The reason why I was so baffled when this got a second season still stands: this show is really heading into a great ending here. Really, the series will end next week and I really would not have minded things to end this way. The only thing left now is for Rook’s final battle, and the only thing that will be left unresolved is Gammon’s storyline, who could have been easily written into this finale.
This episode really was a calm before the storm episode. And for a minute I totally forgot that this was supposed to be a shounen series. With Sato Junichi at the helm this was inevitable, but this series definitely has a ton of shoujo elements amidst the puzzle battles, and I have to say that these work really well.
Calm before the storm episodes are often boring. But really: Rook trying to have one relaxed afternoon with Kaitou just hanging out added a lot to his character. It’s a great way to flesh him out a bit right before the finale, at which he suddenly revealed that the whole “Puzzle of God” was just one huge red herring, and that it had actually already been achieved when Jin challenged Professor Pythagoras two years ago.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
I guess technically it was the calm before the storm, but I really wouldn’t call this episode calm or relaxed. It was very tense all the way through, both because Kaito was on the edge the entire time, and also because you could tell that Rook was using the “date” to set up something really big. The writing and directing were excellent all the way through, and Sakurai Takahiro (Rook’s seiyuu) did a great job with the character.
As for the second season I think it will be a new story with new bad guys. One of the POG officers (the woman?) even mentioned that with Pythagoras dead and Rook having gone bonkers the POG is pretty much over… So all is left is to deal with Rook who never really cared for the POG in the first place and only used it to get Kaito.