English Dub Review: Vermeil in Gold: “Wish”

Overview: Alto (Mike Haimoto) confronts Vermeil (Monica Rial) in her drugged savagery and forever changes their relationship. 

Our Take: It is wishful thinking to believe this episode will do anything beyond what you are expecting. By all accounts, it is a formulaic, condensed and an overly fast paced climax and falling action to Alto’s conflict. Even with that, it’s like having cereal for dinner, there is not much in the way of nourishing or unique sustenance, but it gives you the late night sweet fix you are looking for. 

Alto uses the ever-reliant and ever-used power of love to talk Vermeil down from her crazed demonic state in a simple yet endearing scene for what it is. Within a blink of an eye, he nearly loses his heart in her feral stupor. Vermeil wipes the floor with Obsidian’s demonic, like the grass stain he is, with little buildup or fanfare. At the very least, the identity of his paper-powered co-conspirator intrigues along with the nature of their true allegiance. The art also gets a nice face lift with much finer details in faces and expressions with the animation serviceable. Both Vermeil and Obsidian’s demon transformations are amazingly well-designed with each hauntingly dark and menacing in their own right. 

With Vermeil and Alto now connected more closely with their respective life forces dependent on each other’s life force, it makes for a more intense and vulnerable bond between them, especially in Alto in his need of routine mana replenishing to even be alive. It creates an issue of guilt for Vermeil that only goes so far in how it is solved in no time flat. Although, the lightning pace conversely works to this element’s advantage in Alto putting the kibosh on that real quick, getting some cojones in finally sealing the deal by kissing her, proving his love to her and how important she is to him. This is a nice breakthrough in that it doesn’t take a bajillion years for him to get there with the bond they have built up (as well as it can be over the course of a couple of episodes). Hopefully, it will only continue and perhaps even extend to other aspects of his personality.