Tribe Nine

Episode 4

You've probably heard of Eminem's classic song “Without me” before, yeah? Well, this isn't that: it's episode 4, “Without Him…” (I worked very hard on that joke. I hope you get to see my bad taste in puns and humor.)

So, first things first: I didn't realize Shun died, which is hilarious: I really sat here for a week, IRL, thinking, “I can't wait to see him in episode 4!” But no: discount Nagito Komaeda ate it, and just like the cast, I never saw Kamiya's death coming either, largely because Shun obfuscated his illness at every turn. Seems that getting brutalized in XB by Ojiro (i.e. the guy in the wicked cool face mask) did him in, ending his time on the show unless Tribe Nine is audacious enough to add in motherchuckin' ghosts to the series. Then again, this might be the series to give me ghosts, but with murderball: I'd kinda dig on that.

That said, it's clear that the devastating loss suffered by the Minato Tribe in episode 3 (both of their leader and their XB match) is well, devastating. Everyone is coping in different ways with the fallout, that is until it gets them in trouble with the Adachi Tribe, which is where we spend most of this episode, and it's… okay, well it's pretty much what you expect out of this series. Subtle isn't in Tribe Nine's worldbuilding, nor its general vocabulary. This show only knows how to show its hand, and while I respect that, it makes episode 4 thudding and honestly, kind of boring. By mid-episode, it's time for more murderball, more XB antics and, well, it's more of the same with biker gang Adachi Tribe (they ride the bikes while playing, btw, for extra coolness) I have no attachment to. Truth be told this wasn't a compelling watch, even with a new tribe and baseball fight, but hey, I'm still here for baseball antics. And hey, the BGM during their match with the Adachi Tribe was pretty darn good.

Episode 4 is surprisingly a cliffhanger, though it's not necessarily one that I'm thrilled by. It's alright, kind of like cheap pizza: edible, but not necessarily the culinary bee's knees. If anything, it'll do, filling thirty minutes of my day with just enough plot to keep me on the hook. That said, it seems that Tribe Nine has taken a stand: it's going to be a series in memorandum of one of its shining stars, gone too quickly from the neon night skies. It's jarring because I'm still wondering, “Are we sure Kamiya Shun is dead dead, or…?” But then the episode ends. So for now yes, though I'm pretty sure the answer is no. Unfortunately, this lackluster follow-up episode doesn't even hint at any answers, though we get a cool new blue haired character that kind of fills Shun's place.

Guess we'll all just have to check in next week to see where that plotline goes. For now… go play ball? I don't know: I haven't thought of a witty enough sign-off for this show yet.

Rating:

Tribe Nine is currently streaming on Funimation.

Mercedez is a JP-EN translation and localization Editor & Proofreader/QA, pop culture critic, and a journalist who, when not writing for ANN, writes for Anime Feminist, where she's a staff editor, and for But Why Tho?. She's also a frequent cohost on the Anime Feminist Podcast, Chatty AF. This season, she's reflecting on her youth with Akebi's Sailor Uniform. When she's not writing and reviewing, you can find her on her Twitter or on her Instagram where she's always up to something.