Recap: Team Rabbits barely manages to escape with their lives, and we’re introduced to some new pilots.

Iro’s Thoughts: Since last week ended on a dramatic cliffhanger,  of course this week has to begin with an extended flashback! Namely, that of Commander Lady whose name I still can’t remember for the life of me. They drop a line in said flashback that all the kids were genetically altered somehow, which I suppose is interesting enough, if a bit underwhelming of a reveal after last week’s mention of memory erasure.

There’s some pretty good action as Izuru springs into action as a central mecha protagonist should. I enjoy how all the mecha seem to use “parts” instead of just having all their powers inbuilt and such. For example, this week Izuru disconnects his laser shield armguards and sends them off to shield Tamaki while they rush to her aid. I probably laughed a bit too hard when he jumps in the way of some lasers and has the most “oh shiiiit” look on his face while his mecha throws up half a dozen warning messages on the HUD. Lastly, the JURIA system continues to be a double-edged sword, gaining effectiveness with their resolve but gimping their effectiveness thanks to the Vice Chief of Staff being a huge asshole and disregarding their safety.

They all get bailed out by Team Doberman, a squad of three upperclassmen, who will almost certainly be cannon fodder later in the show. They all get names and distinctive faces, but chances are they’re just around to impart some wisdom to Team Rabbits before getting blown up by aliens.

Lifesong’s Thoughts: Odd are high those new kids exist to mentor before becoming space dust, but I am looking forward to what they might bring to the table before that. We all know that Team Rabbits could use some actual team work. I can appreciate how these kids are piloting robots and acting like well… kids piloting robots. The characters in Majestic Prince continue to strike a balance somewhere between feeling like real people and feeling too anime, but so far it works pretty well.

Rin and Reika remind me of a pallet swapped Misato and Ritsuko from Eva, but I am okay with that. Rin’s character feels like she was custom made for Sawashiro’s voice given how exasperated she always is. Reika on the other hand is part of some rich pharmaceutical family. It was a neat twist to see that she is working as a space mechanic purely by choice and not for need of a career. Also, I am sure there is a boob joke somewhere in there…

I always find myself appreciating good adult characters in a mecha so I’m happy to see these two getting some time. Majestic Prince might be the low profile mecha of the seasons, but thanks to the characters it’s also my personal favorite at this point. I hope the characters continue to be as fun as they have been so far.