Tuesday 26 July 2011

Kamisama Dolls - Episode 4

With Aki on the loose and a number of Seki now seemingly running roughshod around town, we discover that there's something of an on-going power struggle going on between rival factions back at said Seki's home village - something to be aware of as the series progresses no doubt.

This information all comes as a precursor to what we saw at the end of episode three, with an unconscious Aki being dragged off by a more than slightly curious Kuuko after refusing to join the so-called "Hyuga" group during his latest skirmish.  Elsewhere, Utao and Kuga compare notes as they reveal their disparate encounters with other Seki, although not before one of those inevitable "walking in on the girl you like naked moments".


Luckily (or perhaps unluckily) for all and sundry, Kuuko's big mouth tips off her new-found "guest" to Hibino, who in turn tells Kuga of her concerns - this of course brings us another encounter between our two former best buddies, and one which sees Kuga lose his rag ot a shocking degree in the process before Aki makes good his escape.  While Kuuko still hasn't given up on Aki and the mysterious power he wields, so Kuga and Utao find themselves with something or the more confusing and downright worrying to concern themselves with....

After a stop-start opening three episodes, this week's Kamisama Dolls at least found a little rhythm to its story and pacing, with plenty to be getting on with interspersed with far briefer moments of light-hearted comedy.  This made the episode as a whole far stronger - okay, Aki isn't quite the cold-blooded maniac we'd assumed from episode one all of a sudden, but the other Seki introduced properly here have put some suitably fascinating flesh on the show's bones while Kuuko has turned from an irritation into an interesting forward character who looks set to be the show's loose cannon.  There's still a way to go before I can start raving about Kamisama Dolls, but this was at least an enjoyable and occasionally tense episode to suggest that it might have some legs to it after all compared to the damp squib we've endured prior to this point.

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