English Dub Review: RobiHachi “The Don Opens All Doors”

Fear not for whom the Don Doors, he Doors for Thee.

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Yang completes a race on Planet Tottska, where apparently racing is everything, but all he can think about is where Robby might be. On cue, they see a report on the events of Episode 4 on Odwarla. And that’s it for his part of the episode.
Meanwhile, Robby and Hatchi arrive at Haccone Gateway, the first Galaxy Highway Checkpoint. They’re quick to head on out to the rest of the galaxy but then get stopped at the gate by Kappa TSA agents (which takes on a whole new level of horror after watching Sarazanmai). Seems they need to get a travel permit before they can go any further. Luckily they’re on a planet known for its hot springs so they can at least relax while they look. Not so relaxing is the apparent fact that you can only get a travel permit from your own home planet, which is Earth, but there does turn out to be another option. An underworld boss that can give them permits, but a rumor is that meeting him leaves people feeling hollow.

This doesn’t stop Robby from chasing tail or that tail from immediately jumping over to Hatchi once they notice he’s hotter, even when he’s the only one really trying to find out more about the boss. Though things actually end up working out for Robby when he runs into a girl who has met the boss personally, though she gives the same warning about the aftereffects of meeting him, specifically that they’ll be emotionally broken once they leave. And once they finally meet the guy, they understand why: he’s a cute pink wombat who overpowers you with his cuteness! He’s also a really nice guy and gives them their permits with no charge! Too bad they didn’t need them in the end, since people going to Isekandar can leave without permits. WOMP WOMP.

OUR TAKE

This show is starting to feel more and more like a road trip with each new episode. Namely in how the first few stops felt fresh and exciting but the ones after that start to run together and become less remarkable than the last. It’s also becoming more apparent that this show’s take on other planets, while likely intentionally mundane, is starting to wear thin as a joke in and of itself. A planet of just water and fishing? Okay, that’s pretty easy to get behind. A planet of just hot springs? Well, Japan loves those and they’re a popular tourist spot in real life, so I suppose having a planet made solely of them would end up happening. A planet just for RUNNING RACES? Now you are just pulling stuff out of your collapsed star ass.

And hopefully this will be the last time I complain about this, but we once again have an example of not really using these characters to their full potential either comedically or dramatically. I understand you wanna keep Robby and Hatchi in character, so Robby’s going to think with his dick first and Hatchi’s going to just want to enjoy the sights, but that doesn’t mean that’s ALL you can do with them. I mean, that’s actually NOT all they do with them this episode as Hatchi is more focused on the task of getting the permits, but I feel like there was a considerable lack of compelling motivation to do that on either of their parts. And what’s more frustrating is that Hatchi even gets a TINY bit of character development when he hints that he’d rather not go back to Earth for some reason. This reminds me that we still don’t know that much about him despite how much we already know about Robby.

I’m also growing more worried about the utter lack of urgency in this journey that’s supposed to come to a head at Isekandar. I know it’s more about the journey than the destination so taking in the sights is a given, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much reason to go there or stay for a lot of the characters. Robby is running from loan sharks and Yang is chasing Robby because he has a crush on him, but Yang and his minions are pretty much relegated to small comedy bits so far and Robby doesn’t seem to care about being pursued much anymore. Essentially, it feels like this road trip is running out of gas.