Dogs or cats? Pfft, cats are obviously superior. Plus, if you want me to root for a dog, give me a cute shiba inu at least, not some arrogant Snoopy-wannabe.

— Before Soya and his gang can worry about the Dragon sleeping on the moon, they need to settle their differences with the Sealing Faction once and for all. Hell, this is what Generalissimo wants, anyways. He didn’t want to win without a proper fight, and now he’s going to get one. He’s even going to give Soya and Sensei a week to recover. But of course, all dogs are good bois. It’s just in their nature. Except those ratty-looking chiahuahuas.

— In typical fighting anime fashion, the battle will take place in a remote location far from civilians. Look, Generalissimo just wants to put you all to sleep. He doesn’t want to kill yo–… hmm.

— Also, Nezuya, the guy who has done nothing is back to do… well, nothing.

— “We can travel millions of light years across space, but our holograms could use a little work.”

— All the warriors are here except for old man Takezo, but I have a feeling he’s gonna show up anyway.

— Rashaverak is apparently Sensei’s actual name. As for Generalissimo, it’s Karellen. Okay then.

— The good guys’ objective is simple enough. On the other hand, Generalissimo will have to break their will. Everyone knows you can’t break an anime protagonist’s will. I think the dog gave itself the short end of the stick.

— I hate the sound-mixing in these episodes. The sound effects are so goddamn loud compared to everything else. I’m also kinda disappointed that Ginko only joins Soya and Sensei in battle when they get inside the big spaceship. Otherwise, she continues to stand on the sidelines like she always does.

— So the battle begins in earnest, and it’s like I said last time: if Kogane and Generalissimo were having so much trouble against Takashi, why are they now fighting on equal terms with Soya and Sensei?

— I guess the cat’s just not drunk enough yet, which is why Ginko brought a cold one for her boys. Not to be outdone, Generalissimo is gonna chug a beer as well. If you had no video and didn’t know that these two are giant space pets battling it out for the fate of humanity, you’d probably think that they sound like two trashy uncles having a backyard brawl at a family BBQ.

— Oh wow, they gave Nozomi a device to let her watch the fight. This is the pay-per-view event of the century! But seriously, what’s up with the lousy resolution on their holograms?

— So the second stage of the fight kicks off, and it’s just slightly flashier. I’m a bit bored to tell you the truth. Obviously, I’m on humanity’s side from a broad standpoint, but I’m not emotionally invested in Soya’s struggle whatsoever. The former members of the Grand Paladins are here, but they’re literally just standing there and watching. On the plus side, at least they’re keeping their commentary to a minimum. You know how Japan loves pointless chatter from the peanut gallery. Looking at you, Krillin.

— In the middle of the fight, the two animals start talking to each other, i.e. using actual words. No more awkward translations necessary. Both Sensei and Generalissimo can and have always been able to communicate normally, but they just… they just don’t most of the time. ‘Cause it’s cuter or funnier this way, I guess.

— Eventually, the fighting leads both combatants all the way up into space, because y’know, this is basically a mecha anime.

— I do think it’s a bit odd that a dog is getting on a cat’s case for helping others. The dog is the practical and less emotional of the two. The dog is telling the cat to grow up and stop being so idealistic.

— Generalissimo adds that when children err, the adults must take responsibility. Sure, but I didn’t realize that taking responsibility meant putting the children to sleep indefinitely. Oh no, this ain’t just naptime. Not once has the Sealing Faction ever mentioned, “Oh, we’ll wake them up one day.”

— After an epic clash in space, both combatants come hurtling back down to Earth, and they don’t look so hot. These two animals could use a nice, warm bath.

— Benika laments that she has no home in either faction, so Yosuke awkwardly holds one of her hands and essentially tells her that he’ll be there for her. Sorry, but going after your dead brother’s girl is kinda iffy to me. Technically, Benika and her senpai never entered a relationship, but these two have had no chemistry all series long. It’s been him playing the self-pitying loser up until now, and all of a sudden I’m supposed to believe that they can become a healthy couple? Puh-leeze. Seems to me like they’re both emotionally distraught and not thinking straight.

— But to be fair, I’m generally biased against guys like Yosuke, so take my criticism of him with a grain of salt.

— Anyways, after that short intermission, the battle starts up again. The two sides quickly hop into their respective spaceships to raise the stakes even higher than before. Only now does Ginko finally join her boys. But this time, Takezo is also quickly headed in their direction. Geez, what could the old man possibly want now?

— What was before a fast-paced duel has now become a slow, lumbering slugfest between two behemoths. It’s like they’re stuck in molasses.

— Kogane and Generalissimo are about to land a decisive blow, so the old man suddenly shows up with a giant psychic sword to… to what? Avenge his son who tried to take over the world? Takezo uses everything he has left to cut through the dog’s weapon. Basically, he just swung this battle in humanity’s favor. I guess that’s the least he could do to make up for what his son’s actions. If your kid’s not going to take responsibilities for their wrongdoings, their parents may as well step up to the plate.

— And now that he’s sufficiently stolen enough of the spotlight, the others fear that the old man is finally done for. But again, this is a lighthearted show. Yes, I know we’ve seen people die “on camera.” So what? It’s still a lighthearted show overall, and I doubt Takezo’s gonna die here. Maybe when the Dragon comes back or something…

— So now that Generalissimo is weaponless, the good guys can finally finish this battle once and for all. After smashing a hole into the dog’s spaceship, Soya and Sensei hop out of their own spaceship to end the fight in person. Kogane gets a shoulder tackle to the stomach. Meanwhile, Sensei goes right for the miniature sealing device.

— That’s that, I suppose. The dog admits its defeat, and now we’re all friends again.

— Everyone else is still freaking out about Takezo. Meanwhile, I’m just thinking to myself, “Take his damn pulse, you idiots.” To nobody but these characters’ surprise, the old man is just taking a nap.

— Afterwards, Soya tells everyone about the Dragon and how he needs their help to defeat it once and for all. To my surprise, the big baddie won’t wake up for four or five more years. You know what that means: a timeskip. It’d be funny if it turns out that Soya’s just crazy — that he only thinks he can talk to the People of Paradise.

— All of a sudden, an older-looking Nozomi narrates to us that only 80% of the world has woken up from their coma, but the rest will assuredly come around. So I was somewhat wrong about that. Still, I don’t know why she’s so confident about that they’ll wake up, and if she’s right, the remaining 20% are functionally fine anyways. This is still a light-hearted anime series, after all. Not only that, crime has started to gone down because… just because, I guess.

— Most of all, Soya’s all grown up and ready for the Dragon’s inevitable return. I’ll admit that I didn’t expect to get any sort of timeskip. I just thought we’d go right from fighting Generalissimo to tackling the Dragon conundrum. Nevertheless, here we are.

— I just hope the final battle doesn’t end with humanity lending its strength to Soya or some cliche anime bullshit like that.