Oh, this series is sure shaping up to be an awesome one. I had a few doubts as this episode started that it wouldn’t live up to the other episodes of this show so far, but as the ending credits rolled I really had to this back: this episode knew exactly what it was doing.
I really like the approach when it comes to the random stories of this series: at first, it shows the people from the Mafia from a sympathetic sight. It shows that even though these guys are thugs and don’t hesitate to kill if they want, they are also human beings with a family… only for them to get killed off mercilessly by Phantom in the end. El Cazador in comparison was much more of a travel series, in which the lead characters move around and meet different people, while the early episodes of Noir were more about why the targets were ordered to be killed in the first place, since the two lead characters were freelance assassins, rather than being employed by one particular mafia-gang like the lead characters of Phantom are. I can’t comment on how Madlax did it since I haven’t seen it yet.
Throughout the largest part of the episode, it felt like the parts were swapped, and the mafia boss instead was the lead character of this episode. Eins and Zwei really were portrayed as the bad guys this time, and that‘s something you don’t see very often. And at the same time we also get a pretty good idea of how powerful Inferno actually is: even without Phantom, they have excellent security, and prevent any information about them from being leaked out in order to stay into obscurity.
It’s also interesting how Ein and Zwei are basically mirroring each other at some points. Ein has that strange scientist while Zwei has McCunnen, and with both we see at least some hints that whenever one of them is with them, the other one is waiting for them. Just how they exactly feel about each other still is a mystery, though.
Did Zwei spend the night with McCunnen at the end?
By the preview it looks like next episode will be full of action.I’m looking forward to it.
The show is definitely keeping it up, this was some good material.
Only the McCunnen-Zwei…”interaction” was present in the game, the dialogue for the scene was actually very similar, but the rest of the episode was still true to its spirit and showed what Inferno is capable of.
I felt bad for the obviously sympathetic mafia boss and his family though.
The most awesome episode this season!
Interesting meeting between Zwei and McCunnen, huh? Was that two possible times, or is this a guessing game? Regardless, the rest of the episode was really good. The portrayal of the recurring characters as the bad guys is definitely a rare occurrence within any form of entertainment. The presence of humanity within the mob boss was also an interesting touch, instead of having bloodthirsty savages. It also became apparent that Zwei is becoming desensitized to killing, as seen with the mother and child. Also, why did Ein have a momentary lapse? Is something on her mind or was it that she’s thinking more while on the job? Definitely the best episode so far.
Okay, you need to drop whatever you are doing and go watch Madlax. You can’t claim being a fan of BeeTrain before you do that.
I had the feeling that Ein is becoming attracted to Zwei, but she’s saying he’s scary… ah well.
I thought the mafia incompetence in this ep is particularly facepalm worthy. In fact, it’s as horrible as the “strategy” in Valkyria Chronicles. What’s up with that meeting place with that convenient brick wall out of nowhere for McCunnen and her bodyguard to hide. Those mafia’s definition of “the safest place” is just stupid. They never check for sniping spots? Have they ever heard of bullet proof glass? Heck, shouldn’t they learn that places with windows are bad for security? That’s the textbook basic. They could at least choose underground room with no windows for negotiation.