| Mami Tomoe VS Noel Vermillion | |
|---|---|
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| Season | 5 |
| Overall Episode | 53 |
| Season Episode | 1 (Season Premiere) |
| Air date | July 4th, 2020 |
| Written by | Shadow7615 |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Yasha vs. Jeanne (Season 4 Bonus Episode) |
Next Guts vs. Tatsumi |
| “ | Madoka Magica VS BlazBlue! It's a good old fashioned gunfight between two blonde heroines, both wielding plenty of powerful firearms. Time to find out whose aim is true. | „ |
Mami Tomoe vs. Noel Vermillion is the 53rd episode and Season 5 Premiere of DEATH BATTLE! by Shadow7615, featuring Mami Tomoe from the Puella Magi Madoka Magica series and Noel Vermillion from the BlazBlue series in a battle between blonde heroine marksman.
Interlude[]
Boomstick: I love me a good gun, no matter what kind of gun it is, I don't discriminate. I also love it when other people use guns! Don't forget Wiz, offers still open.
Wiz: Don't remind me. Though firearms have been used by many fearsome anti-heroes and villains, some heroes and heroines use them to uphold good, like Mami Tomoe, Madoka Magica's Master of Muskets.
Boomstick: And Noel Vermillion, BlazBlue's Eye of the Azure. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick!
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Mami[]
Boomstick: In the small town of Mitakihara City, something wasn't right. There was a problem. And it wasn't even something people understood. Plus it was incredibly dangerous, sounds right up my alley!
Wiz: Mitakihara City had become the playground for Witches, unusual entities that hid within barriers. And these Witches were going around causing havoc. However, the city had a protector, an unsung heroine who saved the unsuspecting innocence from this dangerous threat, her name is Mami Tomoe.
Boomstick: Like many cool teenage heroes, Mami was just a high school student, but unbeknownst to almost everyone, Mami was also a Magical Girl. But not the ones that rely on the power of friendship and stuff, Nah, this Magical Girl is a kickass Witch Hunter that goes in guns blazing!
Wiz: Although Mami's journey to heroism wasn't easy. When she was young, she was in a car crash and was the sole survivor. She would have died if not for the intervention of an Incubator. Think of them as magical messengers. Mami could have a wish granted if she became a Magical Girl. Seeing that was the best course of action, Mami took up the mantle and got a wish granted.
Popup: Mami was the first of the Holy Quintet to become a Magical Girl in all timelines. Thanks to this, she became the mentor of several Magical Girls, from Madoka Kaname to Kazumi Subaru.
Boomstick: I'd say the deal worked out great, binding contract and all! It gave Mami the power of magic. Sure it gave her the standard Magical Girl perks like a transformation sequence, a new outfit for after she transforms, and so on. But we gotta talk about what sets Mami apart from the rest of her friends.
Wiz: Right, Mami's primary weapons are Ribbons, believe it or not. With them, she's able to do all sorts of things. Restrain people, save them from falling. Use them to swing from building to building like Spider-Man, and even form clones of herself. They're quite malleable, able to adapt to whatever situation Mami is in.
Boomstick: What, that's not what I'm talking about! I'm talking about the guns! Mami made the right choice with her Ribbons because she can turn them into various types of guns and cannons. Most of the time Mami makes percussion-lock rifled muskets and summons them in large numbers for damn good measure. Heck, sometimes she doesn't even need to use ribbons to make them!
Wiz: Correct, so long as Mami has some kind of ribbon material on her person, they can be used as the conduit to conjure her weapons, even her clothing itself. And since it relies on Mami's magical power, it'll take a while before Mami starts running out of firearms. But they aren't ordinary muskets, given the way they are designed, it's likely Mami is using her a unique variant of Minié rifles.
Popup: In Magia Record, Mami acquired a transformation called Holy Mami. However, this was accomplished in a single timeline that does not take place during the original anime and sequential material, and thus omitted.
Boomstick: For all you gun enthusiasts, she's basically using mid-19th century rifles after the invention of the Minié ball, all with the added benefit of magical power. And if that's not enough, she can also summon a percussion lock cannon as part of her biggest attack, Tiro Finale! In case you couldn't tell, I'm pretty hyped about the guns.
Wiz: To use her magical power, Mami draws upon her Soul Gem. This small gem is the source of her magical capabilities, it's the proof you're a Magical Girl. However, it is far more important than you'd think. As part of the binding contract, your very soul becomes the Soul Gem, and your life becomes dependent on it.
Boomstick: That's why I don't sign anything until I read the fine print! Because the Soul Gem becomes sorta like a pet, except it's yourself. You have to clean your Soul Gem by defeating Witches, but if you don't clean it, or you run out of stamina, you risk going crazy and transforming into a Witch! Yep, that's the big plot twist. While Mami has rarely ever transformed into a Witch, we know her Witch is called Candeloro.
Wiz: Witches like Candeloro possess the ability to put up a barrier, their primary domain. Summon familiars to fight by their side, and gradually absorb the life of those who enter their barrier. I know it sounds bad, but there is an upside to the Soul Gem. Since Mami's body is no longer the vessel for her life, she can take all sorts of physical damage and recover just fine.
Popup: While Mami has been shown transforming into Candeloro in Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable, this has not happened consistently across multiple timelines. In the majority of timelines, Mami does not become Candeloro, nor ever learn the truth of Magical Girls.
Boomstick: Throughout the series, the Magical Girls' bodies have recovered from a lot of stuff, blood loss, committing seppuku and even having their organs destroy, shit, now they're basically immortal, they can just get over whatever you throw at them. No wonder Mami is the veteran Magical Girl, she's tough enough to get through it all.
Wiz: Mami has become a mentor to many powerful Magical Girls, including those in her Holy Quintet. And she's able to go toe-to-toe with them. Famously battling Homura Akemi, who was fast enough to catch one of Mami's bullets in one of her ribbons, to accomplish this in such a short frame of time means Homura was moving around Mach 619, and since Mami is comparable, she'd be in a similar ballpark.
Boomstick: Plus, her guns have got the firepower. One time Mami used Tiro Finale and caused a gigantic explosion. Based on the size of the explosion, triggering a big kaboom like that would mean Mami can unleash 295 Kilotons of TNT. I want a gun like that so bad, you have no idea. Maybe it's time I got in touch with an Incubator.
Wiz: However, despite Mami's impressive power and altruistic heroism, many flaws are hiding underneath. While one of her strengths is fighting alone, if she fights in front of people, it risks her becoming reckless. While not necessarily a factor in a one-on-one confrontation, Mami can still be plunged into uncertainty if a situation gets out of hand.
Popup: Gen Urobuchi, the co-creator of Madoka Magica, has said Mami's biggest weakness is that she can be taken down if she is not paying attention. Her infamous death scene in Episode 3 of the original anime is evidence of this.
Boomstick: Also, the Soul Gem is incredibly risky, which is typically why it becomes part of Mami's outfit when she transforms. All because of its fatal weakness, if the Soul Gem is destroyed, it kills her automatically. And she also can't be too far away from it. If a Soul Gem gets more than 100 meters away from its owner, they die.
Wiz: Furthermore, her mental state is fragile, despite coming across as a very sincere and calm individual. In one timeline she learned the whole truth about Magical Girls, she then started killing her friends, simply to save them from becoming Witches. But Madoka quickly put a stop to Mami's killing intent.
Boomstick: Ooh, that's bad, just one shot and she's gone. Well, that definitely puts a damper on the whole experience being a Magical Girl. But the guns are so cool! But the truth isn't easy to handle...
Wiz: Nevertheless, Mami's time as a Magical Girl helped her pass on her kind ways to her pupils. As Madoka saved the universe from Witches, Mami was able to live in a new universe free from them, one where she could live the kind of life she yearned for all along. One tea party at a time.
Mami: It's the first time I've been this happy while fighting. I'm not scared of anything anymore. I'm not alone anymore.
Noel[]
Wiz: Magic and Science, these two elements dominated the world. And many souls were looking to harness both of these power sources. And some of their efforts bore fruit, but not in the way you'd expect. Instead of becoming a powerhouse of both magic and science and conquering the world, the 7th Agency used its resources to create Dimensional Boundary Contact Prime Fields.
Boomstick: Which in layman's terms is basically an artificial human, like RoboCop! The development of these artificial humans proved successful, as three of these Prime Fields were successfully constructed, and given life. But before any of the epic Robo action could get started, a giant attack levelled the entire city. Bummer...
Wiz: Miraculously, one of these units survived. Despite losing all its memory, Mu-12 was found and raised by the Vermillion family, taking the name of Noel. Under the nurturing care of the Vermillions, Noel lived a happy life. But as the Control Organization threatened the aristocratic rights of the Vermillions. Trying to do what she could for her family, Noel stepped up for their sake.
Boomstick: And she made a damn good choice, she joined a military academy! Where she made her first real friends, and before she even graduated, she ranked up and became a First Lieutenant under Major Jin Kisaragi, who was a bit of a douche to her. But then Jin ran off to go after his brother, and Noel was strongarmed into returning Jin to active service.
Popup: In battle, Noel favours a speed over strength approach. Among BlazBlue's roster, her speeds are above average.
Wiz: When the battle comes her way, Noel enters with her trademark weapons, the Nox Nyctores, Arcus Diabolus: Bolverk. However, these aren't simple handguns. It can change its shape, able to become a shotgun, a rifle, and a machine gun. This is thanks to Bolverk's status as one of the eleven arch-enemy Event Weapons. It first showed up to Noel when she was attacked by a monster and had no means to defend herself.
Boomstick: Handguns that can become other guns, and can protect me when I'm about to be put in danger? Wiz. Hit me. C'mon, do it!
Wiz: What, no! There's no time to be testing that in here. Save it for the lab. But Noel isn't just a professional gunslinger. Like all BlazBlue characters, Noel has access to Drives. In her case, she commands the Chain Revolver. While it spams a lot in BlazBlue, it does benefit Noel's firepower and just how many forms her weapon can take.
Boomstick: If she needs to turn up the volume, she can use her Overdrive, the Chain Quasar to boost the speed of her attacks. These drives combined with her weapon's versatility makes her a tricky opponent to deal with. Though you wouldn't think that when you take a look at Noel. She certainly caught me by surprise the first time I saw her.
Popup: As the Eye of the Azure, Noel possesses many powers. One of her more simplistic powers is the ability to see recent or prior memories of a person upon physical contact with them. She's been shown using this on individuals like Hazama and Lambda-11.
Wiz: With these powers at her fingertips, Noel has plenty of powerful attacks. Like her Optic Barrel, which shoots through walls. Her Revolver Blast shoots four bullets while she uses her acrobatic skills. The Silencer can take advantage of a downed opponent, and the Spring Raid launches her opponent skyward. Noel can also use her Distortion Drives, where she can even transform Bolverk into a missile launcher, fancy that.
Boomstick: Damn, these guns are sounding better and better. I need to get my hands on them. Noel's most powerful attack is her Astral Heat. Valkyrie Veil, where she unleashes a barrage of shots upon her enemies, building up energy before she unleashes all of it in a finishing blow that practically guarantees victory. But we gotta address the elephant in the room. Noel isn't just a girl with some guns, she's a Robo-Lady!
Wiz: After she crossed paths with Hazama, who's linked to the 7th Agency, Noel learned she wasn't human, instead, she was a Murakumo Unit. One of few, who all had their likeness modelled after the same host. Saya, the long lost sister of Ragna and Jin. This revelation changed her life, Bolverk was broken, and her mind was too. She soon discovered who she really, and truly was. One of the only Murakumo Units in existence. Mu-12. An incredibly powerful, and dangerous individual.
Boomstick: Woah! Can we even show that, Wiz? That's a more revealing outfit than I would've expected. Nevertheless, Mu-12 is both the same and different from Noel. She uses eight telepathic blades, this combined with Drive, Steins Gunner allows her to set up her plan of attack for battle, and they even fire lasers. If her opponents like using long-range, she can summon wormholes for her swords to strike distant opponents.
Popup: Noel used to only ever transform into Mu-12 in circumstantial events that manipulated her psychologically, but with assistance from Rachel Alucard and her acceptance of who she truly is, Noel mastered this ability and can do so at will.
Wiz: And since Mu-12 has all the same capabilities as Noel, Mu-12 can utilize her Distortion Drives and Astral Heat. The latter is mighty, she transforms all her blades into gargantuan swords and uses all of them to crush you into oblivion, If that's not enough for you, she can also turn herself into a sword. With both sides of the coin working together, Noel has certainly accomplished much. She battled one of her counterparts, Nu-13 to a standstill, well before learning she was also a Murakumo unit.
Boomstick: Even teaming up against her is tough, as the dynamic duo of Jin Kisaragi and Hakumen couldn't overpower Mu-12. Heck, Hakumen even tried his Time Killer move, and that didn't even work on her. Even when Ragna, who'd become the Black Beast, tried to eat her alive, Mu-12 just said "Nope" and recovered despite being swallowed whole. Killing this chick ain't easy.
Wiz: She's fast enough to dodge attacks at the speed of light thanks to her friend, Tsubaki Yayoi, whose weapon can manipulate light itself. But don't discount Noel, she's still plenty powerful on her own. One part of gaining her power to transform was her victory against Mu-12 in the Imagined Landscape. Furthermore, it was Noel's actions that brought about the end of a constantly repeating time loop.
Boomstick: And she always lent a hand in taking down the bad guys, Hades Izanami, Take-Mikazuchi, any major final boss that needed more than just one person to take down. Though Noel doesn't escape having weaknesses. While nothing specifically affects her, she is more mentally affected than physically.
Popup: As Mu-12, Noel saved the Queen's Gate Spiral Chaos multiverse alongside Mai Shiranui and Ivy Valentine. However, these events are not considered canonical to any BlazBlue material.
Wiz: Indeed, Noel has always suffered from a lack of confidence and self-esteem. Not to mention her clumsy nature, abysmal cooking skill and fragile emotions. She's been teased and ridiculed at times, but always fought back.
Boomstick: I don't know what these other guys are smoking, because they always seem to say these things about Noel, and then promptly get their asses kicked by her. Trust me guys, it's not a great idea, no matter how minor you may think it is. Think of her mental wellbeing.
Wiz: When all was said and done, Noel absorbed the souls of those with Saya's likeness, and even Saya herself. All of them became a singular being, and Noel lived on as the culmination of their union. Restored to a complete person. Her confidence soared thanks to the fact she finally made peace with who she was, and where she came from.
Boomstick: I'd say she did a damn good job, considering how crazy this world is. Here's to you, Robo-Lady!
Noel: "As a human being, as a person, to fight until the very end..." It was for my own sake...that sacrifice... That's why I must fight. I want to help others. As a person, as a human being. As...Noel. Until the very end.
DEATH BATTLE![]
Clear blue skies and the bright light of the sun lit up the city. It was bustling and thriving, plenty to see and do. The closer you got to the centre, the more and more people you'd encounter, but as you get further out, there are fewer people, and supervision is practically nonexistent. The perfect place one may decide to lure unsuspecting victims and find themselves in a dangerous place. And in due time, something had gone awry. A woman seemingly under influence of some kind found herself atop a building and had no sense of direction.
Without warning, she tripped on the side of the rooftop, and plummeted down, completely unaware that she was even falling in the first place. As she careened down to the ground, suddenly, her movement was slowed, as she seemed to hit something, but it was not the cement. Instead, it was long stretched yellow fabric, which could catch this fallen woman and prevent her apparent death. With her momentum at an end, the ribbons freed her, as she slowly dropped into the arms of a young girl who laid her on the ground. She inspected the woman's neck, identifying a brand. Knowing what she had to do.
The girl jumped into one of the building's windows, and after a brief search, discovered a portal. She stepped through it and found the source of this problem. An entity lurking in the outskirts of the city, bringing unsuspecting witnesses into its control. The girl quickly deduced the woman's accidental suicide attempt was not of her own volition, which justified her use of lethal force against this entity.
With a motion of her wrist, a yellow ribbon was freed from one's grasp and magically levitated in the air before glowing with colourful energy that transformed it into a firearm. It landed in the hands of its intended user, and just moments later, gunfire was heard throughout the entire labyrinth. The entity moved onto to the defence and prioritized evading the bullets at all costs, but it proved to be a difficult task, the girl persisted, and she continued to use more and more firearms to press the entity into a corner.
This combination of ribbons and firearms meant that it could only be one girl, Mami Tomoe. The Magical Girl had found herself a Witch preying on the innocent humans of this city, and tasked herself with destroying the Witch and bringing an end to the threat that it posed. Mami used her ribbons, creating a long horizontal row of her signature muskets, all of which fired upon the Witch, and successfully struck it hard enough to bring the Witch down to its knees, now considerably wounded.
With the opportunity ripe, and the finishing blow coming at an opportune time, Mami dispersed the muskets she had just used up and jumped down to the ground, where she now stood on even levelling with the Witch. The Witch struggled to make a counterattack, but it was unsuccessful as Mami simply evaded the attack and used another of her muskets, striking the Witch again, this time grounding the Witch right in its place.
Meanwhile, the building that housed this clash of Magical Girl against Witch wasn't completely contained, the woman who laid unconscious had been found by an unsuspecting passerby, who alerted the authorities that something had happened, and was likely posed a significant danger to the city if left unchecked. Within a minute, someone had answered the call and was on their way to hopefully prevent a far greater danger from arising.
Back inside the labyrinth, Mami held her musket at point-blank range, aimed directly at the Witch. This time she was holding the musket in her hand, she wanted to end this Witch's life by pulling the trigger with her fingertips. Without hesitation, Mami pulled the trigger, fatally wounding the Witch, leaving it to die on the ground. Mami dispersed her musket and noticed her surroundings were morphing back to the original setting she was in. As this happened, Mami returned to the unconscious woman, seeing that she was safe.
Knowing that it would be dangerous to keep the woman here, Mami lifted the woman, and carried her out of the building floor they were in. Mami saw the staircase nearby and used them to safely navigate herself and the woman back to the rooftop. Now that she was safe from further harm, Mami laid the woman in a safe place.
At that same time, a young woman sprinted across the city, looking for the presumed danger. Shortly thereafter, she located the building but found she couldn't enter the building. Instead, she made an alternative path, and entered the adjacent building, ascended its staircase, arriving at the rooftop. Immediately, she recognized there were two people on the rooftop adjacent to hers. Suspecting something dangerous may have happened, Noel Vermillion made a quick dash over to the adjacent rooftop and used her running start to leap across the gap and land on the rooftop door's vantage point.
Hearing the sound of something else on the roof, Mami turned to see a blonde girl standing above the emergency exit door. Seeing that she was not remotely involved in the situation, Mami decided the best approach would be to greet this young woman politely. "Hello!" Mami greeted. Although Noel was a bit surprised by the formalities, it didn't stop her from making her intentions known. "Hold it right there, you are in closed-off territory, and your actions are suspect. I have some questions, so I'm bringing you into custody!" Noel retaliated.
Seeing that the girl was perhaps a bit riled up, Mami decided to continue being formal and responded to her "Oh don't worry, no harm is done. I will just go about my business now", Mami turned and began to walk away from Noel, thinking that it wasn't a big deal. However, that didn't exactly convince Noel, who narrowed her eyes, believing quite the opposite, as an unconscious woman laid beside her. "Now you're suspect!"
Noel took out one of her firearms and aimed at Mami's leg, hoping to prevent her escape. As the bullet travelled, Mami caught wind of the bullet coming right for her. As she turned to face Noel, she materialized a ribbon and waved it out in front of her, which caught the bullet and redirected it elsewhere. While still holding onto the ribbon, Mami wasted no time and transformed the ribbon into a twin pair of muskets, and held them at the ready. Seeing that there was no possible way to bring this situation to an end peacefully, Noel reached to her holster and retrieve the second of her two Bolverks, and pointed them toward Mami.
FIGHT!
(Cue Mass Destruction - Persona 3)
Making the first move, Mami fires her muskets in Noel's direction. Now having swapped roles, Noel evades the incoming bullets without fail, however, Mami used this opportunity to close the distance between herself and Noel. Jumping onto the elevated surface Noel was standing on, Mami attempted to make a close-quarters shot that would put her opponent out of commission. She materialized another rifle and aimed it straight at Noel's head. For a moment, Noel panicked, but she ducked in time to avoid the bullet as the trigger was pulled.
Continuing her approach, Mami repeated her process, summoning another musket and using it against Noel. But Noel was quick to make a counterattack and used her twin handguns to shoot Mami in her dominant arm. Although the bullets were fired, Mami evaded them with precision and allowed herself to almost fall backward. As she fell, she materialized two muskets from her skirt, where they were pointed at Noel's torso. She fired those bullets and made an effective attack, which Noel only just narrowly avoided. When Noel regained her footwork she failed to see Mami anywhere.
She looked over the side of the building but didn't see Mami in the alleyway. Just then she heard something moving, she turned around and saw Mami was approaching from behind, having used her ribbons as leverage to swing back around to Noel. But the surprise attack wasn't fast enough to catch Noel, as she hopped to the side, evading Mami's momentum boosted strike. Seeing an opportunity, Noel aimed Bolverk at Mami and successfully shot her twice in the back.
Struck on her back by two bullets, Mami's forward momentum dropped her to the adjacent rooftop where she laid there for a while. Noel was a bit shocked, all of that speed and constant attacks, suddenly ground to a halt. Noel looked at Mami's body, seeing that she'd been struck twice in the back, close to the spine. All of a sudden, the wounds caused by the bullets began to revert to normal, and the damage undone. Mami then pushed herself up and was back to normal just like that.
Noel was flabbergasted and simply couldn't believe what she was seeing, Mami turned around, seeing the stunned Noel just standing there. "Well now, you have some superb skill!" Mami remarked. Mami gently lifted her skirt, briefly enough to summon two muskets from the fabric of her skirt. Holding them in her hands, Mami was prepared, ready for more. "But I'm far from finished!" Mami declared. "I'm warning you! If you continue to resist, I'll have no choice but to-". Before she could finish her warning, Noel was alerted by the gunshot she heard and immediately evaded, but this time, jumped forward to the adjacent rooftop where Mami was situated.
With Bolverk in both her hands, Noel opened fire on Mami as if she were in a western shoot out. But Mami seemingly danced around the bullets with grace and poise. All the while she fired back with her muskets, causing the two to begin circling each other. Bullets fired and dodged on both sides, as they both strived to land a hit that'd bring their foe to their knees. Noel knew just firing her bullets would accomplish little if she continued playing this game. And instead, she decided to apply different attacks.
"Activating Chain Quasar!" with Noel's vocal command, she leapt into the air and fired more rounds of Bolverk, which were now faster. This development was noticed by Mami, and she quickly decided on a countermeasure of her own. Mami ran for the rooftop's edge and jumped off, which caught Noel off guard. She landed on the ground and rushed to the side of the rooftop, but remembered the last time she did this.
Jumping back quickly, Noel accurately anticipated an incoming attack from Mami, however, the attack was less of an attack, and more of an attempted scare tactic, as Mami simply rose into the air, having used a ribbon to fling her skyward. Mami tossed out a long piece of ribbon, roughly half the length of the rooftop, and the ribbon turned into a set of sixteen muskets, and with her command, all of them fired upon the rooftop.
Seeing that Chain Quasar was likely to be useful here, Noel jumped and used Bolverk to shoot down the projectiles coming her way, and the majority of them were destroyed in crossfire, but the ones that weren't passed Noel and caused damage to the rooftop. Noel realized she couldn't land on it now, or else her momentum could cause a collapse. But gravity could not keep her in the air. Noel landed back on the rooftop, and although cracks had been forged, she had not caused any damages but knew the rooftop was no longer safe.
Witnessing her adversary attempting to evacuate the rooftop, Mami summoned additional muskets and fired upon the fleeing Noel. The latter hurried across the fragile rooftop, only for Mami's musket rounds to further damage the structural integrity of the building, narrowly still standing, but likely on the brink of collapse. Noel leapt from the rooftop and found herself on a raised platform held by four wires. Seizing this chance, Noel used it as an opportunity to safely descend to the ground, but then she heard another gunshot, and it was aimed at the wire holding up the platform, it had been cut, sending it careening to the ground.
Knowing she had no other options at this point, Noel leapt off the platform and landed on the ground safely, she turned to see the platform break apart upon contact with the ground beneath it. Noel stood back up on her feet looking for Mami. Another gunshot was heard, and Noel turned to see Mami in the air descending toward her, Noel aimed her two Bolverk at Mami, but suddenly, something tugged on her leg. Noel looked and saw a yellow ribbon had been tied around her ankle. And the ribbon leads straight back to Mami.
Just moments after that revelation, Mami tugged on the ribbon, and Noel was helplessly pulled into Mami's scheme. As the Magical Girl pulled Noel in, she quickly created even more ribbons and used them all to restrain Noel. Her arms and legs were bound and tied. Noel laid there unable to move as Mami touched down on the ground and decided to use the opportunity to taunt Noel. "Justice has been served!" Mami cheekily declared.
Bringing another musket to her hands, Mami held it in her hands, as she aimed it straight at Noel's head. "If you won’t come along quietly…then I’ll have to use force." Noel responded, amidst her struggles with the ribbons. Mami paused for a moment, a bit perplexed as to why Noel seemed so determined despite having a clear disadvantage at this very moment. Noel, who was still holding onto Bolverk in its present form, transformed it into Thor, which took the form of a rocket launcher. With the weapon still in her hand, Noel's plan unfolded perfectly.
With a well-placed shot of Thor, the rocket head launched. Not having expected a rocket launcher, Mami jumped backward, to the nearby building. Mami quickly thought about the girl she was dealing with and was reminded of Homura, especially with the use of all her different weapons. However, while Mami was thinking, the head of the rocket had flown into the building and exploded inside, and finally, the entire structure began to collapse.
Distracted, Mami turned and jumped backward to avoid any of the collapsing debris. However, she completely forgot about Noel, who had used the opportunity to push herself toward Mami. Although not free of the ribbons, Noel was able to raise a barrier using what little movement her arms had. Protecting her from the falling debris. As for Mami, however, she had to completely commit to defensive evasion and shielding attacks. In due time, more and more of the building collapsed until it had all been reduced to rubble. Mami inspected her surroundings to see a bunch of debris had completely enveloped Noel, her barrier the only thing separating her from the debris.
Tapping into her powers once again, Mami summoned ribbons and used them to grab hold of the debris and toss it to the side, looking to confirm is Noel had survived all the debris that covered her from head to toe. In just a couple of seconds, the rocks had been cleared and Mami could see Noel was still protected by her barrier. She noticed Noel was without her firearms, and that she was still relying on her barrier to protect her.
Mami tugged on the ribbons that were currently holding into Noel, and pulled them toward her, Noel struggled as she desperately vyed for freedom. Mami freed the ribbons from Noel's body, only to turn it into a musket, this time pointed and pressed directly against Noel's forehead.
Wasting no time, Mami pulled the trigger and the bullet struck Noel. However, it didn't have any effect on her. Seeing that her adversary was now caught off guard, Noel kicked the musket of Mami's hands and proceeded to use this opportunity to great effect. As soon as Mami recovers from the shock of being disarmed, Noel closes in with close-quarters combat, landing several punches and kicks on Mami in quick succession before knocking her to the ground. As her skin made contact with Mami's, Noel was able to briefly glimpse Mami's recent memories. But knew she had to focus on the fight.
Backed into a corner, Mami once again attempted to use ribbons to subdue Noel before she launches even more attacks, but Noel grabs hold of the ribbons with her bare hands, tightening her grip, the two girls are locked in a mental, and physical, tug of war. Using her strength, Noel pulls on the ribbon, dragging Mami toward her. With a golden opportunity to land as many hits as possible, "Fenrir!" Noel transforms her weapon into a machine gun. Holding onto it and bracing herself for the impending recoil.
Pulling the trigger, Noel unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of bullets, spraying Mami across her entire body with led. The cumulative damage utterly sweeps Mami off her feet and the force of every bullet sends her back further and further until she finally hits a building wall, but Noel refused to stop, no end to her volley of bullets. A thick haze rose, consuming Mami from within, the rubble had begun to collapse, and parts of the building were damaged, glass shattered and crumbled.
To finish her attack, Noel changed her weapon once again and began charging her shot, the energy gradually building up. "Nemesis Stabilizer!" Noel shouted as she launched her charged shot at her intended target, it collided in seconds and caused an explosion, one that twisted and sheared the building, collapsing abruptly, right on top of Mami.
Finally, Noel released her finger, and she lowered her aim, waiting to see the damage that she'd inflicted. As the dust cleared, Noel hurried to the building, looking to verify her kill. As she looked through the wreckage, she spotted Mami laying on the ground, cut by the glass and half her face painted with blood. Noel was just about to step forward and inspect the body, but unexpectedly, Mami opened her eyes, and she looked straight at Noel.
She almost jumped out of shock, but certainly took a step back. "How do you keep doing that?" Noel watched as Mami's injuries, bar the blood that was spattered on her face, revert to normal. Mami climbed to her feet, holding a torn ribbon in her hand. Noel switched her weapon back to Bolverk, anticipating another attack, which she was correct in thinking. Mami summoned ribbons from both her hands and threw them toward Noel who fired at the ribbons looking to tear them apart. But while Noel was distracted, Mami used more of her Soul Gem's power, generating even more ribbons, and they quickly encompassed Noel from every direction.
This time, however, Mami wrapped Noel entirely, from the neck down, completely covered in yellow ribbon. As if she were a cocoon. Noel dropped to the ground and helplessly watch Mami bring another pair of muskets into her hands. "I can see you were willing to take the shot that would destroy me. I will grant you the same courtesy." Mami coldly stated as she pressed both of the musket's barrels against Noel's forehead.
(Cue 悲憤慷慨 - Night of Azure)
Just as Mami is about to press her trigger finger, blue light radiates brightly, blinding her vision! She drops her muskets, desperate to cover her eyes. She takes a few steps back until she can finally regain her visual clarity. As she lowers her arm to see what had happened, she notices that Noel had changed, what was once just lengthy blonde hair was now adorned with an armoured head plate featuring longhorns, and Noel's once emerald eyes had now changed to blue. Noel had willed her transformation, Mu-12, into battle.
"Lux Sanctus… Activating Murakumo Unit." Mu-12 uttered these words, as she looked at the now stunned Mami. As Mu-12 begins to tap into her remarkable power, eight disembodied swords appear from behind her, and on her command, the swords cut Mami's ribbons, freeing Mu-12.
Definitely feeling a bit tense, but determined to keep fighting, Mami materializes another musket, but before she can grasp it in her hands, Mu-12 swiftly approaches her, and swings one of her swords, striking Mami directly across her torso. Following her attack, Mu-12 takes flight and grabs Mami along the way, and headed straight for a skyscraper. Mami tries to pry herself out of Mu-12's control, but it no avails. Looking to stop the girl's attempts for freedom, Mu-12 adjusts her flight path to vertical climbing, and on her way upward, drags Mami through the glass which shatters.
Finally, Mu-12 has ascended high enough and throws Mami to the rooftop. "Steins Geiser!" Mu-12's command sees her weapons fire a group of lasers upon the falling Mami, each of them land successfully. Hitting the ground even harder, Mami watched Mu-12 begin to charge a large laser beam attack of sorts. The Magical Girl quickly concocts a plan to escape this situation.
Summoning what power she could, Mami called upon as many ribbons as she could, and with them, she painted the skies with an insurmountable number of muskets, surrounding Mu-12. Mu-12 stops charging her attack, realizing she has been lured into a trap herself. "Tiro Volley!" Upon Mami's command, the entire armada of muskets reigned fire from on high. Mu-12 had no choice but to block them.
Putting her swords to good use, Mu-12 formed them into a rhombus formation and activated a barrier. Shielding her from the constant bombardment. This lasted almost twenty seconds before Mu-12 finally lowered her barrier. As she looked back to the rooftop, Mami had leapt from it and grabbed Mu-12, again looking to use her ribbons to subdue her. But Mu-12 successfully pushes her off before using her flight to grab Mami and bring her back down to the rooftop, as the two are about to impact, one of Mu-12's swords stabs Mami in the shoulder.
As the sword laid thrust in Mami's shoulder, something wasn't right. Mu-12 looks at impalement but doesn't find blood, and suddenly, Mami contorts and shifts her shape, and Mu-12 gently flies backward. It proves to be Mami's ribbon clone, as the real Mami emerges from safety and tries to take advantage of her vulnerable opponent by throwing more ribbons, but Mu-12 can jump to the side, avoiding Mami's ribbons.
But, with all those ribbons available to her, Mami uses them to create a gargantuan cannon. Mami wasted no time and prepared the cannon to fire, taking aim at Mu-12, who stood there with her eyes closed. Mu-12 recalled what she had seen when she made contact with Mami prior and saw the memory of her using a yellow coloured device to transform, and the memories showed that it was on her head as an accessory.
"Tiro Finale!" "I am Kusanagi… The destroyer of all!" As Mami pulled the trigger on her giant cannon, the energy which had charged at the tip of the barrel launched a massive blast of energy toward Mu-12. In response, Mu-12 formed her swords, performing her Overdrive, "Pillar of Light!" her swords spin around in quick succession, creating an energy pillar which collided with Mami's own. The two attacks were briefly an impasse.
Mami landed on the ground, as Mu-12 decided to break off her attack and pursue her. Before Mami could summon another weapon, Mu-12 swung her blades, slicing her arms off, and Mami dropped to her knees. "This is the end!" Mu-12 declared as she summoned a wormhole, and one giant blade impaled Mami through the side of her head. It destroyed her Soul Gem. Mu-12 retracted her sword out as Mami's outfit returned to her standard clothing, dropping to the ground entirely devoid of life.
Mu-12 reverted to Noel, as she tended to the fallen.
K.O.!
Conclusion[]
Boomstick: Ooh... well, that's one way to sword things out.
Wiz: Mami's magical abilities and unconventional durability gave her advantages that she used to great effect, changing weapons, making duplicates and her regeneration, it always kept Noel on her toes, and never made it easy for her. However, Noel's far greater power and a wider array of abilities made things gradually more difficult for Mami.
Boomstick: Although Noel isn't a ruthless fighter, she was formally trained in a military academy. Mami was an ordinary girl before she accepted the contract, but she learned to combat an entirely new threat all on her own and did so for long enough to mentor other magical girls. So they're both pretty skilled, but their advantages aren't reliant on their experience. Not to mention, in just a straight-up gunfight, Mami was pretty comfortable, she's fought Homura, someone who also used a lot of guns.
Popup: Ironically, Mami herself demonstrated that a Soul Gem can be destroyed by a bullet. In a prior timeline, Mami killed Kyoko Sakura using this method. Noel's weapons have displayed far greater potency, making it very likely she can destroy Mami's Soul Gem.
Wiz: While Mami's muskets and cannons easily outnumbered Noel's singular weapon, Noel's Bolverk was far more versatile, since it could take on many different forms and counter Mami's firepower. In other words, Mami had quantity, Noel had quality. Also ironically, Scissors beat Paper, or in this case, Swords beat Ribbons. Noel even had the benefit of being the superior hand-to-hand combatant.
Boomstick: Mami scaled to Mach 619 speeds, but Noel was faster, given how she's dodged light itself. So both of 'em could avoid the others bullets easy peasy. But this fight isn't just about the bullets, and Noel's superior speeds meant that she's landing hits far more often. Mami could take those hits, sure, but she didn't have any real counter to Noel's speed.
Wiz: And of course, Noel had a crucial advantage. Her transformation into Mu-12. And with it, far more strength, speed, and abilities that turned the tables against Mami, who simply did not have an efficient counter to something as powerful as Mu-12. But I know some of you might be asking about Mami's Witch form, Candeloro.
Popup: Rebellion establishes that Magical Girls connected to the Law of Cycles can summon their Witch form to fight alongside them at will, although her death was negated by Ultimate Madoka, who created the Law of Cycles, she never granted Mami this ability.
Boomstick: Although it's perfectly reasonable, it's a tad unreliable in this fight. While Mami would transform if she ran out of stamina, Noel's advantages meant that she would defeat Mami before her transformation. Mami's only other way of becoming Candeloro is being overwhelmed with despair, but she doesn't know that to begin with, and even if she did, Noel's the nicest girl in the world.
Wiz: Fortunately, Mami doesn't need a witch form to prove she is the most seasoned magical girl around, but ultimately she just couldn't compete with Noel's superior strength, speed, abilities and weaponry.
Boomstick: Noel had the right bullets in her barrel to land a bullseye. But Mami? She had No-el chance.
Wiz: The winner is Noel Vermillion.
Original Track[]
An Original Track for this episode would be titled "Calamity Magica".
The title references the media both combatants originate from ("BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger" and "Puella Magi Madoka Magica").
Trivia[]
- The connections between Mami and Noel are that they are blonde heroine marksman with variable weaponry who possess significant experience in their respective combative occupations despite appearing young (Mami as a surrogate mentor to her peers and Noel being a former first lieutenant). Through their series, it is revealed they are not completely human (Mami's wish split her soul from her body, and Noel's true form is the artificial human Mu-12).
- Noel Vermillion is portrayed in English media by Cristina Vee, she also portrays Homura Akemi, a member of the Holy Quintet, who similarly uses firearms and is initially a shy, clumsy individual.