As pretty and polished as it continues to look, there's no getting around the fact that Luck & Logic is astoundingly bland. Today's story goes out of its way to cement the heroine of the day, Yukari, as a one-dimensional character who really has no qualities outside of her role of a sports team manager. Yukari's ability to assist and admire haughty ace athletes saves the day in a twist that's already been spoiled by the show's opening sequence.
Yukari doesn't feel comfortable being front and center during the action, but she blossoms in her role on the sidelines. She has a nightmare about being forced to play soccer with the other Logicalists that expresses her anxieties too overtly, then spends the following day delivering everyone their favorite drink to firmly cement her talent for understanding other people's feelings. If she's so good at instantly reading people and figuring out their wants and needs though, how is she so bad at Trancing when Athena says the only requirement is "the ability of both parties to reach out to each other?” Yukari reaches out plenty. She's even able to appreciate Olga Breakchild's haughty attitude, admiring his confidence where everyone else in the branch can only see how obnoxious he is and attempt to escape him as quickly as possible.
Ignoring that odd moment, the heart of the story picks up when Kitaoka, a guard character who was introduced solely to further the plot, does something really stupid. He thinks the captive Foreigner that Mana brought down, Quetzlcoatl, has gotten so cold that he passed out, so he rushes into his jail cell to check on him and leaves the door swinging open. Like we haven't seen this in a million movies about jailbreaks. It's a stupid plot point (as is Yukari ostensibly delivering Kitaoka an entire vat of stew), and it leaves them both at the mercy of the dangerous and fickle Foreigner. How much do you want to bet we're never going to see Kitaoka again now that he's served his plot purpose?
Anyway, being cornered by Quetzlcoatl and knowing that only her wits will leave her standing between survival and a quick death ought to bring out something new in Yukari's personality. However, Luck & Logic goes the opposite way and doubles down on her “manager-mind.” She attempts to be Quetzlcoatl's manager in the only way he understands—as a priestess serving her god. The ritualistic fulfillment of her earlier nightmare happens when she rushes into the fray, risking her life to ensure that her volatile kidnapper isn't killed. (Stockholm Syndrome much?) As she recovers, Quetzlcoatl loses the tsun and keeps the dere, using his nasal chibi voice to ask Yukari to be his priestess. Of course, if you've been paying attention to the opening at all, you know that they were going to become pals eventually. I'm still a little confused about them being covenantors though, when he's among the ranks of the enemy all Logicalists are trying to fight. Also, can't only goddesses be covenantors? Once again, the logic part of Luck & Logic flies fast and loose.
Despite all of its story flaws, the show remains one of the prettiest I'm watching, with cute expressive character designs and awesome costumes. I especially love Yukari's new kigurumi, since I was a little concerned about what sort of sexy getup they were going to put her in. But ultimately, this episode simply reinforces how one-dimensional her personality really is. Whether the athletes are good or badly behaved, she is a manager through and through.
Rating: C
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