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Heaven’s Lost Property (Episode 8) – For Whom the Shooting Festival is Held

Heaven's Lost Property Title

Grab your Yukata and get ready for lots of fancy foods and carnival games because it’s a festival episode. It’s going to be lots of fun… well, not if Mikako has anything to do with it. Could this be Tomoki’s last stand?

What happened?

It’s Ikaros and Nymph’s first-ever festival and they seem rather ambivalent. Well, that was until Nymph saw the candy apples and Ikaros took a liking to a dozen chicks… Before long they come across a stall covered in pigeons. A small crowd has gathered around, curious to see what’s going on. The pigeons scatter to reveal a sinister-looking man and an array of guns.

Sugata points out that there are no prizes or even targets. What are they supposed to do with the guns? Luckily, Mikako is on hand to explain. She wants to create an event that brings the whole community together. Something that they will remember. It’s a survival game and the winner shall get ten million yen! Suddenly everyone is interested, but Tomoki can’t help but think that something is going to go wrong.

Heaven's Lost Property Episode 8 The Old Lady From The Community Centre

Just before it begins, Nymph walks away saying she has no interest in taking part. So, without further ado, Mikako declares that the game has officially begun. Tomoki runs for cover as hundreds of cork bullets whistle past his head. What sounded like a fun idea has suddenly got nasty.

Tomoki is almost cornered by a haphazard group of townsfolk when several of them are taken out by a sniper. It’s Sugata. Then, just as he’s about to shot another a cork bullet shoots past him and takes out his target. It’s another sniper. Mikako throws down her rifle and races towards Sugata. They both pull their revolvers and attempt to fight at close quarters.

That’s when Ikaros flies overhead with a Gatling gun and wastes most of the townsfolk, Mikako and Sugata included. Tomoki gets annoyed at her for making a scene and shoots Ikaros, taking her out of the game. Nymph then confronts Ikaros and unlocks her memories, forcing Ikaros into threatening to destroy Nymph if she doesn’t return to the Synapse. Meanwhile, Tomoki and Sohara are the last ones left in the survival game… well, other than Mikako’s trump card!

Heaven's Lost Property Episode 8 Mikako and Sugata gun haka

What did you think?

I loved this episode. It’s completely bonkers and one of the reasons that I love Mikako. Her festival games are several of the highlights in the series, taking us away from the slightly more serious main story arc and allowing the characters to really cut loose. Tomoki begins the game by being chased by the old lady from the community centre, the fish market guy, and the woman from the grocery store. It’s hilarious.

This was one of those episodes where everything was just too good. Once Ikaros had been eliminated and flew off to find Nymph. After Nymph unlocked her memories, she saw the things that she had done, including the destruction of the Tower of Babel. Then something went wrong and Ikaros unlocked all of her strength and sent Nymph packing. This, of course, was a great part of the story, but was it as good as an entire town trying to shoot Tomoki with cork guns? No. No, it wasn’t.

And finally, we got to see the more considered side of Tomoki after the amazing end song. He told Ikaros that she shouldn’t save him if she didn’t know that she would survive. Tomoki truly is an interesting character. He started the episode peeping on Sohara, Ikaros, and Nymph and ended it like this. The guy is an enigma!

Heaven's Lost Property Episode 8 Ikaros thins the competition in the survival game

What have you learnt?

Having Ikaros as the one that destroyed the Tower of Babel was a great touch. It doesn’t have to be a big part, but I always love it when a story incorporates historical events. Even for something as fantastical as Heaven’s Lost Property, it grounds the story.

Another thing that I really enjoy about the series is Tomoki. Sure, he’s a pervert, but he’s also more than that. There are times when he shows that he genuinely cares for his friends. Times when he gets angry that they would risk their lives for him. It just goes to show that you can be a fascinating character and still have a flaw. No one is one thing all of the time.

Heaven's Lost Property Episode 8 Ikaros Awakens

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