Well, that was a dumb ending to the Super Bowl. Back to anime, I guess. Alright, let’s just get Cross Ange over with. What dumb “twist” will the show throw at us this week?

— Salamander Chick tells Ange that her people will soon launch an operation to save Aura. Seeing as how this is the 17th episode, however, you know the operation won’t work. Moreover, she no longer pressures Ange to join their cause. Because they’re friends now, Ange is free to do what she wants. Well, isn’t that nice?

— Later, Ange explains to Tusk why she’s reluctant to join the dragons. I’ll admit that her first reason makes sense. Everyone’s lied to her up until now, so how can she really be sure that that she can trust these dragon people? Alright, I’ll buy that.

— Tusk, however, makes up for Ange’s stupidity. He says that it’s not about doing what’s right. Uh, okay. I don’t know about, but sure, I’ll hear you out. He continues to say that it’s about “doing what you want to do.” Wow, really? Is that why he constantly has his face in Ange’s crotch? Y’see, it’s not about doing what’s right. You just gotta do what you wanna do.

— Speaking of which…

— For that, Ange beats him bad enough that he can’t use his hands? But later, we see him piloting his… whatever it is just fine, so the injuries must not have been serious. Still, it’s the same pathetic pattern that you see all the time in anime. Guy gets a free pass to do something lecherous, and the girl gets a free pass to beat the shit out of him. Sounds awesome. Keep it up. Never change. Never grow up.

— In any case, Ange finally decides on what to do. Remember, she’s not going to do what she thinks is right. She’s just going to do what she wants… which is already what she’s been doing all series long, but hey, she now has a man’s validation. Anyway, Ange decides that… she’s just going to return home. Woo.

— Vivian also decides that she’ll go and see her friends even though she’s perfectly safe here with her mother. It’s okay, though, because her mother even encourages her to leave. The mother then brings out one of Vivian’s baby clothes. I like how even a baby’s top has a hole in the middle to bare some skin. Gotta train them young.

— Tusk could stay in this dimension and build himself a harem out of dragon poontang, but he’s got unconditional love for Ange so that’s that. She literally made his day by calling him her knight. Still, it’s funny that his character even exists. Cross Ange could have been like a lot of shows and just made this one big yuri-fest. For a short moment, I even thought Ange and Salamander Chick would become lovers. I guess not.

— Unless Tusk dies or something, but I don’t really see that happening.

— As they ready themselves to go through the singularity, Tusk reveals his dream of opening up some shitty cafe named after Ange, and they’re going to serve sea snake soup. Great story, man.

— But like I’ve said, it’s the 17th episode, so the operation isn’t going to work. Hell, it doesn’t even get off the ground. Instead, the singularity opens up into the middle of nowhere, and the dragon forces are immediately under attack.

— A bunch of black Villkisses show up, and Ange jumps into battle to help her new friends escape through the now rapidly closing singularity. And guess who’s piloting those black Villkisses? Yep, it’s Salia and… those two yuri girls, but they’re minor characters but who knows. But yeah, Salia is now working for Embryo. Isn’t that just grand? I thought she personally wanted the real Villkiss because she had looked up to Jill, and as such, she wanted to make Jill proud or whatever. I doubt Jill would look too fondly on Salia now that the girl holds such great reverence for Embryo. But it doesn’t matter. Cross Ange is the type of trashy, pulpy story where this sort of character development is commonplace. So long as we have drama and backstabbing, y’know?

— In any case, I hope Salia bites it in the end. Her character has just been insufferable. I dislike Ange a lot, but Salia is somehow even worse.

— Yeah, yeah, the anime has never had great animation, but c’mon… this is just embarrassing.

— The black Villkisses initially get the upper hand on Ange, but like with everything else in her life, she threatens her own mecha with violence. Naturally, she gets her way. But instead of sending her to another dimension, she and her friends find themselves back on Arzenal.

— That’s when these things emerge from the ocean. They’re not even remotely threatening to look at, but our former princess clings to Tusk as if she’s just seen a ghost. Weird. The first time she battled a dragon, she wasn’t this freaked out.

— Anyway, our guests take off their mask to reveal themselves to be none other than Momoka, Hilda and some third girl I don’t recognize nor care about.

— For some reason, Hilda walks up to Tusk and grabs his balls. And with that, the episode comes to an end. And oh hey, the ED has changed… if that matters. I don’t think it does.

— Looks like Ange will be arguing some more with Jill next week. But y’know, they’re not on Arzenal anymore, so what authority does Jill have anymore?