We finally learn what motivates Joseph and makes him who he is.
What They Say:
Amanda takes the injured Joseph to a dilapidated church. There, Amanda learns of Joseph’s past and of his parents who died to protect him. His parents were what ordinary citizens called “Outsiders,” a class of people considered inferior. Joseph was brought up by a priest who continuously reasoned with him that however harsh the world is, there must be some meaning to his life. However, reality as an Outsider was far harsher on young Joseph than anyone could ever imagine…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As Blassreiter moves into the second half of the series, we’re treated to some rather good material that delves into one of the remaining characters a bit, and the one that is ostensibly a lead character in the series. After the destruction of XAT and the collapse of everything that Amanda knew, the only thing she has left to focus on is Blue and dealing with him. Her reasons for dealing with him at first however seem to center on getting some form of revenge or closure in relation to Malek. What it turns out to be however is rather different.
Coming across him quite easily after the events of the battle he has with Xargin, Amanda’s able to sequester him away in a small church that he’s been using as a hideout. Joseph, back to his normal form, is easily attended to by her and he finds himself to be surprisingly talkative. It’s through this bonding moment, with both of them off-screen for the bulk of the episode, that we see his past. His days as an orphan within the church, being taken care of by the Father, and the kinds of stand-up things he did to make sure everyone survived. The simple fact that he took beatings from local rich kids so that they’d tell their parents to donate to the church which would get them food says a lot about his personality, both positive and negative. These events that defined him and shaped him certainly do help to shed light on the way he operates in the present.
Though we get a lot of background material, it’s not until near the end that the hooks start to come in with the larger picture, which is when a rather boyish and charming Xargin arrives to help out after a storm decimates the area. The slow approach to Joseph’s origin works surprisingly well as you get a very strong sense of his character and convictions and why he does what he does. What we continue to not get however is a very well-defined world as this particular past and section simply feels a little out of sync with everything we’ve seen in the present. But the world presented in Blassreiter has felt less than defined since the beginning when it introduced the race track with Gerd going through the motions. There doesn’t seem to be a cohesive vision of what it’s like and it seems to wander between different areas, which is much of what the story composition itself feels like.
In Summary:
Blassreiter hits up some interesting material to be sure here and it’s trying to, in my eyes, salvage something of a story. Complex and interesting stories are what I’m always looking for to really engage me, but Blassreiter’s attempts at it have been so overly convoluted and without focus that it’s been hard to tell where to really concentrate with it. The series seems to bring out ideas and make them seem like they’re the big points to be dealt with but it then runs off in another direction before we know it. It does the same with the characters, though at least here you know a story idea is over since they kill off people rather easily. With thirteen episodes viewed so far, this feels far more like an awkward fan fiction story given a green light than a professionally done series.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
