KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
Yurikuma Arashi 4:
Without a doubt, this was the best episode of the show yet, and it shows a path forward for the rest of the show. It's also the most consistent episode; clearly being one single story and not feeling like a two or three cour show packed into a single cour. A lot of the repeated imagery takes on a more meaningful purpose here, too.
By far the best thing this episode does is fleshing out Lulu's character. Over the first three episodes, the main cast largely felt disposable. They each had personality quirks, but no one had really gotten serious development. This was kind of necessary based on the story being told, but it's a relief here to see Lulu fleshed out really well. This whole episode is pretty much centered around her, and it works. The heavy backstory focus is definitely something that feels like an Ikuhara staple, and I'm sure we'll be revisiting the past in the future more heavily to see more of Ginko's past (we can kind of see a little of it here).
The Court of Severance cast also get to do some new things in this episode, and we see them working as functional characters rather than simply saying the same basic lines over and over. Their purpose seems a little more clear, although there are still some questions. And beyond their in world role, we see here how they can function effectively as a greek chorus. This is another story telling device Ikuhara likes a lot, and while we didn't see them serving this role too much in the first three episodes, here that comes across really clearly.
And I have to say, the bit where
is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. It was just pitch perfect.
The storybook feel of this episode took the show into a completely different direction compared to the feeling of the first arc, and it worked much better. I hope that the show builds on this going forward. The episode really encouraged me about where the show is going to head going forward.
Without a doubt, this was the best episode of the show yet, and it shows a path forward for the rest of the show. It's also the most consistent episode; clearly being one single story and not feeling like a two or three cour show packed into a single cour. A lot of the repeated imagery takes on a more meaningful purpose here, too.
By far the best thing this episode does is fleshing out Lulu's character. Over the first three episodes, the main cast largely felt disposable. They each had personality quirks, but no one had really gotten serious development. This was kind of necessary based on the story being told, but it's a relief here to see Lulu fleshed out really well. This whole episode is pretty much centered around her, and it works. The heavy backstory focus is definitely something that feels like an Ikuhara staple, and I'm sure we'll be revisiting the past in the future more heavily to see more of Ginko's past (we can kind of see a little of it here).
The Court of Severance cast also get to do some new things in this episode, and we see them working as functional characters rather than simply saying the same basic lines over and over. Their purpose seems a little more clear, although there are still some questions. And beyond their in world role, we see here how they can function effectively as a greek chorus. This is another story telling device Ikuhara likes a lot, and while we didn't see them serving this role too much in the first three episodes, here that comes across really clearly.
And I have to say, the bit where
Life Sexy does the "Shaba-da" completely in tune with the dramatic music
The storybook feel of this episode took the show into a completely different direction compared to the feeling of the first arc, and it worked much better. I hope that the show builds on this going forward. The episode really encouraged me about where the show is going to head going forward.
