English Dub Review: Ninja vs. Gokudo “Part 4 Young Maniacs’ Death Game, Stage 3”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Hearing a woman crying for help, Uryu rushes to the rescue on his own, only to come across Ange and Busu.  Able to read his moves, their combined techniques have Uryu in a tight spot.  But Uryu’s fighting spirit burns bright, and then Sako appears…

Our Take:
The season’s final set of episodes looks to be shining the spotlight on the several ninjas battling alongside Shinoha in the Prime Minister’s residence.  This is evident in this week’s episode, as ninja brothers Uryu and Sako team up against the troubling twosome, Ange and Busu.  Despite their constant bickering, the two Glass Children seemed to have good coordination, with one of them being able to predict Uryu’s attacks.  However, like most battles we’ve seen in the season, this showdown just came and went in a flash, with the ninja brothers claiming the additional lives of the Glass Children.  Essentially, the structure in the first half plays out the same way as the previous episode, but it still lacks the emotional grasp stemming from the vocal performances and direction.
If you’re expecting me to say something else about the first half, I’m afraid that I still have nothing else to say that I hadn’t already said in the previous episodes.  Fortunately, its second half managed to elevate the arc’s “stakes” with Shinoha’s confrontation with Kiwami taking a turn for the worse.  After about nine episodes, we are finally at a turning point where Kiwami puts the pieces together regarding Shinoha’s true identity.  Of course, with the Glass Children officer standing in their path, Kiwami would have to set that aside to assist Shinoha in defeating the officer and his soccer ball.  Like the previous episodes, this latest stage continues to suffer through its English dub and lackluster action.  However, it is also a slight improvement over the last few episodes, driven by Shinoha’s struggle to maintain his cover and Kiwami’s realization of his friend’s true self.  Although that’s more than enough praise I can give this series at this point.