RAGE OF BAHAMUT Jumps the Shark...?

There’s really only one episode left in this series? PSYCHO-PASS 2 was a half-season, too. As was BLADE & SOUL. Maybe that’s the trade-off for the animation quality? When the first episode dropped, we all asked how they could afford to render at this level on a weekly basis. Well, evidently it’s easier to do when you have half as many episodes to deliver…

This might explain a lot of my issues with the pacing, too. If felt like there was an anxious rush to cram an epic ensemble on screen before we got to the end.

== TEASER ==

And if that really is the case, I’ll continue to blame the licensors. If you only have a half-season, then you should only deal with half as many characters. The problem really boils down to how this episode has this awful redundancy where two heroic (or semi-heroic) characters turn evil by demonic possession. Why does Favaro’s heel-turn feel less impactful as a betrayal? Because it’s competing for screentime with Jeanne D’arc’s heel-turn.

Think about that. Favaro is supposed to be one of our leads, no? Why isn’t the focus on him? Why is it getting put on a secondary (or tertiary?) character, with far less personality, who was never introduced in any memorable way?

Likewise, Rita really gets short-shifted here. The concept of zombie girl with the mind of cranky granny is interesting enough to sustain a whole series. She’s a great foil for the other leads. More importantly, we care about her because a whole episode was devoted to introducing her. Yet, she’s competing for screentime with Beezlebub, Martinet and a whole host of easily forgettable creatures here.

I mean, gee… if any one of those guys was meant to be the main villain, don’t you think it would’ve made more sense to use a whole episode to set them up instead? Now that we’re rushing to this climax, it’s just a bunch of figurines floating around Bahamut.

I’d wish for a fan edit that cut out all this awful mumbo jumbo, and focused on our leads’ adventures, but unfortunately, a fan edit can only subtract scenes. We’d still have an incomplete show.

Watch "All Roads Lead to Abos" and decide for yourself, then read my thoughts on the previous episodes.

from Anime Vice Site Mashup http://www.animevice.com/news/rage-of-bahamut-jumps-the-shark/7870/