English Dub Review: Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth “Piece 05”

Overview (Spoilers Below)
Rei discusses with Arakida regarding what Hattori told her back at the STAND HQ offices. Arakida states that while Rei is a hard worker, he agrees with the judgment. He simply sees her as nieve and would just be a burden on them.

Back at the DCD, two of the members discuss how Rei’s scouting duties for STAND have been put on hold. Rei appears to be her usual, cheerful self, but deep down she is pretty distraught about the events. Seeing this, Aoyama sits down with Rei and allows her to express her true feelings on the subject.

After their discussion, Aoyama invites Rei to his home for dinner. Once there though, it turns out this isn’t simply a way to cheer her up. Aoyama clues Rei into the research he’s done regarding two mysterious drug-related incidents. Not only does Aoyama have indirect ties to the incident via his father’s company, Rei has a multitude of connections! One incident is the very same one that sent Makoto and Kyouske’s sister to the hospital. The other incident is one that Rei witnessed herself as a child. Aoyama then reveals that the drug involved in these cases is Plus, the very same one confiscated two episodes back. Additionally, he theorizes that the Kujo family is behind Plus’ redistribution, as his family’s company were the ones to originally craft the drug.

Aoyama then surprises Rei by inviting her to collaborate on the research together. Aoyama started the research because he wanted justice, and he sees that same flame of inspiration inside Rei. Rei humbly accepts the offer.

The following day, Aoyama meets with the other DCD members to showcase his research to them. Rei apologizes for making them worry about her, but they all reassure her that they want justice for this incident just as much as she does. Additionally, the members of Revel reconfirm their alliance towards Rei, as they wish to help her out in any way they can.

The scene then shifts to Hiyama informing Kujo to stay on the low down, in fear that STAND may find out about their arrangement through researching the Anonymous case. Kujo’s bodyguards make an appearance here right after.

While at the DCD offices late at night, Rei receives an alarming message: “Don’t get involved further if you don’t want to die.”

Our Take
I seriously am getting so frustrated with this series. It’s practically the epitome of potential gone wrong. I want to like this show, it has an interesting premise! But, there’s just so many elements that are going against it that ultimately hold it back from its full potential.

My main criticism is regarding the treatment of Rei throughout. She’s consistently criticized for one thing after the one. Yet, to my eyes, she’s doing a perfectly good job. What gives? Constructive criticism is certainly an understandable and appreciated element within society. It allows oneself to grow in whatever task they’re doing. However, the criticism here seems to be largely unwarranted. It feels like it was just smashed right into the show without any reason other than to create drama. Plus, the members of STAND (or anyone for that matter) don’t really give her a chance to prove herself anyways. Thus, all of the criticism she receives honestly feels like school-yard beratement rather than a constructive attempt to help her in doing a better job. I do not understand why this show continues this at every turn. It’s pretty damn irritating and upsetting.

My other issue stems from more and more underdevelopment of several elements. To begin with, one of the DCD members mentions how Aoyama’s research may help in finding out why the government created STAND, or rather the “real” STAND. I honestly can’t remember this being brought up beforehand. It’s mindnumbing and puzzling, to say the least. Is the current iteration of STAND actually a fraud? Are the government officials secretly in on the whole Plus drug ring? Your guess is as good as mine. Additionally, aren’t STAND and the DCD basically investigating the same thing? I was under the impression they were both combating drugs, so why the hostility? What is the reasoning behind it? It leaves me so confused that I feel as though I skipped a couple episodes along the way.

Once again, more characters to keep within our collected thoughts are introduced. I seriously thought the show had steered away from the further character additions. I’ve already said my peace on this numerous times, so I’ll keep it brief. The show continues to have a quantity over quality complex in regards to its characters. I honestly couldn’t tell you the names of the DCD members other than Rei and Aoyama. Yet, they frequently appear within the series. It feels as though the show wants us to actively keep track of the entire roster of characters. This is why I cannot believe the show now has four more characters prancing around as the Kujo families’ bodyguards. I’d much rather have a small amount of characters with an abundance of development throughout then a million underdevelopment ones packed together into a sardine can.

Thankfully, once the show shifts to, you know, the focal point of the entire series, things start to pick up from there. The drug-related dramatics presented throughout was certainly interesting to follow. It captivated my inner core, wanting to know more about how things will end up. This is what the show should continue to focus on. Tone it down on the workplace dramatics and focus on the characters and their struggles to combat their common enemy: drugs.

Another positive impact this episode left on me was a bit of encouraging information. As a final note of their discussion, Aoyama tells Rei the reason behind doing his research. He feels responsible for the drug-related incidents, due to his father’s company having a bit of a role in them. Ultimately, he wishes for justice to be served. He additionally stated that he must see this through the whole way. It’s a nice reminder for viewers to continue to go the distance, move forward, and never give up. It certainly is tempting to give up, to be distraught, and to find your situation hopeless. However, persevering through your struggles is a challenge that may just be worth taking. Additionally, it’s a nice touch on how we should stand for justice in society. Fighting for what’s right can be difficult, but in the end, it can definitely be worth the effort.

For the most part, though, this episode is a genuine stinker. To be fair, the episode does have some charming moments. However, the negative elements have such a strong presence here that they overshadow the positive elements. The show has so much potential that it kills me to see it continue to lean on its bad attributes rather than focus on its good ones. Must I get down on my hands and knees for this show to start going into a better direction?