by Emily Reuben
Warning: This review may contain spoilers for all previous episodes of this series.
If episode 5, “Mysterious Connections”, offered a slight change of pace (as noted in last week’s review), then “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” offers a drastic change that will be welcomed by fans who have stayed with Kyoto Saga thus far. Not only is the tale of Father Fujimoto wrapped up in this episode, but the whereabouts of Mamushi and Todo, the former exorcist who stole the Left Eye in episode 1, are revealed as they proceed with their plan.
About half of the episode is dedicated to the flashback with Fujimoto and half to Mamushi and Todo in the present. Since Rin was already given the Koma Sword by Father Fujimoto in the first season, astute viewers should already know how Fujimoto’s flashback should end. Even knowing the outcome, none of the time devoted to the story arc feels wasted. First and foremost, the scene gives a lot of characterization to Bon’s father, Tatsuma Suguro. Suguro is made to be an understandable, relatable man. This directly contrasts Fujimoto’s cold exterior and offers for an interesting dynamic.
While this is an engaging episode, it’s strange that Rin, the protagonist, has been given extremely little screen time in not only this episode, but the entire season. The story doesn’t really feel like Rin’s at this point. Instead, Bon’s family seems to be the primary focus. While obviously this distraction from Rin is offering some important backstory, it would be nice to see Rin and Yukio develop in conjunction with the explanation of past events.
While half the of this episode is told in a flashback, events taking place in the present do occur towards the end of the episode. This is the first time in awhile that the plot doesn’t feel static and real consequences are possible. It’s great to see that Kyoto Saga is beginning to stray away from exposition and is beginning to tie everything together.
While this episode may be the best of the season so far, it still clings to the vestiges of Kyoto Saga that have weighed the season down. The unnecessary flashbacks continue, though “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” keeps its extraneous sequence down to a paltry 40 seconds. Also, if Rin has seen little screen time, side characters like Izumo, Shima, Konekomaru, and Shiemi are essentially forgotten. While they were involved in a bit of Rin’s drama at the beginning of the series, they have remained irrelevant throughout the season thus far. Hopefully the focus on past events will diminish after this episode and the show will return to developing the main cast of characters.
“A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” does a great job at raising the stakes and signifying an advancement in not only the plot, but combat. After the events in this past episodes, it is necessary for a drastic change of pacing and focus. Hopefully, the remainder of Kyoto Saga will remain as strong as “A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing”.
All Images From: Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga
