Flamenco Girl has arrived on the scene! Her baton is used to inject LOVE!
What They Say:
Masayoshi Hazama: a man who has become a superhero “by himself” with no superhuman powers or any sort of high-tech conversions, NONE!! Hidenori Goto: a cop who found out the true identity of “the superhero” by a strange twist of fate and thus constantly gets in trouble thanks to Hazama, the superhero. This is the story of the birth of a true hero featuring these two young men with a touch of comedy and serious drama, while they come face to face with hardships as they search for the true meaning of becoming a hero of justice in this world!
The Review: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Masayoshi has been under training from Joji and it’s paying off. Samurai Flamenco really DOES catch a purse snatcher. The entire situation is clearly happenstance, as Sam Flam is, as usual, loitering about somewhere waiting for something to happen. It just so happens that an office lady is strolling down the street and a guy on a moped so happens to snatch it. It’s a bit contrived, but it works really well to show off Masayoshi’s physical growth. Plus, these superhero stories are always a little contrived.
But Sam Flam is being mobbed by people, by fans, in places where he’d normally patrol. What looks like a red light district—there’s some okama walking around, which gives me this impression—is where he decides to patrol and there are people taking pictures and overall being fan-ish. But he’s wanted by some SOME SORT OF ORGANIZATION for a million yen. Just as things seem grim, Flamenco Girl arrives and saves the day, blasting anime music in a hot pink hummer (at least, I think it’s a hummer). She literally transforms her baton into a mace, beats up the bad guys that kidnapped Sam Flam, and kicks them repeatedly in the groin area.
Flamenco Girl’s true identity? Maya Mari, Japanese pop idol extraordinaire. She, like Masayoshi, has a thing for superheroes. It’s just that her form of superhero come in skirts with names like Sakura, Usagi, and Madoka. Her introduction throws the dynamic of the show upside down. Flamenco Girl becomes the her of the story by her own accord and pushes Samurai Flamenco—who she nicknames Samumenco—to a supporting role. It’s basically like when Tommy from Power Rangers showed up and took the spotlight from Jason (alright, it’s nothing like that, but it seemed like a good time to make the reference).
As usual, the best parts are how the normal folks are handling the weirdos. Goto, ever the straight man, gets a memo from the head of police that he’s just to keep his head down and track Flamenco Girl’s movements. When Goto formerly said “The police can never handle all the crimes of this little magnitude,” he’s saying, “It’s the police’s job TO handle it.” The later interaction between Goto, Sam Flam, and Flam Girl exemplifies the relationship between vigilante and police. It’s reminiscent of Batman and Commissioner Gordon in Nolan’s films, but it’s never overbearing.
The especially cute moment happens when Flam Girl crushes on Goto.
In Summary:
The introduction of Flamenco Girl is exactly what this series needed at this time, as it’s been hinted at enough up to this point. Samurai Flamenco is proving that it can tell character arcs and story arcs seamlessly and without either really interfering with the other. The important thing in the show is the relationship between Goto and the vigilante heroes and that’s exactly what’s at the forefront. As we move along, I’ll want more out of Masayoshi, Goto, and Mari as characters, but for now I’m riding the fun.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Equipment: Radeon 7850, 24 in. Vizio 1080p HDTV, Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II