To be honest, nothing changes too much with Sabikui Bisco. Every episode is entertaining in an old-school, throwback sort of way, and none of them blow you out of the water. There have been some minor ups and downs but mostly the series has tracked in a relatively narrow band quality-wise, and this ep was more of the same. Considering who I knew was going to feature prominently, that’s actually a better outcome than I was worried it might be. Which should be taken as acknowledgement that character had a better week.
Jellyfish girl actually has a name, Oochagama Tirol (though she’s none too pleased with it). And she keeps turning up in Milo and Bisco’s path like a bad penny, to the point where you’d almost wonder if it was on-purpose. And it’s a good thing for her too, as Akaboshi and Dr. Panda keep saving her life. She professes to be tired of living and happy with the prospect of a neat and tidy exit, but that’s obviously a front even beyond the fact that she (and every other female in the case except his sister, seemingly) has clearly fallen for Panda-sensei.
Tirol guides the boys to the nearest subway station – the subway being another interesting addition to this impressively detailed mythology. Apparently self-service underground trains are a primary mode of long-distance travel in this post-apocalyptic world. Her usefulness doesn’t stop there – she also barters a sweet deal with a bunch of tundra traders and hotwires (basically) one of the locomotives. The boys and their crab go off on their own again, though it doesn’t take an esper to realize these three haven’t seen the last of each other.
One of the items Tirol wrangles away from the traders is a field guide to the local fauna – written by a mushroom keeper, so it details which animals are associated with which mushrooms. Including the rust eater, which you apparently have to get off a “pipe snake” – I think by a comfortable margin the weirdest creature Sabikui Bisco has unveiled yet. It looks like something off Tatooine except trippier – a giant tube worm with what look like human arms and legs hanging off it by the dozens.
Adding to the insanity is the timely arrival of Pawoo, intent on revenge against Bisco for his supposed crimes against humanity as a mushroom keeper. Presumably Milo is going to clue her into the truth, but I’m going to be interested to se if Pawoo formally becomes an ally or remains a wild card. She seems pretty set in her ways and deeply immersed in the lies which prop up this society, but her brother holds the trump card – working with Bisco is the only way to save her life.
animealex
February 16, 2022 at 1:57 am1.) Aktagawa also seems to have been taken by Milo’s charm; I wait for the crab to blush 😛 . Side note: I don’t mind, that every female character falls for Panda-sensei. He at least is aware of it, acknowledges it and so far, only teased Tirol for it. And to be frank: His constant blushing towards Bisco makes me wonder, if the girls are not barking up the wrong tree here. But so far it seems to be only a road trip with a little bromance thrown in.
2.) What is it with characters throwing up disgusting creatures in this show? Will Milo be the next and what will he regurgitate?
3.) Tirol’s character (I read on reddit that her character name is also a snack, just like Bisco’s) grew on me a little with this episode. She seems to be haunted by having luck while also attracting all kinds of misfortune (in German one would say “Glück im Unglück”) which she tries to soldier through with her considerable skills in survival and mechanics. Her little glimpse of backstory gave us more worldbuilding and, interestingly, showed us that she envies Milo and Bisco for their “child-like innocence”. You know you got screwed hard by fate, when you can say that to what essentially are a terrorist and a slum-doctor. The fact that she also was useful on two occasions to our main duo due to her affinity for deception and mechanics makes her character (and survival so far) more believable for me.
4.) The creatures and their design are something else. I’m with Milo on being fascinated how awesome life is flourishing in this post-apocalyptic world. The show is for me a bright spot on the start of another busy workweek, especially in this, let’s call it, “interesting times”.
Guardian Enzo
February 16, 2022 at 6:41 amYeah, it is a snack and yeah, she grew on me a bit. Also, Milo is a snack too, sort of – a drink (sort of like chocolate milk).
animealex
February 16, 2022 at 8:30 amNormally I’d say, you have to be on shrooms to write a story about three snack-named characters riding a giant crab in a post-apocalyptic world, but I always thought hallucinogenic substances were a big no-no in Japan. Oh well.
Guardian Enzo
February 16, 2022 at 8:41 amJust because they’re taboo doesn’t mean no one breaks it.