English Dub Review: Tokyo 24th Ward: “Red Line”
Overview: Diverting Shu (Billy Kametz) and Koki (Landon McDonald) away from Kunai’s (Khoi Dao) trail, Ran (Zeno Robinson) attempts to track down his friend before he can detonate a bomb on a ocean liner and make a decision he will regret.
Our Take: Ran, seeking to help Kunai and keep the others out of his way, sends Koki on a wild goose chase while Shun investigates the boat with the C4 planted on it. Ran and Kunai’s early upbringing, influenced by famed graffitist, Oth, is a nice backstory, albeit cliché and broad, in teaching them their guiding principles in wanting to change the world in their own way, Ran through his graffiti art and Kunai through his hacking ability.
When investigating Kunai’s bedroom, Ran uncovers more about the hole that Kunai has dug himself in. Kunai’s app, Di-Va, meant to soothe people’s pain in their bodies with tones curated especially for them. From here, it is an unfortunate downward spiral for Kunai in realizing his app was being misused by Kaburaya Corporation’s Hajime Taki, who bought it from him. Augmenting Di-Va into the notorious and entirely digital, drug “D”, to forcibly make people commit suicide in Shantytown to make it more alluring for Howard Win’s reconstruction into a casino. Kunai’s manipulation from cold corporate figures makes his plight and him one to empathize with when taken into consideration that he just wanted to help his grandmother with dementia and bad legs for easy mobility around their apartment building
Kunai’s difficult bind is made more constricting in not being able to tell his friends in fear of judgment from them as it’s caused harm to Yamamori’s family, one of DoRed’s members, and others of the 24th Ward. This makes Kunai’s transition to a criminal mentality a well-executed one that makes for a climactic confrontation between him and Ran. Kunai’s feelings of inadequacy in regards to his hacking skills and anger towards high society’s self-serving nature make for a grounded and compelling catalyst before his swift demise at Koki’s sniper kill order, having realized Ran’s ruse.
It will undoubtedly also cause a rift between Ran and Koki on their societal viewpoints on who is in the wrong between that of influential wealthy companies and figures who deal in illegal and heartless practices versus that of desperate and misfortunate minorities that turn to criminal activities for justice. Ran’s pain makes for a dark moment in which he considers setting off the bomb laid by Kunai. However, in a heartfelt final scene and heroic last deed, Kunai saves Ran from going down the same criminal path he did, showing just how much he believes in Ran.
With Shuta having escaped the ocean liner without the bomb given to Taki, unbeknownst to him, and not aware of what has transpired between Koki and Ran, he talks with Kozue. Influenced by Shu’s impactful words, Kozue writes a piece on DoRed’s art piece commemorating her father bringing more popularity to it. She then talks about how Kunai and his belief he had regarding art and the positive power it has in influencing people for the better, showing yet again just how right Kunai was about Ran and how equally influential Shu is becoming as a hero.
