Review: Drifters Episode 8: “Mystery CALL ME”

Due to Funimation’s holiday schedule change, we got the episode early this week so here it is.

Spoilers Below

After his near-death experience from the last episode, Yoichi reflects in a secluded area on his battle with Gilles de Rais when he is approached by his sadistically cruel ex-boss Yoshitsune, who mocks his former subordinate for the hypocrisy of following Bushido despite committing dishonorable acts during the Genpei War while under his command. At first, it leaves Yoichi visibly disturbed, But Yoichi tells Yoshitsune he will never take orders from him again, while Yoshitsune merely laughs at him like a troll before he departs saying “Next time we can speak, face to face”.

We cut back to the Octoberist leader Abe who tells Oda he was brought to the new world to help combat the Ends. Oda quickly recognizes his name as it’s legendary even in his time period which in the process reveals Abe himself as a Drifter but hilariously Toyo doesn’t recognize him and Abe explains that his Octoberist uniform is custom made but Toyo proceeds to hilariously get under his skin when he calls Abe a “random back alley fortuneteller”.  We then get a flashback that shows Abe in his traditional monk clothing at the White Corridor where he encounters Murasaki and says after entering the world was quick to realize his purpose was to combat the Ends and save humanity.

When Oda asks what Toyo did to Joan, Toyo informs the group that he knocked her unconscious with a head butt in a nearby well and spared her life.

Abe and Olminu go to check the well and to Abe’s disappointment it’s empty and proceeds to reprimand Toyo for allowing Joan to escape due to her gender, but Toyo doesn’t give a damn about his rules and is determined to uphold his principles by not becoming a “plaything” for whatever Murasaki has thrusted them into. Immediately after that scene, it cuts to Murasaki reading his magic newspaper that randomly makes words and articles appear whenever something big happens and smiles to himself after reading Toyo’s strong convictions with the headline “We’re Humans, we’re not Pawns”.

Olminu begins to ask Abe who the old guy in the wagon is and Abe explains that’s Hannibal Barca (who tagged along with them in Episode 3) and for some reason Hannibal is now in a state of dementia not only due to being old but because of the separation from his rival/frenemy Scipio during their transport towards Toyo’s location.

In a flashback explaining how Scipio, was separated from Abe’s group during the ride to rendezvous with Toyo’s crew and were unable to go back for him due to the Black King’s forces pursuing them. The next day we later find out that Scipio is not only still alive, but he encounters the WW2 Pilot Naoshi, whom in a comical reveal, has been appointed the “sky god” to a tribe of anthropomorphic dog people. There’s genuinely comedic moments in this scene which involve historical references that were amusingly presented, especially the part about WWII and the Axis Powers. Throughout this entire scene, Scipio is speaking entirely in latin which is subtitled in English, while his inner-thoughts are spoken in English which makes the language barrier between the two even funnier.

Back at the Drifters’ camp, Butch and Sundance explain the mechanics behind their firearms to Oda, who becomes ecstatic at the notion of producing more modern firearms and while Abe has stated that he doesn’t know how to make gun powder and despite the marksman skills of Butch & Sundance, they don’t know how to make it either, but Oda surprises them by revealing that they’re currently in the process of making gunpowder which is a major-callback to the previous episodes where they made Salt Peter from the decomposed corpses of Orte troopers they killed and previously sent Olminu out to get a supply of Sulfur from a volcano. Abe says they could never make it since the Octoberists were never chemist’s in that particular field due to them being only experienced in magic.

While Abe is shocked at how ambitious & unpredictable Oda is in his goals and out of curiosity decides to ask him what he’s trying to accomplish in which Oda reveals to a concerned Abe his desire to not only liberate other races (including Dwarves) from the Orte’s control but to also create a multiracial federation where all the races will self-govern but will have Toyo as their General.

When Abe asks why Toyo as the person in charge, it leads to a scene where you notices a semblance of humanity underneath Oda, he responds by saying that he fulfilled that role once already in his life and after 50 years of his life, realizes his efforts as ruler were for naught and at first he suspected his own son as a traitor who wanted to dethrone him but after hearing the news of his son’s death, made him feel unworthy to take that mantle once more and says Toyo would be a better ruler with Oda himself as an advisor at his side.

We then cut to Toyo interacting with Hannibal in his Dementia-induced state who shows how he’s still sort-of a badass to Toyo and it’s a fun & cool moment between the two.

At nightfall, we cut to Toyo who proceeds to rally a group of Elves to free the Dwarves from Orte which at first the Elves say no due to their past history and grudges towards them and while any other anime, where the protagonist’s troops refuse to fight, he’d give out some sort of dramatic speech or whatever. But here it defies all expectation with him saying “Come with me or don’t, I go either way”. and they just end up following his plan anyway after realizing what was important themselves with Sharra pointing out that if they joined forces decades ago, the Orte Empire wouldn’t have ruled over them in the first place and doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes their previous elf generation made.

While Abe, Butch, and Sundance are about to depart in their search for Scipio, Abe asks Toyo if he’s anything like Oda and “wants to “change the world” and Toyo responds “Their heads! I’m from Satsuma, so taking a foe’s head is worth risking my life. Care to join the fun?” which surprises Butch and leaves Abe shocked in a good way.

Toyo asks if he’s tagging along but Abe politely says no due to his obligations with the Octoberists along with continuing their investigation on the Ends and entrusts Olminu to their care believing that she’s proven her worth.

As the Elven troops show up awaiting their orders, Butch even gives Oda an empty pistol and Sundance gives him his now empty Gatling Gun to help further his research in replicating firearms on the condition that he makes bullets for him if possible.

The episode ends on a pleasant note with Toyo’s Crew and Abe’s crew splitting as allies while planting the seeds for Toyo’s plan to free the Dwarves in the next episode.

Overview

I was glad to see Abe and the rest of the Drifters arrive in this episode, their involvement here helped speed things along and provide us with some more “breathing room” for the characters along with some great (and sometimes comedic) interactions and a much-needed info-dump about this world they’re all forcibly thrown into.

Abe and Oda’s interactions were the most fun, highlighting just how much thought and effort Oda is putting into his plans of conquest. Abe understandably often worries about the Drifters’ clashing and self-serving goals, and Given that Oda was once an Emperor/Warlord in his Era, you can’t blame him.

I find it pretty damn funny & ironic that the people from different time periods ahead of our main trio don’t know the nature of making gun powder but because of who Oda is and the earlier era he’s from, He is heavily acquainted with how to make it and understands it’s devastating power. It’s also comical seeing early-era warriors like Toyo who have no idea how it works to be in a fantasy world and passive-aggressively encourage elves to put-aside their past history with the dwarves and unite for a common goal.

While most of the episode was mainly a series of random interactions and a setup for the next action scene, Something about the episode’s ending left me all teary-eyed in a happy way. It felt like a superhero team-up/crossover story where all the heroes parted as allies and What better way to premiere the Dub of this episode than on Christmas, a holiday where the concept of unity is universally timeless.