Say what you will about SAMURAI FLAMENCO’s animation looking a little
more… workmanlike, at points - - at least the show comes out on
time. I was planning on doing the usual fresh-off-the-stream twofer with KILL
LA KILL again today, but CrunchyRoll has an apology up for ‘production issues’ delaying that episode by 12-24 hours. Anime programming blocks must
be flexible, apparently (I’d hate to be whatever B-league shows are
being made to play musical chairs with that showboat’s timeslots).
Sure, nobody’s going to say that this show’s anywhere near as flashy as
KLK but, in the long view, it’s proven to be far more though-provoking. KLK
dallies with ideas, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. FLAMENCO sticks with themes
- - even if it’s not always clear what they're getting at.
Take our mysterious new villain, Haiji. Part of me wonders if he’s
supposed to be a metaphor for hostile fans - - a very MISERY-like scamp who’s
grossly misinterpreted Samumenco’s work.
Another part wonders if he’s a
personification of Samumenco’s psychotic break (which I’ve speculated about
since the appearance of Guillitine Gorilla). It seems like every time curry
shows up, it represents Masayoshi’s handle on his dreams. Or something. This villain might be an even-more-desperate attempt to cope with the
fact that his vigilante fantasy has gone as far as it can go. They’re just
aren’t any more villains to fight - - not even fantastical, cosmic ones
- - so this is the half-baked vision Masayoshi’s pulled from some random, uneventful
encounter in the past.
There’s also a third possibility that the kid’s a voice to the
unresolved romantic tension between Masayoshi and his cop pal. Shippers would love that. But
seriously - - the clues are kind of there.
From the beginning, these
guys’ bromance has been awfully… forward. Last episode, I believe,
Masayoshi’s manager was asking him why he didn’t have a girlfriend. Haiji's threats sound like a sexually-obsessed stalker's at times (“I need to be worthy
of you”), and he’s explicitly presented as a double for the imaginary girlfriend.
Top that off with how 'Gota' and Masayoshi’s shoving match seems an awful lot
like a lover’s spat and… it’s certainly possible?
Watch "Boy
From The Past" and decide for yourself, then read my comments about the
previous episode.
About the Author
 | Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk |
No comments:
Post a Comment