|
|
|
R2 DVD Reviews
|
|
Friday, 23 December 2005 00:00 |
 Here's something I never thought I'd say: this volume of s-CRY-ed is really rather good. Engrossing, even. What's the world coming to when a shounen fighting show turns out to be fun!? Expect big changes in the Lost Ground as Kazuma and Ryuho trigger wholesale changes to their world - changes of heart, re-examination of beliefs, and maybe a little betrayal for good measure...
13 - The Lost Ground
Kazuma's taking Kimishima's death badly, and has gone on the rampage - to the extent where HOLY have had to stop their round-up of Alter users to do rescue work in the areas he's been attacking. Even Kaname's not happy with what he's become. It's not long before Kazuma's quest for vengence brings him to Ryuho, as the two of them finally try to settle their score - but their battle unleashes power that's far beyond anything unleashed on the Lost Ground before...
14 - Kyoji Mujo
It's been eight months since the Great Uprising, the phenomenon unleashed by the battle between Kazuma and Ryuho. Neither of them have been seen since - Mimori, Tachibana and Cougar have been searching for them, with no success. HOLY have their own problems - with the blame for the Uprising placed on them, most of HOLY's Alter users have been sent to the mainland, with control of the organisation being given to Kyoji Mujo - and he's not the sort to let Zigmarl have things all his own way. In the mountains created by the Uprising, some opportunistic Alter users are taking advantage of the chaos created to build their own little empires, using the inhabitants as nothing more than slave labour. Just as well someone's around to teach them a lesson...
15 - Rogue
Cougar's given Mimori and Tachibana some information that may lead them to Kazuma - word of an illegal fight club, where Alter users fight for money. When they visit the club to investigate, sure enough Kazuma appears in the ring - but like Ryuho, his memories don't appear to be completely intact. There's enough there for him to remember Mimori and Tachibana when they try to talk to him, but his spirit seems to be gone. Kaname, meanwhile, tries to get Ryuho to tell her what happened to Kazuma, but he really can't remember anything. Back at HOLY, Mujo tackles Zigmarl about what really happened to bring about the Great Uprising, while Scheris finally manages to track Ryuho down...
16 - Sou Kigetsuki
Scheris talks to Ryuho, hoping she'll be able to help him recover his memories, but she has no such luck. What she tells him gives Ryuho something to think about, but he's determined not to leave the village. Time for plan B, as instructed by Zigmarl - a combination of Unkei's Mad Sprict and Kigetsuki's rather unique Alter - three very attractive teenage girls. At first it seems Kanami's ability to see through Unkei's and Kigetsuki's Alter abilities is going to spoil their plan, but although they're able to restore Ryuho's memories, his reaction to rediscovering who he is isn't what they were expecting...
17 - Ayase Terada
While trying to head to the mainland, Kazuma is intercepted at the airport by Ayase Terada, a woman who had previously fought alongside him before being caught by HOLY and shipped to the mainland for "enhancement". Now, her Alter powers have been enhanced and she's back in the Lost Ground - and working for HOLY, with orders to kill Kazuma. Her determination to follow orders isn't as strong as it appears, though, as he finds out when Ayase gets him alone. Back at the village, Ryuho has been asked to leave - the villagers fear for their safety if he stays, but he's not about to leave them unprotected - while Zigmarl is getting more concerned about Mujo's involvement in HOLY...
This volume starts off routinely enough, with one of those annoying episodes that's all fighting and not much else, but it's event here that are the catalyst for the big changes that play out as the disc progresses. The mysterious Alter with the black flames plays a part in the dectruction that's unleashed - it's the person Ryuho's been hunting Alter users to find, but we still have no details on who/what he is.
The "new" Ryuho makes his grand entrance by saving episode 14's slave village from its oppressors. It's a fairly predictable story, but also good way for him to make his reappearance - even if it was set up in a way that hinted more at the cloaked stranger being Kazuma than Ryuho. The way he and Kaname quickly become friends is quite interesting, and I'm quite looking forward to seeing the fireworks when Kazuma finds out about it. Ryuho's part in these episodes ends with him leaving HOLY, unhappy with the way they tried to manipulate him. Scheris, being the loyal girl she is, stays with him, and the two have now set themselves up as "enemies" of their former allies.
So far, so good. What's not so good is that while Ryuho's become the embodiment of good manners, Kazuma's temperament has managed to get even worse in the months he's been "missing". He was annoying enough to start with, but the constant angst and desire to teach people painful lessons is becoming positively painful to watch. For the perceived "hero" of the show, he's a remarkably annoying and unlikeable character, and getting worse as the series progresses.
His encounter with Ayase is a case in point. Wouldn't you know it, returning character with an episode named after them = certain death, and initially it seems Kazuma doesn't even think twice about unleashing his full power on someone that was formerly his ally (although the background to the pair's final battle was a little contrived). Now that Kazuma's seen someone die by his own actions it'll mellow him a little - his ego could use the pain. His Shell Bullet still has side effects, too, and it seems Kazuma will only get a limited number of uses out of it - what happens after that is a mystery, but it probably won't be good for him.
Overall, then, a really good volume, particularly when Kazuma wasn't on screen. The boy needs to grow up, quickly - but with s-CRY-ed being a rare fighting series where characters are able to grow, develop and change, anything is possible. Against all my expectations, I'm looking forward to the next volume...
|
|
Reviews Archive 
