English Dub Review: Hand Shakers “Emperor of Fortune”

Was this week’s episode worth a fortune?

Spoilers Below

Hand Shakers follows pairs of contestants battling for a chance to meet god and have a wish granted. Protagonists Tazuna (Justin Briner) and Koyori (Lara Woodhull) were pulled into the Ziggurat, a special realm where the hand shakers battle, by Lily (Natalie Hoover) and her brother Masaru (Trina Nishimura). When Meet Yet ended, the two pairs of hand shakers were poised to face off.

As “Emperor of Fortune” opens, Tazuna and Koyori prepare to fight Lily and Masaru. The animation is top notch. Lily and Masaru boast fantastic skills. Each Nimrod, or hand shaker special power, remains unique. Masaru and Lily use cards from a popular card game similar to Magic the Gathering or Pokemon. The effects really shine. Massive decks of cards shuffle in the sky, while Tazuna summons a mass of gears to protect himself and Koyori.

There’s also a flashback delving into Lily and Masaru’s home life. It’s sweet Lily and Masaru’s relationship and how much they care about one another. This seems to be a running theme with hand shaker teams: whether it’s Tazuna and Koyori, Lily and Masaru, or Chizuru (Sarah Wiendenheft) and Hayate (Aaron Roberts), hand shakers tend to share a special bond.

It’s neat to see Lily and Tazuna facing off. At the onset of the series, there was a hint that the two had a romantic relationship. Lily and Tazuna both comment to their partners that they don’t want to fight. But Lily admits that she has a wish she wants granted.

The personal narratives are welcome additions to “Emperor of Fortune.” Hand Shakers has incorporated backstories well, but “Emperor of Fortune” does an even better job of presenting flashbacks and moreover probes further into character arcs. I like this quite a bit as it makes characters feel more relatable.

Occasionally the animation falters. A wall of fire in the Ziggurat radiates a CGi-fake quality. Occasionally the dubbing is slightly grating, particularly when Tazuna continues yelling in each battle about how he doesn’t want to fight. However this sets up an explanation of his relationship with Koyori. There’s also an odd dynamic between Masaru and Lily where they refer to loving one another as “a deep dark secret.” This almost feels uncomfortably incestual, though I feel that’s an unintentional consequence of awkward script writing. Overall, I like the animation, increased backstory, and friends as foes set up in “Emperor of Fortune.”