For a show called “Helck”, there sure isn’t a hell of a lot of Helck.

I’m realizing how much I miss the Hare Guu arc (or whatever you call it).  That time on the island with the goofball locals was Helck at its most charming.  Not least because it was all Helck – and Vermilio, and eventually Piwi.  That power trio is unequalled for me, and we’ve seen almost none of it in the past two months.  The flashback arc went on too long., and now that it’s over we’re spending almost all our time with supporting characters.  Obviously the series is playing a long game here, but I am feeling more than a hint of drift.

I will say this episode was certainly more interesting than last week’s, which frankly came off like a time waster.  We were into some essential stuff here at least, with the war going at full blast.  The humans attack Castle Shin – where the namesake demon lord is played bt Gesicht himself, Fuji Shinshuu (fast becoming one of my favorite seiyuu).  The five-dimensional chess runs deep here, with the demons having been tipped off by Asta that the attack was coming, but the hoomans having wanted that, as it was designed to lure them away from Castle Thor.  That’s where both sides have sent their big guns – though the humans really have one big gun.

The humans are using magic to throw tens of thousands of monsters at the demons, but Mikaros is obviously their main weapon.  Azudora is waiting for him – along with Hyura and Dorsche (who he may or may not have killed). Mikaros and Hyura have a nice little tussle, then he passes her off to her nemesis Edil.  The main event here is Mikaros vs. Azudora, but as it turns out this is not the first time they’ve met in battle.  Their prior engagement was 1500 years earlier, when Mikaros was a foot soldier and Azudora considerably less conciliatory.  The mental scars (and miasma) from that experience set Mikaros off on his current path.

Azudora has laid a trap for Mikaros, who doesn’t seem too upset to have fallen into it.  This looks closer to an even match, and that’s about how it’s playing out.  It’s obvious that Mikaros has some bad shit planned here – Azudora is convinced it’s end of the world material and he’s a pretty reliable witness at this point.  Their battle is fun to watch, but I still miss the real heroes of this series and I hope they become relevant again  sooner rather than later.