World Trigger

Episode 11

World Trigger is over! At least for me it is, because this will be my last episodic writeup on this show. It's getting increasingly hard to write about as less and less keeps happening, so ANN decided to spare me by putting this baby out to pasture. Reviews of groups of episodes might still come out every once in a while though, so there's more World Trigger in your future, just not on a weekly basis.

I guess it's just my luck then to go out on the best episode in a while. That's not a high bar - it's still riddled with the problems that have been plaguing this adaptation from the beginning, like the shoddy animation and occasionally poor directorial choices, but with one big difference: stuff actually happens. We learn what Yuma's deal is, Chika and Yuma formally join Border, and Osamu reaffirms his friendship with Yuma.

Here's what went down: Yuma and his dad, Yugo, were fighting for a small nation on the Neighbors' side of the inter-dimensional divide. His dad is a war hero and seems like kind of a stiff. We never get a clear look at his face, which is an odd choice. This effectively conveys that he was an enigma even to Yuma, but if they're trying to set up that he might resemble someone we recognize, it doesn't work very well. Either way, Yuma seems to resent him for taking up all the attention. Then, one day, Yuma snuck out to participate in a battle he wasn't ready for and was mortally injured. Yugo sacrificed his own life to revive his son, creating a Black Trigger that allows Yuma to live through a Trion body. However, this means that Yuma is permanently eleven years old. He also inherited his father's side-effect of lie detection, exacerbating his already flippant attitudes towards authority. Yuma was subsequently guilted into continuing the war effort in his father's place, achieving victory at the cost of his total disillusionment. (Although, once again, the emotional impact was ruined in some shots by giving Yuma his =3= face during serious moments. At least they didn't make him look like that during his father's death.) He came to Japan to see if Border has the capabilities to revive his father from the Black Trigger, and when he learns that they don't, falls into quiet despair. Yuma, sensing his friend's pain, gives him a new reason to live by asking him to join Chika's quest to rescue her friend and older brother, and they form a new Border trio.

This episode proves that World Trigger was done a disservice with this adaptation. Unlike Toei's other dull disaster this season, Sailor Moon Crystal, this story has meat and heart. The characters are well-realized and sympathetic, and their struggles are compelling. I understand how Yuma works now – he was a snotty kid who made one big mistake that turned him into the tool of the military, and that's left him with trust issues. He feels that he should have died in his father's place, so his happy-go-lucky demeanor hides someone who cares little about his own safety and future happiness. I understand why Osamu gets to him – unlike most people, he's not trying to manipulate Yuma to his own ends but genuinely cares about his personhood instead. I like Osamu as a shonen hero. He's not the strongest or even the most determined, but rather the most caring, and that's a good version of masculine strength to promote. Chika's the least developed, but I like her quiet determination and the fact that her quest serves as the story's impetus right now. Hopefully she'll get her boss sniper rifle soon.

We also saw just enough of the Neighborhood to get me interested. Not much was revealed besides the fact that their technology levels seem to be semi-medieval but with hyper-advanced weapons, but the world looks dire. It's so different from Japan – all of the buildings are wrecked and everyone wears uniforms with dumb capes. It reminds me of (again) the Attack on Titan world more than anything, but with human and giant-robo-axolotl enemies rather than Titans.

Maybe the pace will speed up from now on, but for me, this is the end. At least it was a pleasant one. We could have had something, World Trigger.

Grade: B

World Trigger is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.