English Dub Review: Zenshu “Justice”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
The Nine Soldiers are tasked by Destiny to find orphans for her orphanage.  During the mission, Natsuko, Luke, and Unio meet a dragon soldier who happens to be Luke’s idol.  They then confront new types of Voids that Natsuko isn’t familiar with.

Our Take:
With Destiny’s destiny now rewritten thanks to Natsuko’s ability, the clueless former “damsel” was able to accomplish her dream of running an orphanage.  Not only that, but she’s also living out her new path as a wrestler inspired by one of Natsuko’s drawings, complete with a surprisingly jacked-up body.  Of course, her orphanage, known as the Serval Cat House, isn’t complete without some orphans, which the Nine Soldiers are tasked to find in one of the village’s districts.  There’s also a dragon soldier named Justice, who’s said to be a former member of the Nine Soldiers and takes a surprising liking to Natsuko.  At first, I thought Justice was a guy based on the voice and design, but after looking further into the character following the episode, Justice is actually a female dragon.  So, it’s probably a good thing I checked after watching the episode.
“Justice” may seem like a filler episode involving the Nine Soldiers taking on a side quest while saving their town from Voids.  However, the actual plot of the episode involves Natsuko and her cockiness, as she usually sees herself as the crucial key to defeating the Voids and providing a happy ending for her movie’s world.  She believes she’s the only person capable of handling the tough parts herself, especially since she’s got the powerful pegbar by her side.  Unfortunately for her, she gets the taste of her own medicine when one of her drawings, a samurai, fails to defeat the slime-like Voids.
Instead of following the usual structure like the previous episodes, the cliffhanging conclusion of “Justice” showcases that not all problems can be solved with a simple drawing.  From a narrative standpoint, this helps provide actual stakes in Natsuko’s overconfidence and prevents the plot from growing too stale.  This dilemma will also force Natsuko to rely on her new allies instead of her magic pegbar for once.  That is, of course, if she survives this encounter.