[DreamSword]

Episode 8: Beef or Fish?

The title comes from a weird non-sequitur scene with the idol girls towards the end of the episode. Why they went with it, I have no idea.

Anyway, cool episode for the most part!

To me, the primary times that this show shines are when it's focusing on its characters and atmosphere, and that is no more apparent than in this episode, which is almost entirely dialogue.

The primary "plot" is about Eleanor meeting with Steel Ruler, who offers Eleanor a deal: If Eleanor gives herself up to Wraith, then Wraith will release all of the kidnapped Reflected in exchange. There's also some small background details offered up about X-On, but really, none of that is what matters.

What does matter is the glimpses we get into the lives of, well, basically everyone else in the episode, primarily Steel Ruler and I-Guy.

It's in episodes like this where the show's' minimalist style really shines. The handful of flashbacks we get into Steel Ruler's' backstory were absolutely great to watch, and added a great dimension to an already cool character. The story of a homeless girl in Detroit, who one days finds herself stabbed during a mugging, only to be saved by the smoke from The Reflection... man that was great.

I-Guy's' involvement in the episode is alot less, but it's still cool to see. He's essentially become Batman now; Seeking revenge for his fallen friends and now driving around in a new car on top of sporting a suit that appears to be black instead of blue.

And finally, I feel like I now really need to highlight the show's' use of soundtrack. I've been making it a point to showcase various songs from the anime throughout these posts, but the way in which they're utilized throughout The Reflection is really cool and not something I see very often. The minimalism of the show serves to really highlight how every song is used, as you don't get to hear the soundtrack itself very often. As such, it really makes it feel as though every single episode has its own unique soundtrack and I dig the hell out of it. Heck, the song used throughout most of this episode?

Great song on its own, but having it play during specific moments, especially those flashbacks with Steel Ruler, really only makes those scenes all the more powerful, and I really gotta give it to the sound designers on this.

Overall, the atmosphere of this episode was spot on, and it made for a really interesting watch. Good stuff.