English Dub Review: Gleipnir “Metamorphosis”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

After entering the pact with the leader of the group, Clair gets information about Elena. As it turns out the leader knew Elena from when they were in high school. Shuichi and Chihiro track down her wallet when Shuichi picks up the malicious scents of Elena’s group and the kid that picked up Chihiro’s wallet. Clair and the leader return to the others with the pact completed with the news that Shuichi and Chihiro haven’t been back for over an hour. Clair goes to search for them and Koyanagi has their fighter join her as an escort, Yota. Shuichi and Chihiro encounter Subaru who crushes them literally with his ability.

Meanwhile, Yota and Clair talk while on their search for Shuichi and Chihiro. In his last thoughts, Shuichi is angry at Subaru and his mascot form merges with Chihiro’s abilities. They fight with Subaru until Elena stops them while Shuichi consumed by his fury, but Chihiro stops him after seeing his memories of Elena. They collapse to the ground as Elena and Subaru leave. The alien recalls how he gave the ability to Elena. Clair and Yota find Shuichi still in his mascot form and Chihiro unconscious and unharmed.

Our Take:

In this week’s episode of Gleipnir, the mystery between Elena and Shuichi thickens as we see bits of their past. In addition, there’s Shuichi’s mascot form merging with Chihiro which extends the possibilities of his powers. The animation for the fight was nice and the voice acting was good as usual.

Shuichi and Chihiro battling Subaru was a good step for the anime. We get a glimpse of what Shuichi’s mascot form is capable of besides the form’s regenerative ability. Their merge emphasizes the concept of becoming one as they are unable to differentiate between each other. Their forms reflect that with Chihiro’s characteristics being the dominant of their appearance while they retain Shuichi’s monstrous strength. The red and black skin symbolizes their combined rage towards Subaru. The side effect of their transformation is that they see each other’s memories. In those memories, Chihiro sees Elena who looks like just a normal high school girl instead of the monster before them.

Meanwhile, Yota and Clair probe each other with Yota asking why she’d join their group and Clair asking why he doesn’t cover his face. She admits that they’re the first group of gatherers she came across and that she needed information. Yota shares that he has no friends or family that would be in harm’s way if someone came after him. Admittedly I’m curious about Yota’s ability and that little moment with the group, in the beginning, was amusing and another reminder of how appearances are deceiving in this anime.

Then there’s Elena who cares for her teammate, Subaru since he’s a kid. Her character is definitely an interesting mess considering how people perceive her. Take the group’s leader for example, who can’t imagine Elena committing murder. Elena was the one who pulled her out of her shell when she transferred schools. Meanwhile, Clair is wary of her sister because of her encounter and because of the stench of blood from her scent. Furthermore, there’s also the flashback in the form of the alien’s dream of Elena receiving her ability.

Overall the episode concludes the search for the wallet as we get more details on Elena’s relationship with Shuichi.