Impression:

I thought that we were actually going to get a serious episode for one. Ichika was just ambushed by a member of Phantom Task that claimed to have the same last name as Ichika. M’s appearance does resemble Chifuyu quite a bit. He was even part of a security mission that went bad. What came next was key. The bulk of the episode focused on panties. Well, the dream couldn’t last forever.

The entire episode summed up in one adorable picture.

M left as quickly as she appeared. After a warning shot, Laura jumped in and caused the mysterious lady to retreat. Laura was rewarded with a compliment about her eyes from Ichika. It would have meant so much more if anyone was going to actually win this harem race. After this, Ichika ends up on a security mission with Charlotte. She was rejected by everyone else and Charlotte wanted to avoid asking Ichika so soon after he was ambushed. Oh well, Charlotte will always get more than her fair share of alone time with Ichika. The security mission actually went well for the most part. The criminals were defeated, but they caused an explosion that messed with the Byakushiki. This rendered Ichika almost defenseless in a world that is ruled by the power of IS. Luckily, Charlotte was tasked with protecting him. Unfortunately, she could not fulfill this duty well while hiding the fact that her IS was malfunctioning. What was it doing? It kept making her panties disappear. That was the bulk of the episode, but everything turned out alright when it stopped happening right before she flashed Ichika.

That always means trouble.

Current Opinion of the Show:

I am very mixed when it comes to this series. Let’s start with the good. I was really looking forward to the serious stuff that was building up in the previous episodes. Ichika was face-to-face with M as she revealed a possible relation to the Orimura family. Ichika was one step closer to figuring out the reason behind his kidnapping and the recent thefts. Well, that fell through when they gave us an episode about panties. Part of it was humorous. Laura’s bold approach to figuring out the type of underwear that she should be wearing was entertaining. Also, Laura in general is simply entertaining. If we are going to be getting a heavy dose of the school comedy, then I am glad that we are getting a lot of Laura. Her character development over the last season and a half has led to a quality character. Laura is definitely one of the funniest characters that I have seen in a while.

This would happen to the girl with the very short skirt.

Now it is time for the bad. I do like Charlotte. Her character is fairly interesting and her vice actress is very good. Unfortunately, I do not like any anime character enough to spend an entire episode talking about their lack of panties. I don’t mind the school comedy stuff. I know that this series will  not abandon it for the actual story, but I do want something better than this. I know that the main audience for this series is probably guys that like the girls in Infinite Stratos, but that isn’t me. That may mean that my current opinion is an unpopular one, but I don’t think that it is unfounded. Either focus on the story or give us something better than malfunctioning panties. I would also like to see a greater focus on the other girls. I know that Charlotte and Laura are ridiculously popular, but I feel like they are neglecting the other characters. Rin is definitely getting the short end of the stick and it feels like Houki’s most important moment in this season has been her servitude during the birthday episode. Even if Rin and Cecilia have no chance at winning this impossible harem, at least give them some screen time. They are established characters that have taken up enough time to warrant better treatment.

This scene looks really stupid.