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Strike the Blood picks up right where it left off in the last episode, with Kojou fighting Nalakuvera!

And, of course, he’s not alone.  Sayaka decides to help him using her sword, the Koukarin.  According to Sayaka, her weapon can block all physical attacks and is a blade more solid than any other.  But even Koukarin isn’t enough to penetrate Nalakuvera’s defenses.  It also doesn’t help that the weapon of the gods can learn its enemy’s attacks and adapt to them.

It looks as though Asagi might have some sort of special power, much like Motoki does.  Her incredible ability when it comes to technology and computers seems like a special power, especially given the fact that her eyes glow red in this episode when she’s working on the computer to decipher the information about Nalakuvera.  It would also make sense for all of Kojuo’s friends to have special abilities of some kind in order to keep helping him.

I’m not sure how I feel about Motoki yet.  It’s obvious that he’s up to something; who exactly is he an “observer” for?  But he can’t have anything too malicious in mind, as he’s been trying to protect his friends in the past couple of episodes.  He really doesn’t seem to be interested in doing anything cruel; he’s simply hiding things at the moment.  I am interested to see what exactly he’s up to, though.

Kojou brings another Familiar under his control in this episode, thanks to Sayaka offering him her blood.  This familiar is the Ninth Familiar, a pink-maned, black horse called Al-Nasl Minium.  It seems pretty darn powerful, especially when it links its power with Regulus Arm.

One thing I really like about this anime is how the mages of the Lion King Organization say a sort of prayer before using their weapons.  This really helps to contextualize where they’re coming from, as well as where the Lion King Organization is situated politically and ideologically.  They seem to need to say these little prayers or chants in order for their weapons to work, and that’s an interesting little addition to their positions.

At the end of this episode of Strike the Blood, one of the leaders of the Lion King Organization shows up to give Vatler a letter appointing him as ambassador of a Warlord’s Domain embassy to be set up on Itogami Island.  What exactly does this mean?  Why does the First Progenitor need an embassy in the demon district?  What exactly will Vatler be doing there?  Is he going to continue stirring up trouble for Kojou and his friends?

Strike the Blood Episode 9 Preview

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