The old gods are starting to wake and it’s not going to lead to anything good.
What They Say:
Suddenly the gods who live in the sealed woods begin to act out. Due to the weakening of the Onikirimaru seal, one god after another degrades into a ghost. Awakened for the first time in thousand years by the unusual phenomena, the Mountain Gods cause a storm of anger. Takuma and the others try to suppress it.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the past two episodes having their moments but being largely character pieces that have set the Guardians and Tamaki at odds, this episode opens with some good material that shows a shift in the larger dynamic. With the seal weakening as we’ve seen, it’s now starting to move to something larger that’s getting involved, namely the old gods that slumber in the sacred forest. One shows himself at the beginning, lashing out about being awoken from all of this, and having quite a history with Tamaki’s family if his words are to be trusted. This showcases well that things are starting to really elevate to a new level but also the real and rich history of it all that’s involved.
While Tamaki and the Guardians have to deal with this growing problem, they are at least gaining a little favor elsewhere that’s helping to give them a little repreieve. Events within the Logos group aren’t as tight as one might believe after some of the encounters and there’s growing friction, which is spilling out, as Tamaki and the others are plainly confronted that they will not sway Sybil from what she has to do. Being told that simply reinforces that things are moving in their direction there with Sybil and that’s a pretty big improvement considering how difficult it all was before. Tamaki’s approach has not been one that has won over the Guardians for the most part, but when her actions are causing strife in the Logos group, they have to accept that she’s doing something right on some level.
In Summary:
The show is hitting some forward progress here as it moves more of the story elements front and center, but it’s also still kind of moving around in a circular fashion with things. What I do like is that we essentially have two groups that are dealing with the problem as Logos isn’t just going after Tamaki and the Guardians but rather pursuing their goals and sometimes running across them. They’re not actively going after them. That puts Tamaki’s group more on the offensive as they have to not let things stand. That leads to some decent action here, especially when some of the Logos members go after the old gods themselves and Tamaki and the others have to go and try and stop things. It’s a good moment that really shows the different approach that the show is taking in some ways and making for a more engaging work, if it tightened up its pacing a bit more.
Grade: C+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
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.
