Despite the high stakes of the conflict between Raniya and Azir, the execution was a bit lackluster. New discoveries paint Azir in a more sympathetic light, but it doesn’t help the uninspired writing, the underwhelming action, the missed opportunities, and the oddly rushed pacing. It feels like the show is setting up for something bigger, so fingers crossed.
Disappointing at Best
Azir’s two henchmen were such wasted potential! They lure Raniya and Togo to some deserted ruins for a final showdown against Azir but are defeated so quickly. Granted, they’re meant to be the opening act to demonstrate how strong Azir is, but they didn’t contribute to that sense of power scaling.
The chimera-user was at least amusing in how fast he went down, but the card-user is clearly a reference to Yu-Gi-Oh, the anime about fighting with trading cards! How do you not capitalize on that? From the Egypt-inspired setting, to the card designs, to the fact that the card binder is on his left arm like a Duel Disk, this could have been one of the most creative fights in the series. My internal screams cannot be silenced!
Azir’s Battle
At any rate, the fight against Azir is pretty cool. His Privilege Spell power to control sand and stop time make him one of the hardest enemies Togo and friends have faced. He essentially has a Stand from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
This episode also explores his relationship with Raniya, and how they bonded over inheriting a leadership role for their respective peoples. It feels like the show is setting up Azir to be a misunderstood tragic hero who does bad things for good reasons. Whether or not he’s in his right mind remains to be seen. Perhaps we’ll meet another Royal Demon, like Abudabi from episode 5, who’s secretly pulling the strings.
The highlight of the episode is when Azir steals Raniya’s transformation equipment and uses it himself. With the power of the warrior Amen and a Privilege Spell, it’s not looking good for Kizuna Red.
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