I suppose “BRATATAT MOM” is going to be a very good acid test of where you stand on Kekkai Sensen & Beyond. From one perspective it might just be yet another place-holding, one-off episode focused on a second-tier member of Libra – further evidence of the decline and fall of Blood Blockade Battlefront in its second season. But from another it could be seen as evidence of a deeper, more human version of the series – one which takes something grand and scattered and distills it down to something focused and emotionally relatable.
I don’t guess it’s going to be any mystery which side of the divide I fall on. The highest praise I can pay to “BRATATAT” is that it put me in mind of “Cats, Girls and Spaceships”, the finest episode of Outlaw Star and for my money one of the finest anime episodes ever produced. No, this wasn’t that good but it was pretty great, and there’s more to the comparison than simply a thematic link. This was, in a word, timeless – it felt like anime of ten or twenty years ago, as if it could have been an episode of Outlaw Star or Cowboy Bebop. It’s hard to imagine this ep not coming from Bones (or its parent, pre-schism Sunrise). Bones is an old-school studio, Nightow an old-school mangaka, Takayanagi something of an old school director. This was Kekkai Sensen in all its retro glory.
Speaking only for myself, I’m enjoying the process of learning about the human side of these Libra characters – I always appreciate it when a series acknowledges that everyone has a story to tell, not just the main characters. I don’t think we knew K.K. was a mom before this ep, but I had no trouble slipping into the moment because of how well it was presented. K.K. obviously can’t tell her two sons what she does for a living, but that just makes it that much harder that she has to miss so much of their childhood because of her work. Her older son’s resignation is almost more painful to her than the open resentment expressed by the younger, Kane (Sanpei Yuuko).
The scenes in K.K.’s house were great – the interaction between she and her sons and husband was totally natural. I love that there’s a great deal implied about each of them and their relationship to each other here, important even if we never get the chance to further explore it on-screen. K.K. is clearly very important to Libra – I think we knew that already from the first season, but Steven makes it obvious that her absence in a difficult mission (against the crime syndicate Argento) is going to put the rest of them at risk. But K.K. is tired of missing parents’ day at school, and Kane is tired of broken promises.
The kicker here – and what really brought home the memories of “Cats, Girls and Spaceships” – is that the Blood Breed Steven and his team are facing off against is actually the father of one of the students in Kane’s class (the girl he seems to like, no less). I’m not sure how that works, exactly – whether he’s simply controlling a battle suit remotely, and for that matter that Blood Breeds could have seemingly human children – but it seems as if this one is genuinely the girl’s father, and that he genuinely cares for her. That makes things considerably more complicated for K.K., who’s already trying to do her part for the team at a distance without letting Kane know that something is afoot.
Again, all of this like something plucked out of time in a way only Bones seems able to manage these days, and I loved it. As for Blood Blockade Battlefront, I think it represents a real confirmation of why this season is a triumph – it’s become something totally different from the first without losing the essence of what makes this series what it is. It and Bones are proving her that one can move forward without abandoning the greatness of the past, and that one can look backward without losing sight of the road ahead. If only every studio and every series could do the same.
sonicsenryaku
December 9, 2017 at 5:59 pmit’s stuff like this that reminds me why Bones is one of my favorite anime production studios ever. Bones has been doing it big as of late and i can’t be any happier with the success they are seeing as of late. With season 3 of academia around the corner plus a movie, the bungou stray dogs film being imminent, their new show A.I.C.O being completed practically 8 months before airing (when do you usually hear that within the anime industry), mob psycho 100 productions coming left and right (it’s only a matter of time before season 2 gets announced and let me tell you boys and girls, Kameda and Tachikawa were just getting warmed up with season 1), and more along the way. It seems that Bones has truly found their foothold in this modern anime sphere without betraying the ideals they set for themselves during their inception: to take risks and to embrace creativity and authenticity. Even though some anime production companies have become derivative with their content throughout the years, Bones has continued to try and evolve as a studio; they remember and understand what makes anime great and I’m glad to see them continuing the success they seem to be riding as of late. From a business model viewpoint, they seem to have improved their production infrastructure even more than what it was originally and are churning out more work. I really hope we get that mob psycho season 2 announcement really soon.
Guardian Enzo
December 9, 2017 at 6:41 pmI agree with everything you say except your confidence of a MP S2 announcement soon – That may happen, or it may be a good while yet. I’ll count my chickens when they’re hatched.
For my money, Bones has indeed adapted to the times better than any other studio. They were looking westward and partnering before it was cool, they’ve stayed with drawn animation as their bread and butter, even for action, and they’re willing to take chances on edgier material and showing some faith in the audience in the process. Taking everything into account, I think they’re the best anime studio there is these days.
sonicsenryaku
December 9, 2017 at 7:11 pmYea, Bones is absolutely killing it. Regarding the MP S2 announcement, you’re probably right; Tachikawa is busy directing the 22nd detective conan movie (kinda intrigued to see it now), which most likely means the studio won’t start any production on season 2 until he is free and they have the available resources to work on it.
Earthlingzing
December 9, 2017 at 8:29 pmSo glad that the episode didn’t take the cliche route where K.K impresses her son by saving him in school. I would say this was one of the best episodes alongside 2 and 6.
Kurik
December 10, 2017 at 2:09 pmAbosolutely LOVED! this episode…I was planning to go all caps but couldn’t bring myself to do it. I have loved every bit of this season so far and in my mind – as of this episode – has properly exceeded the first season in every way. KK was great and you could feel the genuine heartache she was feeling not being their for her kids. For what little we had it was so much as they she is lucky to have a husband as understanding at that and the family dynamics felt very natural/real. I almost wished this was the first season and then we got the first as the second because now i look at all the characters now in such a more fuller light. Great work.
Guardian Enzo
December 10, 2017 at 2:43 pmI thank you for restraining yourself!
BigFire
December 11, 2017 at 11:15 amUnfortunately this probably means we won’t get the short vignette of KK trying to find a very specific birthday card for her son while in a full on combat with bad guys.
Guardian Enzo
December 11, 2017 at 11:45 amWhat chapter is that?
AN
December 11, 2017 at 2:57 pmThe Blood Breed uses 保護者 to talk about himself, so I’m inclined to think the girl is adopted. It seems a strange choice of words otherwise.
CoffeeMilk
December 21, 2017 at 10:57 pmJust going from memory, I also got the sense that the girl was adopted.