Ogami’s life gets more complicated as Toki decides to check things out in the area for a bit.
What They Say:
Ogami is given his next assignment by the Eden council. Toki picks up Sakura to walk to school, claiming that he is Ogami’s friend. Ogami catches up, and starts fighting with Toki, but Sakura stops them both. Toki tours Sakura and Ogami’s school.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the show being a bit all over the place in away when it comes to the first three episodes as it unfolded with the story, there have been some intriguing moments. This episode starts things off right with a little background that definitely helps as we learn that Ogami was the 6th of the Code: Breakers brought into service and one of the better ones at that. But as we see, he’s the kind of person who is doing the job because it needs to be done and refuses to be a “kept dog” for this mysterious group that runs the show. His coldness has been a big part of the show so far, something that I’ve enjoyed in a lead character, and it’s made clear that he’s been like that from the start of being a Code: Breaker.
Sakura’s understanding of things does grow a bit here as well, especially near the start, as she realizes that Toki is a Code: Breaker as well, but the suave kind that’s going to take advantage of things for himself. He reveals himself easily enough to her but it’s mostly just to tweak Ogami with her so that she isn’t sure what to think anymore, even when Ogami does show up and smacks him around a bit. Toki takes advantage of the situation overall and wrangles a guest pass of sorts at the school so he can hang out and check on things, something that Ogami certainly doesn’t like and makes plainly clear. It’s simple and kind of silly, but it brings in a few nuggets about how the organization works and some of the tension between Code: Breakers. Something that Sakura is able to break up surprisingly easily.
What the episode wants to focus on is the reason for Toki really being there, which is primarily to see his sister. A sister that he’s not allowed to really have anymore once becoming a Code: Breaker as you’er supposed to put that part of your life behind you. But Sakura continues to push things and put it all together as she wants to help him in her own way. Putting the three of them together at different times for this understanding and then going into the action side of it as she gets to see Toki at work, and to see his neat ability at play, changes the tone nicely in the second half. Once it shifts more to the action, you also get the way the two young men are jockeying for position in a way, both trying to be the alpha male, and it’s definitely comical to watch unfold. The story itself feels like it takes a back seat again, but that’s largely been the flow of the show in general.
In Summary:
The use of Toki here definitely changes things up a bit as we get a different kind of humor to things with the way Toki interacts with everyone. He’s got that freewheeling style to him that definitely works in a quasi-playboy kind of young man. I like what he brings to the table here and how Ogami reacts to it and in his own way pushes back against him. But it’s also something where his presence helps to reveal a few more nuggets about how the Code: Breakers work and that definitely helps, especially with the additional nod we get at the beginning of the episode that really paints a clear picture of Ogami. I’m still not sure where the series really wants to go but it has its moments.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: FUNimation
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.
