English Dub Review: Tokyo 24th Ward: “Golden Sunrise”; “Black Mist”; “Silver Salt”

Overview: Shu (Alejandro Saab) learns of who Carnadeas (Amber Lee Connors) really is while Ran (Zeno Robinson) digs up more on the Kanae System and Koki (Landon McDonald) is promoted and learns a startling revelation.  

Our Take: Unable to crack his father’s sunrise bread recipe, the advice Shu gets from him is to get a bread’s consistency similar to the texture and sensation of a chest. The foreign advice, to Shun at least, along with the lack of sleep in being on round-the-clock Carnadeas duty, has him very breast crazed. It results in ridiculously hilarious moments like Mari thinking he’s touching himself and women being creeped the hell out at his lost in thought, downward gaze, and for good reason, because that wouldn’t cause any issues whatsoever, right? Besides his sleep deprived depravities, Shuta attempting to track down Carnadeas, makes for some well-constructed maturing moments. Shu, wrestling with whether or not he needs to give up aspects of his life, like being a hero or a bread maker, in order to best help the 24th Ward, puts him in a tough and relatable spot in the world forcing you to choose who and what you are. A past flashback with Asumi reaffirms his cheesy written hero persona, as well as the master baker that he evidently wants to be in helping his parents run the shop. Overall, it is too bad that the complex message is bogged down by his childhood spiel with Asumi, along with previous flashback scenes, which are so boringly cliché and poorly written, beating you over the head with his ideals of “saving everyone” and “putting a smile on everyone’s faces.” 

Finding Carnadeas, Shuta learns that Ran’s mentor, Kuchikiri, or perhaps Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator’s scrapped version of Sephiroth, knows and spreads Carnadeas message through his graffiti art. Ran gets Oth’s contact info and is faced with another ultimatum from Asumi, in either many people dying due to malfunctioning cranes crashing during a lightning storm or Carneadas . The show has done a good job of showing how there is more than meets the eye to the stakes with them eventually developing a personal layer that affects someone close to RGB in some way. Ran has his own mission, given by Oth, in hacking into the Kanae system. It will be interesting to see if any fruit will bear from the information he stole and how his brief encounter with Kanae will lead him to the truth. Koki, too, has his own mission in, guiltily, letting the tragedy befall Carneadas. Shuta meets with them, eventually coming to the one revelation that Koki already knows. Koki is also faced with the horror that Asumi is still alive, to an extent, and Tsuzuragawa is Carneadas and will stop anyone being a casualty in the lightning storm. Sakiko has been lying to Gouri about his daughter being alive and that she’s covering up a bug, inherent within the system, as it being Carneadas’ doing as Gori would never forgive himself for what he put Asumi through. Overall, while a bit hairbrained, it makes her motivation in being a false anarchist a heartfelt, albeit misguided one, and thankfully, anything but one note. Shuta realizes that Sakiko is the Carneadas and resuscitates her, saving her life and having a nice character moment with Chikushi that affirms his development in the previous episode.  

Kanae making the A.I. present in the future threat detection technology to stop crime in the city allows for an interesting past with Gori. A car accident, where Tsuzuragawa was nearly a victim of, causes Kanae to be hurt and Oth, her former partner, to develop dyslexia, making for a great way to show the start of Kanae and Gori’s developing feelings that would blossom. The accident encourages Kanae to work tirelessly with Gouri influencing her not to be beholden to the past with Oth’s dyslexia and love of art turning him into an artist. Moments before the accident also sets up Oth’s distrust for Gori well and there is a good tease for the inherent fault, discussed by Sakiko, in the future. Oth’s epiphany, caused by his near death experience and dyslexia, allows for a gaudy transition that is so over-the-top it is great, not totally unlike the one winged angel himself. 

Chikushi, also gets some nice past moments that build up who he eventually  turned into in him working at Kanae’s company. He has an endearing friendship with Sakiko in his casual and upbeat attitude playing well with her cold demeanor. Sakiko introduces Chikushi to Oth, becoming friends as he designs Chikushi’s hero outfit for the Takara Food Bank hero shows and nerd out. Chikushi shows a similar valiant persona to Shu’s that smartly lends itself to when he eventually gives Shun tough love about being a realistic hero in the present. Oth leaves for NY to learn about different art and flourish. 

Kanae retires from her job, after being married to Gori and pregnant to be there for the children and not let the work consume her like it was previously. Kanae leaving the head of research to Sakiko to help in a different way by raising her kids, is a strong evolution that shows how her sense of community developed. At a Takara Food Bank, her death in being stabbed trying to help a disgruntled resident of Shanty Town is not only tragic in her final words to Sakiko being solely for her kids’ wellbeing but for Tsuzuragawa and Chikushi too. It is a heartbreaking and compelling catalyst for Chikushi being unable to help, wounded but inspired to help in a more practical way by joining SARG that is well executed for its simplicity. For Sakiko, it also works well in her closeness and admiration of Kanae, to carry on the research for her own ambition and help Gori in the process realize Kanae’s dream. Kanae’s death makes Gori’s intense desire to get the A.I. up and running painfully understandable to prevent more in the future. 

Oth is thrust back into the plot, feeling loosely tied and could’ve used more time in the oven to develop. When Asami dies and Gori suddenly decides to use her body because she is dying, it does, however, feel half-assed in it being a contrived way to get from point A to B at a breakneck, one episode pace. Not every backstory development falters but it definitely could have done with an extra one or two episodes to help flesh everything out, rather than just some past character’s storylines. However, one can’t help but be intrigued on how RGB’s conflicting ideologies come to blows and eventually come to the fore with Asumi seemingly calling on them once again.