One week down, 10-12 weeks to go! Winter is plodding along at a steady pace, and it's time for Rio Rainbow Gate! episode 2! Will the fanservice be kept in check like last week. I pray to Haruhi that it was.
The episode opens with a magical girl transformation scene featuring Rio. Thank you, XEBEC, I am well aware that Rio has boobs now. Rio apparently has to train a new recruit, Ania Helsing from Russia (with love). Well it's that, or wear yet another skimpy bathing suit.
After a brief exposition dump of around 2 minutes, we find out about the "gate cards" and their purpose. We also learn how Rio got her gate card. This ALMOST makes up for the excessive fanservice. Almost. Suddenly, a bishie man by the name of "Elvis-sama" appears and promptly challenges Rio to a "gate battle" with the prize being one of the other 12 gate cards. This is apparently supposed to be epic.
A few things did get explained in this episode, one of them being the story behind the gate cards. Ania's dojikko tendencies were played for laughs, a rare sight this winter. Sadly, those were the only positive notes about this episode.
Sometimes I wonder if I set the bar too high. XEBEC was really pushing it with the fanservice this week, giving us constant shots of Rio's cleavage in the first 5 minutes after the OP. I looked at Ania, who is apparently the epitome of dojikko, and I constantly thought "Is Rio going to smother Ania in her cleavage?". This made it kinda hard to focus on the episode.
Sadly, there were not many positive things to say about this week's episode. The excessive fanservice nearly ruined the episode, salvaged only by the gate battle and plot exposition. Because plot doesn't matter if the main character has absurdly large breasts. I'm putting this series on probation, so the next episode better be impressive as all hell, or I'm dropping it.
Rio Rainbow Gate! 2
Plot Advancement: 4.5/5
Characters: 0/5
Comedy: 3/5
Episode Plot: 3.5/5
Overall: 2.5/5
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