The next floor has been revealed and it’s going to be a killer. Maybe.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As Medaka and her group continue to move forward through their obstacles, they’ve ended up on a new floor where they’ve encountered Munakata Kei, aka the Last Carpet. The floor certainly is interesting at first as it’s a bright and appealing outdoor Japanese garden and that give sit a very peaceful feeling that has Medaka thinking they can just walk right by Kei. He does easily admit to being a part of the 13th Party though and that means nothing is going to be simple in dealing with him, which is what most of the show is about at this point as Medaka and the others work through various members. Which does make for a mediocre series in a way unless it does something truly interesting.
Kei is all about not having any real conflict, but he’s an incredible master of hidden weapons who will do whatever is necessary to kill someone. He wants to enjoy his area but has no issue in taking anyone down that threatens the status quo. Interestingly though, Medaka’s brother shows up to make sure that she doesn’t get involved in this match as her trainer, noting that she needs some down time. That puts Zenkichi on the spot as he gets to step up now, but it just shows the way he’s ready to do it and how Medaka is trying to protect everyone so that nobody else has to fight, even those that have thrown their lot in with her for as long as Zenkichi has. It’s a hard position for Medaka since she’s always had a do it herself kind of mentality.
The match between the two goes in pretty decent direction as Zenkichi takes it to Kei in a good way and Kei obviously has a lot going for him overall. The commentary about it is mildly interesting as Medaka’s brother brings out some salient points across the board, but the real focus is on Zenkichi himself as he fights as hard as he can, though you get the feeling that it’s still missing something. But someone like Kei isn’t going to play by the kind of rules that Zenkichi does and that brings the show some decent moments. With a show like this and the structure of it so far, it’s not hard to say that you know how the episode will turn out and the fight does go pretty much as expected with some nice moments. But it is, in the end, predictable.
In Summary:
While Medaka Box Abnormal offers up some good action material in this episode and lets Zenkichi get his time in the sun, it is by and large an episode that just spins its wheels. We get the introduction of Kei, the next member of the 13th Party that must be dealt with and sort of won over and it’s all handled in this single episode. Which is good since I think an encounter going over one episode would be fairly problematic and drawn out in a way that wouldn’t help the show. Putting Medaka in the background for a bit is good though as I do like Zenkichi and he does get to man up here even while giving us some decent background on Kei that works nicely. The show isn’t doing anything new or amazing here, which continues to make me wonder why people were talking up the potential of a second season so much. It’s not bad, but it’s just so familiar.
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.
