English Dub Review: I’m Standing on a Million Lives: “Yotsuya Yuusuke Dies”

Overview:

Yusuke (Zeno Robinson), Iu (Jeannie Tirado), Kusue (Valeria Rodriguez), Yuka (Tara Sands) all go their separate ways in order to cover more ground in the hopes of completing the quest as their lives hang in the balance. 

Our Take:

A perilous mountain trek through a hazardous snowstorm sounds like a scenario that is prime for some great internal development and/or moments, right? Well not in “Yotsuya Yuusuke Dies” case. To put it simply, the bulk of this episode is what every anime fan fears and begrudgingly expects. Recap. Most of this episode is every character reiterating their motivations up to this point and reusing and recutting previous scenes. I literally asked myself at one point, “Wait didn’t we go over this already?” Not because the concept is new to me mind you, but because I just wasn’t expecting it to occur in a 12 episode season. One can’t help but think the series was forced to scrounge this together due to most likely needing to get to a certain cutting off point and in need of extra material to fill the entire first season. There’s nothing inherently egregious with the way it’s executed, all things considered. Simply put, it’s just dull and unoriginal. 

It is not entirely bad news, though, as there does seem to be something of a lighthouse in these murky waters. Key word being something. Iu seemingly makes a big revelation at the site of a destroyed statue. This was pretty much the highlight of this episode with theories abound. My guess is it has to do with The Game Master and his presence in the fantasy world they find themselves stuck in. This is simply due to the look of the statue and how much it partially resembled his figure. It could be completely unrelated and something different but I do think it’s within the realm of possibility due to how powerful he at least appears to be. 

Also, the show is undeniably setting up consequences of some kind for Yuusuke for denying the people and creatures of the world and coming to the conclusion they’re not ‘real.’ With how much the series shouts it with a bullhorn, at this point it would be weird if there was nothing to come of it and most importantly, a missed opportunity for some kind of reflection and progress on Yusuke’s part. And, as the name of the episode states, he dies, apparently. Although because of it’s predictable nature, there’s most likely a caveat. Whether that be him managing to revive in time before permanent death or Kahvel saving his butt. Take your pick. With the Iu’s realization still hanging, hopefully next week’s episode can be more engaging than what this one could muster.