We’ve got ourselves another lull episode. True to form, this show spent its downtime efficently, focusing on the relationships of several key players in this game with the titular one.
If the past two episodes were about making Vincent Bold a huge jerk, then this one was all about making him a great, well-rounded character with surprising charm and principle. I’m impressed to the extent that Space Brothers always impresses me.
The characters in this show are basically the inverse of characters like Desert Punk’s Mizuno Kanta and GS Mikami’s Yokoshima Tadao. While those guys are tight in the clutch and useless everywhere else, these guys are clever strategists who manage to screw up at the most critical juncture. I have an overall preference for the former apprach; it works better for all-around shows that mix comedy and drama. Still, the latter approach definitely works for comedy.
No matter what happens in the ending of Psycho-Pass, Urobuchi Gen and his star power will get too much credit, and the director, Katsuyuki Motohiro, will get too little. Considering this episode was almost all dialogue, half of it internal, it’s easy to see how the things it’s doing visually right will be overlooked.
Blast of Tempest is a very entertaining show, but sometimes it makes odd choices that don’t really seem consistent with how good it’s capable of being. This was, by and large, a solid episode, but also a reminder of how peaks-and-valleys the show can occasionally be.
Last week’s episode wrapped up a particularly fine retelling of an originally dull story arc. This week, it’s back to that massive cliffhanger Shishiou Igarashi left us with in episode 6. That’s right; it’s time to open… Pandora’s Box. … Anyway.
Episodes of Space Brothers generally fall into 3 categories. First, you have the ones detailing Mutta’s progress as an astronaut. Second, you have the ones dealing with Hibito’s career and missions. Lastly, you have the interlude episodes which serve to establish and build the series’ diverse, while introducing ideas that will become important later. This episode was of the latter variety, and raised some interesting specters lurking in the series’ future.
It was time to see how this show will resolve last week’s sudden dip into drama. Would it stay true to its comedy roots? Or would it delve still deeper into the abyss of Soumei’s past? I was prepared for it to take either tack, and I certainly found the one it chose entertaining.
This episode represented to the first real rest-stop in what has been a lightning chain of events stringing the past week of in-series time together. Which means it was a nice chance to more thoroughly examine some characters, and spread hints as to how exactly the finale will play out.
First of all, let me say I’m continually entertained by the willingness of this show to place serious discussions alongside characters lounging around in massage chairs. With that out of the way, the more pertinent comment; wow, did that episode ever floor me (in any number of ways, really).
Animetics 