Samurai Flamenco Episode 12 | TFP Review
Buckeye: After the insane amount of silliness in the past few episodes, at least some sense of sanity has been restored in this episode. It still is silly, but at least it is telling what life is like in Masayoshi’s daily life now being well known as the Red Flamenger. That epilogue sure brought some ominous things to come since they had trouble with 4 and now have to go up against 64, and I’m not exactly sure what direction the show will go now. But at least it isn’t as silly as the last episodes were. One thing to notice is that the last names of the Flamengers have a color in it (Midorikawa = green, Aoshima = blue, Momoi = pink, Kuroki = black), so that makes it easier to identify.
EmperorBrandon: Something about this new team feels really hollow, though that seems to be quite intentional, and as always with this show, wondering where they are going to go with it. Feels like Masayoshi is already making some progress at the end with being able to hang out with the others, but they’re not necessarily best buddies as he got to be with Gotou. Wonder how the “Yellow vacancy” thing will play out too, if it does. As I was since the end of episode 10, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with Mari and her friends from here. Liked that we got a tiny bit of focus on her at one point, with her attempting to hide from the rest with Gotou’s help.
I kept wondering why it was subtitled as “MMM34” when I kept hearing “Miyamoto Musashi”, but of course the codename made perfect since when its true nature was revealed. I got a laugh out of where one of the “updates” to the giant robot was placed. 
GingaDaiuchuu: There’s my FLOW! Oh boy, I love me some FLOW.
And more MMM is always a good thing as well (this MMM, anyway), although this ED hasn’t hooked me quite as much as the first yet.
A shame there was an episode of Samurai Flamenco in between them. Okay, a few things made me chuckle, but it’s gimmicks are getting pretty old, and there’s not really anything else to it anymore.
bctaris: And the strangest show of the past year now continues…
I think, and echoing EB’s comment about the intentional hollow-ness of the Flamenger team, that change is afoot. This current situation won’t last very long, I don’t think, before we’re back in some sort of melange of the Flamengers and Red Axe, Samumenco, The Flamenco Girls, Goto, and that scientist. And whatever else they throw at us.
I admit, the switching up every few episodes to some new homage or satire of the (worldwide, but specifically Japanese) superhero genre, now into its second cour, could be starting to test the patience of what viewers didn’t jump ship after Guillotine Gorilla. But I still feel like there’s a big pay off to all of this, that it’s not just the creators having a go at, and having fun with, all of this stuff. There’s still some pretty well written and serious character drama here and there, particularly with Mari’s saga the past several episodes. There’s still sincerity subtly flowing beneath it all. I still have no idea what it’s really doing, but I do think it’s doing something.
