86 - Episode 3 Review - Kirschblüte Gives Lena a Warning

Warning: Spoilers up to the end of Episode 3 follow.

The episode starts with a tragic scene. Kaie Taniya (Kirschblüte), one of Spearhead, has been killed in action. We hear Lena apologize to the squadron for their loss. Then the episode flashes back to the events that lead up to this moment.

Everyone is out in the forest area cooking or cleaning. Haruto Keats (Falke), Daiya Irma (Black Dog) and Theo Rikka (Laughing Fox) spy on the girls playing in the water. Black Dog was mostly roped into it, but he also takes most of the responsibility when the girls catch them in the act. This is also when we see the girls, especially Kirschblüte, tease Kurena Kukumila (Gunslinger) because she has a crush on Shin (Undertaker).

The scene cuts to later that evening in Spearhead’s home. Gunslinger is angry and vents to Black Dog. She hates that Shin talks so much with Lena every night over Para-RAID. She reveals that the Alba “White Pigs” like Lena killed her mother and father and that she’ll never forgive them. She calms down enough to rejoin the group. Meanwhile, Kirschblüte and Raiden Shuga (Wehrwolf) regale Lena with tales about stars and meteor showers. 

Lena asks Kirschblüte if she hates the Alba. Kirschblüte answers openly and honestly and explains that she doesn’t like to be hated or discriminated against as inhuman by Alba people, but she realizes not all Alba are bad. She turns it around and wants to ask a question to Lena, but the scene cuts before we hear it.

Next we see Lena and Annette looking for terrain maps in a dusty library. Lena wants to use the maps to assist Spearhead with intel. The scene cuts again to the evening conversation we had already watched, but this time it’s from Lena’s point of view in her room. Now we learn that Kirschblüte’s question - she wants to know why Lena cares about them so much. Lena replies that she was saved by an 86 on the battlefield. That person fought for their country, and Lena wants to be like him by truly fighting by the side of the 86 and knowing them as comrades. As nice as this is, Kirschblüte kindly tells Lena she’s too idealistic for this work and warns she shouldn’t get involved with them. Or she’ll regret it.

Later, Spearhead engages Legion with Lena assisting on Para-Raid. The map info Lena gives them is helpful at first. But Lena is too late to warn Kirschblüte from entering wetland terrain. Her Juggernaut gets stuck. We hear her say that she doesn’t want to die, but she does, catching up to the beginning of the ep.

Filled with pain over Kirschblüte’s death, Laughing Fox lashes out at Lena. She’ll never understand them because all she does is sit in her cushy box as they get killed.

Kirschblüte’s was right to warn Lena. I like how we got to know the characters more in this episode. There’s so many!

Episode 2 Review

image source: Amazon