K: Return of Kings

Episode 11

Though I have never liked Fushimi as a character, his jaded view of the world is such a contrast to that of everyone else in the K franchise that he is one of the series' most interesting characters because of it. As a result, he gets the franchise's most apt line in response to his fellow top-level Green Clansmen pontificating about how great it is that everyone is now going to have the power of a king thanks to the Dresden Slates being fully awakened: “Sounds like shit.”

This, at least, Fushimi and I have in common. For all that Nagare and crew try to play up how great it is that everyone is going to be empowered, they are glossing over the simple truth that what they actually want is anarchy – and as the most powerful and some of the most experienced power-users in this new realm of pure “survival of the fittest,” they expect to shine, so in effect they are creating their own ideal playing field. While that suits Yukari and Sukuna's personalities just fine, did Tenkei actually fully think through the consequences of that? He certainly believes that everyone having power will mean no one is helpless in the face of calamity, but he seems to have blinded himself to how much greater calamity this could cause – and likely will, unless those strong of mind step up to prevent it. Fushimi, however, entirely understands and is rightfully disgusted by it all. That's why he (unsurprisingly) turns his back on yet another clan by doing the one thing which could make Nagare and the Slates a little vulnerable: open the gate to the Green Clan's base for Munakata, who marches on it with Gojo at his back.

The real question here, of course, is what Fushimi's thinking was in getting to this point. Was this all a ploy staged by him and Munakata as some suggested? I am more inclined to think that Munakata instead understood Fushimi well enough to know how he would act and so goaded him into doing exactly what he did. He then (rightly) assumed that Fushimi would eventually get fed up with the Green Clan and try to screw them over, too. While that may have been an uncharacteristic gamble for Munakata, the battle from a couple of episodes ago may have led him to believe that he would have to take some risks. Support for this can be found in the book titles on a shelf behind Fushimi in one scene: prominent among them are multiple works by B.F. Skinner, a psychologist who advocated (among other things) that free will was an illusion and a person's actions were mere the consequences of previous actions. It definitely was not an idle inclusion, especially given the spiel about free will spilled by Nagare in the same scene. Some of the other discernible book titles may also be meaningful, such as Fat City (a reference to living the good life), Lost Knowledge (probably a reference to the Dresden Slates), Special People (obvious, I would think), The Millennium (likely meant as a reference to the new era), Touched by Fire (probably used as a reference to individuals gaining red powers, as there are multiple books by that title), and a couple of others that I could not quite make out.

While Fushimi's actions may be the most interesting things in the episode, a lot else is going on. Tenkei goes out to meet the Blue King, who gets unexpected help from Shiro's airship crashing into the street and thus temporarily breaking Tenkei's unbreachable defense. Before that Shiro restrained Kukuri's burgeoning power (silver, naturally) and convinced her to help calm her fellow students, while Seri and various other members of Scepter 4 find various ways to justify not cooling their heels at base any longer. The Prime Minister is in trouble, too, though not before gaining x-ray vision. And Fushimi has a certain scythe-wielding JUNGLE member to death with. Sadly, all of it is plagued once again by the lackadaisical pacing, which sorely restricts the series' ability to generate much tension.

K could have some interesting things going on here if it ever figured out how to pace itself properly. Until it solves that flaw, though, its ability to be truly good is limited.

Rating: B-

K: Return of Kings is currently streaming on Viz.com.