Wrapping up the arc in a pleasent and surprising manner. What They Say:
Komatsu must find the courage to stand up to Zebra and tell the truth about who he wants to be his partner. Later, the horrifying identity of the mysterious monster from the Gourmet Pyramid is finally revealed!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the secret revealed that Komatsu promised Zebra he would become his partner after they captured the Mellow Cola, we go straight into a flashback. It’s the same flashback we saw a few episodes ago where they made the deal. However, where the last flashback ended with Komatsu saying he had a finally condition, this time we get to see the completion of that discussion. With so many Shonen Jump shows relying so heavily on flashbacks, it’s so refreshing and kind of ballsy for Toriko to handle flashbacks the way it does. The flashbacks are footage we didn’t see before, kind of like a deleted scenes if you will. This time when we revisit a flashback it isn’t the same material again, it’s all new footage that adds to what we previously knew. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched a show that uses flashbacks every 3 or 4 episodes and it’s the exact same every time. Hell, it’s usually footage from an actual episode that we watched play out the first time, over and over and over again. Thank you Toriko, thank you.
We then cut out the return journey and find our heroes back at the small village where the villagers worship Zebra because he brought peace simply by being released from jail. Just like before, these little bits are really enjoyable. It shows Zebra in a more comical light and help viewers really attach to him as we don’t see him as simply bad news anymore. He is kind and pretty funny, just with that added layer of pure meanness. He’s quite the contradiction but it makes his character better-rounded and one we hope doesn’t go away anytime soon. The episode then skips quickly along as we get a brief scene with the crew aboard the Lift House on their return trip and then back at Komatsu’s restaurant some time afterwards for the celebration banquet. The restaurant scene is nothing special as it mimics the previous celebration dinners. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t enjoyable. The standard Toriko style fun moves us through the scene until Chief Mansom and a pair of Bureau Chiefs show up.
We learn that the Bureau Chiefs are from Biotope #0, located in the Gourmet World, and they are there to retrieve the body of the mysterious create Toriko and Zebra defeated in the Gourmet Pyramid. Here we are given a much more detailed history on the mysterious creature. The creatures are called Nitro and have lived and survived for millions of years. They can survive that long because they are able to manipulate their bodies to survive extreme weather changes, such as the Ice Age and Volcanic eruption. The big reveal though is that the Gourmet Corp is involved because the Nitro know how to capture the ingredient known as GOD. This is why the GT Robots resemble the Nitro so much; all of the Gourmet Corps’ actions have been bait to lure the Nitro into leading them to GOD. Now the threat of war is upon us, and the situation raises a bit more urgency in our heroes to hurry and complete their training so they can successfully venture into the Gourmet World.
In Summary:
A really enjoyable episode of Toriko here. While not outstanding in really any way, the episode successfully and entertainingly avoids genre trappings to provide a brisk conclusion to the Gourmet Pyramid arc. With the stage set for the next phase of the series, we are left satisfied with little to no complaints. Toriko may not always “be on” in terms of quality, but so very rarely does it come close to stooping to the level of unbearable. The last 4 episodes have shown us this, and while there’s not guarantee the quality level will continue we at least know what the show is capable of. In the case of this episode, it is capable of always being entertaining through the use of one narrative mean or another.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Funimation
Review Equipment:
Sony BRAVIA KDL55EX720 55-Inch 1080p 3D LED HDTV, Built-in Hulu Plus app
\
0 comments:
Post a Comment