A Battle Royale anime is something that have been done numerous times before: Mirai Nikki, Btoom!!, last year’s Magical Girl Raising Project… It’s such a delicious meal that it’s hard not to have fun when players try to outsmart the others or think of a creative way to kill each other. Juuni Taisen so far fulfill that concept successfully. Nothing deep yet but what this show excels is the memorable casts and the unpredictability of plots. Two episodes in, Juuni Taisen manages to catch us off guard twice, last week with the revealing that Rabbit – Usagi (for the sake of consistency I will use the animal name for characters – but will mention their Japanese name when I first introduce the characters) is a necromantist and this week with the Dog – Dotsuku suddenly gets his face smashed, in mere seconds. Now, many of you might think that the deaths have a pattern: a reversed Zodiac order: first the Boar, now the Dog. It certainly helps as well that the title of the next episode “Cutting a Chicken with a Beef Cleaver” might mean that this is the end of our Chicken – Niwatori. Well, knowing Nisio Isin I don’t think that will be the case. If there is anything that makes the writer stand out amongst the rest of LN authors, it’s that he can manage to pull the rug out of our feet with satisfying results (the episode 4 of Katanagatari springs to my mind). In fact, the first warrior who died wasn’t the Boar, it was the Snake – Ani, so it pretty much breaks the pattern.
Second, I believe the reverse order could be served as a narrative order. That I think explains the focus on those characters and if that is the case, the next episode will be dedicated to our Chicken. Not to say that this episode she hasn’t already left her mark. Come to the first lesson in this Battle Royale: never underestimate your enemy. The Dog had his plan all figured out: the only warrior who already had an antidote to the poisonous gem, making him the safest bet if he can lay low. On top of that, he’s tricky because he let others think that he’s a mad dog, but instead he’s calculated and use his venomous fang as a weapon to kill enemy. Come Chicken, who not only spots him unguarded, but displays a wide array of inexperienceness that let his guard down. Her innocence is just too adorable. When it comes to the crucial point, as Dog using Chicken as a decoy by boosting up her power, she smashed his skull off in a flash. When you think about that, Dog and Chicken make quite a pair, consider that their mottos aren’t all that different (Killing by Biting and Killing by Pecking – you all have to use mouth here). Question is, is it an impulsive act from Chicken because of the non-lethal drug kicked in or does she plan it all along? After all, letting herself bitten by the Dog wasn’t a wise decision at all.
Meanwhile, Rabbit team keeps marching ahead and the other team: the peaceful one, consists of Monkey – Shuryuu and Rat – Nezumi lay real low down the underground. It was Monkey who brought down the floor, but the person needed to be taken seriously is the Rat. He has an eye for details and he leaves all the other players the vague sense of déjà vu. Whoever this guy be? Monkey with her ceasefire approach could be the main development point for this series, so I expect this team won’t be killed anytime soon. Speaking of the one who was killed, the flashback from the Boar – Inounoshishi last week had me puzzled: We didn’t see her sister’s death. Or more on point, we even didn’t see she stabbed herself. My point being there could be something more than meet the eyes here. Maybe she saves her sister at last minute? Thus I believe her act is far from over so there might be some twists that bring her back to the game? Boy, I’m sure excited.
Not that these first two episodes don’t have its hiccup. First, there is a convention that whenever a character displays their strategy, or they have some character’s development, they’d be the one killed. So far, Juuni Taisen embraces that convention neatly (the shock the show provided so far comes from the way they were killed, not from twisting about who would get killed). Second, unless they properly invest the relationship and tension between the twin brothers Snake and Dragon, I feel they wasted a spot for a powerful character here. They could have many interesting ways to create a memorable Dragon warrior, so I hope the older twin is badass enough for me to forget about this. The Dragon doesn’t seem to be emotionally affected by the death of his twin brother. But if the first episode is any indication, siblings killing each other is the norms around here. There certainly isn’t lots of fights consider the Battle-Royale concept, but it’s the kind of battle I’m looking for; and I’m sure glad they don’t shy on the body counts. Bring all you got here Juuni Taisen.
As of now,
Deaths: Snake, Boar, Dog
Favorites to win: Bull, Monkey, Rat, Rabbit, no-one.
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