Here's Flashman getting back to some of that quirky humor that was prevalent in the earlier episodes, highlighting just what a unique, literally out-of-this-world group of characters we have in this show. There are two upcoming episodes that are much wackier, but this one sets the stage for those ones. I'll get into it more with those episodes, but I'll just say that Flashman has a really unique sense of humor; it really swings and goes for it when it wants to do comedy and it's a special kind of zany comedy, but never stupid.
Continuing the style of the last episode, this one's a lighter, kid-friendly summer adventure/vacation type of episode. The villain plot of this episode is a bit of a throwback to '70s tokus, I feel, in that Mess is targeting children and trying to turn them into child soldiers. It's a scenario many a toku have attempted with varying results. Some shows have played it straight to the point where it comes across a little hokey. Some shows don't take it seriously, which undermines the threat it's supposed to represent. Flashman does a good enough job at making you recognize the heroes' dilemma, their hesitance to fight these kids. I think its success in that has to do with the fact that they take this scenario -- wee soldiers is a little unintentionally goofy, it must be said -- and they distract you from noticing potential absurdity of THAT situation by wrapping it with some *intentionally* out-there comedy from another situation. And they manage to ground it and make it resonate by focusing on one of the kids who escapes brainwashing, seeing all of her friends fall victims to it.
An undercover Neferu lures kids into a scenario in which she'll have any of their wishes granted. What they're doing is placing their hand on the horn of the latest Beast Soldier as they make the wish; the monster, its horn, is what grants the wish. Weisenheimers have asked "If Mess has something like this, which can grant any wish, why not use it in bigger ways?" As in, wish for the Flashman to die. Well, I'm here to poke holes in that question. We see wishes for items and material things granted, but not much else. Maybe there's a limit to what the monster is able to grant. Also, I think you could very simply chalk this up to Keflen's ego. He's more interested in showing what he's capable of doing, the lifeforms he "creates." I could see him getting a kick out of taking something that has a power that many would like -- here, the ability to have anything you dream of made real -- and using it in a kind of small way. It's just a bonus feature of his creation, a mere quirk; in his mind, he's capable of doing even better. Only a puny human would value this silly little ability of the Beast Soldier.
As a kid makes a wish, the symbol that marks Neferu's face appears on them; they're giving something of themselves in order to get their wish, ending up under Mess' control. This episode has more of a supernatural flair than you expect from this show, but it fits in with the classic old "summertime ghost story" style this (and certainly the next episode) is going for.
Anyway, Neferu's luring and mind-washing of the kids is quickly ended by the Flashman, with the Beast Soldier losing its horn in the skirmish. The Flash guys chase after Mess, while Sara and Ruu stay behind. Sara's still holding onto the monster's detached horn, kinda unaware, as she notes the bloody knee Ruu got in the fight, wishing for some bandages. And then suddenly, out of nowhere...Ruu's wound is cleaned and bandaged! Once they get over their surprise and realize what they have in their hands, a fun little sequence ensues of the two wishing for whatever pops into their heads -- beginning with refreshments after the battle!
Some present day critics will probably slam this scene as being sexist somehow -- the girls wishing for clothes and food or showing the intelligent Sara acting "stupid" -- but it's good-natured, it's all in good fun. And I think it also plays into the Flashman's stunted growth, just how young they remain at heart, how they take pleasure in the small things in life. I love when they wish for food, and sit down to dig in, only for the Flash guys to return and get a glimpse of what they've been up while they were chasing after Mess, only to have Sara wish for her and Ruu to be taken to an amusement park to escape a scolding. And so it happens, with Korakuen Amusement Park making its THIRD appearance in Flashman.
When our heroines hear from Mess that the detached horn is only capable of granting seven wishes, the two tally up the stuff they requested only to realize they have one more remaining. Regretting some of that frivolous stuff they asked for, they realize at the same moment they could have wished to see their mother. Our heroes are kind and selfless and each want the other to have that wish, but they're...interrupted by a kid! A young girl, who was at Neferu's Brainwashorama earlier, tracks them down with Neferu's urging. She was just about to make her wish as the Flashman broke up the scene, so Sara and Ruu feel like they owe it to the girl to make her wish, which is for friends. They hesitate only because Magu contacts them and tells them of the kids being marked and taken control of, which the Flashman had been unaware of up to this point.
(Sara and Ruu both wonder why they haven't fallen into Mess' trap, with Sara coming to the conclusion that the brainwashing must only work on kids. I guess you shouldn't question the hero, who is saying the writer's words, but I think a better explanation is because they were using the horn once it was detached from the monster. If the monster uses his ability to control people through ESP, and we know the power diminishes once it's detached -- since Keflen warns of a limited amount of wishes being left, and the possibility that the monster will lose its mental abilities -- well, doesn't that seem more likely?)
The kid is likable and sincere and pitiful, even when she brattily grabs the horn out of Sara's hand and flees to make her wish. But then you feel bad for her because just as she's finishing her request, Neferu grabs the horn out of HER hand and sends it back to the monster. And Neferu takes real delight in it.
Once the day is saved, Sara and Ruu return to the girl, and connect with her, telling her they know what it's like to not have friends growing up. (And, boy, do they know.) She perks up once she hears the two offer to be her friends, but just then Jin and the others return with the kids who were saved from this whole ordeal, and they all enjoy a day at the amusement park. She found the friends she was looking for by sharing this whole traumatic experience with them, but it's a genuine bond, not forced as a result of magic. So, it's a lesson-learnin' episode, there are no shortcuts to what you want. But as far as lesson-learnin' episodes go, it's a fun one, one that has equal parts wackiness and genuine heart.
And, see, that's what so many of the new shows miss. They avoid being genuinely emotional out of fear of being "cheesy," so it's just 100% goofery without any sort of emotional foundation.
Neferu Disguise Watch: When luring the kids, she's dressed as what one of the books describes as a "Greek goddess."
I do like this approach to the “summer ghost story” episode, using it as a way to explore Keflen’s creativity and the psychological impact of being raised within the Flash system (i.e., wishing to live out childhood desires). It’s good to see that character development doesn’t take a back seat to the fun of the episode, especially when the message is a decent one.
ReplyDeleteThe brainwashed children plot could have been far more intense in a darker episode, perhaps triggering flashbacks to the team’s capture by the Alien Hunters and fears about what Keflen could have done to them. However, it’s well-adapted into the light-hearted tone of this part.