English Dub Review: Doreiku the Animation “Bewilderment”

Don’t watch this episode while eating.

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS BELOW)

Given how quiet they’ve been the past few weeks, I’d almost started to take Eia and Yuuga’s partnership for granted. In fact, I was initially surprised by just how much “Bewilderment” focused on Doreiku’s leads, which must sound like an issue. Yet from what we’ve seen so far, the regular changes in focus have done wonders for fleshing out the show’s world, particularly since it excels at connecting its plot threads.

Even though they haven’t had quite as extensive an insight into SCM use as the audience (yet), it makes sense for Yuuga and especially Eia to re-evaluate their roles in light of recent events. As hinted at above, I’m a little shocked at how quickly the show casts them in direct opposition to each other, but thankfully, both of their perspectives feel true to the characters. Let’s be honest, surely no one ever believed that Yuuga wouldn’t become mad with power once he started collecting slaves; despite him literally saying otherwise this week, he seems pretty crazy. Zushi’s face as the episode ends says it all really.

Meanwhile, we pick up where we left off with Zero and Ryuuou. Now that I’m used to Doreiku’s complete distinction between storylines rather than, say, cutting back and forth between an A and B-plot, the approach is feeling increasingly smoother. There’s a great connection to the Eia and Yuuga plot once again teasing an epic showdown to come, but the sequence also features a curious standalone mystery that made me keen to learn more about Zero. An episode like “Abuse” probably would’ve taken the idea and let it run its course, which made all the groundwork laid this week a refreshing change of pace. Speaking of unexpected character development, Ataru gets a chance to shine during a brief conversation with Shiori about how he became a slave; simply put, it’s possibly the funniest scene of the season so far.

OUR TAKE

“Bewilderment” is sort of Doreiku’s version of a transitional episode, putting the focus back on its leads and being content with setting up stories. Having said that, this show seems unable to find an approach that it doesn’t excel at, with the frequently tense character interactions serving as ample entertainment. I wouldn’t have anticipated being this impressed by a show that threatens seriously fucked up dog torture, but Doreiku is hardly an ordinary show.