[DreamSword]

Episode #18: Separation

Nothing like a nice and cozy beach episode to relax you, right?

It's certainly a fun one to be sure. And it's especially enhanced by all of the little character moments sprinkled throughout.

Ms. Colins now being a part of the group adds someone new for the cast to bounce off of, and even beyond that many of the scenarios the team finds themselves in offer moments that are either heartwarming, funny, or both.

The biggest highlight to be sure is Heroman himself, who has the absolutely funniest bits throughout the episode. And it was really cool to see the cast genuinely treating him like a friend rather than just a weapon that Joey uses. Especially love the bit about him diving into the sea.

Swimming, sand castles, a barbecue, and general fun in the sun makes this a really fun time to experience alongside this cast. And it did alot to warm me to them even further.

...And then the second half of the episode hits, where the story ends up turning into something straight out of Iczer.

Because as it turns out, the island is actually the home of a secret experiment that just recently escaped captivity. And the sign of it being around is tentacles. Alot of tentacles. With mouths. Needless to say things become a real life ghost story pretty quickly, and in the end, as the title tells you, Joey and Lina end up cut off from the rest of the group.

I was very impressed at just how well this episode was able to cleanly transition between its two moods. It all feels very natural with nothing coming out of left field, and the cast staying in character and letting their personalities shine all the while. It makes for a really fun ride all throughout and, because of how well everything is handled, this episode has now become one of my favorites in the show. A shame I didn't realize how great it was the first time around.

But in any case, the point is that this episode is a great time, and it'll be fun to see how it's second part is handled in the next episode.