English Dub Review: HAKYU HOSHIN ENGI “Two Paths”

Is this Series taking any good paths?

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

As usual, we get a random scene before the Intro that introduces another character with ties to Taiko by the name of “Fugen” which ends up spoiling a possible plot-point, but the episode actually picks up when Taiko and company face off against Bunchuu’s magical death squad from the last episode. Taiko’s first opponent is a squad member by the name who’s able to control water through bizarre means. As Nataku and out of nowhere Youzen take on two other members, there’s was at least a random yet comedic scene where Taiko reference’s the “Konami Code” out of nowhere and nearly drowning from having a magical bubble of water trapping his head.

While the action scenes are compelling to some degree, it does intercut with scenes of Bunchuu wishing to protect Yin for his own reasons and unlike Dakki, he’s doing this for his own agenda. When Shinkohyou arrives to tell him a village of Yin is in danger due to the fighting and one of his own squad members wants to destroy one of the towns for some reason which becomes motivation enough for Bunchuu to head out. As it cuts back to Taiko, he decides to use his powers to transform the water bubble that’s trapped his head into alcohol and drink his way out like he’s Kevin Heffernan’s “Landfill” character from “Beerfest” but unlike the ironic & dark humor of Landfill’s death, Taiko fucking survives.

After Youzen manages to damage one of the squad members, the fighting comes to an abrupt halt when Bunchuu shows up and he’s less than thrilled when he nears the battleground. Compared to Bunchuu from the flashbacks of past episodes where he was reasonable and easy to talk to, the present version of him is the complete opposite as demonstrated when Taiko fails to talk things out and injures Koh Hiko. At first, I thought that’s all he wanted to do, But like any high-level boss in a video game, he makes quick work of all the heroes with one blow of a fucking whip of all things. As Taiko attempts to protect everyone with a magical wind barrier which starts to put a strain on his body, Bunchuu lets them all live after being impressed by his courage in the face of possible death which shows how different he is compared to Dakki. The episode ends on a cliffhanger when Taiko and the others are recovering within Ki Sho’s kingdom and Koh-Hiko offers him solutions to help their people.

Our Take

If there’s anything redeeming about this episode, it’s less cringe-worthy to watch compared to the previous ones. The action is consistently good, and that comedic moment where Taiko countered the water magic that almost killed him did give me a chuckle, but we at least understand how powerful Bunchuu is as a character, and with the random scenes that show footage of him ahead in the previous episodes is any indication, we’ll be seeing him get into some intense fights later on.

It’s still plot-hole heavy with it’s disjointed & repetitive plot-structure of spoiling shit ahead before the main intro, along with raising more questions than answers. I can understand making Bunchuu a foe with his own goals & convictions, but Why spare the lives of the very people he just defeated if he knows Taiko will possibly cause him problems later? If he’s so intent on preserving the Yin kingdom, shouldn’t he just get it over with and fucking kill both Taiko & Dakki?

Let’s hope the next episodes are coherent enough to answer those questions.