English Dub Review: Code:Realize “Negotiated Solution”

And now we know why it’s so easy for him to counteract her poison.

Overview (Spoilers)

Frankenstein is having nightmares. If only they were just that. The horrors he dreams of are memories. Worse yet, he wakes up to the headline of the London Times saying that he is the head of a terrorist group. He obsesses over his work, forgetting to eat. He has a strange guilt over Cardia’s situation but doesn’t really elucidate on it to her. That night, Cardia spots him sneaking out of the property alone, and in his “action alchemist” gear no less. She follows him and saves him from an ambush from the police. He explains his plan: He wants to sneak into Buckingham Palace dressed as a policeman, corner Queen Victoria, and make sure she clears their name for the train heist. Unfortunately, they run out of time, and more cops arrive. They take refuge in an abandoned factory nearby and hide out until the morning. As they chat, Cardia reveals the wish the told to Lupin. She wants to feel the warmth of another person on her skin. She’s made peace that it’s a hope in vain, but that is her wish. Victor apologizes for her pain again, but they are interrupted by the Royal Guard and Twilight breaking in and giving chase. They are rescued by Lupin and Helsing, who held off the guard until Cardia and Frankenstein can reach Impey and his ornithopter. From there, they head to Buckingham Palace to enact a much more… action-y version of Frankenstein’s plan. He uses a glass vial of explosive liquid like a bomb with a deadman switch, telling the queen that if she doesn’t absolve them of their crimes, he’ll drop it, killing them both. She pardons the gang, and all is well that ends well. Back at the manor, Frankenstein reveals his history with the queen. He used to research the Philosopher’s Stone. Not having watched Fullmetal Alchemist, he wasn’t very successful at the feat, but he did manage to create an insane poison. He never expected it to be used by the government as a WMD against the vampires. After that, Cardia’s father became head of the project, and from the poison, he created the Horologium. The same poison that Cardia’s body generates was created by Frankenstein. She reminds him, however, that the Horologium also functions as her heart. Without it, she would have died long ago. His poison saved her. That night, they have a bit of a party and discuss their next steps. Perhaps Cardia’s father had a laboratory somewhere, and if so, they might be able to get some answers there.

Our Take

This episode wasn’t horrible… I guess. It wasn’t what I would call good either. The plot was pigeonholed into place to tell Frankenstein’s story, and doing so left a few logical holes in things. For one, this episode has ignored that the entire crew has been wanted since long before the series ever began. They’re all fugitives from the state, justifiably or not. Why did he wait until now to try and clear his name of the title “terrorist”? Now, after he and his group really did commit a terrorist act! That’s right, the train they attacked wasn’t a Twilight-owned train. It was being guarded by the Royal Guard and an agent of the queen. That train was a military train, and they knocked out several guards, threw citizens of Britain off the roof, potentially killing them, detonated a bomb, and attempted to abduct another citizen of the country who happens to be very important to the military. It doesn’t matter if the train is serving the purposes of an evil conspiracy, that is a whole bunch of terrorist acts. Compound it by storming Buckingham Palace and threatening the Royal Guard, the Queen, and innocent bystanders with a bomb? Son, you are a terrorist and your friends are a bioweapon, a cat burglar, a mad scientist, two vampires, and a vampire hunter (oh, and a cyberdog). It’s time to face reality.

The action and animation is a bit of a snoozefest. The closest we get is soldiers and plague doctors chasing our heroes, or firing shots from a straight-on view. There’s just so little going on here, and it gets such boring cinematography, it might as well be a radio play. Except…

The writing in the translation needs serious work. There were multiple times where the lines fit horribly with the video. At one point, Impey says his line about breakfast, pauses and then adds in a “Now”. Yes, this occurs in the original Japanese, but the crew in the translation cubicle could have re-written what he was saying to better match the video, rather than just wedging words in to go with mouth movement. In addition, the voice acting from the entire crew is flat, and devoid of feeling. They all have a single emotional tone. This is from voice actors I know can pull off some great work. It was Micah Solusod’s episode to bring out more for Dr. Frank, and we got next to nothing. Perhaps the crew just aren’t as inspired by this derivative of a show.

Oh, and a bit of a nitpick, as much as this show likes to talk about the poison Cardia secretes, it keeps on forgetting that she does so. Those long tresses of hers? The ones that cascade all over her shoulders? Why aren’t they dissolving every high-backed chair she sits in? That’s all the chairs in Saint Germain’s manse.