Episode Synopsis:
When a bizarre supernatural attack threatens to ruin the Winter International Sports competition in Sapporo, the Superhuman Bureau is called in to investigate. One of the superhuman athletes suspects their human colleague is behind it, but the issue is less straightforward than it seems. Meanwhile, Jiro conducts his own investigation and once again butts heads with the Bureau as everyone seeks a solution to this paranormal problem.
Episode Review:
After three very intense episodes bringing us up to speed on the years following the end of Concrete Revolutio‘s first season, the show takes a breather for silly paranormal mystery. It’s nice to see a change of pace, but I have to say that I wasn’t very interested in the episode, and it didn’t really add much to the world the show has built. It’s a passable filler episode, but that’s about it.
Our episode opens with a team of artificially created superhuman athletes called the Three Birdmen preparing for an upcoming ski jump event. Tensions between them and their human test jumper flare up, but the confrontation is cut short when a cartoonish black storm cloud appears and zaps the three superhumans. The Bureau is called in to investigate, because… well…
Yeah. Magical lightning clouds caused flowers to pop out of the jumpers’ heads, so now they can’t wear their helmets, and the flowers can’t be hidden. To save Japan the embarrassment of fielding a team of daisy-headed goofs, the Bureau is asked to find the cause of the trouble. That trouble grows big-time when more storm clouds appear and begin zapping the local residents, and the Bureau finds itself stuck working a ridiculous case.
While the initial silliness of the situation might make you chuckle, the rest of the episode is pretty ho-hum. Jiro and his former friends bicker over how best to solve the problem, further complications arise, and a final kooky moment wraps up the whole affair. There’s not a lot to say beyond that, frankly.
The one thing that the episode did add was expanding on the concept of artificially-created superhumans being used for purposes other than crime-fighting. It’s nice to see the world outside of the bureau rounded out as more than just cops and robbers, and raises some interesting questions about where humanity is going now that superhumans are so ubiquitous, even under heavy government control.
The last part of the episode that stuck with me was how the test jumper, Amato, felt pressured into becoming enhanced, but turned it down out of fear. Not fear of the procedure or losing his humanity, but of going through it all only to fail. It’s cool go see someone whose reservations about superhumans is less about ideals and more about their personal insecurities.
Episode Summary:
Episode 16 doesn’t bring a lot new to the table, and it feels more hastily put-together than other recent episodes. There’s a noticeable drop in animation quality, but it never gets hilariously bad. Otherwise, it’s a bog-standard filler episode that didn’t really excite or annoy me. For now, I just hope that the creators don’t have to pad the show out with too many more of these.
Watch Concrete Revolutio: The Last Song Episode 16 on Funimation
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