[DreamSword]

Episode 10: Frozen Bonds



Oh man this... this can't be good.

Similar to how the City of Rain episode had rain as it main source of symbolism, this episode instead uses snow(as well as the cold). The center focus is about Mitsuko tracking down and confronting her mother about their connection to Gill and where to find him.



Gotta say, the scenes where Mitsuko is directly confronting her mom really do shine here. And not just the dialogue and symbolism either! What makes it even cooler is the interesting turnaround this episode has from typical shows of its ilk. It's Mitsuko, "the chick" as in, not the main character, who is demanding everyone stay and keep demanding answers. Whereas its Jiro, the hero, the guy who in most other stories would be the one ready to bust heads, that is instead insisting everyone just forget about it and leave.



But as one might predict from the opening scene, things go way south when it's revealed that Gill is still working from the shadows. I especially love the line "I have my orders." Very blatantly showing that Mitsuko's' mother is no different from the robots in terms of her situation; A servant of Gill, whether she likes it or not.

It's here that the Mystery Man also reveals his name: Saburo. Not sounding like the name of the most popular character in the franchise? Well, let's wait on that. What we can comment on is that Saburo reveals that he's Jiro's' little brother, and designed specifically to destroy Jiro.

And uh, I'd say he makes good on his threat.

Infact, he makes good on it in more ways than one.

That said, the thing that stands out the most to me about Saburo is him killing the Scorpion Robot, and just how much his character(and this moment specifically) would go on to influence other characters over the decades. Bass from Megaman and Vegeta from Dragon Ball are two very blatant examples. Plus being voiced by Steve Blum? Yeah, this guy's got basically everything he needs to be one cool villain. And yes, I know this show came out after this two examples did, but this character, and the manga he originates from? Way before those two.

Like with "Stray Sheep" there isn't too much that happens in this episode in terms of events, but it's definitely another step forward in terms of the plot, the characters, and the threat at hand.