Your Forma

Episode 11

As sneaky and manipulative as he is for a supposedly benign AI with the best interests of humanity at heart, I really do empathize with Harold's desire to eject his useless partner Echika from the reopened Nightmare of St. Petersburg case. Of course Echika's correct to be worried about Harold's close involvement with the manhunt for his beloved “big brother” Sozon's murderer, though her main concern is him getting emotionally hurt. He responds with “it would hurt me more not to be involved,” which may be true, but what he knows, and the viewer knows, but Echika doesn't, is that it's likely the Laws of Respect likely don't apply to him. I worry that Harold may intend to “go a little bit grindhouse” on the killer, especially considering the identities of the two people probably abducted by him by this episode's end. Harold already comes across slightly unhinged when he grabs the shoulders of Sozon's understandably hysterical mother, and shouts to her his determination to retrieve Nicolai, his now-abducted brother. It succeeds in shutting her up, I suppose.

Worse for Harold, though, is the fact that this episode's second abductee is Echika. Again. This supposedly competent Cyber Investigation Unit officer has now been kidnapped three times this season, and this time the circumstances are so easily signposted it's unbelievable she falls for them. After already being familiar with the concept of a digital clone, having recently being removed from the investigation at Harold's request, and having just recently held a conversation with Bigga, who reveals she's too shy to contact Harold directly, she takes an obviously deep-faked “Bigga” phone call at face value. “Come to this sketchy signal dead zone place right now,” the voice says. “Yeah, sure,” Echika replies, not a single brain cell rubbing up against another for reassurance. “I've already cleared it with Harold,” the voice claims. “He says you're to come follow this lead despite kicking you off the case, no point calling him to double-check, just come quickly to my not- at-all suspicious signal-less murder-basement.”

It's idiotic plot beats like this that make me scream out in frustration at this damned show. I get it, separating the two leads and putting one of them in mortal danger is a great way to build tension and excitement, but a third time? Come on. God knows Your Forma needs some excitement, though. For a show about brain-hacking detectives, post-death digital mind clones, terrifying serial killers, and a possibly morally-unhinged robot detective out for revenge, it sure is one of the most dull, pedestrian anime I've ever watched, with pointlessly dull conversation after pointlessly dull conversation soundtracked by the most soporific elevator music. At this point I almost hope Echika comes to some horribly sticky, bloody end, and her traumatized digital clone is uploaded to a mute robotic penguin or something. It would be so much more entertaining than whatever Your Forma is trying to achieve. What a sad electronic junk-heap of wasted concepts and opportunities this show has turned out to be.

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Your Forma is currently streaming on Samsung TV+ in the U.S., YouTube, and other services worldwide on Wednesdays.