English Dub Review: Shikizakura: “Dearest Wish/Mother”

Overview: Ryo (Jeremy Gee) must battle his demons in more ways than one as he takes on the Shinji that changed his life forever. 

Our Take: Often with this series, it steeps much too deep into generic superhero territory without much of any originality or substance, albeit a few intimate moments with characters aside. However, this time around I’m delighted to say, at the very least, it managed some twists and turns I was not expecting based on what has been a very predictable roadmap to read thus far. 

With a dangerous Shinji on the loose and after Oka, Ryo’s mind should be focused on protecting the young shrine maiden. However, when it comes to light that it is the same creature that killed his father, that all changes. Ryo’s father’s death scene isn’t spectacular for how much it focuses on the righteous duty of Ryo rather than any legitimate grief that comes with his father dying. But where this episode truly shines is how and where you truly begin to feel for the character is when the development of his mother in that she was never really alive, since her husband died, and actually a Shinji in disguise all along. This acts as a strong catalyst for his self-discovery, albeit for one that is contained to one episode, but, just as importantly, a good show of faith too in that the narrative is willing to put our characters through hell without softening the blow with a retcon later for a happy ending.  

This episode, surprisingly, also helps alleviate issues I previously had about Kakeru too. The chipper boy’s motivation always seemed superficial and underdeveloped in merely acting as a means to get him to become a part of the Oka’s team and take on Oni, without much complexity or thought. However, Kakeru’s heart-to-heart with Ryo acts as a slightly deeper understanding into what  inspired him with Ryo, Kaeda and the others heroic actions helping him understand what he wanted to do. The CG battles also continue to be pretty fun with cool dynamic shots and decently fluid moving models. Leaving on a cliffhanger, for the first time ever, I’m genuinely interested in seeing how they close the story, especially with Ryo’s suffering and if they can end with the same great weightiness the show has begun to establish with this arc.