What on earth is Root Gakuen? I mean, anime often tends to exaggerate schools and all, and this IS Phi Brain. But this episode revealed just how crazy that building actually is. Why on earth was a landing platform for helicopters installed? Were the giant metal sliding doors always there? Were the creators preparing for some nuclear war or something?
In any case, the second season just revealed how it plans to top the excellent first season: brainwashing. This is something akin to handling a double-ended chainsaw: awesome and very effective if you can get it to work, but you can just as easily slice your own fingers off. This episode established the rules for how the brainwashing works, and it has a lot to do with how the Orpheus bracelet works: by accelerating and changing the brain levels of its victims. Kaitou nearly succumbed to it, so it is plausible if you change its powers a bit.
The most important part however is that it is very much hinted that while the earrings will cause you do to things you normally would never do, there needs to be a reason for this. You can’t just go “Haha! Brainwash!”, but instead the victim will need to have a reason for getting rid of Kaitou. And that will be the key of whether this series is going to work or not. Provide interesting reasons, go deep into the characters for reasons to dislike Kaitou. Combine this with a lot of good character development.
At the very least the puzzles themselves are still interesting and haven’t lost their edge and still are very creative. The soundtrack also surprised me by being actually new, and the build-up of tension still is as good as it’s ever been. This really has the potential here.
Phi Brain, you are one of the very few series nowadays who can get 50 episodes and actually deserves it. Unlike the Jump series who drag on for way too long, you actually are using your time well and are quite balanced. This is a huge chance: now live up to it and show those endless Jump shows how a shounen adventure series is properly done!
Rating: ** (Excellent)
I’m really curious…it looks like this antagonist has a history with Kaito too…will it be as interesting as Rook? And will Rook eventually join Kaito in the fight?
I was going to compare Root Gakuen to another campus but it would spoil a currently airing anime so I’ll abstain. It wouldn’t surprise me if POG created it to monitor phi brain children, as well as a base of sort. After all there was an Orpheus bracelet here. How the puzzles are made is one of the biggest things you’d better not think about too much in Phi Brain anyway.
I really think this second season is full of potential. I’m curious about next episode where it seems Nonoha’s other friend will succomb to the brain wash, I do wonder what kind of grudge she could have against Kaito.