The Tower of DRUAGA - the Aegis of URUK - Episode 06 (of 13)

By: Chris Beveridge
Review Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Release Date: Friday, May 09, 2008



What They Say
Jil and his party encounter another party that has practically been wiped out in a fierce battle against the ogres. There they manage to rescue an aged warrior called Gigi who was an acclaimed Guardian of the past. They take Gigi to a camping area on the way but are unable to take a moment of rest as they are plagued by one jam after another. One of the party members has a wallet pick-pocketed while a heated argument erupts between Coopa and Melt. In the end, reconciliation seems out of the question as Coopa, disgusted by her petulant master, decides to leave the party to be on her own!

The Review!
A bit of a side story to do some character building, The Tower of Druaga - the Aegis of Uruk - truly finds its balance in playing the lighter and more serious material.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As The Tower of Druaga - the Aegis of Uruk - move up to just around the halfway mark, the story takes a bit of a breather to let some of the characters just play around a bit. The previous episode focused on nobody in particular as they went through the various traps within the tower but this one decides to cast its focus more on Coopa with a healthy dash of Melt as well considering their relationship. While I would have preferred to see more of the actual main plot progressing, the episode does cement Coopa as a more likable character than I would have thought at first.

The storyline for this episode is fairly standard in that we have Jil and his group coming across the remnants of another party that got decimated with only one member left. The elderly man named Gigi is thankful for their help and takes them back to his village where they get a bit of rest and food to recuperate as thanks. This actually turns a different way once it gets going though as Coopa and Melt have a bit of a falling out as she's chiding him for his ways and he thinks she doesn't do anything helpful at all. It all starts over a choice of food, but it's never the catalyst that's the issue, it's just an excuse. In front of the rest of the party and before they realize what's going on, Melt's fired her and she's headed off on her own.

Coopa ends up with Gigi's grandson as she comes across him after she leaves and she sort of latches onto him as her new project to take care of. He certainly needs it since he's a bit brash and foolhardy, but he has that kind of earnest youthfulness to him that you can't help but like even when he's being blindingly stupid. The pair end up in enough trouble out in the Tower that they find themselves on the run and trying to make their escape using the talents that they do have. It's a simple piece in this regard but it's light and fun even when it turns mildly dark and menacing, mostly because you just know that they're going to make it out okay. While I won't be surprised if someone does die in the series at some point, I have that feeling it won't be until it's closer to the end of the show.


In a way, The Tower of Druaga - the Aegis of Uruk - does feel like it's treading water a little for a show that's this short. The previous episode was fairly self contained and without much mainline plot, though it did touch on Jil and Neeba's past in a very good way. This one doesn't have anything redeeming like that, though it does firm up the relationship between Melt and Coopa as it plays out. The problem is that the show has a decent sized cast now but the core members, or the ones I want to see more of, are getting a bit overshadowed by the ensemble aspect of it. Ahmey, Jil and Kaaya are all taking a relative back seat here with only Jil really getting anything decent with a bit of training from Gigi as they go out in search of his grandson an Coopa. I want to see more of those characters, but it's little surprise that Coopa is getting more time since she's a draw for the audience.

In Summary:
While this has been a relatively weak episode in the series, The Tower of Druaga - the Aegis of Uruk - still has been quite the enjoyable ride. Even a weak episode in the show is a welcome thing considering how much fun it's been overall. The interplay among the group is one of the better aspects of the show and it's still finding its balance as the ensemble aspects gets normalized. The visual design of the series remains very appealing and the opening sequence alone has me wondering what the end gag of all this may be. Just about every episode so far has had me smiling and interested in it, especially as it's evolved from an outright comedic piece to a more serious series and then to one finding the balance between the two. The Tower of Druaga - the Aegis of Uruk - has left me wanting to rewatch the show already and hoping to see a good high definition version of it someday to experience it in much better quality.

Features
Japanese 2.0 Language,English Subtitles

Review Equipment
Dell Inspiron 1720 Laptop Running Windows Vista