Pac-Man defense? I’m not seeing the correspondence. You’d think such a magical attack would involve at least some eating, wouldn’t you? I suppose the deluge of circular plates might resemble all the little circles Pac-Man’s got to gobble in that game but, if that’s the case, then it’s a really oblique reference.
Tenuous allusions to 80s video games, aside, I’ve been enjoying how these battles feel more like proper wizards’ duels instead the turn-based RPG combat theY could resemble - - and that isn’t just because of the preponderance of Masonic symbolism the show’s covered Mikuni in because of the crew’s obsession with American currency. Even if you don’t quite grasp the precise delineation between micro, meso and macro attacks, you still get enough of a sense that there’s reason, logic and maybe even a science to these entres’ arcana. They’re doing math on the fly to keep stock of their respective capital amounts and they’re taking artful approaches to feign attacks before they go in for the real kill. Without any animosity behind the duels, they actually feel more like the competitive technique displays you’d see in a Capoeria match.
All that said, I do think the notion of the Assets having stock is a little too cute of an extended conceit. Maybe it’ll make more sense in how it’s handled going forward, though.
Getting back to the animosity of the games… wow, does Yoga’s professor take the loss of his family well. Reiterating what I said last episode, I’ve been liking how there’s less melodrama in this show. No hot blood in sight! If this were SPIDER-MAN (where at least a quarter of Spidey’s villains are his teachers,) these guy would be bitter enemies right now. I guess the Prof is just accepting that life’s a big zero sum game and the agent lady wasn’t whistling dixie about reality getting warped by these bouts last episode. Who’s to say that Yoga’s co-worked at the 7-11 isn’t a victim of a previous warp, you know? Sooner or later, the young man’s going to have to pick which end of the stick he wants to be on.
Watch this episode “Conversion" below, decide for yourself and then read my comments on the previous episode here.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon here & here. Follow him on Twitter: @tompinchuk
