English Dub Review: URAHARA “Swallowing Queen”

Misa finds her true self in episode 10 of URAHARA.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Acting in accordance with his Scooper nature, Ebifuruya is dead-set on stealing Rito, Mari, and Kotoko’s creativity. But spending time with the girls has opened Misa’s eyes to the truth that their friendship is worth more to her than the theft of their talents. We take a journey from her perspective and learn about her arrival on planet Earth.

Just as it starts to feel like things are wrapping up, a new bombshell is unveiled: the show has been taking place in the fantasy created by the imaginations of our heroines – all of the people they’ve met have been created by their subconscious minds. In the real world, Misa tells them, everything has been destroyed by the Scoopers.

Our Take:

Much of episode 10 of URAHARA is spent on recapping things we already know. We are treated to more scenes that restate the value of the friendships forged between the three main characters. We get to relive the initial Rito-introduction scenes from the first episode.

Despite the slow-moving nature of Swallowing Queen, the episode justifies its review by showing us the scenes through new lenses. Sure, we’ve seen Rito feeding the stray cat before, but now we know that Misa was also watching her. The small Scooper princess’s journey to embracing her true self has been hinted from the beginning of the show. Watching a flashback to when the girls made a sale to their very first customer at PARK was sweet. While this certainly isn’t a very thrilling episode, it did serve to reinforce the bonds between the characters and end on a surprising cliffhanger.