Synduality: Noir Ep 4 Review: The Orge That Protects Daisies

Episode 4 of Synduality saw our wimpy main character doing a 180, becoming more determined with a bit of tunnel-vision. But luckily an ara-ara onee-san is here to “calm” our protagonist down. A very turbo episode that might signal significant changes in the story. However, did they nail the character development execution? Well, that’s open to interpretation 😉

Right at the start, Kanata suddenly went all gung-ho about getting Drifter jobs with the head Grandma. Seeing him doing a 180 is pretty abrupt and sudden, but we can attribute it to the encounter he had in Pleasure Island. After meeting Kurokamen and got some “encouraging” words from him (even though Kurokamen himself didn’t really understand the context), Kanata was “awakened” in a way. Seeing the Gilbow and the Type Zero Magus supernatural abilities made Kanata aware that not just Tokio and Aventure, but almost every Drifters out there are sick mecha pilots, and he need to step up. Well, being a young shonen, he of course opts for the most reckless option: just rush head-on into it and hope he’ll come out unscathe.

The side characters in this series is pretty nice. I like the boss grandma where she definitely is an experienced and kind woman who have the people’s best interest at heart. She knows how to deal with inter-personal conflict and has great leadership skills as well. Definitely a powerhouse.

Of course, this type of rushed behaviors never end well. The first battle Kanata has is against a few fodder Enders. But even so, without Noir’s assisstance, Kanata struggle even against the most basic of enemies. We can see that it’s because he’s the bookworm type, trying to stick to the basics and apply it to real life situation. However, real battles aren’t always text-book, and you have to adapt. The ability to adapt comes from trial and errors, from failures, from experience, something Kanata has 0 of. And it is not a surprise that he had his asses handed to him. And once again, he had to be saved.

And the person who saved him is Claudia, a bombshell Drifter that no doubt has men swooning over for her. A skilled Drifter in her own right, Claudia quickly dispatched of the Enders and Kanata was instantly mesmerized (well, not by her badonkers, though they are very impressive). A classy Drifter that is super in sync with her Magus that can unleash that sort of power in just a blink of an eye is impressive. Of course, Kanata is still referring to himself as a washed-out Drifter, but at least he’s trying to get rid of that title.

Then we get some development for Noir. And Kanata found out that she’s a Type Zero Magus that can execute those special attacks. As viewers, we all knew that Noir is special from the start, but Kanata is certainly a certified dumbass. One would think the first thing a Drifter needs to do is understand his own Magus. In a way, Kanata is treating Noir like an actual girl and try not to “invade” her privacy I guess. But he also ask her not to help him during his fights so he can hone his own skills. Certainly this prove that he’s in that kind of phase where he assume he has to be “good enough” for her instead of truly embracing Noir’s existence. Thankfully, that changed pretty quick later on. Noir’s convo with Flamme is certainly a good one, showing that Magus is capable of a range of emotion and that flashback of Noir hint at a complex history with the world. My guess is she has been to various places with her masters and seen many things, but now her memory has been sealed away somehow.

Mad respect to Tokio where he seems to be the lubricant to Kanata’s gears. Dude just integrate himself seamlessly into everything (well aside from the fact that he’s a horny brat). He’s been in the background supporting Kanata all these while in all sorts of aspect. He seems to know how to deal with all kinds of people in all kinds of situation. And he even has a Magus butler that is totally badass.

Then came the revenge round! This time, after speaking with Claudia (verbally, of course), he sorta understand that a Drifter has to be many things, but the most important thing is to do your own thing how you like (I guess that smooch worked pretty damn well). Kanata did a fine job this time, managing to take down several Enders while properly partnering up with Noir like equals. Noir didn’t take the rein and Kanata didn’t completely ignore her. The two worked together quite nicely, but even so, due to inexperience, Tokio did came in for the final hurrah. The Gundam Victory wheel reference is pretty funny lol. Tokio basically embodies two homages in this one: both to Eva and Victory. From a story-telling perspective, it makes sense because Kanata can’t really become an ace overnight and having him improving gradually is ok. However the story is progressing really slowly, if Bandai is planning to go long and slow with the series, it would be ok, but if they intend this as a promo series for the game with only 12 episodes, it would be a herculean task to create some big event later on. Hopefully this will not turn into another Sakugan.

Aaron
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