Banal naming conventions are the least of this episode's problems.

The fastest ticket to Kunst is by flying there on an airplane, but not content with the generic machines, Allison convinces Ker to let her pilot one of the newer fighter planes.

Watching from afar is Wil, who recalls Grandma Moot's warning to watch out for Allison when her eyes are glittering, a sign that she's up to mischief.

The preparations are complete, as Ker and Fiona take flight, with the former faking an emergency landing, which causes a commotion within the army ranks. Just as Wil had feared, the sparkle in Allison's eyes from earlier did indeed lead to trouble, as he laments about how he was unable to stop her even after he knew.

Hijacking the fighter plane which Ker abused his reputation to prep up, Allison drags an unwilling Wil into the aircraft and almost gets away with it too, though they were noticed by the airbase soldiers, setting up a blockade.

Unwilling to give her newfound toy up, Allison decides on an alternate route, and with the help of Wil's knowledge of the surrounding landscape, she maneuvers the plane through the city roads, only to reach a familiar spot.

That's right, the point of no return. Apologizing to Wil, Allison takes a literal leap of faith as she plunges into the depths of the gorge, though it was exactly the impetus she required to send her aircraft soaring into the skies.

With everyone safely airborne, Wil sighs in relief that the ordeal is over, only to have Allison torture him further by playfully twirling the plane about. Poor chap. Meanwhile in Ker's plane, the major comments about how Fiona seems to be always clutching her chest, as if treasuring something. As he is mesmerized by her sweet smile, Fiona casually reveals that she is an impostor and that the real princess had died 10 years ago.

She however explains the reason behind it, though at the same time, Ker is more shocked than ever but agrees to see her mission to the very end. His willingness to assist stems from the fact Ker himself felt he was an impostor too, as he merely gained credit from Allison and Wil's discovery of the mural. Seizing the moment, Ker reveals his infatuation towards Fiona and kisses her hand.

The entire spectacle is witnessed by Allison and Wil, with the former extremely jealous that the couple had progressed so far and so fast. Infuriated further by Wil's dense nature, Allison vents her frustration on him by flying around randomly once again.

At capital city, Ker makes a grand entrance where Owen was supposed to give his speech. The hero is welcomed with open arms, by even the politician who saw this as a potential advantage, not realizing what was about to take place. Ker then speaks to the crowd, and reveals Fiona's true identity as the heir to the throne, shocking everyone who was present.

Straightforward episode is straightforward. Even with Fiona's revelation, I wasn't the least surprised, since everything had been working out smoothly so far. It's probably just like what Allison said about timing I guess, as such an earth shattering confession lost its impact considering where they were at at that time. Bricks would most likely have been shat if she only did so during Owen's speech, but then again we probably already saw that coming, not to mention giving some character development opportunities for the Major and her. With half the episode spent in the skies, the only good thing about this episode was seen Ker and Fiona get all lovey dovey, and Allison complaining out loud, with Wil being as oblivious as ever. Judging from the preview, Owen is evidently displeased over the possibility of a surviving royalty, which pretty much confirms his involvement in the assassination of the royal family. We also see what seems to be like Fiona making a promise to the late Francesca and unsurprisingly, the two looked so much alike. With the pacing and uninspiring nature of this arc, Allison and Lillia isn't going to win any new fans, and for some, it's already been written off. I pray I do not join their ranks.

Whatever could this ingenious tactical plan be?

Gee, sure is conveniently placed escape route in underground cellar around here. Despite being locked up, Allison and Wil manage to make their escape to a nearby shack where the pair plan out their next move.

While in hiding, they notice the presence of an unknown person who turned out to be Ker who had seen them running from earlier. After a commotion between Allison and the Major, the trio are noticed by the villagers where they all make a break for it.

As they skulk about in the village waiting for the ALERT status to return to normal, they overhear a conversation between the villagers and a familiar voice.

Yes, it's Mamiko Noto talking, as she is told by two of the villagers to watch out for strangers and to shoot anyone suspicious on sight, though with that logic, everyone in the village would be dead now.

Somehow feeling that Fiona would be on their side, Ker makes himself known where they all retreat to the former's house. After making sure everyone was safe, Fiona immediately demanded that they take her to Ikstova, lest she turns them in. Unable to turn down the request of such a beautiful girl, Ker merely asks that she elaborate. After warming up to everyone, Fiona discovers Ker's identity as the hero who discovered the mural which put an end to the war. Convinced that he might actually be able to assist her, some obligatory explanation revealed Fiona was the sole survivor of the incident 10 years ago where the entire royal family was murdered. Pointing at Owen Nihito's picture, Fiona wishes to go to his speech at the capital to declare her existence and expose Owen's involvement in the assassination.

With all that seriousness put aside, it was time to go to sleep, but with only 3 beds available, Fiona(Francesca doesn't sound as cute) insists that she sleeps on the couch, much to Ker's objection as he had a reputation as a lady's man to live up to. Clearly envious by Ker's gallantry towards Fi, Allison expresses her dissatisfaction and comes up with a solution:

Problem solved.

Or not ToT

Unable to sleep, Fiona and Ker share some pillow talk on whether people treated him differently after he became a hero, to which he admits, though he's glad there are people like Allison and Wil whom he can normal with. Ker then tells Fiona that should she accomplish her goals, she might go through a similiar experience though she can count on them to never change around her.

In the morning, the four still have to bypass the village security to get to their destination, and the only way to achieve that was by concealing themselves in a white sheet, hoping they would all go unnoticed. Yes, despite the misleading name that Ker has given this ridiculous idea, it turned out to be rather crude, albeit effective.

Reaching a checkpoint of sorts, the only thing that stood between them and freedom was a lone guard. Putting on a charade with Fiona, Ker manages to incapacitate the villager, but their efforts went down the drain as the latter manages to activate some rudimentary alarm system that alerts everyone.

As they are surrounded by the armed mob, Fiona stands up for her newfound allies, probably knowing full well the villagers wouldn't harm them. Announcing her plans to go to the capital, the chieftain wishes them godspeed with little objection as he recognized Ker was with her. Swearing upon his life and honor as a soldier, Ker vows to protect Fiona to the very end. With that they all head to Kunst, the capital of Ikstova for Fiona's important mission.

Well, looks like I was right on the money about Fiona's past, though I wished they'd have Allison and company fight their way out of the village at least, since it was hinted that the whole place was dangerous territory with armed old ladies and all. I also facepalm'ed at the whole basement scene since there was like 101 objects that Allison and Wil could have utilized to aid their escape, though they just settled by climbing through the damn window which was so obviously placed before them. Lawlwut. All this adds up to how "safe" this whole arc has been so far, as there were nearly no life threathening moments to speak of, underlining what some people disliked about the show in the first place; the lack of action. Still for the rest of us who still (Episode 5 post where, Crusader? ;-; ) enjoy this, looks like they'll be going airborne again, though I have doubts as to whether any aerial dogfights will occur since nobody is actually pursuing them.

Also, as already hinted by the ED sequence, Ker and Fiona are set to become much closer in the next episode, which is interesting, with him being the knight and Fi as the exiled princess, making them a good match for one another. I wonder how long they'll remain together since from the preview, Fiona manages to safely confront Owen at his speech to make her announcement, and for story's sake, I'm counting on a plot twist of some sort here, possibly one where our politician dude wasn't behind it or something to that effect, taking into account everything was told to her by her late grandfather and all that. Even if it was how we expected it to be, the predictable nature isn't going to stop me from looking forward to the next episode.

Can't think of anything witty to post, so here's something out of context. 

Months have passed since The Revelation, as we join Wil on his school field trip to the snowy regions of Ikstova, fully sponsored by the doting Allison.

While admiring a natural sight with his friend, Wil is approached by some KGB types who throw him into a vehicle. To his surprise, it was Allison behind the wheel, where apparently the entire trip was a setup on her behalf to spend some alone time with Wil. Just as planned.

Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ ~ ♥ ♥ ♥

What Allison didn't plan for however, is the fact Wil would be such a dense person, oblivious to the situation, as she tries to discuss their future together. Her inability to express her feelings into words and his inability to take a hint, meant the conversation lead to nowhere, as the topic switches to the political propaganda taking place in town.

Allison 0 - Cockblock -1 

Allison's other purpose of being in Ikstova it seems, was her being part of a joint military exercise between Roxche and Sou Beil, as the duo headed to a military garrison to meet a certain someone. That person in question is of course none other than Ker Benedict, who has been promoted to Major from 2nd Lieutentant for his heroic deeds. Some people get all the credit. （￣へ￣）

As everyone sat down to have a cup of tea, they catch up on old times, discuss a little on the joint operation itself, with Wil predicting the future:

Roxchian craving for tea knows no bounds! Even as they leave the base, Allison suggests to Wil that they head to a village across the lake to have a sip. Being on a tight budget, Wil declines at first, but is assured by Allison who reveals about her little stint as a caviar smuggler. The lengths these people will go to fund their addiction! Gotta love the definition Allison came up with as well.

Being alone once again, Allison attempts to talk to Wil about his plans after graduation, and she is able to carry the conversation a little further than before. However a sudden snowstorm interrupts Allison just before she could finish her sentence.

Kekkon shiyo, Wiru! (＾∇＾)

(╬ ಠ益ಠ)

Allison - 0 Cockblock - 2

As expected, Allison and Wil head to the closest village to brave the blizzard, with them stopping by along the way asking for directions. The seemingly harmless old woman who obliged them rushes down to her basement to warn the other villagers about these two suspicious characters. Even in times of so-called peace, people are still packing heat, as shown by this spinster who had an armory full of rifles.

As they arrive at the local town hall to have tea with their host, Wil comments on the royal crests, as he noted something was amiss. Sometimes, being too smart has its drawbacks, as Mr Know It All does little to quell the suspicion placed on them:

After talks of a possible conspiracy within the royal family, Allison does her best yet again to talk to Wil about his post-graduation plans. Poor girl, just when she's finally garnered the courage for an indirect confession, Wil gets knocked out by the drugged tea they just had. Realizing that fact, Allison follows suit and dozes off.

Allison - 0 Cockblock - 3

Major Benedict, hot on the trails of his friends as he was worried about them being lost in the snowstorm, comes across the tire tracks left by Allison suggesting she had headed towards a supposedly nonexistent village. Silent Hill anyone? On foot, he heads towards his destination, only to come across a beautiful girl, who ignores him. However, just as he took out the pamphlet which he used to mark his positions, the girl reacts all teary eyed and mentions the name of the name on it; Owen Nihito. She orders Ker to take her to the capital, but before he could answer, the villagers ask that this girl, Fiona, as she is known, to return with them.

Lawl, a hattrick of cockblocks. With that many obstacles in their relationship, I really wonder if Allison will ever be able to convey herself to Wil. As the situation never seems to favor herself when it comes to the matter of heart, it's watching her getting so worked up and flustered as she tries her best to do just that makes Allison such an endearing character, made much more interesting by the fact that the task of winning a loved one over is usually expected from the guy.

Anyway, even if the previous arc ended much sooner than expected, the story doesn't let up in this new one, even if the reunion moments implied that it might start off slow again.

The entire family of an eastern European monarchy assassinated in a coup d'etat.

A group of villagers that have barred themselves from outside contact.

Fiona reacting to the picture of a shady-looking politician.

Okay, anyone else getting that Anastasia vibe?

Everything seems to be in place. Fiona's the sole survivor of that assassination attempt, where she and a few loyalists have secluded themselves in a remote parts the country, fearing backlash from Owen, who obviously orchestrated the entire thing. I can see it now, together with Allison, Wil and Ker, Fiona will overthrow the evil dictator and claim her rightful place as leader of Ikstova. Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself there, though I have a gut feeling that at least a variation of what I had just mentioned will actually materialize, making the wait for a new episode all the more unbearable.

As the production team has to jam two novels worth of story into 26 episodes, you can almost forgive the pace at their going, though it does not in anyway feel disjointed, as the transition from one adventure to another is seamless, as shown in this episode. Oh yes, Mamiko Noto, the one with the voice of sex incarnate. Contrary to what I had expected, she voices Fiona with a much more mature tone than her usual meek and softspoken one, not that it's any less fappable.

I pity the foo who's not watching Allison and Lillia.

The biggest cover-up in human history.

Summary

Having caught up to Allison and Wil much sooner than expected, Ker attempts to talk the two into surrendering peacefully which falls on deaf ears, leaving the ace pilot with the only option of taking them down by force. In a deadly game of aerial cat and mouse, Allison swerves and dives about in her aircraft, dodging all of Ker's machinegun fire, though she is unable to shake him off. However, in a display of finesse and cunning, Allison manages to outwit the Lieutenant, as she intentionally stalls in midair after a sudden skyward ascension, throwing the bewildered Ker offguard.

With tides of battle turned to her favor, Allison seizes the opportunity to fire her weapons at her target, landing every shot on the now helpless Ker. To his relief, and that of the pacifist Wil, the rounds Allison had just fired were nothing more than paintball rounds. Allisonoll'ed!

Realizing his utter defeat in Allison's hands, Ker decides to aid them on their quest to seek out treasure. And then out of nowhere, two boogies appear and rain bullets on the trio. The manner in which Ker took out all the enemy fighter planes made Allison's triumph over him seem like a fluke, fueled by the fact the Lieutenant imposed some form of handicap on himself by aiming only the engine, to avoid killing the pilot. With the foes taken out, the good guys proceed to their target destination, unaware of the fact they were being tailed by the base commander in his spy plane, which by the way was eerily state of the art as it was complete with radars. Don't think it fits in this timeline, but I'll leave it to Crusader to confirm it, hehe.

Thanks to his eidetic memory, Wil leads his companions to the location where the treasure lies as instructed by Walter. At the end of it, they stumble upon on a extremely well preserved mural on the cave walls.

Calling their discovery of treasure the finding of a lifetime was an understatement, as lying before them was a secret so powerful, that if revealed, it would devastate the very foundations of mankind, effectively changing the history that they all once knew forever. The murals depicted two figures wielding weapons which were the symbols of Roxche and Sou Beil, proving that both nations were both bound to a single origin, negating whatever theories on whose version was accurate. An even more shocking revelation was as to how Walter was actually the Lieutenant Colonel McMillan who had to silence his own men to preserve this discovery, in hopes that someday, someone would chance on it, putting an end to the bloodshed.

Of course, you can count on the two idiots that were tailing Allison and company to make an appearance and ruin the moment, demanding for the treasure, whatever it may be. Explaining to them that the treasure was not what they had expected was a futile attempt, and before the Captain could start firing, Wil proved his worth as an able marksman, and shot the former in the shoulder. Despite that, the injured man tried retaliating, only to misfire and have the ceiling crash down on him and the Colonel. Lulz were had. You know it would have been so much better plot-wise, if the two officers were part of a clandestine organization of some sort that was trying to keep the secret under wraps rather than after fool's gold. Oh well.

The war which had last over a century finally comes to and end, with Allison and Wil visiting Walter's widow to inform her on the fate of her husband, though she accepts his demise, as he is finally free of the burden which he bore for so long. Despite the sombre mood, I couldn't help smiling when they talked about Walter's (blue) suede shoes.

Thoughts

Mein gott! That was it? I expected the journey to have taken up at least another 6 episodes or so, and despite the fact they still have to introduce the titular Lillia, I really think they were sort of rushing things. That being said, the four episodes of the treasure arc was satisfying to watch even if it did end somewhat abruptly. I especially loved the dramatic scene when they discovered the mural, and the detailed explanation that followed, driving home the point that wars of any kind were pointless in nature and that people were all the same regardless of race and beliefs . Equally touching was seeing how Walter was burdened with such a heavy responsibility and guilt which left him a broken man in his old age, only to be relieved of it all in his death. I was this close to baww'ing ;-;

Hopefully, the next arc won't be some lame side story, though it's hard to imagine it being able to top this arc. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, since this show has delivered everything that I've come to expect of it. Next week takes our favorite pair to snowy northern regions, with an appearance of a really cute female who will be voiced by Mamiko Noto. Perhaps they're both in Siberia trying to prevent an all out nuclear war with the assistance of a KGB defector?

B.J. Blazkowicz has got nothing on Walter.

Allison and Wil successfully infiltrate the military base in which Walter was held, and what do you know, the entire complex is designed after a medieval European castle.

Elsewhere within the vicinity, Ace Pilot Second Lieutenant Ker Benedict's busy hitting on a female trainee, much to the annoyance of his uptight superiors, who were probably have not gotten laid in a loooong time.

After scoring with the cute chick, Ker heads down to the cell where Walter is holed up only to find the Colonel bitching again, this time over the failed interrogation, as no useful information was obtained regarding the treasure. Overhearing this, Ker questions his boss as to the purpose of the detention, considering Walter was placed under custody under the allegations of being a spy.

Meanwhile, Allison and Wil in stroll about the compound like it was their backyard, though she reminds our nervous male protagonist that everything will be okay as long as he didn't talk, which was a kind way of saying STFU.

After persuading a base officer to borrow one of the privates for a tour around the base, Wil asks the rookie where the basement was so he and Allison can head down and have some happy fun time.

After a short but eventful and perilous journey from across the border, Allison and Wil finally reunite with Walter, who was more touched by the fact they believed in his story rather than them coming to bail him out. With no time to waste, Walter tells the two to head for the underground passageway, but not before asking for a hairpin from Allison.

On their way to the rendezvous point, Allison and Wil stumble into Second Lieutenant "Love Letter", who decides not to turn them in, as he wanted to know what they were doing in enemy territory. After hearing Allison out, the bewildered Lieutenant then asks Wil as to what he thought about the treasure hunt. Despite his pansy character, Wil instantly scored +10 ❤ points with Allison who looked like she wet her panties with his little speech about how his dreams were realized when he embarked on this journey, making Ker look like a chump in the process.

Back at the cell, the guards return after bringing some blankets only to spot Walter trying to break free, earning him ridicule and a "no wai you can unlock it lulz" Walter then suddenly turns GAR and goes NO U at the guards, and busts himself out of jail, MacGyver style.

The base goes into high alert and everyone meets at the designated meeting location. As they make their way out of the underground passage, Walter drills the details on the exact location of the treasure into Wil's head. Wow, you'd think he'd have Alzheimer's considering his semi-senile nature back in the first episode With the coast clear, Allison, Wil and Walter make a mad dash to the hangar, with military personnel in hot pursuit. To buy time, the old geezer offers to fend off the pursuers while Allison and Will take off in a seaplane. Cornered by gunfire, Walter makes the ultimate sacrifice by destroying an oil barrel which causes a huge explosion, though in the ensuing chaos, he gets shot in the back.

From the skies above as they learn of Walter's fate, Allison and Wil vow to carry on his will and seek out the treasure, no matter cost. Cue dramatic music and BAWWWWWW ;-;

The most action packed episode to date! Well, that isn't saying much, considering how calm the previous episodes were. Then again, to see Walter being so useful all of the sudden was quite unexpected, since while I expected him to die here(two seater seaplane also a big hint), I was assuming he'd go down without much of a fight. Boy, how wrong was I. Regardless his demise should prove to be a driving force for both Allison and Wil in their noble quest to seek out the treasure and with Ker hot on their tails, we might finally get a glimpse of that much talked about dogfights, as hinted in the preview, though I wonder if they'd succeed so quickly since I was guessing it would be something they'd discover towards the end of season. Either way, there's enough wartime melodrama and action going on here which firmly cements this as my favorite show of the season.

Wrong arm, but you get the idea.

In hot pursuit of the carrier containing the old man, Allison and Wil find themselves under fire from a fighter plane that emerged out of the dark skies. Seeing that they have no choice but to retreat Allison performs a BARREL ROLL and fakes a crash dive in an attempt to deceive the enemy. She pulls it off but in the midst of explaining things to Wil, Allison does not notice the electrical cables laid out before her, and crashes head on.

Plane's busted, but the pair makes it out in one piece. As they leave the crash site, Allison and Wil share yet another bonding moment as they think back of the times they had at an orphanage. The show reveals what we had already suspected about the two leads; Allison is the reckless Haruhi who was picking fights and getting into trouble, while Wil is the Kyon who stood by her and shared the burden of punishment. How adorable. The couple talk into the wee hours of the morning, with their idle chat interrupted by an appearance of a baby deer. Suspicious. Attracted by cute objects, Allison approaches Bambi, cooing it. Out of nowhere, its mother charges at Allison, and once again, Will puts himself in harms way, receiving a kick to the forehead. Going all yandere, Allison pulls out her pistol and takes aim at the beast that dared harm her man, although she decides not to shoot after noticing that all the mother was trying to do was to protect its young.

Piggybacking the injured Wil, Allison comes across a little house in the forest and seeks refuge there. As it turns out, the owner is a bitter middle aged woman who despises the military after finding out their identities. Later that night, Allison tends to the somewhat healed Wil and apologizes for putting him into so much trouble. He instead thanks her for making his dreams come true as he wanted to see what Sou Beil looked like with his own eyes. Going all dere-dere, she bids him goodnight, only to be invited by Wil to share the bed with her. I sort of half expected a slap or at least some flustering from the girl to ensue, but surprisingly she accepts his offer, not without informing Wil of her bad sleeping habits.

乙wwwwwww

In the morning, Wil goes into the living room and notices a photograph of two uniformed men, with the names Tims and Levin written on it. The woman who had taken care of the duo then enters the house and asks him of his past. Delving deeper into Wil and Allison's past, we discover that the orphanage that the two were brought up was established by a well known noble by the name of Mrs. Moot whom after emigrating from Sou Beil to Roxche, was branded a traitor by her home country.

Allison wakes up only to find her jacket torn around the collar. At that moment, she drops her ranking plate, and as Wil picks it up for her, he recalls of what the old man had said before about the symbol on it, proving that he indeed had deep connections with the military. Convinced more than ever that the story about the treasure that would end all wars is true, Wil is determined to bail the old person out. The old lady then tries to warn them about the dangers of such as endeavor, but Wil is relentless. Touched by Wil's ... will, the widow then hands the two a pair of blue uniforms, which once belonged to her dead sons. The 「Bezel Royal Guards」 uniform will now grant our two heroes access to any base in the vicinity. Armed with their outfits and a shiny Luger, Allison and Lillia hitch a ride on the deliveryman's truck towards their next destination.

The story might have started out pretty slowly at first, but already, both Allison and Wil are now deep in enemy territory and will have to rely on the disguises, a pea shooter, wits and a bit of luck to accomplish their rescue mission, paving the way to the greatest adventure of their lives. If that isn't enough, the show already gave viewer's a glimpse of what Allison can do with a biplane, and coupling that with Wil's apparent finesse with firearms, should quench the thirst of those who want more action out of this, quelling fears(lawl Wolf-[X]) that this show is a mere feel good adventure story with a war setting. <3 Also, a shoutout to Hoshi-kun for the wonderfully drawn sh00p on the OP image of Allison.

m(_ _)m

Why are you so Kino's Journey-like? Of course, being from the same author, there is bound to be certain influences. I like anime set around this era, whereby most of the settings resemble that of real world during the early 1900's, but given a steampunk twist where fantasy elements are introduced to spice things up, not to mention paving the way for ridiculous yet imaginative gadgets and machinery that would have been impossible then and perhaps even today. Examples like Full Metal Alchemist, Steamboy and games like Arcanum come into mind. Also, did I mention the lead heroine is voiced by Nana Mizuki? Of course I didn't. Otherwise that statement alone would have negated what I've said earlier due to the fact I'm such a fanboy of hers, although admittedly is one of the reasons why I was so eager to give this a go.

The show starts off on a relatively peaceful note(don't they all?) where we are introduced to one of the central characters, Will(pretty sure he's not Lillia), a senior student at a renowned academy who is your everyday studious and level headed male character. Enter Allison who drops by to visit her childhood friend (in the most spectacular fashion at that), in a bright yellow biplane. Taking into account Will's personality, you can expect Allison to be a total opposite, with her somewhat brash, loud and tomboyish nature. Yes, she also possesses some tsundere-ness, which is a common trait among female childhood friend types these days lawl.

Granted, it starts off pretty slow, as the pair catch up on old times. They later set off to the countryside in Will's motorcycle, which comes complete with a sidecar, an obvious homage to the author's previous work. Along the way, they meet up with some old guy who sounds like a war veteran, as hinted from the long winded conversation and his place. Just before I dozed off, a large and burly man clad in a black suit pays the geezer a visit and takes him away. Suspecting that something is amiss, Will and Allison gives chase. Sure enough, it turns out that the man in question is with the military, and the duo is thrown off course after being shot at. Eventually, they reach an army hangar, and this is where things start getting exciting. Allison and Will arrive just in time to see a large carrier taking off, to which the former reckons is where the old man is being held. Displaying her forte in flying machinery, Allison hijacks a biplane, and together with a reluctant Will, they take flight and go after their target. Lulz at Allison leaving an I.O.U note for "borrowing" private property.

Well, this show was everything I've expected so far, and the pacing seems alright. If there's more action with some romance between the couple, I'm pretty much sold. Apparently, there's going to be lots of explosions and biplane dogfights in store for us, and it does seem like it's going towards that direction, which makes it even more worthwhile, with the OP suggesting lots of adventuring involved. Sounds like a sleeper hit to me. The character designs seems overly simplistic by today's standards, but I guess Madhouse is trying to keep it as close as possible to the original artwork. Having said that, I've already taken a liking to the spunky and adventurous Allison, though it does help she's being voiced by my favorite seiyuu ;P Regardless, the series feels pretty decent in its own right, especially if you're into this sort of stuff, so be sure to give it a shot at least. Next stop, Castle Wolfenstein! Or not.