What They Say:
“Karen’s Revolt”
As Karen’s revolt gathers steam, Yuito and forces loyal to New Himuka are hard-pressed. Fubuki takes command of a band of loyalists and orders Yuito to check that his father is safe. Karen publicly reveals a motive, and Yuito has a shocking encounter.
“A Doomed Tomorrow”
Kasane and company wake to a shocking reality and strange encounters. Kasane learns about the void in the sky and a way to stop it. Yuito and Kasane clash after she finds out what is behind Karen’s revolt. Kasane heads to Seiran with other OSF members.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Episodes 5 and 6 work better if they are watched back to back immediately. They don’t have much to stand on if they watched on their own. But they still need characters to have a backbone to them. They just exist so passively while the world is going to hell. Would it hurt these characters to have any emotions? Episode 5 and 6 was a perfect opportunity for this but it was wasted.
Episode 5 dealt with the ramifications of Karen’s revolution. No one is safe from the harsh reality that New Himuka has hidden. This utopian society is quickly ravaged into a dystopia by its weak glass shelter. Karen wants to protect his fellow citizens by revealing these truths. A government-controlled by lies is bound to falter in his eyes. The show just needs to reveal more about his thought process because it feels like just rambling at times. There is a small thread that there is a reason for madness but it hasn’t been properly developed. He is the most respected soldier in the OSF and has the admiration of the citizens.
And then the unsavory future that Karen wants to prevent is revealed. It’s said to be bleak but there aren’t many situations where it’s shown why it’s so bleak. The only difference is that there are no people out in the streets of Future New Himuka. The mysterious hole that opened in the sky was a gateway to the future. Kasane’s true abilities are revealed by Future Yuito. Future Yuit begs Kasane to go back in the past and kill the present Yuito before the world gets ruined. Kasane is a time traveler but having Yuito around her makes her powers go out of control. Future Yuito has seen enough for a blind man and decides to end his life by letting others eat him. In the game, Future Yuito’s death is much more gruesome and graphic compared to how it was depicted in the anime.
In Summary:
If you want to enjoy Scarlet Nexus to the fullest then stop watching this anime and play the game. It would be way more enjoyable than trying to make sense of this watered-down version. The anime just cuts out too much of what makes the games great. I hate sounding like a broken record but it’s just not cutting it to be a great adaption of Scarlet Nexus. I should be caring more about these characters but most of their development comes from the game instead of that anime. It’s like watching paint dry.
Time travel stories have become a staple in mainstream fiction but Scarlet Nexus has only taken the beginner lessons of what makes them great. Scarlet Nexus presented the bleak future that needed to be avoided at all costs. But there still hasn’t been much life to the characters who make up this world.
Grade: D
Streamed By: Funimation