×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Back Arrow
Episode 6

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 6 of
Back Arrow ?
Community score: 3.9

In the wake of Shu's defection and Kai's confrontation, things are shifting back in Rekka. Kai is putting himself through penitent trials to strengthen his conviction. Kyo – a new advisor to the Emperor – makes his presence known and heavily criticizes Ren for not catching wind of Shu Bi's traitorous streak even though she worked so closely with him. Kai and Ren deny this, but Kyo leaves unconvinced and self-assured of his new position in Rekka.

Meanwhile, the Granedger is progressing towards the Wall. Shu Bi directs them to circumvent the land of Lutoh and they travel through an unaligned area known as the Walston Province. Walston is ruled by Lord Walston and is semi-autonomous thanks to an agreement they have where they pay taxes/tithe for their freedom. The battleship passes by signs for a “Pretty Boy Farm” and encounters a Briheight piloted by a young man named Bruh.

After a brief scuffle, the Granedger and crew meet the Pretty Boys who are all lithe, frail-looking young men surrounded by tiny sparkling auras. It turns out they were kept like livestock and experimented on by Lord Walston, and now struggle to retain their isolated autonomy from him since their uprising. Back Arrow and Shu Bi decide to visit Lord Walston themselves.

They tentatively agree to work with Lord Walston in exchange for a map of the province and passage. However, when they go to attack the Pretty Boy Farm, the Granedger crew double-crosses Lord Walston to help The Pretty Boys. The Pretty Boys now have their own Briheights, their freedom secured, and confidence in themselves thanks to Back Arrow and crew. Plus, Shu Bi managed to memorize the map before they left anyway. As the Granedger continues on its journey, Back Arrow and Shu Bi admit to one another that they wouldn't be in this partnership if they didn't think the other was worth allying with.

Another strong showing from Back Arrow.

This week's short stop at Pretty Boy Farm feels like more of an episodic entry for the series, but I think there's enough heart here to be worthwhile. The fact that Back Arrow and Shu Bi manage to resolve a “monster of the week” type story with a largely non-violent approach was a refreshing twist. I wouldn't call this show revolutionary or anything, but it's great to have expectations subverted like this without veering too far from the norm.

The most interesting thematic element here to me was Bruh's conviction. Like I've already mentioned, I think the pure conviction angle is a neat flourish that makes Back Arrow stand out from a lot of its peers in the mecha genre. While plenty of stompy robot shows have the pilot's will to fight or emotion affect the outcome of the battles, they are usually tempered to some degree by the machine being a separate mechanical entity. This series' attempt to cut out the middle-man in this regard is therefore a fun twist. Bruh being aware of his conviction – to survive, even if he's the only one – but ashamed of what it says about him is a really interesting hook for a character. He wants to save the others (including his little brother) but that's not his true conviction, until Back Arrow and Shu Bi help him find that and help the others protect themselves. With Kazuki Nakashima's involvement, it's no surprise that such strong character writing is interwoven into this ostensibly silly and fun show.

There were quite a few meme-worthy laughs this episode too. The name “Pretty Boy Farm” is just… fun to say, and gave me a chuckle every time it popped up on screen. Not to mention the fact that the star of this episode is named Bruh, which made for some unintended hilarity in more than one scene. There was also the absurd visual of the Pretty Boys running through clouds of smoke wielding crossbows… with their sparkling auras still visible through the smoke. I don't know if that was supposed to be intentionally funny, but it was absurd enough that I laughed.

Back Arrow is a really enjoyable show, no doubt a surprise hit for me this season.

Rating:


Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Back Arrow is currently streaming on FUNimation Entertainment.


discuss this in the forum (37 posts) |
bookmark/share with: short url

this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history

back to Back Arrow
Episode Review homepage / archives