Joseph barely escapes from the XAT but is seriously injured. He collapses from exhaustion and his wounds. When he recovers consciousness, he finds himself sheltered in a warehouse containing waste disposal.
Gerd returns to the scene but his status as a hero has fallen quite far and he’s more demon than anything else now.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Of the two Gonzo streamed series, Blassreiter continues to prove a very difficult show to watch as its pacing and mishmash of characters just throws me off with each episode. While the Tower of Druaga nails it with each episode, Blassreiter still has me wondering what this will really all be about. Of course, the difference in the number of episodes helps as Blassreiter has more room to play with, but even up through episode five they still haven’t provided me with a decent enough reason to really want to come back for more.
This episode focuses on the return of Gerd after he’s been off the map for a bit as Joseph got the focus of the previous episode. Gerd’s rise and fall and rise and fall again has been amusing to watch but this fall in particular has hit him hard. Having gone from a racing god to dead only to be resurrected as a savior with his changes and ability to fight the Demoniacs, his subsequent fall has nearly broken him emotionally now that he’s back. After his attack on Matthew, he’s been viewed as the worst of the Amalgam’s to make it out there but there are still some that believe in him, be it Hermann or some kid whose grown up thinking of him just as that. And then there are those that are quite afraid of him, such as Jil.
With Matthew having been dealt with, the XAT folks start to realize that even though they’ve slowed her transformation, it’s highly likely that Gerd will be coming for her next. Even with her in a secure undisclosed location, they can’t help but think that it’s only a matter of time until he figures it out. So naturally they decide to transport her elsewhere and that just tips him off through the psychic connection he apparently has with her. Thus ensues a lengthy video game chase and battle scene as he deals with the XAT members that are defending and transporting her. In a way, it’s a fascinating sequence to watch as the technical side of it is done so well from the small window we’re watching through, but the flip side is that it really does feel more like showboating than actually serving the story. The visuals are impressive enough but there still isn’t anything to really connect with.
The downside to this episode was that the interesting story arc involving Joseph gets pushed the background again and other than a few shots of him and the new young boy he’s got taking care of him watching Gerd battle it out on the TV, they’re pretty much useless. And that sort of says a lot about most of the cast as they’re all either acting very emotionally or they’re keeping it cold and dead inside. The lack of quality time spent with anyone for any length of time combined with a number of them running around in motorcycle helmets that obscures their view keeps it from really letting you get to know any of them. This has been the core issue with the show since the beginning for me and with this episode it still hasn’t gotten any better.
In Summary:
Looking at the show on an episode by episode basis has certainly been challenging but I don’t think it’d fare much better with us through a DVD release which would contain these first five episodes more than likely. Blassreiter has some very interesting things to it when it comes to the use of the CG animation, but it still feels very gimmicky and the entire premise itself feels like it’s clinging to some sort of motorcycling fad. The characters are little more than ciphers still and the overall world design is still far too vague to really sink your teeth into. There is potential to be had, as there is with any story, but Blassreiter seems to just be throwing it away with each new episode.
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