BBK/BRNK

Episode 11

With a variety of rival teams arriving on Treasure Island, there's an awful lot going on in this episode of BBK/BRNK. Arabashiri confronts Migiwa, and their conversation reveals why all of the Buranki hearts down on Earth have gone dormant. Matobai arrives on the scene and starts a fight with Arabashiri, creating a violent rift within Reoko's group. The show's leading villains aren't the only ones turning against each other, as not all of the Russian Bubuki users turn out to be on board with the plan to drop the island out of the sky and onto their own country. In the midst of all the shouting and fighting, Migiwa reveals the real reason she left Hiiragi's father behind when she left for Treasure Island. Just in case that's enough plot to fill one episode, a series of flashbacks also explain how Reoko went crazy during her fight against the falling Buranki.

I mentioned last week that there were still enough unanswered questions left for BBK/BRNK to drop a bombshell or two, and that's exactly what happens here. The revelation that Migiwa shut down Buranki hearts around the world is an interesting one, as it finally explains why all the national teams are so desperate to get up to Treasure Island and find a working heart. It also fills in some of the gaps of Reoko's rise to power, with her unique physical condition allowing her to act as Entei's heart and thus control the world's only working Buranki until Oubu's arrival. The most compelling part of all this is exactly what Reoko has gone through in her role as the world's sole defense against rogue Buranki. Sure, the “immortality at a price” gimmick has been done before, but that doesn't stop it from adding an unexpected dimension to Reoko's backstory. Nothing stirs up sympathy for a villain quite like a bit of heroic self-sacrifice.

The split within the Russian team provides another emotional peak, even if it's not a huge shock in light of all the hints that the show has been dropping lately. It is surprising who ends up on which side of the divide; splitting up the sisterly duo of Gianna and Lyudmila is an interesting choice. BBK/BRNK deserves some credit for ensuring that this conflict doesn't outstay its welcome. Rather than trying to squeeze every last drop of emotion out of the situation, the show lets Azuma walk right up and knock his opponent out cold. Few things close the book on a subplot quite as neatly as a swift punch to the gut.

Part of the reason I like the quick resolution to the Russian story is that it leaves more time for the show's older characters to steal the spotlight. While Matobai's reasons for picking a fight with Arabashiri go unexplained for a little too long, their eventual heart-to-heart proves to be a nice little moment of introspection. There's quite a lot of emotional power behind their increasingly conflicted loyalties. Migiwa also pulls her share of the episode's dramatic weight, striking a fine balance between standing by her choices and showing sympathy for the people who have had to suffer the consequences. Heck, she even manages to get the perpetually hardheaded Hiiragi to reconsider his point of view. As we've seen a few times before, the older characters in BBK/BRNK can be just as compelling as their younger counterparts.

It's common for a show to lose some of its emotional punch when it tries to deliver a lot of information at once, but BBK/BRNK actually manages to do the opposite. Much of that comes down to the way all of these developments make things less black and white. If Reoko has become a monster now, it's only as a result of her decision to take on the burden of controlling Entei. If Migiwa left Hiiragi's father behind, it was only because his powers had already been passed on to Hiiragi. That's some pretty nuanced character development for a show that started off with a bunch of formulaic grudge matches. Where did all this emotional complexity come from, and where was it earlier in the series?

Rating: A-

BBK/BRNK is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.