English Dub Review: Metallic Rouge ;” Freedom and Phantoms”

Overview

After their argument last episode, Rouge and Naomi attempt to make up… Right in the middle of the former being accused of murder, the police closing in on the Nean settlement because of said murder, not to mention the giant flying circus closing in on their location as well. 

It seems the current trend for Metallic Rouge is that its even episodes are miles more engaging than its odd episodes. Last week suffered from being 24-minutes of dull set up, and we finally start seeing some kind of pay off to those threads in today’s episode. While the execution still remains somewhat shaky, it’s a thankful step in the right direction.

Glad to see Rouge and Naomi quickly make up at the start of the episode. My feelings on their little spat happening way too early in the series hasn’t changed– but dragging it out any longer just would’ve made things more unbearable. I’m not fully sold on their dynamic yet but they’re much stronger together than apart; and they’re the closest thing the show has to a proper emotional core for me. The show’s clinical tone remains pervasive, paired with the wonky pacing due the show’s 12/13 episode run, it was hard for me to be shocked when I saw police mow down hundreds of defenseless Neans. No matter how gruesome the events may seem, the show always feels like it’s trying to keep itself at arms length from me.

If the show’s moral dilemmas were more engaging and its ideas on humanity, agency, and freedom were more interesting I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with the dull character writing. The show starts building on the blocks they laid out last episode with Rouge questioning her own agency– despite being a tool for a higher power we still don’t know much about– and it manifests into her protecting other Neans… Even if they were on the verge of executing her only seconds ago. Obviously the rational choice would’ve been to run away and get back to Naomi as soon as possible, but she chooses to stay back to protect them. It’s not a completely irrational choice since helping them also means gaining their trust so they won’t execute her– but it’s still a start. 

Amidst all the chaos, including a brief fight between Naomi and Vash Jr, Rouge discovers the true killer: The Good Doctor, Afdal Bashar who reveals himself as one of the Immortal Nine. The two fight as Afdal spouts out his contradictory views on freedom. He doesn’t believe that “true freedom exists” and yet he still wants Rouge to pursue her own. This would be motivational if he wasn’t trying to impale her while all of this was going on. Of course the idea of “true freedom” scares her and she denies his words, landing the final blow in the process.. And awkwardly wrapping up this episode as a result. As the flying circus from before starts getting closer and closer..

A massive improvement from last episode and important questions are finally being asked. I just hope we keep this momentum for next week, just going to ignore that trend about the even and odd episodes I mentioned earlier…