Episode 05 – Reverse World
Oh noes! Moc Sullivan was ambushed by Reverse, and lost 323 letters, including a letter Lag helped a young hospital patient write to her mother. Lag, of course, sets off to find the letter at the bottom of a ravine, even though some inspectors from Akatsuki (the city of elites) forbid him from doing so. Lag unwittingly becomes part of an experiment in synthesizing spirit Amber, and one badly-CGed Gaichuu after another appears to fight Lag. (Have I talked about how bad the Gaichuu are? TB and TBR both have very pleasant art, except for the enemies, which look TERRIBLE. The badly CGed bugs really stand out from the velvety night sky backgrounds TBR so often employs.
Some philosophical questions (is it worthwhile to deliver a letter that is full of lies?) and a few Marxist flashbacks later, we learn a shocking secret– the people who were not able to become spirit are the result of failed experiments carried out by the government, which endeavored to create man-made spirit by combining humans with other stuff. Reverse plans to reveal the government’s corruption and disregard for the lower classes by stealing letters from Bees.
The emo ex-Bee thinks that Lag won’t be able to fire his Shindan any longer, too disheartened to discover Gauche at a Reverse meeting in a flashback, but as usual, Lag doesn’t lose hope! He’s able to defeat the Gaichuu and deliver the letters, but unbeknownst to him… well, the last few seconds of the episode speak for themselves. Needless to say, this was a pretty surprising, plot-and-backstory-filled episode.
Overall Impressions: 4.5/5.0
We’re really getting to the heart of the conflict with Reverse here. This episode was very illuminating, and at times surprising. It feels like the conspiracy is all around Lag, and it’s hard to know who the bad guy is. That’s not to say that the outcome of the episode wasn’t predictable or that I can’t guess what’s going to happen next, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
Gallery, Preview, and More ~
Next Episode Preview: Dolly
The next episode threatens to be adorable and full of dolls. Very cute :D.
Distant Paradise 