Luck & Logic

Episode 3

For an anime about logic, this show certainly posits some plot points that I don't think gel with logical behavior. For one, why does Tsurugi, the newest member of the team, suddenly get to be team leader and disrupt the entire balance of power? (I know, I know, Tsurugi is magically better at everything than everyone else, but why is that aside from his main character status?) In this episode, Tsurugi clashes with former team leader Tamaki, and in the process the two of them realize they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Tamaki gets her entire identity from being a hardworking leader. So when Chief Veronica unceremoniously strips her of that power, she is obviously quite upset. Tamaki's little sister, Sena, used to look up to her for being a leader, and now she has to disappoint her. Tamaki has always taken pride in her hard work and early accomplishments, but now Tsurugi is magically so much better than her that it's not even worth trying to improve. Can you tell that at this point in the show, I actually identify more with Tamaki than Tsurugi? Tsurugi is simply too perfect. Every episode they make sure to pop in some self-aware dialogue about other characters calling Tsurugi a “cliché leader” but guess what, Luck and Logic? Being aware that you are entrenched in lazy storytelling doesn't automatically make me forgive you.

So it's with sympathy for Tamaki that I listen to Veronica's monologue to Tsurugi about Tamaki's backstory. This is a girl who has worked very hard for everything she has, and has had it all taken away. What's more, Tamaki is now in hot water for refusing to carry out Veronica's order to kill one of the Foreigners in a Paradox Zone. Like Tsurugi, Tamaki highly values life in every form, and can't bring herself to commit murder.

Woah, let's dial back there for a second. Tamaki has been a team leader for years. In just three episodes, this team has been responsible for ending the lives of several Foreigners. Are we to believe that in all this time, Tamaki has never killed even one? Doesn't that put all the humans on Earth at risk thanks to her own selfishness? For that matter, isn't this entire show about people who battle and kill demons? And yet, Tsurugi, whom we have actually seen kill some Foreigners in previous episodes, takes Tamaki's side when nobody else will. After all that convolution, Tamaki ends up killing the demon succubus anyway (about time! It was about to kill a ton of humans). People, isn't your logic telling you how unreasonable this all is? This entire episode was really just a plot point designed to make Tamaki befriend Tsurugi.

This entire plot was a misstep for me. What's working for me, however, is the growing character development. I love the way each set of characters is paired off at the start, and how their often opposing personalities support and grow with one another (not to mention their diverse, but equally tender, kissing transformations when they Trance). My favorite scenes have to be the ones that portray the relationships. Only ebullient Venus can cheer up serious Tamaki. Nemesis is like Veronica's cute little devil on her shoulder. Athena and Tsurugi, however, I am not feeling the chemistry yet. Tsurugi is designed to be the perfect everyman, and Athena to be his dream girl. I know very little about either of them as people.

But Athena just got more interesting when she revealed at least an acquaintanceship with the definite big baddie of this show, Lucifer. Could Athena be more than Tsurugi's fantasy girl, and perhaps even have a dark side? That would improve this show for me.

Rating: C+

Luck & Logic is currently streaming on Funimation.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.