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The calm before the storm......actually it's more like the calm before the calm.

Zetsuen no Tempest is finally back to progressing the main story, but at a slow pace. One of the big problems this series is facing regularly is the slow-moving story. Interesting or not, the episodes often feel drawn out and boring but this time it didn't.

As a major turning point in Zetsuen no Tempest, the slower pace only added to the build up of tension. This episode's tension brought a lot of excitement, although for the most part there was a lot of dialogue. A back and forth exchange between Samon and Hakaze was a little stiff and uninteresting at times but in the end it served it's purpose. Samon and Hakaze's mental battle was as I remember it: a little boring. The battle itself could have been something more than just one side trying to best each other, though I give it credit for actually taking place and adding more variety to the series.

Everything built up to that one moment at the end.....and then we got a time paradox plot twist. Not a happy moment for myself since I'm not a fan of this particular plot development. As unenthusiastic as I was, the plot twist did come at a good time and it did add to Yoshino's ongoing inner debate.

Yoshino was questioning the turn of events that had happened. We already knew that the Tree of Beginning was guarding Hakaze by bestowing her phenomenal luck, but I never considered the other implications of this, namely Aika's death. Just because of Hakaze's luck, this chain of events has caused mayhem in the world they live in.

That particular point of the episode was great. Anime with fate as the central idea can only do so much, and Zetsuen no Tempest did a bang up job. I still want to see the series pick up the pace and do something new, but another episode like this one may not be bad.

We also learnt about the the possibility of world destruction, which tied nicely into the fate plot of the series. In many ways, Zetsuen no Tempest needed an episode like this to prepare us for something more exhilarating. I just hope we get that.