English Dub Review: Gleipnir “Crazy Enemies”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Shuichi and Clair venture into the mountains to search for more monsters and the coins. While trying to figure out a plan, they encounter another monster that has blades for arms and a muscular physique. Clair tries to get some information out of the monster, but he’s in the dark about the coins as the two of them. However, it’s clear that this monster is stronger than them and they chat where the monster reveals his human form and his name, Tadanori Sanbe. After a short demonstration of his new style of martial arts, Shuichi and Clair run, but they don’t get too far as he tracks them down.

However, it is Tadanori that gets taken by surprise as Clair points the gun at him while Shuichi grabs him. Shuichi later snaps him in half after the monster transforms back to his real self since he judged their actions as something that he respects. Their conversation is short when another monster takes pictures of Clair until Tadanori slices it in half. He agrees to join the duo since he’ll be able to fight other monsters to test out his strength. Clair looks through the other monster’s phone and picks his friends as their new prey.

Our Take:

In this episode, we get our first taste of the other monsters besides Elena with the Shuichi and Clair’s trip into the mountains. The setup for this episode is a good start to show how the place differs from Shuichi’s town. The beginning with the two monsters established that the spray-painted markings on the trees are territories. It makes sense given how the mountain is the site of the alien’s crash landing and why so many gatherers would flock to it and later establish their turfs to search for the coins.

Then Shuichi and Clair find their first monster and the two are not prepared to face it. Plus Clair’s plan of extracting more information from the other monsters does not turn out as planned. Tadanori and his lack of interest in the coins defeat the initial purpose of their encounter. There’s also Shuichi’s transformation into the mascot form to prevent their identities from exposure is a good idea from Clair. Without it, they could risk involving their friends and family if the two worlds come crashing together. It’s a helpful reminder of the dangers of this monster world. There’s also Tadanori’s comment on Shuichi being a man for his actions. It’s a decent mood lifter for Shuichi to continue with this quest for the coins.

Tadanori’s desire for strength stems from his background as a martial artist. His monster form is terrifying with his blades for arms and in his new form, he has unbelievable strength and it makes him a formidable opponent. He does respect those like Shuichi and Clair who put their lives on the line in the fight. Also, his reaction to Clair’s state when Tadanori turned back into his human form was amusing. Now with him in the group, the fights are sure to get more interesting.

Overall it was a start to the madness that Clair and Shuichi get into after Elena. Now with a new ally, their quest to collect the other coins will be a bit easier.