Drifters

Episode 3

After spending time almost exclusively with our main trio the last couple of episodes, Drifters decides to take a sidestep this week and showcase some of the larger conflicts at hand. While Shimazu, Oda, and Nasu only appear for a minute or two after the credits, the rest of the episode is dedicated to introducing almost a dozen new players, Drifters and Ends alike tearing each other apart on the battlefield. The episode is a bit too busy, and it doesn't have any heavyweight scenes like the execution scene from episode 2, but it does a good job of filling in some of the gaps in the larger narrative, even if we still have more questions than answers by the time things are through.

First things first: I complained about a lack of context for everything that's going on this week, and this episode made sure to provide a little more of that, albeit through a lopsided delivery. Though it isn't quite clarified until a post-credits scene, the action in the first 90% of the episode lays things out understandably enough. The Octobrists are engaged in war against Easy's faction of supernatural fighters, and they rely on the strength and cunning of Drifters to see them through each fight. It seems like the Octobrists themselves are a little fuzzy on the details of how and why the Drifters are showing up, so I'm willing to accept a little vagueness myself as an audience member. At the very least, the actual conflict of the series was properly sketched out this week.

We finally get to meat Easy's Ends this week, and they sure are an interesting bunch. Like the Drifters, they seem to be comprised of warriors and figures from throughout history, though they're not how you'd expect them to be. Instead of more traditionally villainous fighters, we have figures like Anastasia Romanov and Joan of Arc showing up to lay waste to the Octobrists' armies. Not only that, but the Ends also are also rocking some wicked superpowers that the Drifters seem to lack; watching Joan of Arc act like a psychotic arsonist while Anastasia simultaneously freezes people to death is quite the surreal experience. I'm not sure yet how well it works to make these figures into bloodthirsty villains, but I want to give the story more time to flesh out their motivations before making any snap judgments. It's entertaining at the very least, so I can't fault the show for strange choices just yet.

That's not even touching on the Ends' ostensible general, a shrouded figure known only as the Black King. The episode leaves his identity a mystery, but his scarred palms and overtly religious rhetoric aren't particularly subtle. It remains to be seen if the show is actually willing to go there, so I'll leave my hypotheses to myself before I go inciting any religious fervor. I'm just saying that there are only so many white-robed figures with scarred palms to choose from in history, and if Drifters is willing to turn Joan of Arc into a pyromaniac, it stands to reason that other Christian figures might show up on the battlefield too.

We also meet a lot of new Drifters this week, and if this episode has any major fault, it's that it feels somewhat overstuffed. We barely spend any time with Scipio and Hannibal before Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid show up, then their screentime gets cut short when a Japanese WWII fighter pilot shows up on the battlefield. I really enjoyed seeing the cast and the world expand (Joan of Arc is probably my favorite addition so far), but I am eager for all the pieces to be put into place. Hopefully, the story can slow down just a bit and let itself breathe soon, so the entire cast can have the opportunity to interact with one another.

Drifters is spectacle first and foremost though, and on that front it delivers. I can't think of any other shows where Joan of Arc and Anastasia Romanov square off against Hannibal and Billy the Kid, all while a Japanese ace goes head-to-head with a dragon. It's all ludicrously entertaining. I'd like the character writing to come together more as the series goes on, but I was nonetheless satisfied by the end of this week's journey with the Drifters. Bring on the next episode!

Rating: B

Drifters is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is an English teacher that's been humming Drifter's opening theme to himself nonstop, all week. You can sing along with him on Twitter and on his blog.