English Dub Review: The God of High School “lay/key”

Overview:

The national round of the God of High School Tournament heats up in big ways after Ilpyo activates his Nine-Tail charyeok and fuels speculation that he’s the powerful Key. Mori has faced many difficult opponents, but he has his work cut out for him against Ilpyo’s newfound strength. However, just when it seems like the battle is over, Mori experiences a similar transformation that changes everything.

Meanwhile, Jegal Taek continues to recklessly throw his weight around, but his latest actions may have gained him a dangerous new rival.

Oh, and the whole tournament gets cancelled. No big deal.

Our Take:

The God of High School has featured dozens of strong warriors since its very first episode. It’s an anime that pushes the importance of training and dedication, but it’s also worked in a larger narrative about cosmic powers and humanity’s tenuous relationship to control elements that exceed normal understanding. For instance, “charyeok” used to be a rare term in The God of High School, but now it’s become a driving force in every episode and “lay/key” attempts to examine it in an even deeper fashion. An incomprehensible fox spirit was teased during the visually stunning conclusion of The God of High School’s previous episode, but it’s given a lot more context this time around.

The God of High School is still having some difficulty with establishing how it wants to display its super powers. At times charyeok is conveyed by grand helpers that feel more akin to Stands from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure or even the mechanics behind Yu-Gi-Oh! However, Ilpyo’s charyeok actually morphs him in a physical way that makes him feel like a close cousin to Inuyasha. This type of change may be reserved for “Key-like” individuals or it may become the first plateau of some Super Saiyan style equivalency in the series (although it feels far too early for such a development). It does feel somewhat tonally off for this series, but Ilpyo’s barrage of fire fox attacks remain intimidating even if his appearance isn’t.

It’s fair to say that the carnage that’s about to play out in the public is of greater significance and Mori and company are still able to cathartically get revenge on characters like Jegal, only outside of the tournament, which allows for even more tension in the proceedings. “lay/key” is an episode that slows things down and features some of the biggest action moments to date, but it’s also fairly predictable in its trajectory. There’s also a bit of a feeling that the series is making all of this up as it goes along, which never instills a lot of confidence. The God of High School has crafted a very chaotic mess here, but it’s more than enough material to occupy the season’s final episodes. It will be truly interesting to see who’s left standing and is able to be a viable competitor once the God of High School Tournament does great back into order.