[DreamSword]

Episode 19: Black Flame

Well Jabi certainly didn't last long.

Almost the entirety of this episode felt like an extended cinematic cutscene that you'd find in a modern fighting game.

And ya know, given that I'm an avid fighting game fan, that's a compliment! The action, while certainly fantastical, was still great all throughout this episode. Like, Garo and Zero fighting while their blades duel on their own? Just over the top and ridiculous enough to flip right back around to being cool and exciting to watch.

There's also of course the arrival of Kiba, the Black Knight, and the reveal that the Watchdogs aren't just working with him, but working for him. Of which I'll admit I didn't consider.

If I had to make a small critique of the episode though, it's that it just kinda glosses over the part that I was most invested in: Kaoru talking about how Koga straight up lied to her all this time about, well, nearly everything. Yeah, sure, he's doing his best to save her, but that doesn't change the fact that alot of this could've been avoided if he'd bothered to be more straightforward.

Regardless, while not quite as strong as the previous two episodes, there's still alot of strong character drama throughout, and the episode slows things down just a tad so that the audience can catch their breath, which I think is a good move. Such a shame about Jabi though. Was starting to rather like her.

Well, now the truth is out for everyone's' personal quests. I can only imagine things will only get more intense from here.