Drifters

Episode 4

Drifters' main priority so far has been to deliver a visceral, entertaining mashup of historical figures and over-the-top action. For the past few episodes, that's exactly what we've gotten. The broad details of the story have been filled in, but they've played a very clear second fiddle to the show's indulgence in aesthetic and kinetic pleasures. This week changes that up a little bit, pumping the brakes on the action to flesh out the world and characters just a little more. It isn't Shakespeare by any mean, but it does do a pretty good job of setting the stage for future conflicts, providing just enough context and momentum to keep the viewer engaged with the show's more moment-to-moment entertainments.

I was surprised at how almost bereft of action this entire episode was, choosing instead to regroup with Shimazu, Oda, and Nasu being filled in on the main details of the Octobrists' war against the Ends. The entire episode focuses primarily as an info dump, giving us background on the Elven lands our Japanese warriors find themselves in, as well as providing a little geographical and political history to the Elves' decades=long battle with the Orte nation. The conflict itself isn't particularly original, and the fact that the Orte have already conquered the Dwarves and Hobbits means that Kouta Hirano is being very frank with his fantasy world's familiarity. Still, it was good to have our protagonists understand a little more about the nation they'll be fighting, as the finer points of the show's plot gradually unveil themselves.

Though I appreciated the show taking some time to give the Warlords more to do, the amount of exposition in this episode still gave it a slightly sluggish feel. I get the feeling that Hirano and the show's producers feel the same way though, since the script this week was positively stuffed with the kind of wacky comedy that last week dialed back on; it's as if they're using humor to substitute for an episode's lack of compelling action scenes. Four episodes in, and I still don't find the jokes to be funny, but they're at least not quite as tonally jarring as in the first couple of episodes. It might simply be because I'm getting used to the style, but the incessant comedy-whiplash didn't grate on me as much as I thought it would. There are still a couple of jokes that muddle the pace of conversation, but its nothing as bad as Oda's scene killer from episode 2.

While Shimazu and the others are getting their crash course in Elves and Octobrists, we do spend a few minutes with the ends again this week, and while it isn't much time, what we do get is tantalizing. The Black King reveals that his hatred of humanity is motivated by revenge, since he “tried to help them” but was betrayed. As if this wasn't an obvious enough clue, we also see him visiting the injured demi-humans of his army, laying his clearly scarred palms against their wounds and healing them. The show couldn't be screaming “The Black King is Jesus!” louder if it tried, and if he isn't Jesus himself, then he must be someone with an absurdly similar modus operandi. (St. Peter, maybe?) I'm not going to lie, I think it'd be pretty entertaining to have Jesus Christ himself be the Big Bad of Drifters, but I can see how many people might find the concept offensive. We can only wait and see how the show handles the Black King as it goes on.

Overall, there isn't a whole lot to say about this week's episode; it's definitely a “setting up the pieces” affair, the closest thing a 12-episode show is going to get to filler. This isn't a bad episode by any means, though. It's entertaining enough and gives the viewers enough setup to fuel at least two or three more big bloody showdowns. I'd be lying if I said I was enjoying Drifters for its plot, but it's always nice when a show goes out of its way to say "At least we're trying!” Now that the setup is done with, I'm looking forward to seeing how many over-the-top ways Shimazu and crew can find to kill some bad guys.

Rating: B-

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.

Drifters is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.