Revenger

Episode 6

This week's episode treats us to an incremental advancement of the plot and stakes of Revenger, yet despite the lower ebb, it effectively sets up greater events to come in the back half of the series.

We are clearly around the midpoint of the season by now, so this is not entirely unexpected. I figured we were in for some widening of scope or potential twist regarding one of the core cast members, and we definitely got a lot of the former.

Nagasaki takes center stage fully as the prime location for the show's drama. We get properly introduced to two factions: the underworld faction in Chinatown, and the previously hinted-at business leaders of Nagasaki. The Revenger group is singled out as particularly disruptive, both intentionally and unintentionally, to the current power dynamic in Nagasaki. Yet we find out that beyond the expected struggles for money, power, influence, etc, there is also a greater prize hidden here: a vast stash of opium. Given the importance of the opium trade to both small groups and factions as large as entire nation-states, the possession of this stash (or even so much as knowing it exists) naturally becomes a huge priority.

The actual fighting in this episode takes a backseat to the revelation of the opium stash. Kurima is captured and there's a bit of a struggle to free him, though it's nothing worth noting. The best bit by far is Nio cutting the ties for the gang's boats and letting them float out to sea to cause a diversion. It's a terrifically creative approach to the situation at hand.

Visually, my favorite scene by far was the conversation over the fish pond where bits of meat were being tossed in. The exact moment the business leader mentions the threat posed by the Revengers, there's a great slow-motion sequence of a fish leaping out to snatch the bait from midair. Great stuff.

Rating:

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Revenger is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.