Sunday 16 November 2008

Yozakura Quartet - Episode 7

It's festival time in Yozakura Quartet, with the entire town celebrating the sacred tree which protects them from evil. This once again allows us to enjoy the friendship and camaraderie of the main characters as they work towards and enjoy the festival itself, although the post-festival party ends up becoming arguably just a little too enjoyable once the water starts flowing.


Yes, I said water - Apparently (although this makes no sense in any practical terms, but I digress) water is to demons what alcohol is to humans. Thus, when that water gets flowing at the party, everyone ends up thoroughly drunk... Aside from poor old Akina that is, who (human that he is) enjoys no benefits from the water and has to put up with everyone else's drunken antics.

Amusing though this is, the whole festival plot is really nothing more than a side dish to the main course of the episode, which sees Genjin taking Ao hostage (making every use of the fact that he's stolen her brother's body for his nefarious ends) and calling out her friends to meet him, building up to what is looking likely to be a pretty action-centric episode next time around. Just what is he planning for Ao? Indeed, what is planning to do with Hime and company? Cliffhangers being what they are, we'll have to wait and see.

While I've praised the feelings of community and friendship engendered by Yozakura Quartet over the action within its main story arc thus far throughout this series, things are finally really starting to get interesting within the main Enjin plot, to the point where it's beginning to feel like a proper part of the story rather than a simple distraction from the fun side of the series. Having said that, there's still much to be said for the more light-hearted aspect of the show, with the water-fuelled drunkeness on show this time around vaguely amusing in its own right, while all of the mian characters remain very much likeable in their own way. Still, with a potentially action-packed episode on the way, I'm curious to see how this series can handle such a 'pressure', given that its livelier moments haven't always worked out so well in entertainment terms previously.

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