[DreamSword]

Episode #10: Encount(er?)

I once reviewed a show called Blassreiter.

It's one that you might've read me take a potshot at here and there over the years, and not without good reason.

For those not in the know, it was an anime that aimed to be a gritty, nihilistic take on Kamen Rider without much of a plan beyond that. And often times its various elements ended up being incredibly dull and shallow.

The overall idea of the story - best that I could parse - was that only fools believe in hope and optimism, and life itself is all about meaninglessness and misery, and that anyone who believed otherwise was simply deluding themselves into being blinded to the truth.

And now here comes Versus Road, a show that is very dark, even when compared to other entries in the GARO franchise, with an episode that is almost entirely talking(something Blassreiter would also do a couple times), to not only examine the nihilistic viewpoints in some of the cast, to also talk about the ups and downs of the ideology itself.

In the end? It's all really interesting stuff! This ended up being one of the best episodes for me as a result! The ultimate lesson and idea of the episode and, heck, arguably of the show as a whole is that holding onto hope in the face of despair is incredibly important, and that it'd be great if everyone could live with a shared semblance of virtue in their hearts. But the unfortunate reality of it is that the world doesn't quite work that way, and it's not about to change overnight.

Kuon isn't in the wrong for wanting to bring out the best of the people and situation he's been surrounded with, but sometimes, life just deals you and incredibly bad hand that leaves you with no real option other than to just brunt through it the best you can. It sucks, it really sucks, but it's something everyone has to face in life eventually. Some days, some scenarios? They're just totally screwed and there's nothing you can do to help it. But that in itself is also the exact reason why you should continue to do your best with what you've got.

Amo, Nagasuke, and yes, even Takane; they're all fighting for what they see as their ideal. Everyone knows that the Game is trash. Everyone knows that they might not come back the next day. But in the end, what's worse? Running away only to die in obscurity, or take the chance you've got to claim it all, and bring the world closer to your dream? Many would say it's still messed up, and in many ways, it is. But it's the best anyone can do in this screwed up world, and they're gonna seek it with all they've got. And in the end, Kuon can't help but come to understand and somewhat empathize with their resolve.

Outside of its central message, the episode has alot of other great stuff going for it too. The atmosphere is as top notch as it usually is with your standard GARO episode, the directing is superb, with all of the actors putting in great performances both overt and subtle(loved the little touch that shows that Kuon doesn't drink alcohol), and the cinematography is striking in its visuals(the time freeze sequence!). Alot of things just came together in this episode that carried what could've easily been the most boring one of the lot. When you're doing an episode that's primarily talking, that kind of effort stands out all the more and is infact kinda necessary to keep viewers engaged. It's all stuff that Blassreiter never understood about anything.

Top notch episode, and I am very excited to see where the final two lead us.