Quite the ‘calm before the storm’ type of episode, lacking in the action packed sakuga of its predecessors, but setting them up for its successors. A number of developments such as the dissolvement of the Hyakko vampire alliance and the development of pseudo Frankenstein are sending all involved parties in a headfirst collision. How bloody will the next episode be?
The episode begins with a slave messenger from Kershner informing the Hyakko group that they will no longer receive funding for their organization. The messenger’s reasoning is solid, the Hyakko group has been acting out of hand too often, endangering the secrecy of the vampire organization. Mr. Face Paint and Red Wig doesn’t take that too well and mercilessly kills the messenger. This fallout is quite interesting story wise because it creates another wild card party, they seem naturally inclined to hate the vampires at this point, but Mr. Face Paint’s interest in the new Frankenstein monster will likely go against the desires of the Jaegers as well. I can definitely see the Hyakko leader putting up a great fight against anyone in the series though.
Ryoko’s crush on Yuliy is still being pushed, now with the rest of the Jaegers catching on. At this point I’m not even against it since Ryoko seems like a nice girl, but I just really, REALLY hope that the show doesn’t end up killing her off in the crossfire of what’s coming up. The only thing worse would be her becoming a vampire and Yuliy being forced to kill her, and if Sirius the Jaeger does that, I will likely drop the show.
The Professor visits Alma Shipping’s headquarters, hoping to identify a new lead. He succeeds in learning about the weapon experiments in Gotenba, and also runs into Major Iba on the way back. Now it may seem a bit annoying how Major Iba keeps jabbing at the Professor, but as an intelligence officer it is his job. At the moment he has no idea about the vampire and Jaeger underworld and V Shipping hasn’t really done anything to lower the suspicion around them. On the bright side though, he’s a competent intelligence officer and decides to investigate Alma Shipping as well. He has a chance of being my favorite character of the show but I could very easily see him dying, hopefully he’s skilled enough at combat to keep up with all these superpowered monsters.
On the vampire side of things, the show reveals that the elder vampires reside in Moscow. It seems they just sit on the ceiling all day, overseeing the events of the world. There seems to be conflict however between the younger generation of royals and the elders, with the former accusing the latter of senility and laziness. Yevgraf has an interesting design and his own retinue of vampire lolis, and I’m looking forward to how he ties into the story. Considering how Kershner refers to him as ‘sama,’ it may be possible that he’s the one pulling the strings in the back.
The last big revelation of the episode is the reveal of Frankenstein’s monster, a being made of artificial organs. Its brutal power is showcased by a fiery battlefield where an entire battalion is wiped out. I wasn’t entirely sure why the Japanese government would test a new experimental weapon on their own troops, but I’ll let it slide for now. One thing I am looking forward to though is the inevitable fight with the monster, I’m not sure who’ll do the fighting, but it’ll be David versus Goliath regardless. The monster is also one of the critical points of the show at the moment, with the arc taking a backseat temporarily.
Overall, the episode was solid setup for the next episode and the show is still going strong!
I think the elder vampires are based in St Petersburg, at least following this picture of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood church. Same angle too.
My impression was that Yevgraf is Kershner’s superior in the vampire hierarchy; although like the elders, Kershner also thinks his boss is deluded in chasing the mythical werewolf Ark. It’ll be interesting to see if this has any impact down the line.
You’re probably right with the St. Petersburg! I quickly assumed it was the Kremlin, but the name of that church makes it 98% more likely to be the true location.
I also think it’s a pretty cool thing how the vampires are based around the more populated western Russia while the ‘beasts/werewolves’ of Yuliy’s family were from the steppes.
Frankenstein weapon about to mess things up even more! Overall, a great setup for the next episode!