Recap: Aladdin is captured by the pirates terrorizing the local ports, so the rest of the gang readies themselves to rescue him.

Iro’s Thoughts:
It seems Zigg is indisposed once again thanks to those wacky UK weather patterns, so I guess I’ll take the helm again this time. Fittingly enough,  it’s a somewhat boring episode after A-1 front-load’s all of their action (and consequently, all their budget). Turns out all the pirates are youths who call themselves the “Sons of Aum Madaura”, and somehow they all have magic tools from Magnostadt. Because that country just wasn’t sketchy enough when we knew they were involved with the Black Metal Vessels; they also have to be dealing with pirates.

Hakuryu gets to shine a bit this episode, after spending his time in season 1 being a wimpy crybaby who did nothing of value. He’s already come close to mastering his Metal Vessel, using Zagan’s power over plants to fight off the pirates and lording it over Alibaba. Kurama from YuYu Hakusho he ain’t, but plants are a fun enough power and have a variety of uses.

Meanwhile, it’s plainly obvious something weird is going on with the Sons of Aum Madaura. Orba claims it’s all for a good cause, since they kidnap kids from the slums and give them proper meals and beds, but the sketchiest lady of all time is clearly running the show in one way or another. At least this gives Aladdin a small opportunity to investigate the magic tools and piece together a bit of what’s going on with Magnostadt. Expect some fairly action-y stuff to happen next week as the crew mounts their rescue, I guess.