. Under her guidance, Laura once again became an elite.

Laura’s left eye activates, and her IS morphs into a menacing amorphous blob that swallows her and reforms into a black… thing. As an emergency is declared and instructor troops are called in, Ichika attacks the thing but is dispatched in two hits.

Charles transfers energy from her IS to Ichika’s, who is able to partially deploy his IS’s right arm and sword. With a parry and a counter, Ichika delivers a very precise (a bit more and RIP Laura) slash that cuts the thing open, and Laura falls out.

Afterwards, Chifuyu visits Larua in her sickbed. She explains Laura’s transformation as a forbidden technology on her IS that activated during a certain mental state and according to the pilot’s desires. Chifuyu urges Laura to become Laura Bodewhig from now on, and warns her that she cannot become Chifuyu.

Houki speaks with Ichika about the promise they made about the tournament…. which Ichika misunderstood. Seems like he has problems with promises to childhood friends.

Charles and Ichika get a bath (for the ‘boys’) scene together, where Charles puts the moves on Ichika and asks him to call her by her real name, Charlotte. The next day she is awkwardly reintroduced to the class as Charlotte. Details are glossed over. Welcome to the harem, Charlotte.

Finally, a surprise visit from Laura, who rapes kisses Ichika and declares him to be her ‘wife’. Hmm… what’s going on. To be explored next episode, maybe?

First off, the fighting in this anime is beautiful. I am in awe.

Secondly, I give thanks to the fact that Houki’s promise with Ichika was resolved, and that its seeming unimportance was due to Ichika misunderstanding it. I’ll forgive Ichika’s density because Houki kicking the shit out of Ichika was hilarious.

Ichika x Charlotte seems like quite a valid possibility. Charlotte seems to have found feelings for Ichika somewhere during the fight or so, judging by her rather seductive actions in the bath. Moreover, their relationship seems closer than Ichika’s relationship with the others, perhaps in part because they share a room. Oh, and about the room – will Charlotte stay there, or will Ichika move back with Houki?

Laura’s past explains a lot about her behavior. Being genetically engineered and trained for battle usually doesn’t precipitate friendliness. I would assume her mercilessness and self-centeredness came from her struggles to become the best at everything the government threw at her. In fact, it makes you feel sorry for her when she fails with the IS.

Her change in personality was ridiculous, easily outclassing Cecilia’s way back when. I find it unlikely for someone who hated Ichika so much to barge in and declare… what she declared. Though while it’s quite unrealistic, we can’t have a sadistic power-obsessed girl in our harem, can we now. And speaking of Laura 2.0, what is this wife business about? My guess is that Laura never understood what a husband/wife were and was never taught/taught in vague terms. Anyway, it should make for some lighthearted moments.