It’s a delicate time for Bucchigiri, that’s for certain. When madcap and zany shows settle down and start peddling the plot. It makes sense that with Kishimoto Taku (91 Days) writing that would happen, because he’s very good at plot. But not every series can successfully navigate that transition. I like this one a lot, but I do find that I enjoyed the first two full-bore episodes more than the last two more contained ones. That’s not to say I’m disinterested in the story (and the twist), but that side of the show still has work to do in fully winning me over.
That said, there are no visible signs of the reported chaos in the production (yet). And while I haven’t made note if it yet, the soundtrack by the wonderful Oshima Michiru adds so much to the atmosphere. While things haven’t really moved that much with Arajin (which may be why some viewers have issues with him) there is progress in other areas. Matakara is checking off the days until his older brother Mitsukuni – the former leader of Minato Kei – comes home from juvie. The two rival gangs are headed for war, and Matakara sets himself to stopping it at any cost. But he gets no help from Arajin, who’s totally giving him the cold shoulder.
I still don’t know what’s going on there, really. Matakara seems relentlessly and totally earnest and incapable of deceit, so it’s hard to know what he could have done to so alienate Arajin that he shuns him to this day. I get that Arajin is a selfish kid in a very normal teenage way, but he doesn’t seem malicious – what the hell happened here? In any event having failed on that score, Matakara turns to Mahoro to try and get her to convince her brother to stop the hostilities. And while initially resistant, she gives in when she hears he has an onii-chan he loves too (though perhaps not in the same way). She turns her charms on Arajin, but he proves to be pretty useless in trying to change Marito’s mind.
Of course, we know that the NG Boys’ Shindo Akutarou is the one behind all this. Superficially the reason is apparently that he got kicked out of Minato Kei and is looking for revenge. We also find out that he whupped Minato’s Zabu-kun for his armband to cast suspicion on them, and the latter has been too embarrassed to admit it. But when Arajin and Senya merge and deal Shindo some pain, we learn the real truth behind the plot – Shindo has a djinn of his own, Ichiya. And Ichiya has a history with Shinya. Whether that info will lead to a cessation of hostilities is yet unclear, but it seems likely to be the main plot driver for the rest of the series.
The post Bucchigiri – 04 appeared first on Lost in Anime.
