Friday, 10 June 2016

Space Patrol Luluco Episode 11 Review

Spirit of Justice
(This review contains spoilers!)

          After last week’s rather dark episode, we got a suitably dark continuation, with Luluco winding up in Hell of all places after her heart was shoplifted by Nova.

          One of the first things you’ll notice about this episode is that they pulled the Erased trick of removing the main character from the intro after something tragic happens to them. Although it’s still full of bright colours and happy music, without Luluco the opening seems almost empty in a strange way. I can’t really explain why, but it works.

          Onto the actual episode, I really liked the muted tones and warped landscapes we saw from Hell. It looked more like something you’d see in Madoka Magica than Space Patrol Luluco. The folks over at Studio Trigger really know how to set a scene. I’ve been binge watching Kill la Kill recently as I’ve wanted to see more of their work, and I’ve been enjoying it profusely. But that’s a discussion for another day.

          Sadly, the actual content of the episode doesn’t really work. Luluco meets up with someone who looks a lot like Marvel’s Ghost Rider (upon research, he’s apparently from an anime called Inferno Cop), and the two of them have a lengthy chat about how justice will never die and how Luluco still has a chance.

          This is all fine and good, but with only 8 minutes per episode, including the intro and ending songs, it can’t help but feel like it’s a little too much, especially for what is most likely the penultimate episode of the season.

          Their discussion is light on the jokes and absurd humour Luluco is so well known for, aside from a few choice lines (“Don’t call me that! I’m only 21!”). While this is befitting the Hell setting, and the absurd humour did start to get a little tired after the third arc skidded to an unceremonious halt, I found myself missing it.

          However, as is usually the case, the last minute or so of the episode is just as absurdly hilarious as you’d want. As Luluco takes the subway staircase back to life, she vows to confess her feelings to Nova, and then arrest him. She then literally explodes back into the world, interrupting the Chief’s truly moving song composed for her.

          It’s a shame that there’s only one episode left of this show, as there really isn’t anything else like it out there. We can always hope for a Season 2, but for now, it’s kind of sad. And while this wasn’t the greatest lead-up to the grand finale, it still held its own just fine.

          Plus, it was still better than the mafia sharks episode. So there’s that.

FINAL SCORE
7/10

Good

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