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KADO - The Right Answer
Episode 10

by Paul Jensen,

How would you rate episode 10 of
KADO - The Right Answer ?
Community score: 3.5

KADO - The Right Answer came into this episode with a lot of explaining to do, which means it's time for a flashback. Things start out by going way, way back to the creation of our universe and the decision by one of the anisotropic beings to enter it. As the flashback moves through the history of life on earth, we eventually get to Tsukai's personal backstory. Back in the present, zaShunina and Tsukai clash over zaShunina's plan to transform humanity by taking them out of the universe and into the anisotropic. Shindo gets himself injured trying to protect Tsukai, forcing Tsukai to take him to an isolated space in order to heal him. With the opposition out of the way, zaShunina carries on with the negotiation process using a copy of Shindo.

On an emotional level, the opening flashback works fairly well. The trippy visuals convey a sense of something being created from nothing, and to some extent we can follow the anisotropic beings' conclusion that something special is happening as life emerges on Earth. Tsukai's own story is a relatively simple tale, but we can grasp the emotional core of her fascination with humanity. The one thing that irks me is how many unanswered questions end up being glossed over in the interest of time. How much did Tsukai give up to come to our universe, and is she even able to go back at this point? Has she spent her entire human life knowing what she really is, or was that part of her personality sealed away until the ring broke? We're given just enough information to draw some vague conclusions, but I'd definitely like to see more details before the end of the series.

As we gain a better understanding of Tsukai's general love for humankind, the relationship between her and Shindo also continues to move forward. Even though Shindo dodges the question of why he risked his life to save her, there's enough romance in the air that the answer is easy enough to infer. The whole rescue and healing process carries a surprising amount of emotional weight, adding some human drama to a series that has felt distant and abstract at times. Pair that with some charmingly awkward moments later in the episode, and suddenly you've got a relationship worth rooting for. As strange as it sounds, the revelation that Tsukai is a being from another dimension has made her relationship with Shindo feel more human than ever.

While zaShunina's recent actions shift him firmly into the role of this story's antagonist, I can't help feeling a little bad for the guy. The dialogue in this episode implies that he's not necessarily acting out of malice, but rather that his point of view is just too different to understand why Shindo won't cooperate with him. As horrifying as the idea of duplicating Shindo until the transformation process succeeds may sound, zaShunina is just doing what makes sense from his otherworldly perspective. It also looks like there's still room to change his mind; the image of blood on zaShunina's hands is thematically significant, and he looks genuinely sad as he watches his copy of Shindo present the Nanomis-hein to the government. If nothing else, this marks a rare occasion where an otherworldly visitor, rather than a human, is the one to mess up peaceful negotiations by resorting to violence. Score one for fictional Earthlings!

While I'm frustrated by the many questions that Tsukai's backstory leaves unanswered, this episode is another strong showing from Kado. The series took a risk by raising the stakes and opening up a serious conflict between Shindo and zaShunina, but so far it seems to be paying off. This episode delivers some effective drama without abandoning the show's thoughtful approach, and Tsukai's true identity is presented in a way that feels like a convincing development instead of a cheap plot twist. With zaShunina already appearing to question his own actions, things should really kick into high gear once Shindo and Tsukai return from their little safety bubble.

Rating: A-

KADO - The Right Answer is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.


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