Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra

Episode 12

This anime wants to be Berserk so, so badly. I feel like I say something every other week about how this anime so obviously wants to be darker, gorier, and edgier, but it just doesn't have the chops. This is something that's already been painfully obvious in previous episodes, and I don't want to keep repeating myself, no matter how much more apparent this becomes week after week. So suffice it to say: Imagine how much harder Isla pulling out her heart and making the twins eat it would've gone if her heart didn't look almost comically like a fruit snack. Imagine how much more intense Isla's death would've been, in general. I've seen other gory anime rise above visual mediocrity by going over-the-top with the spectacle of it all, but Mynoghra here just isn't doing that, and I hate that it's not doing that because these scenes could've packed so much punch if they did.

But before I start rambling about the visuals more than I already have, the episode itself is a mixed bag: on one hand, muffled by the visuals as it is, you have the emotionally charged death of Isla, and the twins going on a subsequent revenge-induced killing spree—awesome! But then, on the other hand, this episode really affirmed that the idea of the enemies having JRPG mechanics being pitted against Mynoghra's 4X strategy mechanics just isn't working well.

Let's start with the former: while the whole episode, but this first half especially, would've benefited from better visuals (but believe it or not, I promise I'm trying my best not to get too hung up on this), I'm not going to sit here and pretend like that totally ruined it. In fact, it was probably the most dramatic moment we've had all series long. The twins, pushed to their absolute psychological and emotional limits, are forced to bear witness to a scripted event that has their beloved Isla dying in front of them, right after she gives them her heart so that they might absorb some of her powers. It's not too distant from what they described experiencing with their own mother, and we've seen that take enough of a toll on them as is. And so, in the throes of a mental breakdown, they're going on a rampage, taking down as many enemies as they can. The whole thing is pretty intense and emotionally charged, and it's probably the most memorable thing to have happened in the show yet.

But of course, then we have the whole JRPG mechanics meeting 4X strategy game mechanics thing. We see this in the first half of the episode, when Isla is going through the scripted event, and it is then expanded upon a bit more in the second half, as Takuto and Atou try to figure out what their next play is. Really, the crux of the issue is how abstract the rules of the universe we're in are—we're in the game, except when we're not. Our opponents are in other games, except when they're not. It's starting to feel like even the show itself isn't sure what's supposed to be going on, because these lines between in-game and not-in-game are so blurry. Like with the visuals, I've already harped on this being a bigger issue for Mynoghra, so I don't want to rehash it again, but I really think that a little more planning would've made a big difference for Mynoghra.

This episode had its cool moments, it just sucks that any time this anime does something that's actually pretty interesting, it's always bogged down by stuff like the visuals, or how it feels like it only just realized how overpowered Takuto would actually be if he really was an excellent player trapped in the 4X strategy game he's sank so much time into. It's always one step forward, and two steps back with Mynoghra. A shame, because this anime could actually have a lot going for it in better hands.

I thought this week's episode was going to close out the series—but it was just before I started watching this episode that I learned that I was mistaken. In fact, that's next week's episode—forgive me for that. All the same, as ever, I'll hold off on sharing overall thoughts on the series until next week. But like last week, I don't have my hopes up for a particularly gripping finale.

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Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.