After the confusing time-slip between the first two episodes, it came of something of a relief when the third episode of the series followed directly on from the second and the story slowly starts to develop.

This episode sees the return of Yumiko and after seeing her it is hard to believe that both Yumiko and Koyomi are meant to be 15 years old as I would place Yumiko’s appearance in the 18-25 range. This of course makes the contrast with Koyomi all the more amusing given that she is short for her age.

The start of the episode serves as Yumiko’s re-introduction and it is immediately clear that she has grown up quite a bit and is now a competent mage as she takes down an intruder in an office building before her attention is drawn to some rogue code on a laptop,. This leads Yumiko to decide to call in an expert.

We then see Koyomi and Kaho learning modern magic, Koyomi is afraid of the computer and her attempt results in a Wash Basin summon while Kaho is already demonstrating some level of skill. Misa then explains Brownie’s code an elementary magic that allows you to cause simple reactions like calling a cell phone that has been switched off.

One of the nice touches in the scene was that the spell/code on the laptop was referred to as the “Deus in Machina” which gives the episode its title. The scene also establishes (as if there was any doubt) that she managed to survive Gibaltes attack. While it should also be clear the expert Yumiko plans to call is Misa, for various reasons they never actually meet up in this episode.

The mention of Brownie’s code acts as a “Chekov moment” later on in the episode since the cell phone example occurs at the worst possible moment for Yumiko and Koyomi later on. The scene also clarifies that following the end of the previous episode Kaho discovered that magic exists and started to learn from Misa. Kaho being (relatively) skilled at modern magic is also significant towards the end of the series when Misa relies on Kaho to pull off a complicated spell.

The next scene has Yumiko and Koyomi meeting for the first time outside Koyomi’s school, with a bump into hello moment on the part of Koyomi.  Yumiko then leaves after warning Yumiko to be careful.

Later in a computer room Koyomi is telling Kaho about Yumiko when they are attacked by a Daemon which injures Kaho’s hand when it slices a drinks can in two. As they attempt to escape it blocks to the entrance to the room and transforms into a giant bug. It is at this moment Yumiko arrives and skewers the Daemon with a sword spell. The Daemon then transforms back into light and escapes with Yumiko chasing after it.

As with Misa and her brother in the previous episode, there is no immediate sense of recognition on Yumiko’s part when meeting Koyomi for the first time. This adds to the mystery of why not if they met 6 years ago when her life was on the line. Yumiko’s warning was also not a pleasantry as she was actually investigating rogue code in the vicinity of the school.

In hindsight one thing that is obvious about Kaho’s comments about Koyomi entering Yumiko’s route (a dating sim reference) when in the library, foreshadow how the series will end, as an important factor in the ending is the relationship. between Yumiko and Koyomi. There is also continuity nod from the first episode in Yumiko’s use of summoned swords to attack the Daemon.

The scene also establishes that Kaho cannot see the Daemon despite the destruction it unleashes, a trait that will be maintained throughout the series (unable to see magic). This highlights one of the dangers of modern magic in that you do not have to have any innate magical ability to use it. The scene is also significant in this is the second time a Daemon has appeared for no apparent reason near Koyomi.

The chase does not go well for Yumiko as she is ambushed and we later learn has her underwear stolen! as they turn up on top of Koyomi’s head as she is heading back from Misa’s with a Wash basin in tow. The Daemon then proceeds to take the underwear back and attacks Koyomi who is again rescued by Yumiko who is furious with the Daemon and out for revenge.

Yumiko then takes a little time out to comfort a panicking Koyomi and is surprised to learn about Koyomi learning magic and that she is 15 years old (she thought Koyomi was in Grade school). Koyomi then offers to help Yumiko hunt the Daemon but has her offer rejected, until the Wash Basin disappears leading Yumiko to believe that Koyomi may actually have some talent and that the Daemon may have been after Koyomi causing Yumiko to change her mind.

While the underwear scene is both amusing and dark at the same time, in an amusing continuity nod, Yumiko’s stolen underwear is the same design as those she threw at a boy in the first episode!  Sadly the presence of the Wash Basin felt a bit contrived as was its convenient disappearance, I think the scene would have worked just as well if Koyomi had summoned a wash basin when Yumiko tried to use magic on her, instead of having it vanish at just the right moment.

While not clearly stated, this scene hints that Yumiko may remember Koyomi in the past since after the wash basin disappears when looking at Koyomi she thinks “It can’t be!” which could be due to recognising something familiar about Koyomi and the pieces starting to come together in her mind. On the other hand though it could simply be that Yumiko was thinking that it was impossible for Koyomi to have any skill at summoning given how difficult it is, and the main reason she invites Koyomi along is to act as bait.

In terms of why the Daemons should be attacking Koyomi as far as I can recall it is never actually stated in the series, however I do have a theory on this. We later learn that all of the weird goings on with the code are linked to Gibaltes and given how Koyomi is going to be responsible for his defeat when they eventually get around to the time travel episodes, it is possible there is a revenge motive or being used as a pre-emptive strike.

As Yumiko and Koyomi hunt for the Daemons we learn that they are both 15 and that Yumiko learnt classical magic from her great grandfathers notes. It is then established that Yumiko was meant to meet Misa who is waiting for her at a fast food restaurant and is trying to get through to Yumiko’s cell phone.

After another encounter with the Daemon, Yumiko manages to track the Daemon to its lair which is revealed to be a computer server centre with multiple Daemons present. Yumiko then decides to go for a surprise attack, only for her switched off cell phone to ring at the worst possible moment. This then causes Yumiko and Koyomi to be trapped behind a defensive shield.

Aside from the shock that Yumiko is only 15, we also learn that despite the events of the first episode when she went to Misa’s house to try to learn she actually learnt from her great grandfathers notes. Given what we later see in terms of the relationship between Yumiko and Misa, it is likely that this is due to Yumiko having “issues” with Misa’s use of magic and not wanting to dirty her hands with its ethically questionable use in addition to being more inclined towards using magic in the traditional way.

There  is then the Chekov moment I mentioned earlier, with the spell Misa mentioned to Kaho being used for comedic effect. Though this does highlight a weakness of Yumiko in that she really should have contacted Misa for backup given that modern day magic was being used, and the Daemons have the ability to tie people up with tentacles.

As Yumiko sacrifices herself to allow Koyomi to escape, Koyomi in desperation unconsciously uses her ability to rewrite the Daemons code into washbasins saving them both and activating the sprinklers in the server centre.

As Yumiko goes to thank Koyomi a final washbasin appears causing a full basin to tip water on both Yumiko and Koyomi. Later, Koyomi arrives at Misa’s and is surprised to see Yumiko sitting in the lounge.

From Koyomi’s perspective this is the first time she actually uses her power in anger and given how dire the situation was demonstrates how powerful the ability is. As we later learn it appears she can rewrite ANY code into a washbasin, with her only limit being the number of codes she can handle.

In terms of the episode itself, I quite enjoyed this episode as it had a lot of amusing moments and continued the theme of rogue code in the city. The episode also establishes the relationship between Yumiko and Koyomi with it largely being Koyomi idolising Yumiko, with a sense at the end that Yumiko likes Koyomi despite her weaknesses.

In retrospect though, aside from the re-introduction of Yumiko and the establishing of their relationship this episode is largely filler in nature, as the episode could be described as Yumiko teams up with Koyomi to recover her stolen underwear.

Rating

7/10 – A solid episode but little real progression in terms of story aside from re-introducing Yumiko