I mean, if Red Axe is real then logically, right?

It's all of From Beyond vs all of Japan in an all our war for the nation. And outside of just how cool that is, I dunno what else I can exactly say about this one?

Don't get me wrong, I like the episode, and it certainly have stuff going on, but alot of it really just natural extensions of stuff that the show has already talked about: Most notably that superheros inspire us for a reason, ya know?

There's also some little bits of character stuff going on, such as Goto reuniting MMM, Red Axe bringing every Japanese superhero into the fray, and Masayoshi managing to inspire most of the nation to stand together against the oncoming alien menace.

But... yeah. It's nice, but it is mostly just one giant battle for the fate of Japan and that's about it. So with that out of the way, let's highlight the second ending theme of Samurai Flamenco!

It's such a shame that just as I was getting used to and liking the first ed more, it's replaced by a much less catchy song in my opinion. Oh well, it's not bad though. Just not as fun as the first. As such, have a much better cover done by some guy on YouTube, and totally not just because the original song got nuked off of the website!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGu5w7tVqIg

...Oh, and it turns out that the final member of From Beyond is Masayoshi's' twin brother. You didn't think that this show had fully forgotten its toku storytelling roots, did you?

https://i.imgur.com/Dos39HF.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9taMHiDkaQI
This is also quite nice. Not a lot of covers for Flamenco.

Yeah, that totally fits as a theme for the guy.

Beyond Flamenco only shows up for less than five minutes total, but man does he make his time incredibly valuable.

He's a dark mirror to Masayoshi in so many ways. He used to be a hero too, but unfortunately, the dark ugliness of real world politics and people in general wore his spirit down, to the point that he merely became a tool to be used by others.

Similar to King Torture, he calls out superheroics as being ultimately pointless, but unlike Torture, he calls out supervillainy as being this as well. Practically speaking, there's no way one group could control millions of people around a planet, right? In the end, villains who want to take over the world are fighting for as much of a pipe dream as the heroes who fight for everlasting peace do.

But in the end, Masayoshi's' genuine words manage to reach the broken down man that is Beyond Flamenco, and From Beyond is stopped in its entirety. The day is saved, the mission is over, and all of the Flamengers go their separate ways to lead normal lives once again.

...Or so it seems.

There's still a subgenre of superhero stories that Samurai Flamenco has yet to tackle, and that's Superheroes vs the Government.

Oh yeah, enter a superhero from America known as Mister Justice, a very obvious parody of both Captain America and Superman. He informs Masayoshi that this entire fiasco with From Beyond was a setup by the Japanese Prime Minister to advance the PM's' political career. Now, said Minister is cracking down on superheroes, and blaming them for everything that happened with From Beyond, even using the conversation between the two Flamenco's as "evidence" of such a thing.

Because see, in the real world, some superheroes are very much created to serve as mouth pieces for certain ideas, or to distract from the grimness of the real world. Captain America was created as a way to get people to embrace the idea of World War II, afterall. And it's something we continue to see even unto today, whether one embraces the idea or not. The power of mass media is huge, and alot of people are quick to believe it.

Masayoshi is now on the run from everyone in Japan yet again, but this time, there are no superheroes to save him.

Do I need to even say anything? That was so satisfying!

But yeah most of the first half of this episode is about MMM reuniting, and all you need to know is that Mizuki decks Mari, and it's so good.

The majority of the second half deals with Masayoshi, who's still on the run from the government. In a really nice follow-up from early on in the show, he's actually saved from starving to death by a homeless man he'd helped.

The blind old man imparts some important wisdom onto Masayoshi, and as much of a cliche as it is, it never fails to be true: The power of friendship. Masayoshi is scared to ask Goto for help, as Masa feels responsible for all of the craziness that's been going on lately.

But, it's precisely because Masayoshi considers him such an important friend that he should try to go to Goto in his time of need. Good people are out there, you just need to find them. And sure enough, despite Masayoshi knocking on the door at the crack of dawn, Goto says the exact thing a good friend should in a situation like this: "Took you long enough, stupid."

So yeah, very simple and straightforward episode, but very nice all the same. I think it's such a good testament to Samurai Flamenco's' style that even when there are all this bigger than life superhero plots going on, it never fails to find time to keep it roots of being down to Earth and furthering the character development and human element of the cast. It's one element that I'll always for sure appreciate about this show.

(By the way, quick side note since I keep forgetting to mention it, but all of the Flamengers' real names sans Masayoshi are actually parodies of their voice actor's' names. Pretty neat.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4wcZuRFCYA

There's so much going on in this episode!

To be as concise as I can on it though, this episode is literally Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. And I would not doubt if that were the inspiration.

So uh, let's start unpacking this step by step. Firstly, all of Masayoshi's' friends have stayed in contact, and have been preparing for the day that he returns. Harazuka in particular arrives with a brand new set of gadgets and a new suit for Masa to wear.

As such, Samurai Flamenco is reborn, and with the help of his friends and Mister Justice(and the Flamenco Girls), the former Flamenger plans to speak with the Prime Minister directly before he can fully pass his anti-vigilante bill. Although the Samurai only plans to talk, the PM has other ideas...

Turns out that the reason the Prime Minister was able to take out Flamen Blue a couple episodes ago(yeah that happened) was because he has his own power suit that increases his power the higher his approval rating is. He plans to use the live feed of his fight with Flamenco(with the audio cut) to raise his rating to 100% and thus achieve ultimate power and control over the country.

He doesn't care by what means he gets such power either, even all the while talking about how the masses are stupid and need his hand to guide them. Classic supervillain stuff while alot making jokes about government officials. Nice. But the power of friendship eventually prevails, as soon enough his approval rating begins to drop, and he is defeated. Oh, and there's one other important detail too: His middle name is Flamenco.

But things don't quite end there, as it turns out that Mister Justice was actually an alien all along. A rogue alien by the name of Alien Flamenco, who's managed to infiltrate governments all around the world and replace their leaders with other aliens. The Prime Minister wanted ultimate power in order to drive back the secret invasion that'd been plaguing the world all along. Alien Flamenco tells Samurai Flamenco to surrender, but of course our hero doesn't, and as such a full scale invasion of Japan is about to begin...

Okay, so uh, to even try and begin to unpack all of this, while this is certainly another episode full of crazy like how 7 and 11 were, I actually think all of this is really brilliant? First off though, while I get that the show is trying to portray the Minister as an utterly desperate man given the worldwide situation, his plan in general just kinda makes no sense. Why wouldn't he want the help of every hero ever to fight the aliens off? And even then, his wanting to save the world from Alien Flamenco doesn't change that he still wanted to essentially enslave the populace. He's a scumbag; Whether or not he wanted to be a hero.

But that in turn also works to the show's' favor, as it continues the recurring theme of Samurai Flamenco being one of the few genuine heroic types among all of the new heroes that have been popping up since the show began. As well, the word Flamenco growing ever more popular, to the point that it even reaches out to space, works really well with the show's' commentary about the power of popular and heroic figures, as well as how media can shape our reality. Heck, when you think about it, many of our heroes will outlive us.

This is all such a wonderful continuation of the stuff that Samurai Flamenco as a show has been gunning at ontop of setting up for more exploration not just of those ideas, but also bringing in new ones. Many a superhero comic has had setups similar to the scenario presented by the end of the episode, afterall. And in terms of world building, it does in turn establish just what the rest of the world thinks not only of all the stuff that's been going on in Japan, but just where the heck they've even been this entire time. Their heroes, Mister Justice included, all failed in their efforts to drive by the alien hoard. And now, the fate of not just the country, but the world, rests on Samurai Flamenco, just like so many hero shows.

Needless to say, the writers of this show really know what they're doing with this stuff, and I'm here for it.

And if the blueray commentary is to be believed, he's just Masayoshi from a world where he never met our resident grumpy cop.

https://i.imgur.com/9HoDyKs.png

And yet Moe still steals the show! Mostly in part due to Mari being a horrible human being to contrast her.

https://i.imgur.com/jHDgn59.png

At her core, Mari is a fundamentally selfish monster who can't understand human compassion. She resents Moe for being a better person than her, claiming she was doing it solely to look good, and demanding she never show her face in front of her again. So Moe shows up again with a paper bag over her head to beg her to go back to living her life instead of living in the closet of a cop who wants nothing to do with her. There's more to these scenes than I'm noting, but I really don't need frustration like this on a work night.

oh and then it ends with all three in a lesbian kiss pile. no i don't get it either.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance in JAPAN.

https://i.imgur.com/rWDW4bQ.png

Releases were only a year a part, but it really is so close it's hilarious.

https://i.imgur.com/v26E0Ym.png

So uh... Yeah. You can actually take this statement at face value since at 72% approval rating he cratered Flamenco Blue in 3 seconds. Strap in folks it's gonna get wilder.

Makes sense. Masayoshi's' career in heroics most certainly wouldn't work out near as well without Goto's' support.

No, no. In this instance I choose violence.

That's literally all I can show you out of this episode without spoilers.

If you felt like I was being pretentious when I called Samurai Flamenco "postmodern" then this episode should be all that's needed to prove it.

It's also the kind of episode where, had you not been following everything that the show has been doing up to this point, it spends the last few minutes of it outright spelling it out for the audience.

If you want the short version of everything that goes on in this episode, then all you really "need" to know is that, whereas the previous episode was Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, this one is straight up The End of Evangelion. And no I am not friggen kidding.

But if you want more details and my own personal analysis, then continue on. So, as it turns out, Alien Flamenco was actually responsible for nearly every enemy group in the entire show so far. They're the one who gave King Torture his alien heart, the one who took over most of the world, thus causing the Japanese government to create From Beyond, and well, you know the rest.

Alien Flamenco's' plan is to soar throughout the universe; Assimilating everyone and everything into one collective consciousness and thereby eliminate all evil from the universe. They even invite Masayoshi to join them. To evolve and become as one with the collective. In the most hilarious counterargument to the proposition ever though, Masayoshi denies the prospect of forced evolution. Because while Alien Flamenco's' words make sense, Masa does not.

It's then that the fight goes full Ultraman with both Flamenco growing giant-size, and Alien Flamenco uppercutting Samurai Flamenco into the moon. But, through both luck and perseverance, Masayoshi manages to win via uppercutting Alien Flamenco into the far reaches of space at mach 2. I'm sure that eventually their mind will stop. Just as Masayoshi begins to lose consciousness due to the lack of oxygen on the moon as well as the injuries that sustained from the fight.

And then Masayoshi literally meets the writer of the anime. No I'm not joking.

Okay, so, Masa wakes up in a paradise full of things that he loves; Action figures, DVDs, the merch of any Toku fan, and strangely enough, they all reflect the various people he's met throughout this entire show.

God is there(no joke), and as the Universe's Will, it proceeds to lay out everything to Masayoshi.

See, the reason that everything has gone so crazy over the last twelve episodes is because of Masayoshi's' own subconscious desires. He wished to live the sort of life lead by the various superhero stories that he loved, and his wishes actually came true.

In the world of Flamenco, anyone with especially strong personalities and ideals can literally reach out and mold the world to their desires. And because Masayoshi's' wishes were granted, God literally pulled in enemy forces from parallel worlds for Samurai Flamenco to fight. Beyond Flamenco, Prime Minister Flamenco, and Alien Flamenco? All of them were alternate universe versions of Masayoshi, all with their own way of seeking out justice.

The reason it came to an end and Masayoshi is now meeting his creator is because, simply put, Masayoshi ran out of wishes in terms of superheroics. God does tell him though that if Masayoshi really wants, he can easily open up the fabric of reality again and create new foes for Samurai Flamenco to face. His story doesn't have to end here. Heck, the alternative is rather boring.

It's during this conversation that so many things are laid to the forefront. When you get right down to it, aren't all of the stories we read, watch, whatever, the life stories of the characters we indulge in? And in that, writers, creators, they are in turn the Gods of their own invented universes. And it's all in the name of entertainment or attention seeking at the end of the day. Masayoshi literally shakes the foundation of everyone's' lives, because he IS the main character. And in the end, he himself realizes it's not right to keep stringing everyone along.

There's something else made apparent here too. Something every big bad up to now has had in common is the seeking of a collective consciousness. Groupthink, mob mentality; it's all very dangerous stuff, and even if you heavily disagree or even dislike what someone else thinks or has to say, individuality is far more precious and mentally stimulating than everyone simple expositing the same things over and over. Masayoshi manages to stand out because, even if many of his beliefs aren't exactly unique, he's genuine, whether people agree with his stance on life or not.

In the end, Masayoshi declares that whether God decides that Samurai Flamenco's' story is over or not, Masa will never quit trying to be a hero, as it's what he truly loves and believes in. And with that, the universe is set back on its proper course, and Masayoshi returns home; Goto having waited for him this entire time.

Fun fact by the way, the Universe Will's' true form is shown to be a tesseract, which for those not in the know is a shape that we as humans can't actually fully comprehend due to it existing in the 4th dimension. That's actually pretty smart!

But hey, despite coming off like a series finale, we still have a few more episodes left to go! And I'm sure there's still plenty more avenues of this story and these characters left to explore.

https://i.imgur.com/hOOHOiZ.png

https://i.imgur.com/VPEuhUO.png

Masayoshi is one of the rare examples where the dumb, hot blooded hero spouting nonsense actually works in context. It's 100% his gut feeling, but he can't think of any way to put it into words, so he's left just kind of sputtering this and posing. Only after being uppercutted into the moon does he finally find a way to tell Alien Flamenco off.

As for the rest... Well, this may not be my favorite episode of Flamenco, but it's absolutely one of the most memorable. So much so that someone had the decency to compile all of the engrish from this episode into a bite sized video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq9194L0QQI

SPACE FINAL FLAMENCO!

...

https://i.imgur.com/HhqdfRk.png

"Come on. Come OOONNN!!!"

Mari is just consistently the absolute worst.

So instead of at all talking about her, I'm going to instead focus on everything else going on in this episode.

The driving question behind the episode being "If a hero was actually successful and did bring about world peace, how exactly would that work? And would it even last?" If you just want the answer, it's: "Not very entertaining, and Sort of" in that order.

What's brilliant is that up until the very end, this entire thing is framed like an epilogue episode too. Almost everyone in the cast has gone their separate ways to further their own personal lives and careers now that there's no more world ending threats to fight. Media outlets are struggling to find any sensationalist news to spread. And Masayoshi? Well, he's back to being a model/actor.

But while the world might be at peace(to the point that there's currently an election for a World President), people's' personal lives and endeavors don't just stop. This is where the episode takes a focused look at Goto, who's returning to his old hometown to meet up with his girlfriend. Without getting too much into it, Goto has his own deep rooted issues that he's dealing with, and the very real world evils of humanity have long lasting effects.

What I found so interesting about the entire scenario is that, for all of his heroics, this situation is one that Masayoshi is no good in. He cares deeply for Goto as a friend, but he's no psychologist and it's not like he has the power to bring Goto's' girlfriend back. It's the sort of thing that all of us with intimate friendships have to tackle some day: Can we even hope to do as much for the friends we care so deeply about as they do for us? Are we any good as friends if we can't help our found family out in their weakest moments? It's tough stuff!

But as Masayoshi walks home, pondering over all of these things, he runs into Sawada, one of the teenagers he preached to way back in episode 1.

...And Sawada just set off a bomb inside of an apartment complex.

The evil forces of outer space might be dealt with, but the darkness within the people of society never fades.

Wanna know what one of the scariest things in the world is?

A stalker. And worse than that, a very creepy, obsessed, and possessive one who knows how to gaslight.

Such is the case of Haiji Sawada and the main focus of this episode. He's a big fan of Samurai Flamenco, see? And all he wants is to be as important to Flamenco as Flamenco is to him.

Adding onto the real world evils inherent in what a seemingly normal person can do, the crimes he commits are ones that anyone could pull off. Hitting someone with a truck, pushing someone down the stairs, poisoning food, and making others question their own grip on reality.

But perhaps more poignant than that is that in all of this, the show still finds a way to continue talking about people's' relation to the media they consume. Sawada represents those who become obsessed to the point of falling into the darkness. As well as how many people, rather than embracing a story or character for what they are, focus on trying to force those things into their own self-image of perfection.

As such, he very much serves as a counter to the age old stance of "there's no such thing as a bad fan." To which the question then becomes, well, what about people like this? People who cause both physical and emotional harm in the name of the thing they claim to love so much?

Masayoshi might be an expert in combating the evils of the physical world, but he's not at all prepared for battles of the mind, as as such, it only makes sense for this to be the final foe he needs to face in the grand story of Samurai Flamenco as a whole.

There's a reason few people use the term "getting high on life" anymore.

Not just because it's old, but because, like with anything that gives you any sort of high, you run the risk of becoming addicted to it.

Heck, wanna know what "being woke" used to mean when the phrase first started circulating the internet? It was a way to express learning "the truth" or knowing what many others don't.

However, the phrase soon turned into a mocking one because, while learning an idea that stands out from the norm can be a liberating feeling, that same feeling can also cause those to experience it to not stop to actually think about or otherwise investigate what they've read or heard.

Such is the danger in the type of person Sawada is. He's someone who's lived his whole life on autopilot, but the moment he actually found genuine passion for something in his life, he became obsessive of it until he ended up being a serious danger to those around him. While it's a bit of an extreme example, it's something many of us have experienced on a smaller scale.

Meanwhile, on the part of Masayoshi, a big part of this ordeal is one of self discovery. This whole time he's been helping others with their problems, and living his life with superheroes as his guide. But really, like with many a classic hero, he himself has not grown all that much. In reality, stagnation can be soul crushing, and if Masayoshi wants to keep being his best self, then he also needs to take the time to look inward rather than outward for once.

To end this off, there's something that I wanna give this episode some major props for: Talking about how love comes in many forms, not just in a romantic way. Many other shows, superhero ones included, would just simplify it as being romantically interested in someone, and at first, it seems like Samurai Flamenco is gonna do it too, but no. They instead acknowledge love of various different kinds, even noting how Masayoshi's' passion for superheroes stems from a form of love. It was really nice to see!

Next up is the final episode and uh, I won't spoil what the title of it is yet, but let's just say that it is very, very Flamenco.

https://i.imgur.com/cc87NCf.png

https://i.imgur.com/bOY3hNs.png

Bet you never expected a title like that to belong to arguably the most dramatic episode in the entire show.

Also, I think this episode might actually be my favorite in the entire show?

This hits every bit as hard as the (in)famous ending of Roseanne did for me, in that it managed to recontextualize the entire last arc that the show has done and spin it into something higher than it was. And in a very believable way too!

Essentially, the reveal here is that the entire last arc of Samurai Flamenco, while still very much about the themes and ideas already established, also serves as a meta play/commentary on not just the endings of superhero media in general, but also how, if a hero is popular enough, their tale WILL get rebooted.

Because see, now that the story of Samurai Flamenco is over, Sawada wants HIS version of Flamenco. His obsession is to the point of him gunning for a suicide pact in an attempt to turn the Samurai into an anti-hero known as Samurai Flamenco Darkness, which makes complete and total sense for the mindset of an edgy teenager like Sawada is.

This serves as some really fun meta play too, given that almost every superhero ever has gone through a darker and edgier reboot of some kind. The Dark Age of comic books, the 2017 Power Rangers film, Kamen Rider Black Sun, the list goes on. And both in real life and in the universe of Flamenco, very rarely does anyone want that, let alone it turn out well. And very rarely do the people who vouch for such things actually know what it is that they're asking for.

It's a tense situation, and all of Masayoshi's' traditional tactics are of no use here, but while doing his best to talk down both Goto and Sawada, Masayoshi realizes something. The best way to get Sawada to see reality is to destroy the very image of Samurai Flamenco that Sawada has built up in his head. And how exactly does he do that, you might ask? By confronting Sawada not as Samurai Flamenco, but as Masayoshi Hazama.

He achieves this by getting naked.

What better way to destroy the image of perfection and remove any and all ounces of dramatic darkness than by being in the most ridiculous and vulnerable state you can possibly be in, right? It's certainly enough to shake Sawada, to the point that he has zero idea of how to handle this. Despite all of the grand posturing and the claims that he'll be Flamenco's' one and only, Sawada for the first time actually meets his object of worship, and it is not at all the grandiose picture he'd built up in his mind over the past year. Even hearing that despite everything, Masa still cares about him shakes Sawada to his core.

And ontop of that, Sawada's' super romanticized idea of being one with Samurai Flamenco is no match against the genuine companionship that Masayoshi and Goto have built up over time. It's not some super dramatic embrace, or a melding of minds where the two are perfectly in sync. No. Real friendship involves alot of talking, alot of bickering, alot of clashing of viewpoints and ideals, and finally and most importantly, alot of forgiveness. All things that Sawada has never experienced and would know nothing about. And it's this absolute mundane aspect of everyday life that defeats Sawada. Not some super powerful attack, just two grown men trying to reconcile their differences.

When all is said and done, things continue to play out as you'd expect an epilogue of a toku show to, but when it comes to our two leads, well, there's an interesting bit of ambiguity to the entire thing. Fans are rather split on what the whole thing means in terms of character development: Did Masayoshi finally find love in Goto and was genuine in his marriage proposal? Or did he just make the offer out of a naive desire to bring Goto happiness after all that had happened? Has Goto finally accepted that his girlfriend is gone and that there's nothing he can do, or did he regress in an example of how old habits die hard? Are the two best friends, or have they become lovers during the brief time that's been skipped? I think this entire element only enhances the story, personally.

As for me, well, my interpretation ties into what I brought up earlier: I think that the ending is meant to be an example on how superhero media is handled in general. Yes, superhero stories will always exist as long as there are people to tell those stories. Some will be darker, some will be wildly different than their source material, but in the end, alot of times, superhero stories tend to find ways to return to their roots and overall stay true to their status quo. And I personally believe that That is what the final shots of the show are meant to entail: Masayoshi and Goto have certainly grown from the experiences they've gone through together, but in the end, there are just aspects to themselves that can never be shaken. Goto will always find texting an easier way to express his emotions than talking, and Masayoshi will always do what he can to uphold justice in whatever way he can.

Overall this was an absolutely fantastic way to end the show off, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

https://i.imgur.com/DX5sh8U.png

...

https://i.imgur.com/DMPbxtJ.png

"what the hell is this gay marriage stuff i want my dark hero"

I'm not going to go too into it. This thread has been... Sufficient in breaking down what Flamenco guns for, even if much of the insanity needs to be seen and not heard. I will leave with this though: Flamenco is, to this point, still one of a kind in my book. I don't believe there is anything like it(at this time) and it's a damn shame it never caught on. Multi-Track drifting with the anime of the decade.

_____________


Now for some behind the scenes of this thread! I've been pushing Flamenco ever since this thread started. And I certainly shilled it around the time it came out too. What convinced him to do this write up? Memes and shitposts. They're very accurate to the series as a whole, actually.

https://i.imgur.com/NvUyrtf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8V4iyzO.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LMEd3eU.jpg

I kid you not. These were ESSENTIAL in getting him to watch this.

listen

I feel like I know what a few of you reading are thinking right now.

"Okay DS, we get it, you didn't have a good time with Kamen Rider Build. But how in the heck does it at all compare to Samurai Flamenco?"

Look, I get it. You're probably sick of hearing me whine and complain, and I don't blame you. But I honestly think that there is a point of discussion to be had here in terms of how both shows handle their various themes.

You might not think a story about the terrors of war and a tale of how media and stories influence our mindsets would at all connect, but after seeing the endings of both shows, and the more I thought about it, my brain ended up connecting some rather interesting dots.

Will it at all check out as well to you all as it does to me? Well, that's for you all to decide. And I really won't blame anyone who manages to read this entire thing and comes to the conclusion that I'm full of it. But, even so, all I can do is maybe offer some insight into how my mind works when it comes to these comparative reviews, and I hope you atleast have a decent time reading.

So, with that out of the way, allow me to present...


How's that for a title?

Anyway, before we dive deep into it... yeah. To my surprise, some big aspects that both stories share is the idea of evil coming from within, conflicting ideas coming together to create something new, and most importantly, how friendship is one of the greatest aspects to life and something that everyone needs and should have. Believe it or not, I actually did do my best to pay attention when watching both of these shows!

And while those things are the core of what this review will be about, I'll still be covering the other aspects of the shows as well in the interest of fairness. Though I will be honest about it upfront: A few of these will be very much of a "different flavor" sort of variety in terms of comparison. If you feel that's unfair, then that is entirely valid and you're free to voice it. But regardless of that, I'll do my best to explain why I stand the way that I do in each category, so even if you don't agree with my mindset, hopefully you'll atleast be able to understand where it is that I'm coming from.

With all that out of the way, let's begin.

Action and Visual Flair

I hate the PirateTrain Best Match. To me, it stands tall as a symbol of everything I don't like when it comes to Build's' action sequences. Not only is it one of the more commonly used forms for Build, but almost every time it shows up, it signals that the oncoming fight scene is going to be one of the laziest in the show in terms of choreography. It headlines the sort of complaint I've seen some lob at modern Kamen Rider, but to me, Build is the absolute worst about it: And that's CGI spam.

It's a real problem I noticed with alot of Build's' fight scenes. And it's not the CGI in and of itself that's the problem, no. But rather how it is very rarely used in service to any sort of physicality for stunts as well as degrading many a fight into simple beam spam. You can use CGI and still have it be stylistic: Take a look at Kamen Rider Wizard for a great example of that. I mean hey, even Zero-One, made right at the start of the COVID era, managed that. That's not to say Build never had any good action scenes. Heck, alot of the fights involving Evolto during the third act of the show are rather good. It's just that those examples are too few and far between to at all notable compared to the many, many lackluster fights that the show is plagued with.

As for Samurai Flamenco;


It's no secret that the show is not only far more of a slice-of-life affair than what Kamen Rider Build is, but I also really wouldn't doubt if it was made on far less of a budget than what Build was also. But despite those factors, the action really really works and is totally engaging in terms of everything going on in the story. When Flamenco really wants to wow you, it succeeds via making almost every action sequence its own unique beast. I actually find it pretty ironic that the show which points out that many a Toku show can have formulas to its fight choreography in turn has some of the most variety. And I mean, super flashy or not, at least at the end of it all characters are actually hitting eachother.

Points goes to Samurai Flamenco.

Music and Atmosphere

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G87WJDpNC8Y

Oh, well, case closed right there, right? Afterall, Be The One is one of the most famous opening songs in any Rider show, and thus this is a slam dunk in favor of Build, right?

Not quite. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to sit here and tell you that Kamen Rider Build has bad music, because it doesn't. Infact, looking up alot of the various songs and listening to them on their own, they're rather good! The problem is more in how exactly they're utilized.

During my time actually watching Build the show, it was very rare that any of the songs actually stood out to me in terms of the scenes and context of which they're used. They never registered in my brain in such a way that there'd really be any difference between had the songs been there or if the scene itself had no background music at all. Not once did the sound design feel like any sort of major enhancement. And ya know, if you wanna argue that that means that the team is doing its job, then ya know what, fine, that's totally fair.

But you wanna know what I think the best song in Samurai Flamenco is? It's not any of the openings or endings, and it's not even any of the insert songs which are also great. No, it's this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZdHLgZjyAs

The song that plays whenever the characters are doing mundane stuff and just interacting with one another. I can easily hear the first few notes of the song so clearly even when not watching the anime itself, and every scene that the song was used it managed to strike just the right balance of both the song itself standing out, as well as complimenting and enhancing the general tone and atmosphere of the scene it was in.

Shoot, to me, Build was never great about handling its tone or atmosphere as it was. Most of the time it was really gunning for this serious drama, but every now and then would blindside you with really unfunny comedy out of nowhere to the point that it began to actively annoy me.

Meanwhile with Flamenco, for all the reputation that the show has for being crazy, I think that those who actually watch and pay attention to all that it does will find that the anime actually manages to balance various methods to its madness. For every super crazy sequence, there's an equally mundane and down to Earth one. For every incredibly dramatic story beat, there's wonderful character comedy that, even if I personally found a given joke to fall flat, it at the very least didn't annoy me.

These key things were major players in terms of what helped draw me into Samurai Flamenco and keep me there, whereas the opposite was true of Kamen Rider Build, which managed to always find a way to take me completely out of the show at many, many points.

Point again goes to Samurai Flamenco.

Plot, Messages, and Themes

This is understandably where the primary disconnect is gonna be for some. Afterall, Kamen Rider Build is a dramatic war story about divisions of philosophy leading to conflict and what role morality plays in conflicts of interest. Meanwhile Samurai Flamenco is a postmodern tale about the influence media has on the human psyche as well as how the handling and mishandling of superhero media, Toku especially, plays a big part in that. So the big question is, what do either of those things really have to do with one another?

On the surface, the answer might seem immediately obvious: Nothing. If you stopped there then these two stories are not at all alike.

But then I saw the final episode of Build, wherein it's revealed that the entire show that the audience has been watching was an extremely biased account by the lead character of what events actually transpired, and the hamster wheel in my head began to turn ever so slowly.

Now, the meta aspect of Build is absolutely light compared to that of Flamenco, but the more I took a close look at both shows, I was surprised to find that they both shared much more in common than what I initially thought. They just go about them in different ways. Such topics include how one defines true heroism, the division between what's lawful and what's right, and more importantly, how everyone has a dark side, and the way in which to handle it when it comes to the forefront.


Build certainly has alot that it wants to say, but it managed to misfire on those topics and ideas alot. There's so many inconsistent plot details such as what made the Rider System and what for, or who exactly is responsible for the war being waged across Japan, as well as other details outright standing against what it's going for, such as many an evil character acting in such a way due to a very external source despite the "evil from within" theme, made me overall just really confused on the entire story. What starts as a war story with some sprinkling of fantastic elements ends up turning into an entirely fantastic affair, where almost all of the world's' issues can be attributed to external forces.


As for Flamenco, it's a very opposing take on the various subject matter. Despite all of the fantastic elements that the show introduces over the course of its run, one thing made clear is that no matter how many enemies the world defeats, people can and always will be a root cause of many of the world's' problems. Everyone has their own baggage, and it's by facing yourselves and helping others through their hardest things that things turn out for the better. The final opponent for Samurai Flamenco to face isn't some egotistical alien out to blow up the world, it's just a regular human being who ends up being far scarier than any of the extraterrestrial threats that Flamenco has had to face up to that point. Combine all of this with a very clear roadmap for the plot itself and you get a show that feels complete and confident in what it wants to say.

So, yeah, point yet again goes to Samurai Flamenco.

Characters

I'll be totally honest here, I don't like almost the entire cast of Kamen Rider Build. Many of the characters to me came across as obnoxious at worst and boring at best. But, ya know, I could maybe look past that somewhat it they were atleast utilized in a smart and/or interesting way. So, were they?

What do you think? My answer is no. The main issue I have is one of many characters attributes being informed. Case in point:


Characters in Build are constantly talking about what a selfless, wonderful, all around great guy that Sento is, whereas in my eyes, he rarely if ever had anything to actually showcase that. He spends most of his time acting condescending towards everyone he's meant to be friends with, and more often than not his wants and needs are put before everyone else in the cast's'. Heck, when Katsuaragi comes into the picture, the fact that the two barely act any different only cements how all of the villains' accusations of Sento being the "Devil Scientist" was actually completely true.

It doesn't stop there either. If a character doesn't have attributes that are almost entirely informed, then they instead end up more and more flanderized as time goes on. The biggest example I can think of being Kazumi's' simping for Misora turned up to 11 starting with the final act of the show. Yes, he was always a simp for her, but it never got in the way of his other aspects nor was it nearly at the forefront of his personality as it is starting in that last leg.


In contrast, when it comes to Samurai Flamenco, the anime does a great job in showcasing what every character is about rather than simply stating it. It didn't need characters to constantly talk about how Masayoshi is a kind-hearted idiot because Masa himself showcased that with his own behavior in almost every episode. And all while feeling much more organic in how he has his own ups and downs compared to any character in Build as well.

But then, all of the characters of Flamenco are like that. Even the ones who don't get as much screen time as say, Masayoshi or Goto, still all feel very organic and interesting to watch without being reduced to just their most exaggerated trait. And I ended up finding that these characters were also the centerpiece that drove the plot, rather than the other way around like how it came across to me with Build. Heck, even Flamenco Diamond, who I can't stand ends up being utilized in really interesting ways in relation to both the plot and other characters.

Even when it comes to the very things I used to create the header for this review: Build Hazard and Samurai Flamenco Darkness, the execution of both couldn't be any more different without just being different subject matter entirely. Both are meant to show the very real threat of the main character losing themselves and bringing harm to those around them, but whereas Build Hazard becomes a reality and is something which is easily circumvented, Flamenco Darkness is far more terrifying not only in just the mere threat of him existing, but also all of the events that would have to come together in order for him to be born. To me, that is a far more effective use of the concept and really details just how much of an impact such a thing has on the plot and characters as a whole.

But really, the most important factor to me in all of this, and it's something tied to both plot and character, is both show's' themes of friendship, and how they are contextualized in the male leads of both shows.

Being real here, I absolutely can not buy into the idea that Sento and Banjo from Build are friends, let alone a "Best Match." For a majority of the show it really seemed to me like the two hated eachother. Constantly being at eachother's' throats, always sabotaging the other's' plans, and just generally being unpleasant to one another. Heck, even during flashback scenes which are supposed to showcase the two's' time together, those clips are with no audio and are taken out of context. It's only when the third act kicks in that both decide that suddenly they're the best of friends because the plot needs them to be in order to remotely function. It comes across as incredibly forced, and had the show made the claim that Banjo and Kazumi were instead the Best Match of the show, I actually would've believed that because those two actually have far more scenes of them growing and enjoying being around one another.

All of this is standing up against the main duo of Samurai Flamenco: Masayoshi and Goto. Like Build, the two couldn't be more different, with Masayoshi being the dopey idealist who rushes headfirst into situations whereas Goto is far more level-headed and down to Earth to the point of often needing to be the one to bail Masayoshi out of a given situation. But here's the thing. What is one of the first things that the two do upon meeting and getting to know one another?

They sit back in Masayoshi's' apartment watching Toku and generally just be comfortable around one another.

That's it. That's all it took for me to buy into these guys finding a connection. And the anime has a handful of scenes like this between the two. Meanwhile, Sento and Banjo, due to the show they're in being far more concerned with constant existential dread and drama, never really found the time for the two to grow or be around eachother in a really endearing or organic way. For a show that wants to be all about opposites attracting it is such a misfire!

Friendship is a wonderful, valuable, and beautiful thing. Something I feel everyone should treasure deeply and is a subject that I myself feel very passionate about. And that's why it annoyed me so much to see a Kamen Rider show, a franchise that's usually pretty good about handling it, make it a focual point and then fumble so badly. Meanwhile, an anime that has a reputation for being crazy nonsense had the sense to put so much effort and focus onto the very human and warm elements of its cast, and made a friendship that feels very real, whether or not you take the interpretation of it becoming romantic or not, like how many see the relationship between Sento and Banjo.

Needless to say, the final point very strongly goes to Samurai Flamenco.

Final Thoughts

To be honest, I don't know if I adequately explained what I was ultimately trying to get at with this, so I'll put it in as simple of terms as I can here: I ultimately feel that, with almost everything that Kamen Rider Build was trying to do, Samurai Flamenco not only did it, but did it better. And I'm in no way trying to talk in any sort of "objective" terms here either. Simply highly why the latter appealed far more to my tastes than the former.

If you wanna argue that I completely missed the point of Build and that I speak way too highly of Flamenco, that's fine. That's totally within your right. But for me, despite how much the two surprisingly have in common in terms of concepts, the execution couldn't be any more different, and I know which one in the end appeals far more to me and my tastes.

I give Kamen Rider Build a 1/6, and Samurai Flamenco a 5/6. Two shows dealing with Toku shows and the people involved in them as a topic, but which ultimately weave them into their own stories in very different ways.

The winner is Samurai Flamenco.

I can definitely see why certain pretentious reviewers whom I don't much care for would be into this show.

The first half of the episode especially had me worried. It's full of alot of things that reviewers who like to pass themselves off as smart would latch onto: Visuals to sell how "adult" the show is(a Horror covered in boobs!), overtly dramatic overtones, a bright "artsy" visual sequence thrown in that's incredibly out of place with the running dark visual setting and atmosphere, and a mysterious hook thrown in to let people headcanon over. All paired up with shakey-cam and motion blur to make the action look more involved than it actually is.


Thankfully though the second half just kinda gets rid of all of that and lets you know that despite the very different setpiece of the previous two entries, this is still very much one of the GARO anime.

A total bait and switch yes, but one that I think ultimately works. To put it into the simplest comparison I can think of, the first half plays out like the debut episode of Dynazenon, whereas the second half more plays out like the debut episode of SSSS.Gridman. One thing to see when comparing to those anime though is if Vanishing Line will manage to follow up on this in the same sort of way, which will in turn make me like the episode better in hindsight. But only time will tell.

And while I could definitely do without all of the shakey-cam during the action sequences, the visuals in and of themselves are still animated well and decently nice to look at; which has become a welcome standard of this franchise. Seeing how Makai tech has evolved over time was definitely very interesting. With VL being set in "the future" it was cool to see a mixture of magic and technology. Although Zaruba being part-motorcycle is definitely gonna take some getting used to.

As for our characters, I do like the base idea of Sword and Sophie, but I'm not really gonna say I exactly "like" them yet. As this is only the first episode, we're not really given too much about them other than their baseline characteristics and that they're both searching for "El Dorado."

The opening sequence of the show is visually interesting too, and is the same sort of artsy as the previous entries. And I think that's ultimately place this episode for myself personally: It's not good or bad, but interesting, and that, paired with how I've been watching a couple of other shows that I didn't care much for recently, makes me ultimately give this one a pass. I'll definitely finish the anime, as I always do, but this isn't making me super weary as some other show's' debut episodes have, so hey, I'll take it.

You know I'm not sure where I'd rank Vanishing Line in terms of like... the massive GARO stuff that I've seen. And while I don't think it's like the most amazing work they've put out, it's still definitely up there as one of my favorites.

Which is why I can get why you're definitely feeling like this on the first episode. First impressions are important though I always feel like GARO has a lot more moving parts that aren't present in the first episode. I think the anime hits some pretty high highs during its run. Though I will admit it is a bit... straightforward. That'll come into play later on though and I'll explain what I mean specifically when we get to the point I'm talking about.

Anyway um... Sword might actually be... probably my 4th favorite Garo? And that's not a bad thing either, it's just he has competition like Leon (Also Kouga and Raiga from the Live Action stuff) who I just find really good. But he's also such a different Garo and I honestly dig it?

Also, I feel like the anime definitely sorta hit a brick wall when we got here because we sorta just went to heavy modern day and I feel like if MAPPA wasn't busy as hell nowadays, and they got to make a new Garo it'd feel a bit stagnant to place it in the same era/it'd feel weird to go back in time to a different spot in history? Though if we're asking me I'd just like a movie for Vanishing Line since I love this cast so much for varying reasons.

But yeah, expect me to chime in where I can as I remember stuff! This'll be fun for me to watch you go through.

Oh yeah, it's already apparent that Sword is very much different from the anti-social loner in Leon and the tragic hero in Raiko, which I honestly think is a very smart move. Heck, having Kiyoko Yoshimura be the writer instead of Kobayashi I think also makes for an interesting move in order for this little sub-franchise.

Whether I end up liking Vanishing Line or not, it's such a shame that for all intents and purposes, the GARO anime stops here. Didn't even get a movie like the previous two. Would've liked to have seen how the franchise would continue to evolve over time.

As the title might suggest, this episode introduces us to the Makai Alchemist of the season, Luke.

He's the polar opposite of Sword: Taking his job incredibly seriously and being very distant from the people around him. He also specializes in firearms: The sniper rifle especially, which gave me serious Outlaw Star vibes due to the magic bullets.

Despite his aloof nature though, there still manages to be some rather nice character interaction on his part. While he doesn't say much, his body language says all it needs to, such as his active annoyance at Sword's' personality and how it results in Luke himself having to wipe the memories of the masses.

Sword is no slouch in this department either though, as while it was already obvious how he was very much different from Leon and Raiku of GARO anime past, his difference in philosophy to Leon and the first anime especially are highlighted with one single line: "You can't protect something you don't make an effort to understand."

Ontop of that, the episode very much improves on the gripes I had about the first episode. This one has a very noir-esque atmosphere to it that I rather dug, and the action, while technically more simplistic than that of episode 1, was alot more stylish and had no shakey-cam, which in turn resulted in the action climax being way more fun to watch for me. Heck, just seeing how Luke mixes his spells with practical technology was really cool to see.

So, yeah. This episode was alot more my speed than the first one was, and I think that's a good sign for future episodes to come.

Ah yes, this episode we get to meet Luke! Definitely one of my favorite priests/alchemists in the franchise with how his story goes.

Also I didn't get to touch on this the last time, but this GARO definitely gets the most experimental when it comes to Knight/Alchemist gear purely because we're in full modern day mode with this one. Like yes, past Live Action Garo's have been in the modern day but they don't usually have such a modern arsenal like this.

It really makes Vanishing Line one of a kind tbh and I like that.

I can see that. This being an anime really helps to lean into that idea too, as I imagine it's alot easier for them to realize more ideas in terms of that compared to live-action stuff.

Well... yeah. Why wouldn't a Horror possess a computer in the modern age?

Anyway, this episode is our introduction to Gina AKA Catwoman. She's a Makai Alchemist who's a friend of Sword's', and used to work with him.

And with the Catwoman comparison comes a good old spy mission. Where Gina is the stealth and Sword is the muscle. The mission is to infiltrate the base of an upcoming mob boss who's been laying waste to rival mobsters.

That said, while the focus is primarily on Gina and her wiles and skills as a Makai Alchemist, my favorite aspect of the episode was a character known as Nero: A young and naive henchmen who has a surprisingly likable personality and his interactions with the cast and world around him was surprisingly fun to watch. More than all the fanservice the episode is filled with, atleast.

As for the climax; While fighting a living computer is certainly a fun idea, I felt the execution fell a bit short. It's just a bunch of wires flailing around and unfortunately the shakey-cam from the first episode is back, making me think it's gonna be in every fight scene that focuses on Sword. Heck, poor Gina only gets to fire one magic bullet during the entire bout. Gina's' physical fights throughout the episode were atleast well done though.

Judging by the title of the next episode, it seems this is the last of the introduction episodes, so I'm interested in seeing where this "El Dorado" plot ends up going.

Will say this season does do something interesting and it gives us two Makai Alchemists/Priests this go around instead of the usual 1 that's the series standard. At least as far as I'm aware anyway (Reminder, never watched Crimson Moon). Usually we stick with just 1 Priest while we get multiple Knights, so I'll give Vanishing Line that.

Edit: No wait, there was actually another series that has two I think. But I forgot because I didn't care for the second one in that series, lol

It's hard to remember much about this episode aside from it being Gina's introduction, though from your mention of Nero I do recall the guest characters per episode are usually pretty good in Vanishing Line, which is nice when you want to get invested in the story it's trying to tell.

There was technically a second one in Crimson Moon, but they really didn't factor into anything.

I rather liked this one!

The big draw is that we get alot more backstory on Sophie, elaborating on her arc and character motivation.

I really liked the flashback scenes with her brother Martin, and her determination in her quest and her interactions with Sword were endearing. That bit where he distracts her just long enough to make a getaway got a decent laugh out of me.

Ontop of that, tying her personal story in with the Horror of the Week was pretty well done; turning the usual Toku trope of the importance of family on its head in a rather dark twist that I really dug. While nothing is outright said about it, the torture chamber in the basement said all it needed to.

The climax, while short, was also stylish enough to be engaging. Sword chucking the horror out of the window only to then catch it on the way out was really cool. No shakey-cam either!

The general tone and atmosphere of the whole episode was on point, and made for a very enjoyable episode to watch. Good stuff.

Huh, interesting to know.

As for this episode in particular, yeah, after getting the introductions for the rest of our crew we circle back around to Sophie. Normally I'm not a fan of the whole "ordinary person wanders into a fantastical other side of life" thing cause most times they're just sort of there and annoying, but whenever they do it in GARO they do it pretty well. So Sophie ends up being a nice character for me overall in the grand scheme of Vanishing Line.

Also uh wow that uh... that basement sorta caught me off guard when I was watching the episode. Felt like I should've seen that coming but it was still a lot.

That being said your mention of what Sword did reminds me that he is probably the one Garo out of all of them that's the most physically involved in his fights. And by that I mean him going for very close weaponless combat even though he has his sword. And I get a kick out of that since while there are out of suit fights in this franchise, a lot of them are acrobatic swordplay. Sword contrary to his namesake very much goes for direct physicality in dealing with things a lot of times and I love it.

Yeah, Sword very much uses his blade as a tool rather than as his primary weapon, and for me personally it was amusing to see since a player in my PR Tabletop does that exact same thing with his character. It's definitely fun to watch!

But yeah, definitely some ironic humor in a guy named Sword not really doing much swordplay. It'd be like if you had a guy named Switchblade who only ever used one to repair his glasses. Or who never watched Ultraman Max.

This episode reminded me alot of Crimson Moon due to how it's structured.

In that it's devoted almost entirely to investigation, exposition, and character development, with the action at the end being very quick and to the point.

And as someone who actually likes Crimson Moon, I really only saw that as a good thing. This episode succeeded in drawing me in and making me invested in these characters and where things were headed.

The only real complaint I have is that the animation is slightly off model in a couple spots, making me think that this one was a bit of a budget episode. Outside of that though, there's alot to like. Like, right off the bat I got a chuckle out of the inherent character humor of Sword wearing a suit that barely fits him.

To give another comparison, like with Legend Heroes I really dug how this was an episode that talked about how Toku parents are often pretty trash, and showcasing some of the ramifications those types of parents have on their children's' lives. It's especially refreshing given how many a Toku show tries to justify terrible parenting(hi, Ghost and Build).

In terms of strictly plot though, this episode is all about investigating a rich woman rumored to be able to control Horrors, as well as Sophie getting a deeper look into the world of the Makai before deciding if she actually wants to dive head first into that world or not. And while that certainly lends itself to some nice development for Sophie, I found that Gina ended up showcasing alot of strong bits in this episode as well.

The two's' talk about the nature of humans and demons was very reminiscent of the same sorts of conversations had in the first GARO anime, and through that also let Gina show a more grounded and straight-forward side of her that we didn't really get to see much of in her introduction episode. Heck, even the "fanservice" in this episode is moreso showcased as being grotesque, in a sharp contrast to Gina's' intro episode.

Time will tell if I end up liking this cast as much as I did the characters of the previous two anime, but so far? Things are lookin' up.

Now that's an interesting look into an alternate universe.

Interesting to hear the comments on structure similarities since I did remember enjoying this episode for the most part. As for budget though, yeah it definitely does feel like Vanishing Line has less budget at points, which I'll probably touch on a bit right now, but...

CG Model Work is seemingly not as cost cutting and easy to implement as people think it is, is all I'll say given comments regarding I believe it was Divine Flame where there was an extended 2D action sequence one of the lead animators did all by himself because they ran out of budget for the Armor Models.

But still, it's a nice episode to sort of get our crew mostly together in regards to three of our four main characters. There's some real nice groundwork laid out and this sorta slower episode is nice for building certain things out as we're still in the early episodes of the show.

It really wouldn't surprise me one way or the other. Maybe it's just due to not getting an extended look at them yet, but I do think the CGI in Vanishing Line so far is a slight step down from that of Crimson Moon. Still better than Seal of Flames' CG Suits though, if nothing else.

This episode struck a nice balance of all the elements of a usual GARO episode.

It's not exactly evenly split up, but I felt that enough focus was given to each aspect of character development, investigation, and action.

The mission this time being investigating a movie theater where people have been rumored to just vanish while watching a film. Luke, annoyed at how Sword has gotten Sophie mixed up in the Makai world, investigates on his own.

During all this, we get some further insight into Sword and especially Luke. Sword makes a living working for a Chinese restaurant, which actually gives a new layer to his love of greasy meat and potatoes; I imagine he's kinda sick of the Chinese cuisine he's surrounded with all the time.

Luke is the standout though, as we get an almost literal window into his past an aspiring Makai Knight, and how his mother died infront of him. I also got a giggle at how normal people mistake him bringing out his Horror-detecting lighter as him asking for or offering a smoke. And his gunplay gets to shine once more as soon as the Horror is discovered.

Lastly, in terms of the dub, something that stood out to me about this episode was that the script for it had alot of at the time modern lingo and slang terms in it. Which, while a bit distracting at first, does make some sense, given that this show takes place in the "near future" and all. It's definitely an effect of me having only seen the other anime in terms of GARO content though, given that those shows took place in the distant past.

Just never thought I'd hear the word "creepypasta" in an GARO show until now.

I always do like it when Horrors aren't just standard demons. They don't do it as often, but the Horror's that are more like entities/structures are some of my favorites in how their hunting works. So this movie theater Horror is definitely one of the ones that'll stick out to me for a while.

Also we get some more insight into Luke who well, I'll just say now is probably my favorite character in the show? Feel like it's a close tie between all four but I really enjoy Luke's story and this is only the start of it.

Also I will say I do always get a chuckle whenever the lighter is brought out and people like just assume it's a standard lighter but with a cool colored flame.

As for slang that's a good question, I only watched the sub so I'm not sure if they put the slang terms in there, nothing stuck out to me so it might've been a dub thing. At least in the era this was dubbed. Can you imagine what kind of slang would show up if it was dubbed in 2022?

Yeah let's not.

Double feature today since I didn't have time to do an episode a couple days back.

This episode marks the end of the anime's' introductory phase, and the plot begins to really kick up in terms of stakes and progress.

A breakthrough is made in the search for El Dorado, as disappearances directly connected to term begin to ramp up in count. And the more info is gathered about the situation, the more the term begins to sound like a cult rather than a place.

There's also the arrival of the "dark knight" of the show who appears to be a relative of Luke's'. And given he uses a polearm is makes me wonder if this is Zex or an expy of that suit, like how Zorro was to Zero in the first anime. No suit are used at all in this episode so no idea as of yet.

And I gotta give a big shout out to the head nun at the home Sophie stays at. She went out like a total badass.

The atmosphere and action are all around intense throughout a majority of the episode, and I think it's safe to say things are only gonna ramp up from here.