Night Raid 1931: Demon of the Opium Den

Rbastid Sep 9, 2016

7

Another "DVD Special" that is really just a normal episode, but there might be some method to their madness of why. Story - 7/10 So the reason I think this episode, along with the Shipboard Shoot's Conclusion, are DVD only episodes is due to their subject matter. So far throughout the series the episode have been more on the lighter side, with most episodes being about the gang stopping another spy organization or just a little fun filler episode. On the other hand this episode, and the Episode Zero Prologue, both deal with  human trafficking operations in China, a subject they might have felt was a bit to heavy in this more or less light hearted show. The episode was very well written and focus' mainly on Yukina, as she has a fainting spell during the operation and see's the events leading up to their rescue of a young girl sold into the sex trade.   Animation - 6/10 There were a few sections where one off characters looked badly drawn and colored, but overall the episode lined up with what we see during the rest of the series. Sound - 5/10 Just like the animation the music lined up exactly with what we know from each episode before it. Characters - 7/10 During this episode there is a point where we get the feeling things aren't what they appear to be. Yukina is singing a song, a Japanese child's tune, and Natsume is surprised that she knows the song, to which she replies "I remember you teaching it to me" So why is Natsume surprised? Is Yukina not who she thinks she is, having just built a life based on things she's pieced together in her visions? This was the only real character revelation touched on in the episode, but I hope the dive deeper into it, but worry that since this wasn't part of the series it may just end up getting lost. Overall - 7/10 Just like the last one off episode, this was a very good story that just fell outside the normalcy of the series. It's Episode Seven B, not an OVA, and needs to be watched within the series to really understand what's going on.