Oh, right, forgot about the ecchi in the series.  Been a while since we had this many exposed boobs and pantyshots but at least they were (finger quotes) “meaningful” and not distracting in this fight.  And the animation and action during the fight were above average, if not the best in the series thus far.  But what was the most pleasing about this episode was the blood.  It’s been forever since we’ve had plentiful shots of blood ejecting from every inflicted wound.  That’s what I was expecting from Freezing since the first episode.

Sure, the numerous fights over the course of the series have kept me interested and the fanservice is only a bonus, but this series had something missing from it.  It was good, not great, but not far from great either.  All it needed was a little push that would stimulate my interests again.  It turns out all Freezing needed was have a lengthy and well-choreographed fight with plenty of blood.  Most of the previous fights had to rely on panties and boobs to add flavor but the fanservice here was just a plus.  And I haven’t even mentioned the large cast of characters that appeared in this episode.  Ah, this was probably the best episode of Freezing thus far, even with that backstory in the middle (which I didn’t care for, obviously).  Now if only every episode of Freezing were like this one.

Alas, after such an awe-inspiring, outstanding, and satisfying episode, I fear Freezing will return to what it once was until it reaches the eventual Nova fight at the end.  We’re probably going to see more school-life for Kazuya, romantic competition between Satellizer and Rana, various fights with new characters, and (finger quotes) “meaningless” fanservice scenes.  Hopefully there’ll be something to break this formula they’ve been repeating for most of the middle of the series and try something fresh.  Well, the preview seems to indicate that it will be something different, so let’s see how it goes.  It’ll automatically get bonus points if it has a lot more of Chiffon in it!

Also, one thing I liked about this episode, that I’m sure some people will complain about, is how quickly Satellizer and Rana flipped from their berserk, Pandora-fighting mode to Satellizer’s shy, yet rigged personality and Rana’s genki, joyful persona.  I liked how after a near-fatal brawl with two of the school’s most superior warriors, they almost instantly revert back to their normal selves.  To me, that shows how battles are insignificant to them; how their training has been so hardwired into their brain that it turns on and off in a given situation.  They become dehumanized in order to kill and survive and when it’s over, they’re back to their regular lives.  That sounds like a useful trait when preparing to fight the invading Novas.

I’ve also been happy with the cast thus far in Freezing, although there isn’t nearly enough screentime for all the characters to interact with each other and do their own things.  Roland has virtually disappeared and the other girls from the previous episodes have yet to reappear.  I certainly hope to see more of these girls as the series continues.  Hopefully the next episode will show them in some capacity but I feel like I’ll have to wait until a Nova fight before seeing them all in action again.

Also, Kazuya, welcome back to Whimpsville.  Population: Who do ya think? You.  Yes, you Kazuya.  You took the weakest blow the fight and got knocked out instantly.  All the other girls suffered far worse outcomes from all those slashes, stabs, punches, and being slammed into the wall, and only Arnett lost consciousness (due to the school’s top fighter throwing a punch after she was knocked out once).  All the girls lost a blood-bank’s supply of blood over the course of the episode while Kazuya probably is left with a sore spot which he’ll nurse over the next week or so.  He needs to man-up soon.