When the old guy comes along, things really start to heat up.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the show having settled down a little bit even after adding a few characters, events can move quickly here because of its origins and how the original story worked. With this episode, there’s not much in the way of actual lead up to events but rather that things just get underway, which is actually appreciated as it means we don’t get several minutes of pointless silliness and fluff. What’s happened here, following events from the previous episode, is that Duke Voban has had Yuri kidnapped and brought to him. With him being one of the three oldest Campione’s out there, the danger level is pretty high and from what little we’ve seen of him so far, he has a definite air of violence and dread about him in a way that may be just a bit too campy but works well in the confines of this series and its mythos so far.
Thankfully, because we get this quick introduction, we also have Erica and Kusunagi going quickly to where she’s located as they’ve been given information on where the Duke is residing. Similar to the relationship between the two, the Duke has his own forces under his control so there’s some good “dungeon crawling” going on here as the pair work their way through the mansion. Erica takes point for a lot of it which is pretty good as well since she plays it as something where Kusunagi doesn’t need to exercise his abilities at this point because that’s what her job is. That and getting him directly in front of the Duke so that the two can converse as befits their level.
Where things turn is rather amusing and simple but a welcome kind of change of pace as the two men make a deal where Kusunagi and those with him have thirty minutes to keep Yuri safe from the Duke’s hunt of them. While they do add Arianna briefly, it’s down to the main three for most of it and it has a good bit of tension about it as they work to evade and to set up a place to fight where it works to their advantage. Though things aren’t resolved here, we get some pretty good action sequences out of it as it progresses and it starts to put more of the pressure on Kusunagi since Duke Voban is obviously one with a lot of experience and skill, making it obvious why Erica has been doing her best to keep him in reserve until the time he’s really needed.
In Summary:
Campione has a fun episode overall as we see Kusunagi and Erica working well together with no arguing or other fluff to distract them as they deal with a larger threat. It may seem unusual in a way, but it’s welcome to see this kind of partnership unfold, especially this early in the show all things told. So many series that run with this have them arguing and bickering, going over the top with it, that it’s problematic in how they deal with their opponents. Seeing a team at work with each other rather than against each other changes the dynamic significantly and makes for a lot more enjoyable viewing for me. It’s still lacking something at this stage, but the show hits certain sweet spots for me and keeps me hopeful for it to find its groove and really expand what it’s doing.
Grade: B
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.
