Thanks for visiting my blog! I’m happy that Anime Rants is doing well and I’m very grateful to all you who read, like, comment or just skim. Much appreciated! Anyway, today we have the fifth episodes of Black Butler Emerald Witch Arc, Kowloon Generic Romance, Lazarus, and Your Forma. It was a fairly good week.
- Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc Episode 5
- Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 5
- Lazarus Episode 5
- Your Forma Episode 5
Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc Episode 5
Episode Rating: 7/10
Sebastian and Snake discovered a secret stairway, but Wolfram stopped them from proceeding and refused to tell them what was down there. Soon after, a werewolf attacked the room where Ciel and Finnian were staying. Finny was wounded protecting Ciel, and the werewolf fled as Sebastian and others ran into the room. Ciel was scared out of his mind. Miss Sullivan was upset by this event as well, since werewolves were never supposed to attack the Emerald Castle.
Snake sent one of his serpents, Oscar, to find out what was down the stairs. Oscar saw Miss Sullivan and Wolfram descend down the stairs and then down an elevator into a chasm under the castle. Here, there were many werewolves gathered. Miss Sullivan tried to appease them and beg them to stop attacking. She was dutybound to work on a spell that will give life energy to the werewolves. They were impatient to see the spell completed.
A few other things happened in this episode, like how the villagers pressured Sullivan into telling the outsiders to go home. But possibly the most important part of this episode was the brief scene of Ciel’s dream. There were two Ciels talking to each other – one confident and graceful, and the other questioning and frightened. I think these are the two mental sides of Ciel. It’s likely that his personality “split” due to trauma, even if he isn’t aware of it most of the time. Interesting stuff.
The last thing I’ll comment on is the scene where Oscar the snake got into that girl’s dress. It was stupid, serving only to sexualize the female character, but it seemed to be satirical more than anything, so I’ll let it fly. Oscar figured out that the young woman smelled of werewolves. It’s likely that the werewolves are actually in league with some of the villagers. I look forward to learning more next time.
Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 5
Episode Rating: 8/10
It turns out we don’t know for sure that Kudo killed Kujirai B. If so, he certainly didn’t do it on purpose. However, Yaomay is now suspicious of Kudo for “joking” about killing his fiancé. In other news, the early parts of this episode focused a lot on Reiko reading the mystery books that once belonged to Kujirai B. She even went to a bookstore to find part two. Kudo had also read one of those books. Apparently, everyone likes mysteries.
Yoamay had an interesting character arc in this episode. We learned that she is the daughter of a famous Chinese movie star. She looked almost identical to her mother and allowed her mother to rule her life for many years before breaking away. Yaomay has identity issues and I can empathize. She started looking like her mother again, but thanks to the friendship of Reiko, Yaomay’s confidence was restored and she went back to looking like the Yaomay we know. I love the friendship between the two women.
This installment also had some character moments for Miyuki Hebinuma. He appeared on a variety TV show, but lost his temper with another host and kicked over the man’s chair. Despite the fact that Miyuki was a creep toward Reiko, he seems to be a fairly well-written character so far, and not the one-dimensional predator that I expected early on. That’s good news since it means the writing is better than I thought.
So far, this show has been anything but “generic.” The way it reveals clues to the mystery slowly and dramatically is awesome. At the end of this episode, we learned that Kowloon looks like a ruin to everyone on the outside. Only Kowloon residents returning to Kowloon seem to see it as a complete city. This is a fascinating reveal. There are definitely two versions of Kowloon, and the version that’s functional may be some of illusion or supernatural entity. As usual, I’m excited to learn more.
Lazarus Episode 5
Episode Rating: 7/10
If I’m being honest, this episode was a little boring. I really like Lazarus so far, and it’s my second-favorite anime of the season with The Apothecary Diaries season 2 at number one. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that something is missing. I like all the characters so far, but want to see them explored in more depth. Doug in particular is interesting to me since he’s so thoughtful, intelligent and dedicated. This episode didn’t have much character development for him – nor for anyone except maybe Eleina.
The introduction to this episode was narrated by Axel. The story of how he got Hapna was predictable and not very interesting. Apparently, he just took a little bit while in prison to see what the fuss was about. After the introduction, we learned about Delta Medical Company and Lazarus was sent to invade their headquarters. The fight in the elevator was cool, but not really believable. Axel couldn’t have won in a small enclosure with that many people trying to stop him. Oh well – we’ll just chalk it up to anime logic.
After capturing the CEO of Delta Medical and getting his cooperation, Lazarus organized a fake press conference to announce a cure for Hapna. Of course, it was just saline solution and not a real antidote. Hopefully, it would lure Skinner out of hiding. The hacking shenanigans were fairly exciting. Eleina did her best, but still lost to Popcorn Wizard in the end. Popcorn Wizard has an extremely annoying voice, but otherwise seems really interesting. I tend to like eccentric characters. That’s all my thoughts on this episode for now.
Your Forma Episode 5
Episode Rating: 7/10
Episode 5 was good overall and quite engaging. I didn’t feel bored. I’m fascinated by the idea of a neurotransmitter regulating device, but I’m not surprised it’s not working without side effects. I’m slightly surprised that Echika would use such a dangerous, unregulated technology. It was developed by Echika’s friend, Bigga, who seems to be a bio-hacker and developer of technology that piggybacks off Your Forma.
Probably due to side effects of the neurotransmitter regulator, Echika passed out doing a brain-dive. The doctor told her that her “processing capabilities” as a brain-diver are basically gone. Her abilities are not likely to return. The police chief moved Echika off Harold’s team and reassigned her to the support unit. The two others in the support unit – two fine men – seem friendly and capable.
The new Cyber-Inspector, Raissa, is also very pretty and charming. I like her, but I don’t want her to stay partnered with Harold. In other news, this episode introduced us to the threat of E, a dangerous conspiracy theorist with several thousand dedicated followers. He is against modern technology like Your Forma. In the last part of the episode, Echika went to Oslo, Norway to help with the E case. There, she met up with Bigga. To be continued.
~Thanks for Reading~
Written by 7Mononoke
