English Dub Review: The Bizarre Stories of Professor Zarbi “The Labyrinth”; “The Lucky Cat”

 

 

Overview:

“The Labyrinth”

In the search for a missing pizza delivery boy, Zarbi and Benjamin cross some strange characters. However, it still does not prepare them for the nightmarish labyrinth they are about to enter. Even worse, they will have to confront the hungry beast at the centre of the maze.

“The Lucky Cat”

Benjamin has been on a string of bad luck after a particularly unfortunate Friday the 13th. Before ruining any more of Zarbi’s investigations, they are going to have to obtain the luckiest charm of them all, The Lucky Cat. Regrettably, the cat’s current owner happens to be the influential leader of the Japanese mafia, the Yakuza.

 

Our Take:

The Bizarre Stories of Professor Zarbi has been treating us to all the spooky Halloween stories all year. The series premiered in English at the beginning of 2021, and now we are about to wrap up the second season. And just as the scary season approaches, Professor Zarbi has dropped its bloodiest episode yet. Prepare yourself for hundreds of limbs and heads to be cut off from their bodies.

But first, Zarbi takes on the most challenging puzzle yet, when he and Benjamin enter the Minotaur’s labyrinth. Honestly, the set-up for this piece is one of the creepiest we have seen from the show. 

The bloodied walls and mysterious maze set this episode up for some Saw themed storytelling. With countless pizza delivery boys disappearing within this maze, expectations were set for something grizzly.

Unfortunately, the reveal of the labyrinth’s resident Minotaur disappointed. The misunderstood beast was well in line with the context of the franchise. However, his arrival changes the episode’s tone into a goofy chase-about, and the story’s direction is predictable from there.

Thankfully, the night’s second episode does more than enough to make up for the former. The plot begins with Zarbi and Benjamin doing some routine pixie hunting and concludes with them standing atop a pile of dismembered human remains.

The set-up is based on Benjamin’s streak of bad luck. A series of unfortunate events are triggered by a collection of superstitious accidents happening simultaneously. Of course, Zarbi would have the ideal solution for something as troublesome as bad luck. Though it is in tune with Benjamin’s current fate that they would have to face the legendary Yakuza to get there.

This episode takes a significant turn the moment that Professor Zarbi comes into possession of the world’s luckiest charm. The lucky cat gifts the titular character with a superhuman level of fortune. The Yakuza stands no chance when facing lucky Zarbi. In fact, most of the warriors end up cutting their own body parts off, attempting to get near him.

What follows is a thirty-second clip of artistic stylings that feature the entire Yakuza murdering themselves. It is one of the best-looking moments from a series that already stands out for its creative illustrative design.

It happened much more in season one, but at times Professor Zarbi delivers a mixed pair of episodes, quality-wise. “The Labyrinth” was one of the more disappointing pieces released this year and missed out on thick potential. Subsequently, “The Lucky Cat” will stand apart as a memorably unique plot with unforgettable imagery. Thankfully, it is worth sticking it out through the former to get to the latter event.