English Dub Review: Ninja vs. Gokudo “Part 2 Blazing Chivalry and Justice in Kabuchika”

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Overview (Spoilers Below):

Nodoka Matsumoto of the Eight Imperial Ninja and Kousei Yuzawa of the Eight Gokudo of Destruction are locked in a deadly battle in Kabuchika, once an underground Kabuchika club.  Who will survive the clash?!  Rushing to aid Nodoka, Shinoha encounters young gokudo member Keisuke.  Keisuke has never killed before, and Shinoha intends to spare him, but Keisuke’s resolve forces Shinoha to act.

Our Take:

If the first episode was the appetizer of what’s to come, then the other two are reminiscent of the main courses in terms ofplot.  Following the brief yet shocking battle between Kaiza and Kiwami, we have yet another showdown for us to witness amid the war between ninja and gokudo.  The end of last week’s episode introduced viewers to the remaining members of the Eight Imperial Ninja, including Nodoka and Zanzo Kazai, with the latter having shapeshifting abilities.  However, we had yet to see what Nodoka could offer that made him one of the Imperial Ninjas until this episode, as he battles Yuzawa with his fire powers to avenge Kaiza’s death.  But, we’re not just witnessing one showdown in this episode, but three, with Shinoha confronting the gokudo rookie, Keisuke, and the young assassin, Gamute.

“Blazing Chivalry and Justice” offers plenty of non-stop action through its animation, but its hokey plot, direction, and dialogue continue to downplay the series’s potential.  It does intend to occasionally adopt a fun, cringy tone, with Kiwami singing one of the theme songs from Flash Princess as a “tribute” to the fall of Kabuchika.  That ending was the only scene that handled this tone properly.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t atone for everything else that’s overly awkward enough to question its direction.  Was it trying to be a serious action show or an action comedy that calls back to the cheesiness of 80s action anime?  At this point, I still find it hard to tell.  Of course, the dub performances still haven’t improved, with Kousei Yuzawa being the most off-putting.  I mean no disrespect to his voice actor, Rob Coutts, but his voice does not fit the character’s physique at all.  As usual, the series has its moments, but the English dub version is still not working for me. 

About Marcus Gibson

I'm a recent writer for BubbleBlabber who has an extraordinary passion for films and television, especially from the animation genre. I also spent plenty of hours playing video games, most notably from the Kingdom Hearts franchise. My goal is to provide the most friendly and entertaining reviews on the planet. Whenever something might be good or not, I always remain optimistic and curious about a specific concept from a film or television show.