Now we finally know what's happening in Shiniki, and who's behind this messed up suicidal wave. However, we still know nothing about Ai Magase, an extremely seductive girl that will literally make you wanna die. Even though Babylon's plot was kinda difficult to follow for the first 2 episodes, all these plot-twists make total sense now: all the girls are one and the same, and knowing who to trust is now harder than ever.

The more shocking moment of the episode? Well, that's easy to answer. I mean, the whole thing revolves around a new drug that can kill you while you sleep, without feeling any pain... so why would all the people jump from the highest building?! But with that comes the realization that a lot of people are willing to die right now if they have a chance of a painless goodbye, just like Okuda, Inaba, and Fumio. This revelation is vital to Babylon's story, but I'm sure it will keep you thinking for a while too...

Alice rushes to Rulid Village to defend the townspeople. She unveils her armor and sword, ordering the town to evacuate while she takes up her sword once more to protect the people. Having discovered her path in life, she and Kirito depart together afterward. Meanwhile in the real world, Asuna and the members of Rath have evacuated to lower levels of their base after the attack, but it appears Kirito’s current state has been caused by his self-image being destroyed. Unfortunately, he is the only one who can save Alice and bring her out of the virtual world!

Alice’s reveal in this episode was such a powerful moment! I honestly hadn’t thought about the fact that she had hid her identity from all the villagers, including her sister. When she used her authority to order them all to flee, we saw just how strong she has become, all the way from that timid little girl who was taken all those years ago. And her attack on all the goblins was impressive. The villagers were struggling to fend them off, but she barely lifted her sword and destroyed every single one of them! The animation and the soundtrack coincided perfectly with this moment, and we are hoping that this series continues to show us great scenes like this one moving forward.

Following up on the cliffhanger ending from last week, we finally get to learn what Senku’s relation to Ishigami Village truly is. Surprisingly, it all comes down to one simple observation – if everyone on Earth was petrified, then the only people who could’ve started the village would’ve been the astronauts on the International Space Station.

Senku’s dad, Byakuya, abandoned his dream of becoming an astronaut after failing the clothed swimming test the first time he applied. But when he and Senku notice that the Japanese space program is hiring for the first time in ten years, Senku builds him a training wetsuit with electric nodes to target and strengthen specific muscles. Reinvigorated by his son’s devotion (much more so than by the suit itself), Byakuya passes the test and achieves his dream at last!

Five years later, he travels to the ISS and forms fast friendships with the other four astronauts aboard, as well as the American singer Lillian Weinberg who is tagging along as a space tourist. The anime’s version of her “space concert” features British musical theater actress Laura Pitt-Pulford, who brings Lillian’s song “One Small Step” to life with a crystal-clear voice befitting of the beloved diva. We even get a sneak peek of a character who appears later in the story during the sequence where people around the world tune in to listen to the concert! Of course, the fun can only last so long, because the very next day a strange green light envelops Earth and the astronauts discover through livestream cameras that everyone has turned into statues. If they’re the last six people alive, they’ll have to take the future of humanity into their own hands...

Maki officially joins the soft tennis club. During his first practice, Maki impresses the other boys by showing off his speed and stamina during their 20 lap run. Things get more interesting during Maki's second practice with the team. The boys head to the wall and practice their swings. Maki is easily able to get the hang of hitting the ball and the other boys soon join in. After Taiyou makes a mistake while trying to hit a ball, Maki calls out the rest of the team and points out their lack of skill despite having been playing for over a year. While it doesn't sit well with the rest of the team at first, they take Maki's comments to heart and decide to start practicing for real.

Hoshiai no Sora has a lot going on with its characters and so far everyone has an interesting story that I can't wait to learn more about. Coming off an episode that ended with Maki being abused by his father, the second episode of Hoshiai no Sora surprisingly focuses a lot on the soft tennis club than anything else. Maki's second practice with the team is a great scene for both the characters and the overall story. We get to see the characters get into an argument about the intense and competitive world of sports without them having a major fallout that makes them all take extreme stances on the issue. The other boys are able to take Maki's criticism and use them to push forward in their training and it makes the whole scene that much more realistic and exciting. While Maki instantly being good at soft tennis is kind of a letdown, the way Hoshiai no Sora has handled the characters and the sports aspects of its story have been amazing so far.