It is time for the return of the Queen. (Which once again makes me think of Kaoru Akashi. Making this the second time she has come up in a Fate/kaleid review post. You think I would be making more Nanoha Takamachi references.) If anyone is going to get this show back on track it is none other than Irisviel von Einzbern. Now that she is not dying of magical anime disease (Holy Grail version) she can finally flex those full motherly muscles like she was always meant to. But at the same time Miyu gets to show off some solo fighting ability. So there is more to this episode than bath time fun. I know some people are saddened with that news. Hopefully they do not read this blog and instead just stick to Sankaku Complex or something equally vile.
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And Illya has decided that she would rather be a loser.

OK. That is a little harsh. It is more like she has decided to leave the dangerous work to the professionals. Or at least that is what she keeps telling herself. But more on that in the article itself.

The most interesting thing about this episode is so far up until now the anime has pretty much mirrored the manga. There have been some minor tweaks there and there but that is the nature of adaptation from one medium to another. It is not the almost panel for panel reproduction of something like Naoki Urasawa’s Monster but it is hardly the fast and loose takes of something like Hayate The Combat Butler or Excel Saga as well. So this episode really stands out as it is the first instance that a good deal of completely original material has been added.

In the manga this episode basically speeds by in one chapter called “Become a Normal Girl Again”. It sort of starts in the same place and definitely ends in the same place but the middle has much more meat in it. The real question is if that was the best idea. It was certainly different.
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  Maid Madness is cuter than march madness, marble madness, and space madness but leaves you with a distinctly dirtier feeling than the other three. This episode of Fate/kaleid spends most of its first half soaking in the fetish of domestic servants in frills. But it is mostly just a needed break between dramatic events. After the three episodes of battle a bit of comedic refreshment is welcome considering how much this show is ostensibly comedic. But this being Fate/kaleid that also means awkward and skeevy fan service. Don’t worry there is some real story at the end.

On a tangentially related note if you ever really needed a refresher on how Fate/kaleid characters are different from their Fate/Stay Night counterpoints the simplest reminder is oddly enough the 9th chapter of the All Around Type-Moon manga. It has Prisma Illya and Miyu meeting Fate/Stay Night Rin. Sadly the manga ends just before the best meeting really started.

That also makes me think. When are we going to get the Army of Saber clones vs. all the Rin and Sakura variants crossover manga.

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