With targets placed on Tatsuya’s back, he has to maneuver his way through all of the obstacles. As expected, Tatsuya is able to detect when something is wrong and manages to nip all of the minor nuisances in the bud.
In this arc, Miyuki has had very little presence. She’s been kept in the dark about most things, while Tatsuya fights evil from the shadows. I guess this is Tatsuya’s way of protecting her, since the current problem is somewhat related to their family. Seeing how bitter Miyuki and Tatsuya are towards their own blood, I can see Tatsuya keeping Miyuki out of everything for her own sake.
Of course, Sekimoto’s shadiness is verified as he attempts to subdue the almighty Tatsuya. You’d have to be crazy to think that you could catch him off guard! Either way, he’s taken out without a problem. I may have missed something, but I don’t think they explained Sekimoto’s motivation for working with the Asian Alliance. Has he always been a part of them? Or was he recruited in a similar fashion to Chiaki?
After last episode, I was hoping that Lu Gonghu would pose more of a threat to the good guys. But, that wasn’t the case since he was easily defeated by both Naotsugu and Tatsuya’s team. There was no real depth to his character either. He was all muscle, but no brains, as all he did was take orders from his superiors.
Heck, Tatsuya doesn’t even have to move a muscle to defeat Lu Gonghu! I was hoping that opponents would gradually become stronger as the series went on, but the closest match was still against Masaki. Even then, Tatsuya had a trump card which basically made it impossible for Masaki to win. On the bright side though, we’re still getting some well animated action scenes. Tatsuya is giving the minor characters a chance to show off a bit before he single-handedly saves the day.
I do think that this Zhou character is a person of interest though. If I remember correctly, he was working with the Asian Alliance (has a Chinese name as well), yet he’s the one who interfered with Chiaki’s disposal. He’s charismatic as well, but avoids being seen by others. He hid from Lu Gonghu and erased his existence from Chiaki’s memories.
To wrap up this discussion, I guess I’ll end off with the final scene of the episode. I’m not sure if Miyuki was actually worried about Tatsuya, or if it was just another Tatsuya x Miyuki bait by the creator. The two clearly appear to be more like lovers rather than siblings. But, I guess they don’t plan on crossing that line, so we’ll have to bear with the teasing!
You can watch Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episode 22 on Crunchyroll (may not be available in all regions, free users can view the episode one week after it airs.)
