BBK/BRNK

Episode 12

Considering that my initial interest in BBK/BRNK grew out of curiosity about its animation style, it's a bit strange that I've been talking less and less about it over the course of this season. Part of that is a simple case of running out of things to say; there's only so much to talk about unless a show goes through a sharp rise or fall in visual quality. But I wonder if I'm not also getting used to the pros and cons of the show's CG characters. After twelve weeks with this series, it doesn't seem as jarringly different as it once did. I'd still pick traditional animation in a heartbeat, but I wonder if we won't slowly grow accustomed to seeing this style on projects that don't have the time or the resources to do things the harder way.

This final episode alternates between one last flashback and a fairly standard big robot fight. The flashback gives us a look at the increasingly contentious relationship between Azuma's mother and Reoko, coupled with the bloody coup that put Reoko into a position of power in Japan. Back in the present, the foreign Bubuki users make their escapes from Treasure Island, many of them with fresh Buranki hearts in hand. As the island continues to fall, Reoko's followers meet their ends as they work to carry out their missions. Azuma and friends are able to soften the island's landing to the point where it splashes harmlessly into the sea. Reoko disappears, presumably to fight another day, and some new characters arrive in time to set up their roles for the next season.

In the end, BBK/BRNK is mostly concerned with telling the intersecting stories of Azuma and Reoko. Of the two, Azuma's story has been more familiar in its structure and more optimistic in its perspective. He and his friends are unburdened by the baggage that many of the older characters carry, and that allows them to pursue a path of protecting both humans and Buranki. In practice, this makes for an earnest but unsurprising conclusion: Azuma saves the day while doing plenty of shouting about wanting to protect people. If you're here to see justice prevail, it's a satisfying way to wrap things up. Given that a second season has been more or less confirmed already, I can live with most of the loose ends that the show leaves hanging.

The story of Reoko's rise to power and descent into madness is more of a downer, but it's also the more interesting story as far as I'm concerned. This last flashback continues the usual pattern of contrasting her potentially noble intentions with her violent actions. The jump from Buranki hearts shutting down to the government crackdown on Bubuki users could do with a more thorough explanation, but I still enjoy that I'm not quite sure how to feel about this character. A little moral ambiguity goes a long way toward making a good antagonist. The script seems a bit unsure of what to do with Reoko, as it leaves her in limbo instead of redeeming her or killing her off. Not the most memorable way to close a character arc, but at least she's still in the picture.

The one big issue with this episode is that there's just too much going on for any one event to pack much of an emotional punch. Reoko's friends are hustled off the stage far too quickly for the audience to fully react to their deaths. (If they actually are dead, that is; never write an anime character off until you see their body.) The Russians get a few seconds of screen time at best, and the Americans are relegated to a quick shot during the end credits. Even Azuma's crew seems like they get shortchanged in terms of screen time, with most of them limited to a few lines here and there. BBK/BRNK got pretty ambitious with its storytelling in the latter half of the season, and this episode is simply too short to offer a proper ending to every side story.

This series has certainly had its moments, and it's taken its characters in some interesting directions. That said, I doubt we'll be talking much about BBK/BRNK in a year or two except in reference to its animation style. It's a solid show, but it ultimately falls short of the heights to which it aspires. A continuation of the story could certainly help resolve some of this season's leftover conflicts, but I'm not sure how eager I am for a sequel now that the show's compelling backstory has been more or less filled in. Will the younger characters be as fun to watch without their older rivals?

Rating: B

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.