Nothing gets you to move like a Regal Mammoth come tumbling down on top of you.
What They Say:
Toriko’s quick thinking saves Sunny and Komatsu from being crushed by a mammoth, but there are greater threats looming. A giant GT Robot is ready to rumble, and the Gourmet Hunters are all out of strength!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the way the last couple of episodes have gone with the two separate teams running about, this episode brings them both together right at the start, though not without a bit of trouble as a Regal Mammoth is tumbling down the mountain and is about to crush everyone. You do have to give Toriko credit for quick thinking and creative thinking at that in order to save not only Sunny and Komatsu, but also himself and the women that are with him. It’s nicely done overall, farfetched as the end result is, and it’s amusing to see that the Regal Mammoth simply get up afterwards, dust itself off, and move on its merry way. Which is actually a problem since they are trying to capture such a beast. And it is a best, especially in comparison to the baby one that we saw before. It’s hard to imagine these beasts roaming the land easily and in any amount of numbers.
With everyone finally together, and even Coco now a part of things which pleases Komatsu to no end, they have to face off against the Regal Mammoth itself which is definitely a real challenge, even with Coco providing the right way to do it by getting something into its system. What’s surprising is that so much of the episode passes very quickly without much of anything really happening besides watching the Mammoth and surviving that initial assault by it as it tumbled down the mountain. Some of the other beasts in the area are skittish about the whole thing to be sure, and they have good reason when you really step back and look at how this creature dominates the land.
While things do seem to be moving well, you know it can’t really last as they have to drop in another of those awful GT Robots. This one is a pretty damn big though, but not Mammoth sized, as Komatsu remembers the bird like footprint that he saw with Sunny previously. This one isn’t exactly fearsome though, even as big as it is, because it’s a pink feathered bird type, which separates it from the gray/black one we saw before. This one does try to look a little badass though by having chains wrapped around it. It’s kind of comical when paired with the intense music playing only to then have it goof up so badly when it moves during the first attack thrown on it that you have to roll your eyes. Of course, you know that isn’t going to be the end of it, since this is a fighting show in the end, and we do get a decent little match between it and Coco. But the problem continues to be that not only are they ugly robots, but that they are robots, as the operators are quite the distance away and there’s no real danger to them in these fights which drains a lot of the energy.
In Summary:
There are a lot of times when Toriko feels like a throwback to the 80’s both in good and bad ways. Some of the designs are fun and the general nature of it has a lot to offer. But as it continues to work this very spread out story arc, its weaknesses are pretty apparent and are becoming increasingly frustrating. I certainly don’t expect a consistent worldview from it since they’ll always be introducing new creatures, but there’s this feeling of just drawing whatever is needed for a situation and just rolling from that. While I can deal with that easily enough, and the wacky nature of the characters which is a bit much at times, if you have villains that don’t work, it’s hard to rally against them. The villains here so far pose no real threat and feel even less effective than Team Rocket from Pokemon. With barely half a percent of their style. They’re the biggest stumbling block for me at this point as they’re a drag on the show and its energy.
Grade: C
Simulcast By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
