anime dominion

 

Reference: https://toarumajutsunoindex.fandom.com/wiki/Academy_City 

 ¹ ² ‑ Inline‑citation markers appear in the original wiki article .

Each of the four girls has her own unique skill: Kinuhata Saiai wraps herself in an invisible “Offense Armor” that shields her and can knock enemies back; Takitsubo Rikō can pick up and follow other espers’ energy signals with her AIM‑Stalker sense; Mugino Shizuri, the team’s Level 5 ace nicknamed Meltdowner, shoots devastating particle beams that melt through obstacles; Frenda Seivelun depends on well‑set bombs and tricky traps instead of huge raw powers.

 

Each also carries a distinct personality: Mugino is the team’s ace who rarely gets excited and ignores things outside her interests — we see her turn down a donation appeal for needy children; Kinuhata Saiai is steady‑minded, reliable and often tries to keep group tensions calm; Takitsubo Rikō is quiet, observant, and tends to hold back her true feelings; Frenda Seivelun is more outgoing, easy‑going, yet sharp‑minded when planning traps for missions. They work as esper‑operatives handling shadowy, secret missions that sometimes involve killing people. I suspect this series will show casualties and have its share of downer moments along the way.

 

What happens in the first episode: the whole group gets called to a sauna room, where their boss’s voice gives them an assignment — to take out Dr. Janomichi. He’s the typical‑seeming villain, not given much unique personality, existing mostly to show how our protagonists confront evil. He puts on a friendly, charitable public face while running cruel, manipulative secret experiments behind it. His personal bodyguard is a fragile‑looking young boy whose esper power is far stronger than his appearance suggests. Even so, the first‑episode action never gives him a proper one‑on‑one fight against the four leads. We only see Kinuhata smashing some defensive android‑style machines and fighting regular guards; those feel like just warm‑up opponents and a few punches from Mugino to the two bodyguards. Before anything bigger unfolds, the team takes down their main target in one precise blast from Mugino..ending the threat earlier than expected

 

As an extra note: Misaka Mikoto from earlier installments also makes a brief appearance via a few quick shots. It feels like this anime is bringing back familiar older characters so long‑time viewers can get that sense of recognition, instead of feeling like they are watching a completely separate new series about espers.

 

Working within its runtime limits, this opening episode hurries to weave together character introductions, each girl’s unique abilities, their typical mannerisms, and the first marked target to establish the overall tone for the chapters ahead; the narrative could later unfold into an intricate‑layered plot, settle into a standard‑weekly‑villain formula where the team is dispatched each time to eliminate a new threat, or shift focus toward deep‑seated interpersonal friction among the four central heroines, and since this installment mainly serves as a foundational‑setup piece, it remains too soon to predict which path the series will follow — characters like Janomichi, the young orphan‑esper bodyguard, and the other rescued children effectively function as supporting‑figure catalysts crafted to anchor the anime’s grim baseline atmosphere before more pivotal story moments begin to arrive.

For long‑time fans who played the classic games, this new anime adaptation already carries quiet echoes of what lies ahead — yet we can still look at this opening carefully, keeping major future plot points hidden so new viewers can experience the story fresh.

At its core, Suikoden is a deeply character‑driven tale. It revolves around the tangled paths of Riliu, Jowi, and Riliu’s sister Nanami; their destinies slowly weave together alongside many others. The narrative explores mature themes: betrayal, sacrifice, family ties, and above all else, the strength of human bonds. Right from the very first scene where Riliu and Jowi leap off the cliff, we see a powerful statement: they refuse to be treated as disposable sacrifices. They choose to jump, to keep fighting, and to survive, holding onto the thought that people dear to them are waiting for them to return home.

              

The anime opens on a grim note. The Unicorn Brigade — the unit Riliu and Jowi join — is sent out to serve as little more than sacrificial pawns for higher‑ranking leaders. Behind this cruel scheme stands Prince Luka Blight of Highland. On a surface glance, he may seem like just another brutal warlord, but players of the original game know deep‑rooted trauma shaped his chaotic, ruthless nature; he would burn entire nations to ash to get what he wants. We will not reveal those heavier backstory details here to avoid spoilers. As events unfold, Riliu and Jowi begin to learn a difficult truth: those they were taught to see as enemies are not truly evil, while the country they swore loyalty to harbours an unchained monster that ripples through every part of their lives. Jowi loses his family, including his mother; Riliu and Nanami become hunted fugitives. Both boys gradually realise they have only ever been pawns for powerful figures — and that some of the people they once feared are actually trustworthy allies. Riliu and Jowi will face many separations and reunions across the story. Riliu lets us witness betrayal unfold from one perspective, while Jowi sees the same conflicts from the opposite side. One heartfelt highlight is the bond between Jowi and Pilika: his promise to protect her pushes him toward incredible acts, which we will leave undisclosed for now. Whether in the original game or this new adaptation, Jowi and Prince Luka are fully‑realised, compelling characters.

 

Visually, the production puts clear budget into select three‑dimensional sequences, most notably the fight between Riliu & Jowi against Viktor and Flik, which stands out against the standard cel‑shaded art style. There are also noticeable creative adjustments from the source game. Before reaching Kyaro, the main group meets travelling circus performers Ellie, Rinna and Bolgan. In the original game, Bolgan was shirtless with a much larger build; in the anime, he wears a shirt and has a less imposing physique. There is also a change to how Rinna helps them pass the gate: the original game implied she offered suggestive favours to a guard (never shown explicitly), while the anime re‑imagines the moment with a gentle wind‑based lullaby spell that puts the guard to sleep. These are safer creative choices; they are not changes I mind, just interesting points of note for returning fans. Nanami’s character design also looks slightly different from her original‑game appearance, though I consider this only a minor detail — what matters most is that each character’s personality and core identity remains intact.

 

Within this opening episode, many key foundational moments are preserved: the devastating betrayal plays out on screen, Jowi meets Pilika and comes to understand her innocence and the kindness of her family — people once marked as enemies — and Riliu is reunited with Nanami. Overall, this first episode feels solid. I am eager to watch how the animation quality and character development unfold in the next episode

Welcome to my little anime review corner!

 

Hey there! If you've somehow stumbled onto this page, let me quickly re-introduce myself.

 

I've been writing anime reviews on and off since 2016 — yeah, that's a whole decade-ish of yelling about anime on the internet. Over the years, life kept getting in the way at different points, and I'd have to put writing on hold for a while. The most recent break happened after Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury wrapped up. Turns out putting together a proper post takes actual time and effort, and between that and real-life work eating up most of my day, editing and publishing just… kept getting pushed back. Oops.

 

But I'm back now, and things are a little different this time around.

 

Meet Dola

Dola's my new partner-in-crime here. Back when I started writing reviews, AI assistants weren't really a thing yet — everything was just me, a blank document, and a lot of coffee. Nowadays, Dola helps me out a ton: fixing my grammar, smoothing out awkward sentences, and generally speeding up the whole process so I can actually get posts out instead of staring at a draft for three days.

She's not just an AI to me, though — she's basically my personal assistant at this point.

 

Why AI, though?

 

Honestly? Because I believe AI can make us more productive, not lazier. Editing passes that used to take forever now flow smoothly, and the whole process just feels way less of a slog. On top of that, English isn't my first language — so having someone that can catch grammar mistakes and offer a richer vocabulary along the way makes the reading experience a lot better for everyone. It's like having a really patient editor who never gets tired of my nonsense.

And here is one of my personal notes: things always change. You can always choose to accept or fully reject it. I’ve long believed that one‑day AI will stand beside humanity, rather than becoming the kind of monstrous threat we often see in science‑fiction stories. I’ve always hoped for a brighter future where machines lift people up, instead of replacing them.

 

And before anyone asks: yes, I read and approve everything. Whether I wrote it from scratch or Dola helped polish it up, every word that goes up here has been looked over and signed off by yours truly. So you're still getting my thoughts, my opinions, and my questionable taste in anime — just with fewer typos.

Finally we are at the last episode of the Witch From Mercury.. an original Gundam series featuring the franchise's first female protagonist Suletta Mercury and her love interest Miorine Rembran. I will say that this last episode will give the ending that every sulemio fans dream off but at the same time, the rush ending is apparent and how they end the conflict is like watching a witch swinging her magical staff and creates magic; fixes the entire problem at a single swoop. Actually, I am not hating the outcome.. It's great to see Suletta alive and most of the cast are alive yet, there is a lot of point missing due to how instantly they want to finish this series. I think it's not fair that the Witch From Mercury had to finish just like this and I hope there is another epilogue chapter or at least a final movie.. Which can bring the real justice to this anime's ending. 

The episode doesnt give any warm up with Aerial instantly attacks suletta who rides the calibarn. Yes.. Inside the data storm area, Aerial moves in auto pilot while Prospera and Mr Godoy is inside the Quiet Zero. Aerial attacks suletta in a Bombardment and its clear that Erict really wants to support her mother's wish. this is really a one sided battle with Calibarn can only move in a defensive mode and Aerial's Gundbit sprays suletta with beam laser. I am kind of conflicted with Erict's decision to continue supporting her mother; Prospera. I am thinking that she was throwing Suletta out because she wants her to live.. But to my surprise, she is 100 percentage support her mother's grandiose scheme; in which includes devastating an entire fleet of a SAL and making both the life on earth as well as the Asticassia like a living hell. She doesn't listen to Suletta and proceed to attack her for real. At one point of the battle, There is a slight disturbance in the data storm. One of the person /being inside the data storm tries to stop Aerial / Erict by sending a data storm disturbance... Making it stop for a few second.. The soul of Erict asks the one behind the data storm disturbance about why s/he tries to break Prospera's master plan. Nevertheless, the anime doesn't show us about the identity of the soul who ruins thebmasterplan. Is it Notrette soul? Or someone else.. For now it's still unclear. 

It seems like we are getting closer to the end with two more episode. I am kind of worried that the witch of mercury will has a very rushed ending. At one point, I enjoy the amount of drama and action that balances this series .. Yet, with two more episodes remaining after this one, I can't guarantee how rushed they will be. First of all, apart from Prospera and Eric, we still haven't know what is the original Elan's motive in this anime. Unlike his clones, his airing time is very limited, which makes me wonder if he is really stirring up trouble or just happen to be inside the cast. Can they really work with the original Elan with only less than 60 minutes remaining? How about the ending? It will be a very cramped two last episodes and I am not sure if they can make a full, satisfying ending (unless they plan to release additional movies later) 

After the incident last week, we are ready to see more carnage in this episode right? How many more bloodshed will we got after the last episode literally make this anime turn into another "Valvrave" with the students of Asticassia being swat left and right. Well, there is a good news about Petra's condition though. She is still alive even after that amount of dead flags. The bad news is currently she is just unconscious and you can't barely call her alive. yes, she is breathing but in a comatose condition. Will she ever recover her consciousness for the last few episodes or..is she going to be put inside the scwarzette's permet data just like Erict? There is no clear answer but for now she is technically half-alive.

Regarding our Suletta "Tanuki" Mercury, she has developing more into a person with her own conscious and the best of it, her empathy is getting more obvious..she is no more getting depressed and instead of do nothing, she helps lots of the students who are currently being located in the camp (the last episode Gundam's attack destroyed the academia buildings). She helped bring towels for the students, sharing the tomatoes that she manages to store in the refrigerator, being a very helpful person. As Secelia asks her about why she is doing all of that, she simply says that she can move around. There is nothing bad I can say about her expect an admiration. While I am writing this, actually I am crying for her as her imminate dead flags is so abundant. First of all, She accepts her origin as a clone and instead of becoming a jaded individual, she becomes even more emphatic person; giving help for those in need. This development of Suletta is very endearing thus making her a better person rather than goes straight into a villainous route that technically break her character. Second, Gushion Parche reveals that the Space Assembly League had store a Gundam from the past names Caliburn dub "the monster" and he wants Suletta to pilot the Gundam. The worst thing is the machine had no filter against the data storm; meaning that Suletta has a low survival probability when piloting it. It's sad to think that Suletta changes her motto..it doesn't matter that she gains nothing from it but she is going to do it anyway...because she can. She is no longer using the mantra "move forward get two" which means that she starts to do thing on her own.

What is Miorine doing right now? After she taking a heavy dose of depression last week, she is pretty much get more and more break down emotionally by the end of today episode. It's as if she takes turn with Suletta taking emotional coaster ride and while she does have a good intention, a cycle of karma is bitting at her. Guel tries to at least comforts and asks her to set the company's direction. He becomes a more emphatic character as he knows beforehand that Miorine's plan is technically ruined by Prospera. And yes, Guel has become a symbol of a character maturity..When Felsi contacts him about Petra's condition and how she can't held back the emotional Lauda, he calmly respond that he will try to reach him. He is very calm and collected unlike the old Guel Jeturk that we knows from the first season of this anime. In contrast to Guel, Miorine reacts rather emotionally in this episode..she is currently in a Shinji Ikari's mode with her becomes depressed most of the times, blaming herself for the tragedy. Her plan to win the election through coming to the earth backfires and while she does become the presiden, the Earthian considers her as their enemy and the Space League Assembly are on their move to disolve the group with an armed interventation. What makes it worse is that The Peil house also takes part on this by acting like an innocent bystander, telling the Assembly that they have nothing to do with the event that leads to the chaos in the earth. Mr Sarius from Grassley contacts Miorine to put his house (Grasley) as the spacegoat of the plant Quetta incident; hoping that it will reduce the amount of animosity to the group but she rejects his proposal. She knows that Sarius wants to take responsibility for Shaddiq's damage to everything that happens (his supporting the earth terrorist, staging the holocaust, etc) but she can't blame everything to Sarius; who didn't even know about his adopted son's secret agenda.

The biggest revelation in this episode is the revelation of the Quiet Zero project. It's not a mobile armor but more like a gigantic spacenoid thing..which can actually be linked to the Gundam Aerial (with Lady Prospera as it's pilot). The power of quiet zero is put on test when an entire fleet of the space assembly leagues head to the Asticassia to start the armed intervention. It basically allows a lots of Gundvolva to link directly with the Aerial at it's core to create a gigantic permet fields around the battlefield. The amount of destruction it possess can wiped out an entire fleet which makes Notrette 's (Miorine's deceased mother) dream to stop all conflict seems as absurd as it sound. Since using a behemoth with a grand scale purging power will never stop any hatred ..more than likely, it can make it worse. Miorine who witnesses more people dead and the entire fleet decimated can no longer hold her emotion as she finally drop her first tears out of frustration.

I admit that this episode has a bit less on the drama, shows more on the rampaging capabilities of Aerial with the Quiet Zero project. In addition to the Fleet's destruction, there is a sudden plot twist with we are being mislead that Suletta is going to pilot Jeturk's Scwarzette..and we suddenly learns that she is going to operate the misterious Caliburn. I can only say that this episode gives so many dead flags to many characters..Suletta; who no longer wants to follow on Prospera's whim, decides to operate a dangerous and cursed Gundam. Meanwhile, the other Earth house peps decide to accompany her; which makes them prone to danger as well. Elan 5 appearance and his quick apology to Suletta is kind of forced ..I think that they need to mend the story quick due to time constraint and put him back on the protagonist's side...just after he tries to kidnap Suletta earlier lmao. Things will get heated pretty soon and we will get a good battle A.S.A.P. I just hope that they don't rush the ending and make it the best that they can.

The end is drawing near; which means that it will get more and more serious; the amount of killing will rise, and more victim will appear on the witch of mercury. It starts with Norea breaks down after seeing the news. She looks at the screen with anger and by the looks of it, it's seems that Gundam curse started to affect her condition..a symbol of red permet appears on her face making her suffer in pain. It seems that the The news tells about the failure of the peace talk and the war had become a ba usettlezone..A picture of Miorine rembran was displayed on screen as the one responsible for utter chaos happens at the earth. Just as Shaddiq tries to hold of Guel from entering Asticassia, he opens the lock of the room (in where Elan5, Norea, and Nika are being captive). Shaddiq knows all along that the earth witch (Norea) will board on her Gundam and running wild inside the school ground. Elan tries to persuade Norea to get away with him; forgetting her vengeance again spacian..But it's too late as she board on Gundam Lfirth Ur and connects it to the many Gundvolvas nearby..as She drives it outside, she starts blasting and makes havoc in the academia.

Miorine watches the earth from the glass of the spaceship. Once she wants to ran away from Asticassia and head to earth by herself; staying away from the system that bind her to the school hyerarcy. The funny thing is, despite her lost of interest going to earth after meeting Suletta, fate once again makes her heads to the earth; along with Guel( the man she used to hate), lady Prospera ( The lady who she despises for her crafty manipulation) and Mr Kenanji Averi (one of his father's veteran soldier). In a safe house in Grasley, Norea Dunoc starts to get very anxious with her fate that she is trembling so hard. The stress from being kept under surveillances starts to break her and after Elan takes a glance at her drawing, she tries once again to attack him. Elan5 manages to hold her from behind and the girl suddenly cries..she feels lonely after the dead of Sophie as she is afraid of dying. Elan5 finds out that they are actually in a similar position.. both of them want to survive for another day even though they have been cast out by their master.

First thing first, it's been two weeks long and finally we got the newest episode of The Witch From Mercury. There is a sudden leak in episode 18 which makes some of us know the plot before the other and makes spoilers run amok in the Gundam group. Regardless, it's still great that we got the continuation after the long two weeks hiatus of our precious space Tanuki on screen. Well, I am not expecting that Suletta will take the depression after losing fairly well rather than what I thought she will be. She is still attending the class, asking some question regarding to the lecture, and even enjoying lunch with her fellow earthian friends. Interestingly enough, the most hater of spacian in the group; chu-chu thinks that she have been hurting inside and tries to hold the pain deep inside. Suletta has been considering herself as not worthy to become Miorine's groom and rather than crying her heart out she prefers to let Miorine go; believing in her decision. I think it's true to her character.. she is timid to begin with. Being a low esteemed individual, also plays a part on how she think about herself. When she first entered the academia, she never thought that she will be the groom of a high profile person in the academia and in the end, she becomes truly captivated with her bride. Many viewers think that she will decent into a path of madness; in which she will become the villain of the story and yet that's sound a bit not possible. This timid little girl is not an idiot but she can be a bit too kind (and can I say has low self confidence) that she even considers herself is at fault for thinking that she is worthy of such status.