What They Say:
“The Destruction of Japan”
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)
Throughout the course of the show, Samurai Flamenco has asked us what it means to be a hero. It’s a good question for a superhero show, and Sam Flam is constantly throwing new ideas and new situations where being a hero means different things. Underneath it all, Masayoshi’s definition of being a hero has been simple: Do justice.
The just thing to do in his situation is to inform the entire populace of Japan that they are in grave danger. As he rightfully should! The political workings that are going on behind the scenes are reprehensible and Masayoshi should do everything he can to point those out (though Joji seems to be of a different mind, but I digress). Masayoshi doesn’t try to save his friends and family by taking them to a shelter, he wants to save Japan. Anji Kuroki, Flamen Black, quietly says that he saved his grandfather after everyone else said they didn’t save anyone. Masayoshi just gives him the perfect look of “It’s ok. This is your family.” even though he chose not to save anyone in that manner.
Masayoshi wants to do another broadcast, this time telling people not to panic. The government, typically, will not have it. He basically does a secret broadcast (and by secret, I mean with his agency, which is not-so-secret) that tells people to calm down and follow procedure and they’ll be fine. The typical lines that you say to sate a riot. But it works. People trust Masayoshi because they know who he is and, during his speech, he was extremely truthful with them (admitting that he always looked up to heroes and grew up to become a hero—what a line to make!).
The people, safe in their shelters protected by policemen like Goto, watch on as Japan is invaded by From Beyond. Their ships litter the sky, breaking through the clouds and presumably leaving little room for sunlight to penetrate.
And the battle is grim. Real grim. Masayoshi can barely do anything, and the other Flamengers aren’t doing much better. And we’re cutting between that and Goto, fighting against Miami Ballerina, and losing. Everyone’s losing.
Then that shonen moment comes. That moment when (spoilers, by the way) Luffy drops from the sky at Marineford or when the animals/creatures come save the main characters in Avatar. You get the point. Joji comes back, this time as Red Axe and this time with friends. He says, emphatically, the heroes you’ve been watching have been watching you and saving you and protecting you and it feels so good just to see him back that you don’t even care what he’s saying (but it’s kind of awesome, what he’s saying, I mean).
This is the turning point. This is when everything changes. The fight is finally in the control of the Flamengers. But what about that drill that’s going to destroy Japan?
In Summary:
Samurai Flamenco has been extremely up and down between episodes, and even between scenes. But, as always, it’s bounced back. After episode seven, a lot of people were questioning the show’s direction. After episode 12, the same things were happening. It’s been happening all over the place, but Takahiro Omoro, Hideyuki Kurata, and their crew seem to have everything under control. The rope that ties the whole show together is simply the question of “What does it mean to be a hero?” and it’s been working brilliantly. In its first few episodes, I would have sprung to call it great. Now, I’m not so sure, but it’s certainly moving in that direction.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Equipment: Radeon 7850, 24 in. Vizio 1080p HDTV, Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II
