BBK/BRNK

Episode 10

If you're an anime villain, you really shouldn't fight the main characters right after they find a way to improve their teamwork. Statistically speaking, it probably won't go well for you. Zetsubi finds this out the hard way as she tries to take on Azuma and friends by herself this week. Even with temporary control over Entei and a borrowed set of limbs from the Russian Bubuki users, she doesn't last long against a newly upgraded Oubu. Thanks to some timely tech support from Epizo, Azuma is able to fly Oubu up to Treasure Island by breaking the casing around the heart. Once the crew arrives on the flying island, they meet up with Azuma's long-lost mother. The happy reunion proves all too brief once the other teams find their own ways up. With three groups of Bubuki users on the hunt for fresh Buranki hearts, Treasure Island looks set to become a battlefield.

The short fight between Entei and Oubu is as nice to look at as any of BBK/BRNK's other action scenes, but it's arguably more important for the information that it reveals. As tough and crafty as Zetsubi may be, the simple act of controlling Entei for a few minutes takes a serious toll on her body. It's still unclear what makes the baddie Buranki so dangerous, but Zetsubi's comments after the fight drive home the conclusion that Reoko can't possibly go on controlling Entei forever. The battle also gives us another look at the Russian team, though they don't exactly benefit from the extra attention. Unlike the obnoxious-but-likable Americans, this group is dysfunctional to an unsettling degree. I can only assume that the series is setting things up for at least some of the limbs to betray the cold-blooded heart later on. For the moment, however, they're all just a little too broken to fit with the overall tone of the show.

Ignoring the slightly cheesy gimmick of the heart controlling the brain (Passion and friendship over cold logic!) in order for Oubu to reach Treasure Island, the change of location proves welcome. One of the best parts of BBK/BRNK's first episode was its setting; Treasure Island carries a sense of mystery and danger that the show could never quite replicate on solid ground. The team's arrival on the airborne Buranki nest raises more questions than it answers, and I expect a convincing explanation of what Azuma's mother has been doing all this time and where the rest of their family ended up. Until then, I'm content to just sit back and appreciate the lovely background art.

The trouble with this moment of peace is that it doesn't last long enough for the show to do any meaningful character development. Azuma's feelings about returning home don't really get the screen time they need, and the same goes for the various budding relationships within the team. Instead, we move right along to the dramatic arrival of the various villains and rivals. At least everyone knows how to make an entrance; the red glow of the flames through the trees makes for some suitably dramatic visuals. If you're going to set the stage for a four-way free-for-all battle, you could do a lot worse than a flying island that happens to be on fire.

As a prologue to a season-ending confrontation, this episode gets the job done. The show has made a meaningful return to the place where everything began, and we've been given a pretty good sense of who all the players are and whether or not we should be rooting for them. There are enough unanswered questions left that the show can drop a bombshell or two in the coming weeks, and the protagonists have gotten all the necessary team-building activities out of the way. It's time to turn the volume up to eleven and start kicking people off the edge of the island, preferably in dramatic slow motion.

Rating: B

BBK/BRNK is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.