More members of the Oceans 6 begin to move targeting the Edens Zero team that they are aware of whom have snuck inside the Nero 66 facility. As first impressions go about the personality of Lyra and Nasseh, I can’t help but notice the hubris emanating from their dialogue and composure. Elevated they are by their own power that the prospect of a challenge has ceased to exist as a possibility within their minds. The Oceans 6 shown within this chapter carry themselves as the next step of Aoi Cosmos warriors. Powerful they may be but contained within a regulated bubble they have existed, at least in terms of their time within the Imperial Army. The universe is vast with impossibility only a word.
Considering the opinions held by the general Imperial Army soldiers, I can see why the new generation of Oceans 6 had to conduct themselves in such a way. In order to combat the bias held towards them, they had to reject perceived norms and expectations. Sadly the only avenue in which they could direct themselves within the military of the Aoi Cosmos where they didn’t have to reform themselves fit a template was under Shura who extended himself beyond the status quo set by Poseidon Nero. All of the Oceans 6 may not be as villainous as their supreme overlord but just a product of the mindset existing within the Imperial Army. The very fact that thousands if not millions or billions are in support of the eradication of the Androids within the Aoi Cosmos conveys how influenced they have become by the narrow-mindedness of Nero’s views.
When conditioned to believe certain things, it is natural for one within those circumstances to believe in those things. As such, I don’t doubt Shura’s actions, attitude and argument toward the current state of the Aoi Cosmos had a hand in influencing how the Oceans 6 serving him behave and view things. The increased freedom the Oceans 6 were allowed to operate within developed them into acting more freely relative to the rest of the Imperial Army. Concerning Milani, she did love Androids but she was ultimately influenced into a state of omission due to Shura. She stood by and watched Shura act diabolical toward Androids time and time again until she was defeated by Homura. Milani did want to do something but fear held her back every time. Let’s hope going forward, Milani seeks to put right her indirect support of the eradication of Androids. A Homura and Milani operation within the Nero 66 facility as they attempt to stop the All-Link system will be incredibly cool. I also wouldn’t mind seeing the Homura and Milani relationship develop further as both those characters have commonalities and would likely make good friends once they get to know more about each other.
We haven’t seen much of Callum but since his introduction and conveyance of his warrior-like dedication, I had suspected his opponent within this arc would be Homura who is also a dedicated warrior. With Homura battling and defeating Milani, I wonder if that still will be the case. Would Homura still be matched up against Callum or is his opponent destined to be someone else? It potentially still is possible as Milani wasn’t truly a serious opponent having her love for Androids conflict against her duty of serving the Imperial Army. Milani may have deep down wished to be defeated so that the Androids in risk of dying could be saved.
Turning to Nasseh, his Ether Gear involves hypnotizing his opponents but given such an ability, once an opponent is able to figure out the way to break his hypnosis, it would mean his effectiveness drastically decreases. When a target expects to be hypnotized, they are mentally more defended and thus less susceptible to being hypnotized. If Pino can use her EMP to break the Ether Hypnosis cast on Weisz and Rebecca, I’m sure the Edens team can then plan a counter against Nasseh leading to his defeat. Weisz may stay behind with Pino to defeat Nasseh. Another weakness in Nasseh’s Ether Gear is the limit of effect. Androids appear to not be affected by his abilities. If Hermit, Sister or Witch were to face Nasseh wouldn’t Nasseh’s attack capabilities decrease tremendously? Or will Pino finally get her time to shine and not be kept as support for the rest of the Edens team?
As for Lyra, her abilities are quite curious. Based on her dialogue and the application of her Ether Gear when changing the Ace of Hearts card into a Joker, it appears she has some form of transmutation-type ability. Is Lyra an Alchemist? If Lyra is able to transmute the Ether of others into different forms, what limits will apply? Can she only manipulate the Ether of living beings or does her powers extend to manipulating the very biological structure as well? And what does she mean when she mentions “we have the power to tamper with our enemies’ ether”? Does she mean influencing it by overwhelming it with a different Ether like what Nasseh is doing by invoking certain emotional reactions within the target or is it more along the lines of changing the very Ether of the target? I suspect Lyra may be able to change the form of the Ether she targets or at least influence to take on different properties. If Rebecca is matched against Lyra, I wonder if Lyra will in someway disrupt how Rebecca uses her Cat Leaper abilities. Very excited to see what Lyra does as her rebuttal against the criticisms the Imperial Army soldiers directed at her were amusingly sharp.
Ah, Shura, you went and did it now. Torturing Witch…the line has been crossed. I dreaded this happening but those actions are completely in line with Shura’s character. Defeat inevitable awaits Shura but beyond that so does retribution. At the very least, I hope for Witch to convey exactly why she is the Steel Sorceress once is liberated from her constraints. Upon Shura’s defeat, will he be taken in custody by the Interstellar Union Army or will he become a plaything for Ziggy to be experimented on? The irony and cruelty of Ziggy capturing Shura and modifying him to be part machine would be both a very sadistic and appropriate development. Shura will become that which he despises and continue to exist conflicted throughout his life (until he learns to accept Androids that is).
If Rebecca/Happy and Pino/Weisz’s opponents are Lyra and Nasseh, it would make sense to leave Callum to Homura. Shiki will be the one defeating Shura. As for Laguna, Jinn, Kleene, Hermit, Sister and Witch, I wonder if they will get opponents to be matched up against. Will Poseidon Nero appear later in the arc with his own special forces team? And when exactly will Ziggy show up? It could very well be that Ziggy’s forces will be the ones matched against Jinn, Kleene, Hermit, Sister and Witch (Laguna will have to deal with assisting the Oasis Rebellion princess once he realises she is still alive). The one issue I have with that is the prematurity of engaging with Ziggy. Rather than Ziggy’s forces being disposed, I would much prefer if Jinn, Kleene, Hermit, Sister and Witch engage against Ziggy’s forces until Ziggy issues a retreat after attaining what he desired within the Aoi Cosmos or at least partly achieving what he set out to do. Ziggy and his Four Dark Stars are endgame type opponents for the Edens Zero’s Four Shining Stars. Very curious to see where the story heads. Looking forward to the next chapter!
12Dimension 