Kuroneko to Majo no Kyoushitsu Ep.18 - Aria must fall! Go Spica! Go!

Episode 18 of Kuroneko to Majo no Kyoshitsu continues with the final test arc, showing off a real battle between Aria and Pollux, two of the most powerful students in the class. The battle ended with Aria's victory, and this only reinforces the theme of this arc, which is about the relationship between Spica and Aria.

Spica has never won against Aria at anything; her being so strong in this final test is only a way to reinforce this, before delivering the final victory into Spica's hands and probably providing some much-needed backstory time for Aria. There's a lot to discover there, because at the moment we only know her childhood from the PoV of Spica.

She's going to grab us and never leave us alone! Accept your destiny and submit to our new goddess Spica. In Spica we trust!

The smug face of Aria does a great job at raising the stake to the point that I can't wait to see her crying face again.

We don't have much to base ourselves on, but her personality screams of a child that has been hiding her real feelings for a long time. Why? That's the question. I could think of family trouble or expectations being put on her, but it's pure speculation at this point.

The magical dolls having three saves allotted for each student is also a nice touch because it allows the girls to fight each other without completely removing a character from the story arc. You know, it would end up too quickly if Aria just went around and beat them all up on the first try, doesn't it?

Aside from that, the predictions about another cross magic this week were foiled, and Pisces Merrow only ended up as a minor character having some small time together with Spica during the match. Honestly, I was hoping for her to take a bigger role, but I guess they don't want the focus to move away from Aria.

Unrelated to all this, another thing I noticed is that the OP animation treats the males as sort of side characters, with the girls being the focus. It feels like the typical harem OP sequence with the girls all chasing Spica, and I love every single second of it. Yuri is good!

Honestly Pisces Merrow was a disappointment when it comes to yuri, but I liked her theatre-like song performance I guess?

I genuinely adore Spica's vast range of emotions showing on her face. She's the protagonist, but also the best heroine if you think about it. Just way too good.

Next episode is titled "Race for the Ruby," and lots of students seem to participate in this one. I expect Spica to lose this one too, as the real grab is going to be the diamond for sure, as it's the one that is valued at 100 points. That makes the stakes much bigger in the match against Aria.