What DOES it mean to be a hero?
What They Say:
Masayoshi Hazama: a man who has become a superhero “by himself” with no superhuman powers or any sort of high-tech conversions, NONE!! Hidenori Goto: a cop who found out the true identity of “the superhero” by a strange twist of fate and thus constantly gets in trouble thanks to Hazama, the superhero. This is the story of the birth of a true hero featuring these two young men with a touch of comedy and serious drama, while they come face to face with hardships as they search for the true meaning of becoming a hero of justice in this world!
The Review: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
“Samurai Flamenco, where are you going?” a boy in the car asks.
“To the last battle.” he says, and dramatically rides off on his bicycle.
“It’ll be easy.” Mari says as her and Moe are about to ride off in their pink hummer.
Such is what the show has been telling us the entire time. Kids, and perhaps simpletons, are enthralled by Samurai Flamenco and his antics. Flamenco Diamond consistently underestimates her opponents or overestimates her own power. And Moe is…I guess, she’s Moe, the yuri interest to push the fan art forward. But those aren’t slights on the show, they’re commendations. Well, the last one might be a slight on the show. But Sam Flam has truly been an interesting journey through these heroes’ lives.
Sam Flam is on his way, but Flamenco Diamond and Flamenco Sapphire find themselves in a tight spot. King Torture literally has them in ropes (or chains) and he, fittingly, tortures Sapphire. Sure, he only squeezes her pinky finger until it bleeds and is probably crushed, but it’s torture nonetheless.
Even Torture, during his now-psychological torture of Diamond, is questioning the role of the superhero. Diamond heroically proclaims, “Don’t worry about me! Go on without me!” But does she mean that? Torture knows she doesn’t, she’s just acting as a hero does. Arguably, the only hero in the group is Goto who’s so transparent and so simple on these complex moral grounds that he fits perfectly as an audience surrogate.
And here is where Samurai Flamenco sees, finally, the fate of the monsters—no, creations—no, humans that he so unceremoniously killed. They’re laid to rest, so to speak. A plaque with their face lies above a coffin surrounded by flowers. Torture, however truthful he may be, says that they all came here willingly to be turned into monsters. And thus the fight ensues, with Torture wielding a new arm—which, by the way, is a chainsaw that was surgically attached to his arm just a few moments ago.
In truth, Torture believes that he and Samurai Flamenco aren’t all that different. They’re both alone, a result of the lives they chose to live. But Sam Flam has friends that he can count on. There’s the scientist, there’s Goto, and there’s the Flamenco Girls. And, through this, things change. Things change perhaps more than they did when a man turned into a gorilla with a guillotine for a stomach.
Independently of each other, Masayoshi and Mari give away their identities. Mari, tattered and still in her Flamenco Diamond outfit, goes on stage and sings as part of her pop idol group. Masayoshi, with only part of his helmet left, takes it off and says, “I am Ironman.”
Wait, no.
In Summary:
In all seriousness, this reveal of their true identities does call back to the final moment in Ironman and it’s a great move by the show. This will up the stakes for Masayoshi and Mari, not just for Samurai Flamenco and Flamenco Diamond. The innocent bystanders in this all, the scientist Jun Harazuka and Mari’s fellow idols Moe and Mizuki will suffer the most.
Samurai Flamenco, remember, is helmed by Takahiro Omori—the same guy who did Baccano! and Durarara!!—and the series composition is by Hideyuki Kurata—the man’s pen was behind Now and Then, Here and There and The World God Only Knows (he also did Oreimo, but I’m thinking Read or Die makes up for that; I haven’t seen the latter yet). So it’s got experience behind it in terms of directing a story and writing a story. These guys know what they’re doing, even though it seems to be bringing up weirder and weirder things each episode.
The show has returned to its core; a show that explores superheroes and what that title really means. Thus far, it’s been super fun watching the journey and I imagine that, while it might cool down in action, it’ll still be just as fun.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Equipment: Radeon 7850, 24 in. Vizio 1080p HDTV, Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II
