Lycoris Recoil

Roight, time to sit down and watch that highly appraised hit from last season, Lycoris Recoil.

And it is conveniently also the L in my alphabet challenge.

The setting is that terrorist attacks in Japan thanks to the Direct Attack force, which raises young orphan girls into assassins under the Lycoris program.  Takina and her new partner Chisato are two such assassins, working from an undercover base in the guise of a cafe.  Takina is send to Chisato after disobeying orders in a mission, the latter quickly making her roadwise in her ways on the street.

During their first small mission together, the difference in their styles quickly become apparent.    They suddenly become hunted though, having to flee together with Mr Walnut, their hacker handler, as his competitor Robota wants them out of the way.

This is due to their first rather innocent looking job together accidentally has an illegal weapontrade in the background of a pciture, putting them in the middle of it all.  Takina feels a bit down on how she became in the program, but Chisato pulls her through during an exercise against her old team mates and making her feel better.  Takina learns the reason what drives Chisato, as it seems she wants to meet someone to tell him thank you.

During a terrorsit attack in the subway, a lot of DA agents are taken out as the plan goes wrong and the criminals detonate the station.  The incident is covered up as an accident of derailing, but a young detective seems to be driven to dive in deeper.

An assassin is send after the girls as they are on a sightseeing trip with an ageing customer, but he turns out to be the real target.  But the Lycoris are being hunted themselves as well, by the same guy that led the attack in the subway.  As a result, Takina moves in with Chisato to avoid them being singled out.  Chisato becomes the target, but Takina arrives to save her together with the rest of the team.

 

It turns out the assassin, Majima, and Chisato have a history of opposing each other, making him wanting to take her out at last. He and Chisato meet, recollecting the past events.  But later during a physical, Chisato is drugged down by another doctor then the usual, as it seems she isn`t all as it seems, being connected to an electrical device.  Takina arrives, finding Chisato out cold.  It turns out she was sick as a child, but underwent a procedure to make her better, and that Teach, who runs the cafe, was actually one of the surgeons, and why she doesn't kill.  Chisato namely is equipped with an experimental artificial heart.

 

As she looks back on her past, Takina investigates the arms deal on her own.  But Majima launches an attack on the Lycoris, forcing them to go under, but Takina won't stand down and listen to the operational directives in order to help Chisato.  The team however finds out more on what transpired 10 years ago, as Majima publically spills the secrets of the Lycoris.

 

Chisato arrives at the building Majima and his henchmen are holed up, ready to face him. But fighting in the dark, she is at a disdvantage against his superior hearing.  But Takina bursts in, out to help her in favour or remaining in the DA.

She saves Mr Yoshi, but he reprimands her for not killing Majima.  But Takina unveils what she learned during her investigations, exposing him and his intentions with Chisato.  He implanted the better heart in himself, meaning that he wants Chisato to kill him to obtain it.  She is forced to shoot him with live ammo, but opts for a non-lethal hit, choosing not to get the heart even stopping Takina getting it for her.

 

 But the Lycoris are in danger, as they are marked for extermination to protect the program's secrets.  Chisato and Takina go to the tower they are holed up in to answer a request of saving them, while the Lycoris try to take back control of their base, while it is broadcasted to make them look as being the instigators.  But thanks to the team they can revert the crisis, making it look to the public like it was a commercial for a new amusement park.

 

But Majima is back for one last dance with Chisato... while they discuss their philosophies, Teach takes matters in his hands and confronts Yoshi, retrieving the heart from him as he wanted Chisato to do in the first place.  She knocks him of the tower tthrough the glass roof, Takina managing to save Chisato of the same fate.  But his punishment explosions turns out to be... fireworks.

This was a good action series, with a very loveable lead character and rightly rated high last year.  Definitly worth picking up if you haven`t seen it yet!