English Dub Review: Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit “The Threefold Trap”

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Nijo doesn’t know the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death. From a flashback, it looks like he died sometime around the terrorist attack nine years earlier, and Ichinose either abandoned him or was somehow involved. Neither option is desirable. To this day, Nijo doesn’t trust Ichinose and longs to uncover the truth behind the whole bloody affair.

Nijo’s brooding is interrupted when he is called into the office because of a bomb threat. A division of the police called Public Safety has been profiling a mad bomber known only as “B” for a long time. They know he was involved in four bombings, but Special 7 believes him to be responsible for eleven, and suspect that he answers to the terrorist group, NINE. Unfortunately, the two departments can’t compare notes because Public Safety refuses to work with the hated Special 7.

Meanwhile, the member of NINE with the scar across his face is helping facilitate a very public bomb plot. That is, if he isn’t “B” himself. He’s in contact with the man who looks surprisingly like NINE’s leader, Warlock, whose goals are the same, even though the two men’s methods differ. Basically, Scarface wants to ignite the bombs faster.

“B” calls in two separate bombs threats, sending Public Safety and Special 7 to complete opposite sides of the city. The 7 rush to their sight, believing to have better intel because of Belle’s and Nijo’s expertise. They’re correct; however, most of the bomb squad went to assist Public Safety while the skeleton crew sent to assist Special 7 is killed by Scarface.

The team realizes they’ll have to disarm the bombs themselves. Even though the bombs aren’t very powerful, NINE is using a science called “magic”—which is just another way of saying, MAGIC—to increase the bombs’ blasts tenfold. Ichinose, Nijo, Akane, and Nanatsuki are all assigned to one of four bombs, while Belle patrols the rooftops as she studies how to deactivate them.

The plot thickens when Scarface speeds up the timers on the bombs. Also, Belle discovers that the explosives must be dismantled in a precise order. If not, they’ll all blow up at once. Ichinose, Belle, and Nijo determine what order would cause the most damage and disarm the bombs thusly—Ichinose, Nijo, Akane and finally, Nanatsuki. Ichinose rushes to help the rookie who opted to risk his life over possibly forfeiting his job. Together they get the job done, defusing the situation.

Back at the office, Nijo looks on at Ichinose with disgust as he laughs and celebrates with Nanatsuki. Across town, Scarface apologizes for his failure as he concocts a new plan to take out the Special 7 along with the entire human race.

 

Our Take

Even though this wasn’t specifically a “Nijo episode,” it provided us with some much needed insight into his character. Until now, we’ve seen him as nothing more than a policy wonk, and have gotten less of his personality than any other character. As far as tropes go, he is the reserved, quiet type, and now we know the catalyst for his behavior. To be clear, an introvert doesn’t need a dark backstory to justify his behavior, but, c’mon guys, this is TV.

Last week, I couldn’t contain my excitement over meeting Belle’s pet dragon. Based on the opening credits—and the constant mention of NINE’s connection to dragons—that’s exactly what I thought her little white companion was. However, it turns out that little guy isn’t a dragon, and he doesn’t even belong to Belle! It’s a drone designed by Boss that looks like a lizard, has the ability to fly, and it can even spit fire. So… it has all the components of being a dragon without actually being a dragon. I don’t know how to feel about that.

Today was a big step forward for Special 7, or at least for our perception of them. It’s now crystal clear that the other departments are a bunch of asses who couldn’t be more wrong about our heroes. They are doggedly noble, which was perfectly illustrated when they faced off against those intimidating bombs and magic pentagons.

They each had the opportunity to turn tail and save their own lives instead of trying to defuse a series of bombs set to explode in less than half an hour. Fleeing would have cost them their jobs, but the other option was death, so it wasn’t much of a choice. Nanatsuki summed it up best by putting all his pride into the purity of the police. While many cops don’t adhere to the rookie’s proclamation, he was one hundred percent correct. Police are meant to protect the lives of others, not the other way around. It’s their lives that should constantly be on the line, not the lives of citizens, because that’s what they signed up for.

This little cop show just got real, and they’re not pulling any punches. If you weren’t rooting for the Special 7 in the first two episodes, nobody can blame you. But if you aren’t behind them now, I don’t think you understand this show.