Yozakura Quartet - Episode 11

After "Blob Monster-gate" in the last episode of Yozakura Quartet, I was hoping for better fare this time around, and although said blob baddies did reappear again in this episode this penultimate instalment wasn't all that bad on the whole.

With Hime still laid up in a hospital bed, despite her protestations, it's up to the rest of the gang to save the town, which they plan to do by splitting in to two groups - One to find Enjin, and the other to deal with any demons that appear in town until they do. It's the latter group that sees those blob monsters reappear, although given my dislike for them seeing one hit by a big lamp-post was actually strangely satisying, before their attentions move on to more important matters in the form of Eiji, who proves to be as formidable an opponent as ever.


On the other side of the story, Ao finally manages to find Enjin - Hanging around at Tokyo Tower of all places. Cue the creation of a giant rail-based artillery gun to shoot at Enjin, and to Hell with blowing up Tokyo Tower (which always seems to get a rough ride in anime - Do the Japanese really hate it that much?). This assault causes Enjin to return, just in time to meet the back to full health Hime, who even has herself a new weapon to swing around (and a magically restored scarf too), leaving us with a pretty run-of-the-mill and expected face-off for the series' big climax.

I've mentioned earlier in this series that Yozakura Quartet doesn't always look entirely comfortable with "doing" action-packed, and this episode did indeed veer from the ridiculous to the sublime - I know I should be trying to suspend my logic and disbelief for a show like this, but long-range attacks on Tokyo Tower and the subsequent jump from Tokyo to wherever this town is location seemed a little ridiculous, and pushed things just a little too far despite me being more than happy (and actually quite impressed) to see cars being thrown around and ripped asunder by bare fists. Oh, and Enjin had to go and go the generic "Ha ha! I'm a crazy evil guy, look at me!" laugh, which never fails to get my eyes a'rollin'. Still, even with moments like that which make me giggle at the ridiculousness of it all, and despite the fact that the wider "moral" of this series has lost its way a bit, I still continue to hold a little candle for this series (although it has run short of wick in the past week or two) mainly on account of its main characters, who somehow charm me even when they're carrying out some generic anime action or being a bit dim. Come on, who doesn't want to give Ao a hug and some warm milk?