Friday 7 March 2014

Samurai Flamenco - Episode 19

It's now six months after Samurai Flamenco triumphed in his final battle, and it seems as if evil has truly been eradicated from the face of the Earth, leaving Hazama with little to do... apart from prepare to be voted as the President of the World, that is.

Indeed, things are quiet in every walk of life - Goto has little to do but deal with lost children in his job with the police, the biggest scoop journalists can hope to grab involves a kitten setting off a burglar alarm, and the most exciting news in Masayoshi's life is the fact that Goto is going on a date with his girlfriend for the first time in a year, which both men seem to be decidedly thrilled about.


Less thrilled about the whole thing is, of course, Mari, who decides to follow Goto and drags Hazama along with her for the ride.  Exactly what she plans seems indistinct, but when they arrive at Goto's family home and find themselves invited inside, the reason why Goto's girlfriend has been so mysterious from the very start becomes clear - she has, in fact, been missing for years, and Goto's coping mechanism is simply to pretend that she exists by sending messages to himself.  It's a depressing revelation for Hazama who beats himself up about the whole thing, while Mari is understandably just as upset, but perhaps Samurai Flamenco's work isn't done after all...

By its very nature, this was going to be a sedate - dull, even - episode of Samurai Flamenco, and although it had some fun moments there isn't really a whole lot to say beyond the concept of a world (if only briefly) without evil being as lacking in interest as it is implausible.  Still, at least we now have the official line about Goto's invisible girlfriend, and I'm curious to see how what looks set to be a more personal finale to the series will work when offset against the grandiose nonsense of recent weeks.  I worry that it'll make for a weak ending to the series, but then again every time I worry about Samurai Flamenco it seems to come up trumps somehow, so maybe it'll defy my expectations yet again.

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