Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

Hilarious opening to the episode. Trainee Becky is desperately fighting to save Sara from death, only to fail to do so. Which leads to her failing the test and immediately crying as she embraces Sara who is already expressing her discomfort. I laughed so loud that I had to see it again. The overall tests results for the entire class you ask? TOO SLOW! But seriously, I’m glad to see that S-Strain is able to meld in comedy without it feeling out of place. It’s a much needed break from the serious undertones from the first two episodes.

Not too far into the episode we see more teasing of Sara. I have to commend her patience because I would’ve knocked most of those girls’ heads off clean after a certain point. It also sucks that Sara didn’t get to participate in the special training (sabotage is very likely), but that may have been a saving grace for her. Numerous TUMORs attack the ships surrounding the mothership she is on. Among the enemy is the all too familiar black STRAIN that belongs to Ralph. Another massacre ensues with numerous STRAINs and GAMBEEs being destroyed with ease by Ralph and the TUMORs. These guys are really ruthless. I like that they don’t beat around the bushes and just get right to the point of a battle: killing.

The best part of the episode in my opinion involved Sara hearing Emily’s voice calling out to her and her running to use the up-till-now nonfunctional STRAIN. I loved the music that played during the sequence and, of course, loved the animation used in showing what seems to be Sara syncing with her new MIMIC and STRAIN (of course she had to be naked to do that XD). And then we see our heroine launch into battle! Her mission? To go after Ralph! Bring on episode four!

The Run-down:

- Training is hard work but hilarious.
- Girls can be cruel to one another when jealous is rampant.
- Ralph appears with TUMORs to attack the mothership Sara resides on.
- Isabella dies!
- Lotti is determined to fight with Ralph.
- Sara has formed a bond with Emily as she is called by the little MIMIC to join in the battle.
- Sara is now in possession of the RAM-DASS STRAIN.

Preview:

Next episode: Step 4
- The battle with Nii-sama!