What They Say:
Natsume reflects on her relationship with Harutora as they go with the others to the fireworks festival.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With some pretty good material between Natsume and Kyoko in the previous episode, things managed to get settled to some degree between them, though there are still some longstanding issue that will futz around the edges considering how Nasume was deceiving people. That episode did some decent stuff to help settle one of the more awkward aspects of the show, but it also allowed for a moment where Natsume was told pretty plainly that she needs to fix the other issue in actually talking to Harutora and getting some truth out there as well. With Harutora’s past with Hokuto out there and her being a big impact on why he’s in Tokyo at the prep academy, getting that cleared up is hugely important.
And that does have the two of them out together a bit more in a near date-like fashion which is cute to watch with how they present it. When Natsume gets to actually be a girl and dress up like she wants and to do the things that she wants, it’s pretty nice to see such a change in her since she’s able to be free in a way she hasn’t for so long. And you can see how Harutora, not exactly being a drooling idiot, is just glad to see that she’s like this and able to do it. But even their time there has a bit of darkness creeping in as once he steps away for a moment, one of those adults that flits in and out of the show stops by to tell her that the Ravens Coat has been moved and she really needs to be aware of what’s going on, more cautious and to have a few plans in place to deal with it should things go south quickly.
A good part of the show just deals with the festival that’s happening, which brings the kids together well and makes for some good fun, especially when you do see Kyoko and Natsume together, embracing, and happy to be around each other. Of course, such events can’t go on for long without trouble and trouble starts with Takiko, who has come to unlock the curse that is within both Harutora and Natsume that was placed on them as children. It’s unlocked earlier than it should be though but it sets into motion a really striking action sequence as we see Harutora struggling with what he’s becoming while Natsume does what she can to try and save him. It’s pretty solidly done and since the episode excises the adults for the most part, allowing it to focus on the kids as Natsume works to save him makes for a visually striking and engaging episode.
In Summary:
Tokyo Ravens hasn’t worked for me for quite a few episodes now, but when we get pieces like this that allows the focus to remain on the kids and their story, it works very well. The adult layering that we’ve had hasn’t added much for me, but seeing Takiko put events into motion here and watching the struggle Harutora goes through and the panic and fear that Natsume has while knowing she has to act is pretty solid stuff, character-wise and visually. I’m still not engaged in the larger narrative, but I like the characters and this one lets them shine pretty well.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
I’m epich