What They Say:
In the modern world, Hinohara Arata’s family knows something is different about Arata, but they continue to try to converse with him despite their confusion. In Amawakuni, Hinohara Arata has made it out of Gatoya and is heading toward the Capital. Along the way, he learns of the relationship between the princess of Amawakuni and the Twelve Shinsho. He also encounters some nomads who say that, with the princess gone, the world will fall into chaos…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the series continues on, I continue to find myself enjoying it, though hoping that it can stretch beyond what it’s doing just a bit more. Part of the early enjoyment of the series was just in realizing that yes, it’s not just a reverse-Fushigi Yugi series and enjoying the way it portrayed at least one of the Arata’s .With little truly revealed about the Amawakuni version of Arata, we’ve gotten our focus on Hinohara and he’s been an interesting example to watch because of what he’s been through with the bullying and persecution which has put him into a place few male leads (or female leads for that matter) really end up in. We get some bullying here and there, but not to the extent that’s shown here and to see a lead as damaged as Hinohara is, though he’s coming out of his shell quickly and relatively easily here.
Hinohara’s survived a few challenges so far and now they’re on the move again, with the new friends, to get to the capital so they can set things straight as the princess wanted them to. Their main focus at the moment is to start their journey from the domain known as Narutaki, one of the twelve domains that make up the land, which mirrors the Twelve Shinsho and how each of them basically controls one of them a piece. Because of the amount of distance that needs to be covered, that means the journey will be a big part of things in its own fashion and with the group having come together to help Hinohara at this point, it’s also proving to be an education for him. Thankfully, the others do seem to be filling him in on things such as the lay of the land, how the domains work a bit and some of the overall structural aspects that tend to be overlooked in other shows.
Because the show spends a lot of its time on the journey itself as it gets underway after the more action filled elements of the previous episode, this lets us get to know the characters a bit more. Not in a big detail kind of way with expressive stories, but rather just letting us see how the main trio operate together as they move through new lands and discover others that may have similar powers, such as one man of a tribe that has the same kind of power as Hinohara as a Sho. This connection helps to highlight a bit more the abilities of those that are Sho, and that there are others out there beyond just these two men who have that ability. It helps to expand the idea of what Amawakuni is like when it comes to the powers that exist, that it’s not limited to just Hinohara, and that helps to ease the pressure some, though of course if the other main person with power is the other Arata, it doesn’t help in the short term.
In Summary:
Arata – The Legend has a bit of a quiet episode this time around, at least in terms of action and meaningful events that move things forward until the very end. While we get some nudges there that will help, a lot of what we get here is just the core group travelling and a lot of time spent getting to know the new dynamic together, which works nicely. Though we don’t get a lot of the Amawakuni Arata back on Earth here outside of a tease at the start, Hinohara’s moving along nicely with what he’s learning, accepting and growing with here and that’s making him interesting, though I want to see more of his nature in how there’s a level of distrust of others because of the bullying he’s received. Still, there’s plenty to like here and I continue to suspect this show is one that will play out better in marathon mode rather than weekly, though I’m enjoying it.
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.
