Wizard Barristers - Episode 3

This week's episode of Wizard Barristers begins with some unpleasant memories for Butterfly Law Offices' Hachiya, as he recalls a case with ended in the death penalty for his client.

This nightmare proves to be a particularly prescient one too - having served as the prosecutor in that case who successfully argued for the defendant to receive the death penalty, he now finds himself in a new role as a wizard barrister, but faced with the girlfriend of the defendant in that case, who is now herself accused of murder.  Although this woman argues that she was simply showing off her powers, once it comes to light that her victim was the boss of her boyfriend and the ultimate cause of him being arrested this is quickly thrown into doubt.

However, with Hachiya serving as barrister, and with Cecil as his assistant, it's his job to make the argument that this connection is mere coincidence with no evidence to back up any stronger link - an argument that is easily won in the absence of any proof to the contrary.  This isn't the end of the matter however, as the accused Mayu Saotome has seemingly made a pact with Hachiya that will allow them both to come to terms with the events that haunt them - a pact that sees Hachiya release Mayu and her powers so that she can get her revenge on him.  This quickly backfires when it becomes clear that Saotome's thirst for vengeance runs deeper than Hachiya alone, and it's left to others to intervene in the courtroom before a bloodbath ensues.

Overall, this was a pretty compelling yet decidedly odd little episode of Wizard Barristers - it introduced Hachiya's character well and built on Cecil's personality, back story and abilities decently, but it was hard to really get into the swing of its story of guilt and revenge thanks to the way everything was played out within the courtroom in a way that eventually defied belief.  Of course, this is a show with magic and wizards so Law & Order it ain't, but I still felt like the story could have been built more effectively (and slowly over multiple episodes perhaps) in a different fashion.  Still, the show remains eye-catching and pretty unique in its ideas, so I'm certainly still enjoying it, but I do wonder if it needs to be a little more measured in the episodic aspects of its story-telling.