Luck & Logic

Episode 10

Suddenly, Luck & Logic isn't a sitcom anymore. In this episode, the characters all have to band together in order to stop their previously lovable but incompetent mascot, Olga Breakchild. Now that he has Covenanted with the foreigner Lucifer, they're no match for his power, and things look dire. However, everything falls flat as soon as Lucifer reveals his baffling but apparently evil plan. It's an episode with good action and character development, but the world-building continues to disappoint with incomprehensible “Logic.”

How did I not see the Lucifer/Olga connection sooner—they even have the same hair color! All kidding aside, Lucifer is not the villain this show deserves until Olga enters the fray. We're repeatedly told that Lucifer is charismatic and crafty, a liminal character that can play both sides of the field, but there's something empty about these claims. Lucifer simply isn't compelling because he's undeniably, hopelessly evil. A black and white worldview doesn't make for interesting character development. On the flipside, that's exactly what's made Olga so interesting recently. He's not evil, simply flawed. Lucifer targets Olga's pride by telling him he's “the only one who can master Lucifer's absolute power.” He's still good at heart, but as Quetzl tells the goddesses, Olga's need to feel important trumps saving the world. A villain who could find redemption—or not—is infinitely more interesting than Lucifer alone. Even as Olga singlehandedly bests his former teammates, there's something bittersweet here. I can almost be happy for Olga for finally finding his place in the spotlight instead of the sidelines. A good villain is somebody that isn't entirely bad, and Luck & Logic has nailed that feeling.

Lucifer has clearly brainwashed Olga into believing his evil plan, which I find hard to believe because I can't quite understand his evil plan. (I think if I played the Luck & Logic card game before watching this show, I would have a better chance, but it doesn't come out until this summer.) I knew humans were comprised of Logic cards, but I didn't know that some were better than others, or that people could or would want to transplant their cards, or that they could do so by being Trance-jacked by foreigners, or that Lucifer could turn their discarded Logic cards into “gate cards” to allow even more Foreigners into the protagonists' world. Pardon the pun here, but this is too many leaps of logic for me to follow. What I do understand is that a lot of really bad stuff is happening, and we have two more episodes to fix it.

I have no doubt that Yoshichika and friends will save the day because, like Lucifer, they are fully (and boringly) aligned with one side of good or evil. Yoshichika acts exactly as goody-goody as you'd expect him to, refusing to fight his former friend until he has no other choice. I finally see and appreciate why Yoshichika's Trance item is a shield—there's nothing purer than a weapon that is ultimately defensive. That said, the all-out battle between Olga and the ALCA Logicalists looks fantastic, with a good narrative flow and smooth animation. It's a promise that there's more of the same in store for this so-so show's final showdown.

Rating: B-

Luck & Logic is currently streaming on Funimation.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.