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Drifters
Episode 9

by James Beckett,

How would you rate episode 9 of
Drifters ?
Community score: 4.4

Drifters continues its run of consistent entries this week, providing an episode that is action-packed and entertaining. The humor is, as usual, the weakest point of the proceedings, though it didn't grate on me as much as it has in past episodes. Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome, or maybe it's because this episode's tone was a bit more cavalier than bloodthirsty, but I'm finally settling into the odd mishmash of tones that Drifters so frequently tries to cram into its runtime.

It's that cavalier tone that I think I appreciated most this week. The show definitely hits some dark spots, especially when the crew finally rescues the Dwarves, but for the most part, this week had the audience square in the Drifters' shoes, embracing the maniacal thrill of war and reveling in the satisfaction of blowing stuff up real good. The opening assault on the castle was well-paced and did a good job of showing off the combat from a bunch of different angles, something this show always excels at. It was especially satisfying to see Nobunaga's obsession with crafting gunpowder pay off; the pyrotechnics our heroes lobbed at their enemies were quite fun to watch.

Speaking of Nobunaga, he got quite a bit to do today, playing the role of strategic mastermind he occupies so well. His reaction to the Octobrist's radio technology did a good job of highlighting the slick intelligence of his character, something exemplified even further when he used Olminu's Stone Wall Enchantments as an offensive tool instead of a merely defensive one. Both he and Murasaki note that while the Ends are gifted with superhuman abilities, the Drifters offer a diversity in technology and stratagems that go far in leveling the playing field. While I still think we should know a bit more about Murasaki's master plan this late in the game, the ground-level plot is working smoothly enough now that I don't mind being kept in the dark as much as I once did.

Unfortunately, the rise in writing quality seems to have coincided with a noticeable dip in animation quality. It's nothing too egregious, but it is noticeable. The downgrade in fluidity hasn't been too problematic, but the off-model faces are fairly distracting. The big reveal of the dwarves being reduced to shells of their former selves was fine, but the on-the-nose foreshadowing robbed the moment of some impact. There was a little too much time spent glorifying the dwarves' heartiness, enough that I called their state of defeat long before the Drifters found out about it. It's not too large of a complaint, but I did feel the point could have been handled better, especially since the concentration camp allegory was so obvious. I get the multiple parallels to WWII that are being drawn in the series (hey there, King Hitler), but it seems less like commentary on the actual war situation and more like filling a checklist of references that need to be made. I don't know, maybe it will become less tacky as the show gets more time to play the situation out.

What isn't getting better is the show's handling of Olminu. I appreciate her getting more to do on the battlefield, but I'm getting a little tired of her being treated like a walking boob joke. Oda's constant referring to her as “Boobienu” was never funny, and at this point it's just annoying. Even Abe no Seimei can't seem to resist making jokes about her boobs, which would be more tolerable if she got any character development that amounted to more than “baffled by Drifters/annoyed by boob jokes.” This is a facet of the author's humor that I know won't be changing any time soon, and it might work for others more than me, so take that as you will. I just figured I'd let my complaints be known, because I'm starting to feel bad for the poor girl.

These gripes aside, this was a fun episode. The disjointed pacing of the season's first half has given way to something much more assured, as the different pieces of the Drifters puzzle fall into place one by one. It isn't high-class drama, but it isn't trying to be that in the first place. An episode of Drifters works as long as it's being entertaining, and this week certainly entertained. If it can keep this up for the rest of its back half, I'll be more than happy to call the series a success.

Rating: B+

Drifters is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.


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