English Dub Review: Sonny Boy “Road Book”

Overview:

Nagara has been “tried” by others and needs to be convicted. They send out someone who flys like a bat while being in an umbrella. Nagara gets sent to another world where everyone is doing hard labor. Meanwhile, most of the other students set out on a pilgrimage but Nozomi and Mizuho aren’t invited.

Our Take:

I really liked the symbolism in this episode. Rajdhani had an ant farm and Nagara didn’t like how they were being treated so he let them go. Only to be put into an ant farm of sorts himself. I’m still not a hundred percent sure how the person got him to that world but I’m not sure about a lot in this show. It seemed like a work camp of sorts and after being “convicted” maybe that was Nagara’s punishment.

The bat/umbrella guy’s name is Komori and he was played by Justin Briner I’m pretty sure. I first heard Justin Briner as Izuku Midoriya in My Hero Academia like a lot of you I’m sure. Whenever I hear him I get excited because as I hear more roles I am learning he has a lot of range and I like seeing him get to flex that out. Check out Stranger by the Shore if you want a really great Briner performance.

I also liked the real-world symbolism of how we make the best of awful work situations. One of the workers was clearly in deep. Nagara kept questioning everything about the work situation and why they were doing this. He also wondered if there was really something to be hopeful for. The other guy said that he would rather chase a tiny glimmer of hope than worry about all that. That really stood out to me and thought it was a really interesting parallel.

Nagara eventually “escapes” because Komori doesn’t think he’s the one to blame like everyone else. I really hope we see more of him but I don’t think we will. I’ve noticed with a  lot of the characters have a big moment or arc and then drift into the background. This is ironic since this show is all about drifting, I don’t know if they are trying to get that meta with it though.

Sonny Boy is still an enigma and makes no sense but it has to eventually right? RIGHT?! Anyway, I think it’s a fun show at the very least and worth your time. I like thinking a little bit when watching something and I definitely got that this week.