Blassreiter Episode 14

By: Chris Beveridge
Review Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008
Release Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008

Joseph and Xargin’s origin continues and the scope of what the two went through becomes all the more apparent.

What They Say:

Joseph is now 15 years old. He meets a young doctor who is engaged in support activities for Outsiders such as Joseph. Joseph is touched by the doctor’s belief that normal citizens and Outsiders are both creations of god and thus should be treated equally. Joseph begins assisting the young doctor’s activities when a group of mindless citizens attacks the doctor and injures him. At the hospital where the doctor is taken in, Joseph meets a woman named Sasha who is the doctor’s friend.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After the previous episode began to explore Joseph’s past, it was interesting to see how his younger days formed his mindset. That he was in such a terrible situation, an outcast no less, yet found ways to have ideals and principles and still care about others speaks volumes about his sense of what’s right and wrong. With the world against him and his family in every way, the things that happen were things that only strengthened his resolve to protect them.

In seeing how he finally falls however, it reveals a lot about where he ends up going afterwards. The introduction of Xargin at the very tail end of the last episode certainly was telling in that this episode would be about him and what he brings to the table. What’s fascinating is that at this point in time, Xargin is just as noble and altruistic as Joseph is. His arrival in the time of crisis to help out the citizens and Outsiders that are in the church is explored nicely as he follows a rather basic medical tenant of helping any and all that are in need, even in the face of adversity from fellow citizens. Xargin is pretty likable in his bright eyed and almost wet behind the ears enthusiasm as a medical intern doing good in the world.

In a way, it’s more interesting to see what Xargin does at this point in time in comparison to Joseph. Joseph is predictable in seeing how he’ll cope with events, but seeing what pushes Xargin over the edge is far more interesting. The relationship he has with Sasha is only hinted at in a way, as is what she’s really working on, and that all sets the stage for what’s to come. Unfortunately, while it is all very much expected, it’s not given the kind of exposure and impact that it should when Sasha’s research is revealed, nor is there any serious impact when it comes to Sasha’s role in events when the end of the episode roles around and we’re back to the present. At the least, these two episodes have some of the better character moments and actually works to build on things which makes them far more interesting than most anything else in the series to date.

In Summary:
My expectations for Blassreiter continue to be fairly low so maybe when they provide a pair of episodes in a row that deal with some good character material I end up being too surprised by it. Though there isn’t anything radically surprising here or done incredibly well, it’s probably some of the best material of the series so far that tells a linear story that actually gets you to connect with the characters. Joseph and Xargin are definitely interesting enough characters to see how they turned out from their origins and how those origins will affect where they are now, but they’re pieces that I wish had come much sooner in the series than it did. Like much of the show, there are decent and good ideas in here but they’re just thrown in haphazard fashion at the viewer without enough of a cohesive plotline to follow.

Features:

Japanese 2.0 Language,English Subtitles

Review Equipment:

Dell Inspiron 1720 Laptop Running Windows Vista