Juuni Taisen: Zodiac War Episode 4

Yay! Talking monkeys and waterfall training! Those grandmaster monkeys are amazing. Okay, so her power is transmuting? That’s actually really cool. Monkey cut, sorry, bisected a rock by turning an extremely thin plane of solid material in the middle of the rock into a different phase of matter. I mean, at least it’s more believable than a sword so sharp it can cut molecules and things cut by it can be put back together… cough Rurouni Kenshin cough.

So Monkey is determined to end the war but, for a self-proclaimed pacifist, she really doesn’t seem to be bothered too much with trying to save everyone. It actually seems like she doesn’t care how many die as long as some are spared. Her history of saving lives only to witness the tragedies people will cyclically commit must be pretty suffocating to have to persevere through. I can’t possibly imagine what sick person would instigate these types of… was that Boar in the military uniform restarting the rebel search-and-destroy mission? Oh, c’mon. I did ask to know their relationship, so I guess I’m just reaping what I sowed. Getting back on track, I definitely gravitate towards Monkey’s kind of justice more. With a stance vehemently against the “Champion of Justice” Shirou’s in the world, the more cool, calm, and collected do-gooders are just the right balance of indifference and righteous for my taste.

Viewing the characters home lives is also an interesting touch. We see in the ED some of their individual hobbies, and we’ve started to learn some of their personal lives too. Differently than how we learned about Boar and Dog’s pasts shaping them, now we get a glance at the more trivial but personable features of their home life. We know Rat is a high-schooler when he’s not trying to murder people and we know Monkey is married to a very… ordinary person. She also likes to bake but may not be the best at it. These tiny details don’t do much to advance the plot but they are very endearing and make me like the characters more.

Through her conversation with Rat, it’s clear even she has doubts about her pacifism as well as the quality of the people she has saved in the past. The level of introspection she takes on gives just yet another layer of separation from the brain-dead, “I’ll do what’s right no matter what.” She reminds me more of a ‘the ends justify the means’ type of personality. Willing to lose some to gain even more. It’s very relieving to hear that she’s also willing to fight back and defend herself when it comes down to it. Those people that just get the crap kicked out of them and then ‘win’ because their willpower is too strong annoy the stuffing out of me.

In the peripherals of Monkey’s story, we also glean some information about Rat and his perspective on life in general. Pretty bleak… He may have the angst of a high-schooler but you can’t really fault some of his points. Life is pointless, people are garbage, etc. Pretty standard promoting peace vs using force discussions. He keeps saying his angst cannot be tamed, even by Monkey, but wouldn’t ya know by the end of the episode he’s agreeing to fight with her to ‘restrain and peacefully talk things out’ with Rabbit. A man in stripper’s bunny costume with thunder thighs, high heels, and a motto that reads ‘killing psychotically’. Yeah, we’ll see how that one turns out. The sad part is is that Monkey’s innocence seems to have actually rendered her at a disadvantage. She seems to be searching for a reason as to why people like Rabbit would need a wish granted when they have the powers they do. I don’t know for sure but maybe, just maybe, he’s just a crazy murderer.

So now, not only is Chicken dead but her body has been necromanced into Rabbit’s bidding. Fantastic. Also, Rat. Being worried about getting tetanus because of birds in a sewer would probably be the least of my worries when a crazed man with a machete is chasing after me.

Still no word on Sheep or Tiger, apart from the first episodes. Can confirm, am disappointed with lack of Sheep so far. Oh, nevermind, just watched the preview for next episode. Sweet.