English Dub Review: Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth “Piece 03”

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)
A group of DCD members head over to a drug bust to pick up test samples for an unknown drug. Meanwhile, Rei heads out with Arakida to meet with the next candidate for STAND, Makoto Tsuzuki. However, their meeting does not go smoothly, as Makoto declines, sighting his distrust for narcs.

Back at DCD headquarters, Rei and the other members discuss a drug found earlier, now named Plus. The drug previously originated 10 years prior and is now resurfacing within their world. Other than that though, the drug is essentially a mystery. Rei then asks the head of the group if she can be of any service, but the head turns her down due to her obligations as a STAND recruiter.

Discouraged but not one to give up, Rei heads back to Makoto’s place for another meeting with him. Unfortunately, she runs into a bit of drama between Makoto and Kyouske, Makoto’s brother and potential STAND candidate. With the meeting in shambles, Rei heads out and has a chat with Kyouske instead.

Later that night, Rei discovers that the two siblings also have a sister, one who is unfortunately in the hospital currently. The next day, Rei goes to visit their sister. She learns from Kyouske (who came in right after Rei) that their sister was a part of a horrible car accident 16 years prior, thanks in part to a suspect who was overdosing on drugs. She also learns that the narc who investigated the case left it nearly unsolved, thus the reasoning behind Makoto’s distrust for narcs.

Later, Rei heads back to her home and researches unsolved drug cases. She stumbles on the Anonymous Case that Keita discussed with her in the episode prior and uncovers more information regarding it. Thanks in part to these discoveries, she realizes how the potential STAND candidates all have ties to drug-related cases.

The following day, Rei visits Makoto again, only to find him ill from exhaustion. Due to a favor that Kyouske asked Rei to do for Makoto, she accidentally stumbles upon Makoto’s manuscript for his next novel, a children’s adventure novel.

Later that day, Kyouske arrives, with Rei telling him to have Makoto hold off on the STAND proceedings. Kyouske then surprises Rei by suggesting her to pick him for STAND, deducing that he was also a candidate.

Our Take
I’m honestly not entirely sure how to feel about this episode, surprisingly enough. Don’t get me wrong, the first half felt like the same old crap the show’s been pulling. More characters added to the roster, a plot dedicated to just meeting more characters, etc. However, the second half certainly felt enhanced by a compelling, natural-flowing dramatic experience and a deep dive into the drugs lurking within their world.

Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. I started to realize something while viewing this episode, and to my surprise, the show itself seemed to also start to realize this fact at the same time. While walking towards their meeting, Rei says this to Arakida: ‘Is it common for the police to ask novelists and actors to aid them in their investigations? It seems odd to me.’ The quote is one large jab at the series for continuing to funnel in candidates that are crafted for one purpose: to be attractive to viewers of the series.

The show glamorized candidates that are of high status and prosperity, rather than individuals who may be more qualified to take on such positions. While these characters may have some development that showcases them as normal, every-day people with troubles, it’s still hard to separate the fact that they’re just high-class individuals who probably shouldn’t be working in official police matters. And when even the show starts to question this, you know it’s an issue.

My other main criticism thus far is the formulaic nature of the series. Rei meets with candidates, they disapprove of her at first, they come around by show’s end due to something Rei does, end of show. Not to mention the fact that the show always seems to have to criticize Rei for something. It’s usually so minute that it shouldn’t really be worth discussing. There’s so much repetition in these episodes that it makes it hard to be excited by anything within. When you know how the story is going to inevitably unfold each time, it just makes for an uninteresting watch.

That being said, the second half did provide some charming moments. I was compelled by the relationship between the siblings in this episode. Each of them truly cared for each other, despite going through some rough patches in life. I truly felt bad for the sister’s situation as well. It really hits home how drugs can inevitably change an innocent person’s life for the worst.

The way Kyouske cared for his brother was an additional piece of enjoyment for me. It was really interesting seeing just how much he cares for his brother. He continually makes sure Makoto is doing well for starters. He additionally tries to discuss the reasoning behind Makoto’s rash actions during the episode. The relationships built here reminded me of the one between Tanjiro and Nezuko in fellow anime Demon Slayer. While perhaps not as well constructed as that relationship, the relationship between the siblings still has its merits.

As mentioned before, this episode finally starts to dive deeper into the drugs that are affecting their world. I was intrigued by how so many plot points from prior episodes came together to create quite an intriguing mystery. It makes my brain wonder how these mysterious circumstances will end up unfolding and affecting the main cast. The episode could have been spent more time with the drugs, but this is certainly a good start.

One thing I was surprised about but appreciated was the commentary regarding Makoto and his novels. During the start of the episode, Rei finds Makoto essentially wishing to retire from his career due to unknown reasons. By the episode’s end, however, Rei discovers that this isn’t actually the case. He just wants to write about what interests him, rather than what society expects him to write about. While he cares for and wishes to satisfy his reader base, he ultimately wants to create literature that is of interest to himself.

The above piece of the episode provides an interesting commentary on how we as a society tend to expect too much out of famous people as a whole. We tend to put what we want first, rather than thinking about the creative visionary’s desires. We want more of the same material that we enjoyed the first go-around. We’d rather have that than allowing ourselves to accept the author’s right to experimentation. Authors are regular people just like you and me, and they deserve the right to focus on new, exciting paths rather than continuing to tread the beaten path of old.

Overall, the first-half honestly made me want to tear my hair out at times. However, the second-half really impressed me with the amount of deep insight and compelling story presented throughout. If the series incorporates more of these elements into future episodes, then I might just start to enjoy this series a whole lot more.