Previously on Galilei Donna:

Hozuki manages to save her sisters and brother from jail and the girls join Anna Hendrix in search of the “Galileo Tesoro”. On the way they encounter the group “Messier” which is a secret orginization run by the real group after the girls, the Adnimoon Corporation. The group also runs into Roberto, the leader of Messier, before being saved by Cicinho. After the fight Hozuki examines Galileo’s sketch and finds the first clue to the Tesoro. Spoilers Ahead!

Hozuki shows the sketch to Hazuki and Anna and the girls deduce that the next clue to the Tesoro is in Germany. Heading to a park, the girls meet a man named Hans, but no sketch. Deciding to stock up on supplies, Hozuki & Hazuki head to a nearby shopping mall but are soon pursued by members of the Black Ganymede. During the chase Hozuki is mortally wounded and the girls have to figure how to save her before Cincinho catches them.

Galilei Donna is proving to be quite the dark horse this season. With it’s emphasis on family and lineage, this episode proves itself to be stronger than last week.

Hans

The girls trip for the Tesoro takes them to Germany and although we only see a very small part of the country it is still animated pretty well. There is still conflict with the Ferrari sisters as Kazuki is still having serious reservations about the girls current situation, who still wants to go home despite being  the sisters being fugitives. While in the park the girls meet a homeless man named Hans and he tells them of how he lost his daughter, because of an illness she had contracted. Finding no clues to the Tesoro, Hozuki and Hazuki decide to restock but are soon spotted by members of the Black Ganymede.

The chase is short as the girls manage to outwit them for the most part, but things quickly go south when Hozuki & Hazuki run inside a hotel. They make it to the top floor and Hazuki jumps to the roof of the next building and tries to get Hozuki to jump as well. but when she jumps Hozuki loses her grip of her sisters hand and falls about 5 stories, bouncing off of several cars in the alleyway.

This is where Hans and Kazuki really come into play in this episode. Hozuki is mortally wounded by her fall and has little chance for survival, which causes Kazuki to go and find Hans out of desperation. Earlier on Hans said that one of the reasons his daughter died (aside from the illness) was because he didn’t finish his machine in time. The “Micro Doctor” as it is known, is a small machine used to perform high risk surgeries and other medical procedures, Kazuki finds Hans in the park and convinces him to help save Hozuki; this is also where Kazuki starts to step into her own. As soon as Hans starts to begin prepping the Micro Doctor Cicinho begins to attack the Galileo (the girls goldfish ship), he chases them through the sky but backs off when he finds out that his men injured Hozuki (guess there is honor among thieves). During the fire fight, Kazuki takes control of the Galileo and even activates it’s battle mode.

Things go back to normal as Hozuki is saved and the girls bid farewell to Hans, who reveals that he was unknowingly using the next clue to the Tesoro as a placemat for his food, much to Anna’s horror. Speaking of Anna, something is definitely up with her aside from her obsession with Galileo. She initially tries to help the sisters search in the park, but suddenly leaves when a cellphone (that is in her hair) rings, she is also seen by Grande Rosso (the Galileo’s A.I.) snooping the girls bedroom, and finally she is shown talking to and unknown person on the phone. She is definitely one to be watched.

“Snow Gift” is a pretty solid episode. Even though Hans and the Micro Doctor being introduced is blatantly a plot device, Hazuki & Hozuki’s chase is harrowing, the fight with the Black Ganymede ship is action packed, Anna is put on notice and Kazuki finally begins to do something other than worry. The search for the Tesoro continues next week.

4/5