English Dub Review: Ishura “Linaris the Obsidian”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Kuuro the Cautious searches for a traitor.  Elsewhere, Shirok the Sextant meets a beautiful girl.

Our Take:
Like clockwork, the season looks to repeat the previous one’s narrative structure by introducing us to a new slate of Shuras who may become crucial to the narrative amid their journeys.  But, at the very least, the series hasn’t forgotten about Soujiro in the previous episode.  How much of a role Soujiro and even Yunio would play in the second season is difficult to tell, but based on my experience with season one, I’m guessing it won’t be that much.  However, based on the show’s season two poster, I can assume that Kuuro the Cautious would be another protagonist worth following.  This episode showcases Kuuro’s reasoning for being on the run while searching for the traitor, in which he desires to live a peaceful life.  Unfortunately for him, his venture could hit a few bumps in the road due to his discovery that his clairvoyance ability is waning.
However, the real meat of the episode is the Obsidian Eyes, the mysterious group.  It turns out that this organization that’s said to be wiped out of existence is still active and more dangerous than what others anticipated.  The reason is its leader, Linaris the Obsidian, a seemingly harmless girl who’s actually a manipulative vampire who can turn people into “corpses”.  What makes her even more of a threat is that she doesn’t need to drink the victims’ blood to do so, which makes it unfortunate for Shirok the Sextant.
This part of the episode relies on its Twilight-Zone-like elements to showcase the menacing nature of the Obsidian Eyes and their vampiric leader.  Regarding the animation, direction, and bleak lighting, it plays to those strengths effectively, especially the third act involving Linaris forcing the troops to murder each other.  It does continue the blueprint of introducing the new Shuras in each episode, but as long as the show continues to deliver its engaging quality, it wouldn’t be much of a bother compared to the first season.