Now things are getting interesting…
What They Say:
Episode #5: “The Pursuer and the Pursued”
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Chaika remains amazingly naive for being a walking recipe for disaster. She’s almost kidnapped straight away at the beginning of this episode, simply because she asked the shadiest guys in town for help finding the next hero on her list. I also find it very inconvenient that Fredrica doesn’t remember anything about the heroes that she was out adventuring with. I wonder, is it more amnesia or is she simply being hard to work with? The dragoon is still all “I wanna kill, kill, kill!” while Toru is left trying to work with all of this off kilter ladies.
The humor is very spot on in this episode. From the reaction from the men that try to take Chaika when they realize a dragoon is gonna eat them to the wanted sketch that’s posted of the trio, it’s the funniest the show has been since it began. I feel like it’s hitting it’s stride now. I just wish we had a little more world building to explain the monsters and beast men like Leo. Right now it feels like an RPG hodgepodge of character designs.
Gillette and his gang are back on the trail of Chaika, Toru, and Akari. Except the rumors of where they are located are somewhat unreliable. Remember in a previous episode when they mentioned that there were more than one person out there claiming to be the Princess Chaika? Well, the truth is stranger than just glory hounds and cases of mistaken identity.
Our questing group runs afoul of different trio searching for the same remains. This is where things get interesting. A girl who looks very much like our Chaika, also calling herself Chaika, attacks Toru. She’s not a magic user like our Chaika, instead she wields a mean a whip sword. In the middle of battle the two groups are interrupted and the Chaikas are taken hostage by the opposite teams. The red Chaika, beyond being more developed physically, also has a completely different motive for collecting the remains. She wants revenge. Yet she tells the same story as Chaika did about having a gap in her memories. She even has the same scar on her neck.
While Toru and Akari have the red Chaika hostage, the other group has our white Chaika hostage. Both groups are nervous because Gillette has caught up with them. There’s a silly subplot going on involving Gillette’s subordinates trying to hook up Vivi with her boss, which just further proves that Gillette’s group aren’t the bad guys here. They know that they’re close to their prey, and start setting up a trap for the correct trio.
The episode ends before the exchange can be made between two groups, but what in the world is going on here? Are all the Chaikas manufactured by one mysterious benefactor? Clearly they’re all being used by someone. Are we going to be fighting other Chaika’s going forward?
In Summary:
There’s that twist I was looking for! This episode had an excellent mix of humor, action, and a reveal which was hinted at but executed in a way I didn’t expect. The heroes may not be as important as the other parties that are out searching for the remains of the emperor. Just who is pulling the strings of Chaika, and just how many others are out there seeking the same thing she is? The mystery is growing deeper, and next week should make for a fine rematch with Gillette’s forces.
Episode Grade: B +
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: 27” iMac running OS 10.9.2, via Safari 7.0.2, FIOS 15/5 Mbps connection. Your milage may vary.