Hey, I’m being relatively prompt this time! Huzzah!

Anyway, this volume covers episodes twelve through fourteen. For any other 26-episode Sunrise show, this would be the volume where the brown stuff hits the twirly thing. For Xenoglossia, it’s the series of episodes that consistently make you think something really dramatic is just about to happen but, ultimately, doesn’t really.

What is typical Sunrise, though, is that the first episode is the conclusion to the usual two-part “stranded with the enemy” episode, though I do rather like the fact that Xenoglossia concludes it with Chihaya hating Haruka even more than previously. It kind of reflects the slightly subversive trends running throughout the series. I mean, it’s just like a Sunrise series, but the usual events have a tendency to so the other way – hard work doesn’t pay off, enemies don’t gain any sense of understanding the heroes and traitors don’t feel particularly regretful about it.

Speaking of traitors, it still surprises me that people were, well, surprised with Yukihos actions in the later half of the series. Episode 13 has a prime reason why no-one should really have been shocked.

Who is this super-spy?

Sarge? No.

Rosemary, the telephone operator? No.

Henry, the mild mannered Janitor? Could be!

Seriously, though, the hairline is a dead give away, and combined with some of her ambiguous dialogue and unexplained actions from previous episodes, I really do find it surprising that people hadn’t figured out what was going to happen by this point. This is compounded by the fact that Yukiho is, essentially, Erstin from ZHiME, with her seemingly passive personality and humongous norks and all that.

The first pressing extra with the DVD was another magnet. This one is slightly more useful that the previous ones, though.

All I need to do is find a nice, metallic surface, and every time I can’t remember how to spell Tribeat…errrr… Turiavita, it’ll be there as a handy reminder. Awesome!

The omake featurette this time around is Makoto-centric, appropriate given the episodes on this volume (and the fact that she’s on the cover). Actually, with the last two omake features following the DVD covers in focus, the next volumes will probably center on Yayoi, volume 7 will be the Twins, and volume 8 Azusa.

Anyway, this one takes the form of a series of static images displayed over a few dialogues between Azusa and Makoto around about the time that Haruka and Yukiho joined Mondenkind. It doesn’t really add anything beyond what you learn in the series – it re-emphasizes the fact that Makoto moes over crabs, before going back over a lot of what is talked about in episode 13 when Azusa drops making lunch due to Makoto mentioning work (depressing Makoto as a result), ultimately ending up where Xenoglossia so often seems to – the bath ^^;