Active Raid

Episode 8

Active Raid pulled off a confident and satisfying episode this week, tying existing character threads and larger political maneuvers into a concise and fast-paced central narrative. The show may be very inconsistent, but its best episodes make that seem like a strange problem for it to have; when everything's working, Active Raid's odd mix of variables actually seem very purposeful and considered. This episode had funny moments, dramatic moments, and thoughtful moments, a nice mix of everything the show can do.

The main plot this time concerned the appearance of Ulti-maid, a mysterious Willwear who kept stepping in to rescue Unit 8 and also kind of steal their thunder, winning public approval and even fan clubs. The team had a variety of reactions to this turn of events, from Takeru's predictable “why does it get a fan club and we don't?!?” to Asami's perhaps too on-the-nose “maybe this means our department will have nothing left to do.” The early scene of Unit 8 discussing how to handle Ulti-maid was actually one of the episode's best; the whole main cast has developed a strong diversity of opinions and natural way with banter, and Asami's slow integration into the team has finally established her as one of the key players in their discussions. It's not necessarily glamorous work, but the show's slow march of adding nuance to each member of the team means that at this point, just seeing them discuss the day's news is pretty satisfying.

This episode's other dramatic thread was introduced when Kuroki asked Sena out for drinks, and the two ended up at a drinking party that included Asami, Haruka, and Sena's old friend Miho from the USDF. There we learned that Sena and Miho had indeed dated in the past, as Kuroki and Haruka's inability to hold their liquor lead to a series of increasingly invasive questions. When Haruka asked why they broke up, Miho said it was because Sena demanded perfection not just of himself, but of his dates as well. Sena was only rescued from this awkward dinner date when the chief called in to report another rogue Willwear.

Shortly after that, we learned that Ulti-maid was Miho herself, showing off the USDF's secret Willwear prototype. Ulti-maid's acts of “heroism” were actually just a power play - demonstrate the strength of their own Willwear and the incompetence of Unit 8, and hopefully the USDF would be able to negotiate for sole Willwear rights. In the episode's final setpiece, Unit 8 and the USDF were officially asked to work together, in a bomb defusal mission that would double as a test of which branch actually deserved control of military Willwears.

That setpiece was one of the show's top highlights so far, an action sequence that worked as a personal story, as a comedy, as an action spectacle, and as a reflection of Active Raid's larger political ambitions. The arguments and eventual reconciliation between Sena and Miho were both funny and believable, the kind of relationship you'd expect would develop between two ultra-Type A personalities. And the ruthless actions of the USDF, where getting their pilot out of danger came secondary to making sure Unit 8 wouldn't be able to examine their prototype, made for a much stronger conflict than Logos and their wacky schemes.

By keeping the conflict grounded and focusing on character beats with some actual emotional weight, Active Raid made each step of this story feel coherent and relatable. Overall, this was easily one of Active Raid's most successful episodes.

Overall: A-

Active Raid is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.