Picking through the rubble of life.
What They Say:
Episode #10: “Rebirth”
Sword and Sophie have already left. Luke wanders around the ruined townscape, monitoring the barriers surrounding the city and taking care of Horrors that find their way in. As he recovers from his injuries, he contemplates what it is that he must do.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After the departure of Sword and Sophie, the story takes a step back to return to Luke. Barely surviving the reunion with his father he wanders the rubble while his wounds heal.
The Makai organization is working their hardest to not only control the message but to protect the citizens of Russel City from the horrors which have only grown bolder in the ruins of downtown. However…. a Hurricane? Really, that’s the bullshit cover up they want to go with? Wouldn’t a meteor shower make more sense for that sort of destruction?
This episode mixes events of the present with the whole story of what happened between Luke’s father and mother, and ultimately him. We’d been given enough pieces before to realize that Luke’s father was responsible for his Mother’s death. His betrayal is still unusual, in that there appears to be at least a small semblance of supernatural at work. The fact that he was enticed by a forbidden book and eventually gives in to the desire to use its knowledge shows that even Makai Knights are not immune from the vices of humanity.
On the side of reason was Adelaide, Luke’s mother. It is her firearms that Luke wields, and not the sword he trained with under his father. In a series full of tough women she is high up the power ranking list. She was the one who imparted her skills and ethics to her son, and her death is partially Luke’s fault. (Although I doubt the outcome would have been different.) The fact that Adelaide recognized the potential for darkness in her husband is interesting.
This is all against the backdrop of Feilong and Meifang trying to feed Luke back to health. However, it’s not just their administrations which get him back into the fight. Luke was adamant about how wasting time on civilians was a waste of time earlier in the series. However, Luke camps out and snipes down horrors attacking citizens and in doing so meets two firefighters who are still digging people of the rubble. One of whom doesn’t give up the fight for a dying girl easily, and ultimately pays a heavy price for his service.
We have the one and only misstep of this episode in Adelaide’s combat outfit, which is problematic because it’s probably a mishmash of some southwestern tribal aesthetics and anime sensibilities. I was trying to wonder why the creators went that route and realized they only did it so we’d know Adelaide’s ethnicity. (Which is… uh… whatever indigenous groups exist in Garomerica.) Why they feel that’s important I have no idea. Anyway, it’s an odd thing in an odd series which has so far treated people of color surprisingly well for anime. (Maybe not the Chinese folks…) Win some, lose some.
In Summary:
For a show which is filled with over-the-top sensibilities, this episode is surprisingly grounded in the way it turns Luke’s view around. The man needed healing after his anger fueled revenge nearly cost him his life. It’s the actions of a firefighter and the words of his mother that finally make the idea of strength coming from needing something to protect hit home. I feel like this is a lesson that Sword learned long ago and though he tried to tell Luke previously it took this soul searching for him to internalize it. He has to be the opposite of his father because power at any cost just isn’t worth it.
Episode Grade: B +
Streamed by: Crunchyroll & Funimation
