I noted last week that Double Decker pretty much has two modes it operates in – the gritty cop drama and the absurdist sci-fi cop satire – without much of anything in-between. Well, we finally got an in-between episode this week, one that was roughly equal parts comedy and drama. And it may not be a coincidence that it was probably the weakest episode of the series so far, though that bar is high enough that it still leaves room for it to have been pretty good.
Watching this episode put me in mind of something like “21 Jump Street” – which I also tend to think was not a coincidence, as that’s the vibe Sunrise seems to have been going for here. Make no mistake, some Japanese high schools do have proms (note that although the subs used that term, the script itself only refers to a “dance party”) and cheerleaders, but the overall tone here was much more like an American high school. And it’s worth noting that Risvaletta (like Sternbild) has never been put out there as a Japanese location, and always seemed more like an American past-future hybrid anyway.
The school in question is Primus Academy, a snooty school that many of the top brass in the police department attended. Someone is attacking prom queen candidates, Anthem is suspected (forensics bears that out) and so the Seventh is called in. But they have to operate with one hand tied behind their backs because of the school’s pull with the police, leaving the only inroad as an anti-drug class co-opted by Doug, Kirill, Max and Yuri.
Max is the key figure here – in many ways this ep was her coming out party (no pun intended). She has her own prom horror story that she doesn’t like to talk about, and about which no one will fill in Kirill (much to his irritation), including Max’ roommate Yuri. That turns out to be the most interesting part of the episode, as the reveal is an interesting one – the boy she was in love with wanted to wear a dress to the prom himself, and Max – much to her credit – supported him. That meant social ostracization for her and even worse for him, as his life entered a downward spiral of drug use and depression.
This is all perfectly fine and occasionally interesting, but it comes off as pretty uninspired by the standard of the first seven episodes (and Doug seems to agree – it seems like he’d have been happy enough to sleep through it and after trading up to mascot duty, almost does). The venal world of the popular kids at a posh high school is hell, a nest of vipers – that’s certainly no revelation. None of the students is especially charismatic or likeable and all in all, there’s a feeling of going through the motions a bit (apart from the reveal about Max’ past). Maybe Doug and Kirill can make this third gear work and we just haven’t seen the proof yet, but I’d be just as happy if it stuck with either of the ones it seems clearly to be best at.
animealex
November 13, 2018 at 5:35 amLike you said last week, this show feels very much like a two cour show regarding it’s pacing, world- and character building. The episode was fine, but not exceptional. I also agree, that Max’s back story was the main selling point of the episode. She (and Yuri) were very much ciphers before this episode, but now feel both a bit more “real” to me. And I just like the fact, that they’re living together and nobody around them gives it much of a thought.
Side observation: Kirill seems to be the reason that everybody in seven-o mellows out a bit and becomes more of a group of friends than just colleagues. I very much doubt that without Kirill Doug would have gotten an invitation to the Max/Yuri household or (even more) that he would’ve accepted. Kirill isn’t a superhero but becoming more and more the “heart” of the group. Despite being a glory hound and a “doofus”.
Guardian Enzo
November 13, 2018 at 6:20 amEverybody’s little brother.
animealex
November 13, 2018 at 7:03 amYeah, that seems to fit.
Guardian Enzo
November 13, 2018 at 7:25 amI think it’s imortant to note that even though Kirill is, to quote Frasier Crane, a bit of a “ludicrous popinjay”, he’s fundamentally a decent kid. He’s not a coward and he’s actually pretty competent as a cop, and he obviously cares about his fellow detectives. So they kind of band together where he’s concerned out of amusement and a sense of wanting to look out for him.
Rita
November 13, 2018 at 2:52 pmI feel like it’s giving a little less credit than it’s due since the big reveal is at topic that I don’t think I’ve ever seen another series do and treat as a serious discussion point and not make just some sort of crossdressing joke out of it, besides Hourou Musuko (but in that case, it comprised much of the heart of the series). And especially not in recent anime. I was pretty blindsided because, while it did eventually lead to a horrible outcome for Connor, the message was that he and Max weren’t doing anything wrong and the cruelty of the people around them was at fault. And also with it not being a ‘trap’ where the guy is girly enough to make the whole crossdressing marketable and cute.
Guardian Enzo
November 13, 2018 at 3:57 pmI do give the ep credit for that, and I noted so in the post. Agreed, it was handled really well. I just don’t think it changes the fact that the episode itself felt a bit perfunctory compared to the first six.
animealex
November 14, 2018 at 4:06 amI agree wholeheartedly that all of Max and Connor’s back story was remarkable well done. In fact, the series as a whole is very queer friendly and has established an atmosphere where a relationship like Max and Yuri doesn’t seem extra ordinary. But perhaps this is not so surprising, since it was made with “Tiger and Bunny” acting kinda as a prototype.