Invaders of the Rokujyōma!?

Episode 11

Beware of any anime series that outperforms your expectations: there's a good chance it won't always be able to do so. While it's still perfectly watchable, this episode of Invaders of the Rokujyōma!? never really capitalizes on last week's strong potential. An uninteresting villain and some by-the-book plot development are the primary culprits in making the whole affair a letdown.

On the comedic side of things, we get to see most of the cast stalk Koutarou and Kiriha as they spend the day at an amusement park. Their efforts at looking inconspicuous make for some amusing visuals, but that's about it. Ruth goes on another beetle-hunting rampage, while Karama and Koroma are their usual energetic selves. This episode isn't without its fun moments, but it falls short in comparison to previous efforts.

This would've been fine with a strong dramatic foundation to support it, but the show misses the mark here as well. The story behind Kiriha's old trading card feels believable, but lacks any serious emotional punch. We see her having fun on the surface world as a child, but miss out on the painful events that led her there in the first place. It's nice that the series didn't try to force any artificial melodrama into the storyline, but it feels like the most compelling parts of Kiriha's character arc ended up happening off screen.

The bad guy of the week is the biggest disappointment. He pops up out of the ground halfway through the episode, acts like a jerk for a few minutes, and promptly gets his butt kicked by the entire cast. There's never any real sense of danger or urgency, and victory is achieved without any serious risk or sacrifice. Invaders of the Rokujyōma!? has delivered some genuinely intense conflicts in the past, and this one feels phoned in by comparison. The whole thing is wrapped up so quickly and easily that the audience never has a chance to get emotionally involved.

This series has been at its best when it puts in the extra effort to fully develop its world and characters, and that's what this episode most sorely lacked. Everything simply ambles forward in service of the current plotline. We learn nothing new about Kiriha's underground society, last week's hero squad is forgotten, and most of the major characters have nothing interesting to do. It's as if the series itself has grown tired of these two-episode storylines and just wants to move on to something new.

This is a perfectly decent episode, and the fact that it comes as a disappointment says something about the overall strength of the show. That prior track record is reason enough be optimistic for next week, though just where Invaders of the Rokujyōma!? will go remains uncertain. All of the individual apartment hunters have had a chance to play the lead, so perhaps it's time for a final showdown. If so, I can only hope that the series plays to its strengths instead of just following a standard plot outline.

Rating: B-

Invaders of the Rokujyōma!? is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen also covers anime and manga at SharkPuppet.com.