“Bellow of the Beast”
What They Say:
Joseph and Amanda are caught and taken to the headquarters of Zwölf, a mysterious institution that meddles in forbidden science. Among its members called Apocalypse Knights are people whom Amanda knows well, and this deeply disturbs her. The Apocalypse Knights manipulate specially developed ultra-weapons and easily take down the horde of Amalgams that had previously given XAT such a hard time. Amanda is more enraged rather than stunned.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
At this point in the game, it’s starting to feel like the background designers are running the show because every episode features someplace new for everyone to spend their time. They’re earning their money by providing numerous backgrounds for the story to play through, not that the story is at all captivating. The haphazard nature of everything supposedly comes full circle here after the events of the previous episode with Hermann running off with the Triple Six motorcycle.
That episode had a decent chase scene towards the end which carries over into this one a fair bit, though now it’s Amanda chasing after him since she can’t have him going the way that all other XAT members did. Hermann’s actually feeling pretty conflicted about everything which is what explains his random outbursts and lack of control due to the process he’s undergoing. The hook to the past is that while he tries to give in to what he believes his nature is now as an Amalgam, it’s Amanda that points out that he believed in Gerd until the very end and that she’ll believe in him. Of course, that didn’t exactly work out in the best interests of everyone that died at Gerd’s hands.
On the flip side of the episode, a good chunk of time is devoted to the attacks that Wolf is carrying out on the Zwolf organization. That attack is being fended off by Sasha and her Apocalypse Knights which includes Mei Feing. It’s all simply big boisterous action moments with a sense of trying to create an epic feel and scope without actually achieving any of it. The shifting of the story to this kind of attack by Wolf while having the one he’s serving standing on top of a satellite in space really does nothing to bring it all together. It’s simply yet another set piece that is there to look pretty and to earn someone a few more bucks in the design department probably. Some of the action is decent and Gonzo continues to provide for some slick moments with it, but nothing about it truly captivates and holds your attention. And that’s because the story has been so scattershot since the start, so poorly designed, that you simply can’t care.
In Summary:
Blassreiter has moved past train wreck mode into something different now. Now it’s at a point where I want to look away and am trying to figure out a way to do so. With another seven episodes to go, it’s pretty much impossible for this series to redeem itself with me and I feel like I’m simply kicking it while it’s down. The eye candy moments are still here and they’re certainly enjoyable – the only enjoyable thing in fact – but the rest of it has me completely disinterested and almost depressed afterward. I cannot figure out the appeal of the show or what it is exactly that it’s trying to get done.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
