Tokyo Ravens Episode 13
What They Say:
Harutora and Natsume struggle with telling each other their feelings while Doman mounts an attack.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Tokyo Ravens has spent the last couple of episodes working the introduction of the Suzuka character pretty heavily and I’ll easily admit it was starting to get to me. The character is decent enough overall, but the larger focus and push that we got since she got transferred into the school dominated things just too much for my taste and came across as a kid with a new toy that they really like, running it into the ground by doing so. There was some fun to be had with it, especially when it came to her relationship with Natsume, and we also got some good conversational bits between her and Harutora, but the show just felt like it was trapped in a bit of a tailspin in dealing with the character.
While things have generally been settled down for a bit and focused on character stories, we get a little more in the background about the bigger themes of the season that have not fully come to light yet. That means most of the time spent at the academy is either dealing with training aspects, things that Harutora is still struggling with, or character interaction bits that are fun since Suzuka’s getting treated the same as everyone else since they’ve all gotten closer over the months. There’s also the little background nudge tossed in as Harutora is having dreams of Hokuto and the loss that she represents, which is nicely done without being beaten over the head with it.
As the series does move on into the second half, the story involving the Twelve Generals and what they’re dealing with is continuing, but I have to find myself hard pressed to really get into it. Its been done in the shadows for so much and doesn’t feel like it’s been well planted into the larger story that it has become a completely separate story and one that has not captured my attention overall. This kind of proves to be a drag on the series, but thankfully we also get some good character stuff towards the end here as we see more of the struggle that Harutora is going through when it comes to Natsume. We’ve seen recently that he does realize there are feelings there between him and Natsume, but bringing it out and talking about it hasn’t happened and that adds a kind of somber atmosphere over part of their relationship as it stands now. Touching on that even the little it does here is actually pretty nicely done and gives a bit more weight to the series.
In Summary:
Tokyo Ravens hasn’t exactly sputtered out since I had started the whole series, but it’s at that awkward phase where it really needs to get focused and start dealing with the story again. The character side is good but it’s slim overall here and largely we get a lot of little bits that don’t really have a significant meaning here. The background/separate storyline involving the Twelve Generals is getting a bit more play, but it’s been so minimal in the last several episodes that it’s easy to forget what’s really going on there and who they are, which is why it’s good names get thrown on the screen. The show has some good stuff to work with but the execution is really starting to fall apart here and it’s leaving me more disillusioned with it.
Grade: C+
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.