English Dub Review: Takt Op.Destiny “Equitation -Valkyrie-”

Overview

After separating from Lenny and Titan, Takt and the crew continue their journey under the blazing sun. During their trip, they end up fighting some D2s and end up bringing a train on the transcontinental railroad to a sudden stop. They then see a Musicart in white armor and a Musicart with a bewitching smile. The man accompanying the two Musicarts is named Felix Shindler and calls himself the Top Conductor of the New York Symphonica…

Our Take

After a series of badly-structured chronological episodes, It’s easy to assume we’re now back to what’s going on now since Episodes 2, 3, and 4 were flashbacks, while this current episode takes place after episode 1. The introduction of the New York Symphonica’s Head Commander Felix Shindler accompanied by his sinister-looking, purple-clad Musicart named “Hell” reminds me of Ivy from Soul Calibur and the white-armored Lonewolf Musicart named Walkure (whose name is the musical inspiration from Richard Wagner) uses weapons that also remind me of another Soul Caliber character by the name of Sophitia.

Felix and Hell are giving off red flags from their first impressions, as Felix arrogantly views Musicarts more as products/weapons than living, breathing individuals which doesn’t sit well with our lead protagonists who knew Destiny/Cossette before and after this happened to her. And given how much of an anomaly Destiny is in this universe, it’s no wonder their appearance puzzles people. The fight against the flying D2 creatures sure proved interesting. But it was the second defense against the horde that proved to be a herculean task on Takt’s end…

Overall, this was a pretty balanced episode that while displaying some nice action, also did well to expand the lore by introducing some new faces in the form of Wakure, Felix, and Hell. It’s interesting that it also introduces the concept of master-less musicarts though. It was also quite fun seeing Walkure’s reaction to being praised, while The destructive power of the “Hell” sure was brutally effective and her character design gives off “Psycho Bitch” vibes. Given how it ended, it Looks like Felix is trying to play power games now that Takt dismissively turned him down. But with how badly this angered Felix, I don’t think his life will get any easier…