A sea of broken families.
What They Say:
Episode #6: “INTRICACY”
Sophie sticks with Sword, hoping for some new leads on El Dorado. Luke finds out about her and voices his disapproval to Sword. All the while, it seems there is a movie theater where couples go and sometimes one of them disappears by the end credits.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
One thing that Vanishing Line has been missing has been depth. Not just depth for the plot overall, but for the characters themselves. We’ve had some building up of Sophie’s backstory and character, and even some growth as she’s proven herself to not be a hindrance or burden but an active player in the story. She even furthers that reputation in this episode as well. As for the two male protagonists, they’ve been one-dimensional.
This episode does have a horror, but it’s only there to provide a literal plot device so we can see what drives Luke, who reappears into the storyline annoyed. He seems perpetually annoyed, especially once he discovers Sophie seems to know about Makai Knights. We get confirmation that Luke is a Makai Alchemist, because while this spin-off doesn’t go out of it’s way to explain anything, typically Knight washouts become Alchemists.
What small details were given about Sword and Luke’s lives are brief. Sword, hilariously, lives above a Chinese restaurant that he works at for his day job as a line cook. He never even unpacked his boxes, showing that he’s come from someplace else and never really had a chance to settle in, short of the bodybuilder posters, pinup, and punching bag. (In contrast, Luke lives in a high-rise penthouse with great views but it’s totally sterile.) Sophie discovers a drawing addressing Sword as ‘brother’ and quickly stumbles upon the fact that his younger brother is likely gone.
While Sword’s background doesn’t extend past that for now, we do get a deeper glimpse of Luke’s upbringing. Luke’s penchant for going it alone and trying to be a total badass bites him in the ass when he goes after a horror stalking couples in a movie theater. After several attempts to locate the horror, he ends up stumbling upon the source. That’s when we get Luke’s flashback, its the device by which the horror lures in its victims, toying with their emotions. His father trained him to be a Knight but alas… it was not to be. Meanwhile, Sword enlists Sophie’s help searching down rumors to pinpoint the horror and arrives barely in time to save his sometimes partner. (Sophie remains a force to be reckoned with about getting her way. She even makes a good waitress!)
The animation in this episode is playfully loose, with expression taking point over sticking to the model. Even then, it doesn’t miss its chance at some great horror designs. The actual confrontation with the horror remains a swift resolution with some hilarious gun-fu action from Luke. Compared to the first episode many of the fights since have been quick, one-note challenges. I’ll take that over the shakey-cam. I do find it disappointing that for as frightening as the horrors are portrayed, they don’t provide much challenge unless they can trick their hunters.
In Summary:
Vanishing Line takes a moment to fill us in on Luke, and Sword’s, backgrounds a bit. They aren’t deep dives, only brushing the surface of what happened in their pasts to set them on their current quests. It appears that every one of our cast members lost someone close to them, be it siblings or parents. What’s equally important is that they can all carry their weight, even Sophie, and with Luke realizing that it clears Sophie’s path towards finding out about her brother. Viewers looking for the flashy battles of the first episode will be disappointed with the slower pace, but I’m just happy that we’re getting some backstory, even if it’s nothing earth-shattering.
Episode Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll & Funimation
