Kyouran Kazoku Nikki - Episode 7

This is the kind of problem you see on Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares all the time - A trained assassin who has decided to try his hand at being a professional chef, but just can't stop his food from killing the customers stone dead. Unfortunately, it appears that the gruff Scotsman's reach doesn't extend to Japan, instead leaving our oddball family to handle the situation - An important mission, considering they've already been banned from every other restaurant in the district.

To be honest, this felt to me a little bit like an episode of two halves. While the first half of episode seven was hardly the pinnacle of humour or anything, it was a pretty tight, well scripted and paced and altogether entertaining little episode. While the second half seemed to try and deliver more of the same, it just seemed to lose its way somehow, although I can't really put a finger on why it didn't satisfy me as much as what had come before. Once again, the importance of family was a big part of the episode's conclusion, which is certainly looking set to become a recurring theme of this series, perhaps understandably given its premise.


Perhaps the most interesting feature of this episode is that it felt a little toned down in its madness compared to some of its previous instalments, which is perhaps why its pacing and storyline felt that bit stronger throughout. This also meant that it didn't bludgeon us with too much fast-paced dialogue or over the top characterisations, which also helped in keeping everything on an even keel, particularly in the case of Kyouka who can start to grate when she monologues too much, a trait which was thankfully far less in evidence here.

Although these improvements aren't enough to raise the series beyond mediocrity in truth, it did make for a more watchable experience this time around, so if nothing else it's a step in the right direction, although I'm certainly not expecting any award-winning humour or plot from the remainder of Kyouran Kazoku Nikki.