Sabikui Bisco

Episode 6

In this next leg of their mushroom hunt, Milo and Bisco cross paths with all sorts of slimy characters, from wily tradesmen, to squids made out of oil, to our favorite resident pink-haired con artist. It's another stuffed episode, and for the first time, I think Sabikui Bisco would have been better off giving some of these moments—particularly the quieter, character-focused ones—more space to breathe. Absent a tangible intermediate goal or destination, the story feels more meandering than usual. Nevertheless, the series still knows how to wield its strengths. Good banter and intriguing glimpses into the workings of this monster-infested dystopia both keep Bisco on its rails.

Tirol, after a bit of defrosting, proves to be the backbone of this chapter. She's a feisty and savvy little gremlin, and while I don't need to reiterate why I enjoy her archetype so much, there are plenty of additional examples of her likability here. Even frozen in a block of ice, she musters the strength to stare daggers into her rescuers. When she greases the Shimobuki trader's palms, she manages to both help and insult her traveling companions in one fell swoop. She also has sufficient tech savvy to commandeer a helicopter and repair an ancient subway car. She might not be immortal, but she's tough enough to stake out a living on her own despite the unforgiving dangers of the wasteland.

The real meat of Tirol's proverbial mycelium, however, lies beneath her bravado, woven in layers of harshly-learned defensiveness, and we see those more clearly than ever this week. There's nothing here outside the norm of post-apocalyptic storytelling, which frequently draws from real/historical examples (in this case, the inhumane conditions of factories) to add tangibility to its fiction. And Tirol's arc, in which a cold-hearted swindler gradually melts in the presence of a genuine human kindness she's been too long removed from, isn't anything unfamiliar either. One could arguably call these components clichéd, but I'm inclined to be more charitable. While I definitely have a soft spot and/or bias for Tirol's archetype, I also think the character writing is fun enough to make it work. Another story might have let Tirol smolder with her dark thoughts a bit longer, but Bisco snuffs them out with hot coal to her forehead. It's perfectly in character both for him and for Sabikui Bisco as a whole. To triumph in the face of absurdity requires embracing some of that absurdity yourself, so while the series doesn't shy away from seriousness, it never forgets the power of a good poke in the ribs either.

This disposition towards playful banter does wonders for these characters and their relationships. The very first scene sees Milo turn Bisco's smugness around on him, and these boys have never been cuter together. And while Bisco's tough love helps snap Tirol back to reality, it's Milo's unguarded smile and charity that really makes her squirm in her own skin. Their ability to survive by depending on each other goes completely against the distrust branded onto Tirol's soul. It's not quite enough to make her run after their train like one of those classic sappy romance flicks, but it's clearly enough to make her want to. I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a full-fledged party member when next their paths cross. And that will happen, because Milo said so.

There are two important bits of worldbuilding mentioned this week that deserve a little highlighting. The first, which I already mentioned, is Tirol's backstory as a laborer repairing a purported piece of Tetsujin. Like all good science fiction. Sabikui Bisco draws thematically from contemporary issues and injustices. The inhumane working conditions that stemmed from the rapid industrialization of society are reflected even in that society's collapse. The kicker for me is that Tirol didn't even know whether or not she was working on an actual piece of the giant. All those workers could have died for no reason at all—aside from the misplaced greed and ambition of the people in charge. It's the same story we saw last week, with Kurokawa holding that entire town under his thumb. The other intriguing bit is the Mushroom Keeper's field guide, which suggests that particular fungal strains are tied to particular fauna. So maybe the wasteland is shroom-saturated due to rapid widespread symbiotic evolution in the wake of the disaster. That's a neat (and honestly not too farfetched) idea, and I hope Sabikui Bisco explores it more.

Unfortunately, the final section of this episode is a lot messier than I'd like. Their battle with the oilsquids is the most perfunctory an action sequence has felt thus far (and the darkness doesn't help). There are good parts—Actagawa tossing an entire engine into the leader's maw, and Milo and Bisco's tender bro-and-arrow bonding moment—but I would have rather spent more downtime with Tirol. And everything past the subway's exit feels less like a cliffhanger and more like an episode stopping mid-sentence. The appearance of the pipe snake is appropriately awe-inspiring and creepy as all hell (what is with those fingers??), but Pawoo's sudden appearance feels extra graceless. This is the first time I've had an issue with Sabikui Bisco's pacing, so it's hardly a grievous error. I just think a little restructuring could have gone a long way.

I did, however, learn from a reliable source that we're still within the first volume of the source light novel, and it's possible that this season might not even get to the next installment. That's a very good thing, if you ask me! For one, it tells me that the original novel is just that jam-packed with stuff, so the anime's overall pacing is a reflection of that style, rather than a concession to a single cour's limited runtime. Additionally, we're getting anime-original scenes, like Pawoo's B-plot last week, which fit tonally and thematically into the setting, characters, and plot. This tells me the adaptation is serious about doing this material justice and enriching its story, and that's great news for both Bisco diehards and shroom noobs like me. I'm not one to be bullish about light novel adaptations, but so far Sabikui Bisco is a great example of one done very right.

Rating:

Sabikui Bisco is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Steve can be found on Twitter if you want to read his World’s End Harem livetweets. Otherwise, catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.