English Dub Review: Katana Maidens: Toji no Miko “Gleam of Moonlight “

Does this one shine?

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

Kanami and her friends clad themselves in “Storm Armor”, as they proceed to launch an assault at the Origami family shrine within the Sword Administration building, while the Elite Guard attempts to intercept them. Of course to give some sense of urgency, Erin reveals that the armor they all wear can only last 30 mins so they need to make its powers count when they confront the Kaiju-Sized Aradama that Yukari is trying to create, not to mention the fact Yume with her playful psychopathic nature decides to battle against Kanami on a whim. Of course, the fight comes to an abrupt halt given their limited time to take on Yukari, as Erin and Kaoru team up to fight Yume in her place to avenge their defeated comrades in Mokusa.

At this point, the episode spends it’s running time focusing on multiple fight scenes at once that often switch between a CG Cel-shaded art style and 2D Art. Given that they’re close to where Yukari is, it feels like a “Boss Rush” mode in a video game at this point, as each of Kanami’s friends are up against Yukari’s Elite Guard, with Mai and Sayaka facing the emotionless Noro-using Aradama swarm-maker Yomi, and later Kanami and Hiyori encounter Maki and Suzuka whom judging from their glowing eyes have enhanced their bodies with Noro as well, not caring where the power comes from as long as it grants them results. During the Yomi Battle, Yukina arrives with a “Join the Darkside” speech to Sayaka, but it doesn’t help Yukina’s case that she’s just physically abusing Yomi with the petty excuse that anyone who serves Yukari are required to give themselves up for her and their country, not to mention Mai even finds Yukina’s abusive attitude, quite despicable.

As Yume manages to defeat Erin and Kaoru without killing them, but the episode’s biggest highlight aside for the fight scenes, is the shows attempt to give a psycho like Yume some pathos which works if you want to dick with the audience’s preconceptions. There are fragmented flashbacks that paint a bigger picture, but delve deep into the pivotal and tragic moments in Yume’s life that lead to Yukari finding her and giving her a sense of purpose, but what caught me off guard with was the outcome as she passes out with her fate left uncertain. When we cut back to our protagonists, Kanami and Hiyori are able to defeat Maki and Suzuka, The episode ends as the two confront their proverbial “final boss”, an Aradama-enhanced, Dual-Okantana wielding Yukari.

Our Take

Damn! that was quite an intense episode. Apart from some random places where the Cel-shaded art stood out like a sore thumb, it had Some really impressive fights against the elite guard. The confrontation between Sayaka and her former master Yukina was interesting and I hope to see more of that in later episodes, but the insight into Yume’s semi-tragic past was interesting. Compared to the other guards, she seems to have some degree of honor as exemplified by her refusing to tap into aradama powers, and it’s easy to assume that she only used Noro to extend her lifespan rather than give her an edge in battle.

Next week is the showdown we’ve been waiting for. But with 13 episodes left, I’m curious if this show even has a proper ending., and will become the future of all Toji’s in this universe.