English Dub Review: In/Spectre “Logical Fiction”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Kotoko continues her investigation of Steel Lady Nanase with help from Saki and her police connections. In order to try and defeat the spectre, they begin to craft another story of Karin Nananse’s death that is more rational and appealing than the rumors that have spread. Together they speculate about the cause of her death. Later, the group meets up with a ghost that is at the site where Nanase Karin died, who also happened to see her die. The spectre confirms the true cause of Nanase’s death, and this knowledge gives Kotoko the information she needs to finish her logical fiction tale.

Our Take:

As Kotoko blazes full steam ahead into the investigation of Steel Lady Nanase, the show itself is starting to lose momentum on this arc for me. We’ve had a lot of screen time of Kotoko, Saki, and Kuro sitting around talking in Saki’s apartment, and this episode is no different. Sure, we do get some slightly new shadings on Kotoko’s theories about Internet rumors and her so-called ‘logical fiction’, but I can’t help but wish for a little more that’s new and a little less of repeating the same old things about Steel Lady Nanase.

Once the second half of the episode starts and the gang heads to the site of Karin Nanase’s death, things pick up a bit. Learning the truth about Nanase’s passing gives us some clarity on what to make of her, and then when Kuro and Kotoko walk back to their hotel afterwards, we get some nice moments of bonding between them that helps to spell out how their relationship has changed since the timeskip. He tells her more about the powers of the kudon beast, and in turn how this power applies to him and how he views his role as someone who has eaten kudon flesh in order to gain its abilities. And Kotoko even gets to tell him that she’s been accepted to his university! Here’s holding out hope for the ultimate ship to end up sailing.

I like how involved Saki is getting with the storyline. Her connections help craft Kotoko’s logical fiction, and then Saki points out that sometimes people aren’t logical, and might not even believe this new rumor. Kotoko replies that everything is uncertain and they might as well give it a shot (basically). RIP to Saki’s detective friend though…

The main cast of Crunchyroll’s dub continues to be very competent, but I can’t help but feel a little let down at the dubbed ghost witnesses performance. In the original, the ghost is practically hysterical, plagued with grief by what he saw. In the dub though, he seems to be barely be troubled. It’s a minor detail in the long run, but little things like this add up to a more consistent and engaging adaptation.

Logical Fiction is a fine episode of In/Spectre, but I can’t help but feeling like this arc is beginning to wear out its welcome. Steel Lady Nanase is an interesting adversary, but now that we know the secret of her death and why she appeared in the first place, I’m ready to have the final confrontation and move on! Luckily, it seems like the big battle will be next week… guess we’ll see how it goes! I think that might be the last episode for a while thanks to the COVID-19 delay.