Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

[ Episode 5: MIYABI (Elegance) ]

Why do characters always tell their life stories when they are captured?

It’s about time that we are going to have an episode that revolves around one specific character, since the cast of Kimi Aru will be bland if by this episode you know nothing about any of the characters besides Ren and Shinra. This episode revolves around Benisu, Beniko, Beni or whatever you want to call that red-headed hot-tempered vixen. Up until this episode I thought she is just a contrast to the other characters which are nice and polite, but this episode showed a more humane side of her. If it wasn’t for her plot development, this is an overall average episode.

The first thing I didn’t like about the episode, and probably the thing that bothered me the most, is how quickly the cliffhanger of the last episode was resolved. When Taisa said he is going to play a game of chance to save Beni and Natose from their cell, I knew he is going to win. After seeing all the crazy stuff the guy can pull off, it was no surprise he won that game, even if it by cheating, but then again, the other guys were sleaze-balls. I thought it’d be a great Beni episode if she and Natose were working under those guys, and in the meantime she starts reminiscing her past. That would be fun and will keep the suspense of the aforementioned cliffhanger.

Instead, after the two are released, Beni and Ren do some grocery shopping until a girl tries to pickpocket Ren. Beni notices that warns her not to do that anymore and gives a fruit because, by her clothes, she can tell she is very poor and just wanted to get something to eat. Later on, the same guy who hit on Hato-nee in episode 1 has returned just to has a more prominent role in this episode. After the same little girl tries to pickpocket the guy, he holds her and threatens to beat her up until Ren and Beni show up and meddle. Even thought Beni serves a nice can of whoop-ass to the guy and his thugs, she and Ren willingly give themselves in so the girl will be spared. While the odd couple consisting of Ren and Beni keep on fighting among themselves, the little girl finds the holiday shack in which the rest of the Kuonji house live in and tells her where the two are. The family saves the two in the end after many punches to Ren’s face and Beni’s flashback sequences and the nice vacation ends.

Another big flaw is the scenes in which Ren and Beni are captured. I thought it’ll make sense to have the Beni scenes when she is captured with Natose, but including Ren in the picture just shows how much the writing are forcing him into every major scene in the show thus far. When the thugs ganged up on him and started beating up was used to reinforce how strong and determined is and nothing can phase him. We see that stuff too many times in an anime, and it pushes the scene to the edge. I love Ren, but it looks like the writers are pulling off a “Naruto-filler” card which means the main character is involved in every single major scene and it’s redundant. It’s good thing Beni is thrown in for good measure.

Overall, it is still a good episode, but it was definitely the most cliched. Hopefully, it’ll get back on it’s feet soon, because from the preview, the next episode is bound to be funnier.

7/10