MAO ‒ Episodes 10-11

Same, Otoya. Same.

Apologies, I couldn't resist making this my thumbnail image—it reminds me too much of that meme of Heero Yuy lying face down in the water, and gave me a good chuckle when it happened. If you're over the age of 30 and grew up on an anime-heavy media diet back in The Day, odds are you know the one.

Double apologies for the delays, dear readers. It would seem—not unlike Nanoka herself, running between her and Mao's time—that my sense and scale of the passage of time have simply escaped me. Reality, alas, is harsh. But then again, I guess it's nothing compared to the absolute gauntlet Mao and Nanoka have been going through. What began as a bit of a frog-themed side quest has evolved considerably—and nearly killed Mao, who's supposed to be unkillable. A level-up moment for Nanoka, meanwhile, feels imminent, considering how Mao himself keeps getting curb-stomped by this shadowy villain in Kyoto.

To be clear: I'd welcome that with open arms! I think the dynamic between Mao and Nanoka would work a lot better if Nanoka had more going for her—say, she was more in control of her power, and she could be considered a comparable fighter to Mao. As it currently stands, she's been in fish-out-of-water mode for more or less the whole series up until now. She's due for some time in the spotlight and more direct plot relevance beyond being a backup body for Byoki. She's our point-of-view character, so it'd be nice to see her being more directly involved.

I'd say “let's move on to the elephant in the room,” but that's just it, isn't it: It wasn't an elephant. It was an entire society of CGI fish, all mashed together into one giant servant figure that Mao used to know back in his human days. Striking and (for better or worse) memorable as it was, I'm not sure I love or hate this visual even now. I've seen better in the realm of CGI in anime, for sure—but I've also seen way worse. I think generally speaking, people tend to be too harsh on CGI in anime, and don't know what actual bad CGI in anime looks like: KamiErabi GOD.app, KamiKatsu, and of course, EX-ARM. On one hand, especially compared to the visuals in the rest of the show, this was pretty jarring. But then on the other, it's supposed to intimidate and make the audience feel a certain level of discomfort, and I wouldn't argue on its mission being accomplished. I definitely felt that, after all. So I guess, one could say, I end up feeling like everything comes out a wash on this. [Ba dum tsss]

Still, the mystery—like the waters around Mao and Nanoka—has pretty thoroughly deepened in these last couple of episodes. Someone in Kyoto wants Mao; they're obviously familiar with the way his entire existence works (at least to some extent), and they're willing to resort to some pretty cruel methods if it means getting his attention. Or perhaps more relevantly: They have the ability to force Mao's hand because they're clearly powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with Mao, whom they very nearly took out at the end of the most recent episode.

Takahashi likes a shadow-y villain, come to think of it, doesn't she? A puppetmaster who prefers to operate as far away from the action as possible, confusing her protagonists at every chance they get. And it's not hard to see why she seems to like writing her villains this way. Not only does it provide ample opportunities to add mystery and intrigue to the main story, but it also makes those same villains feel more mysterious and intimidating. Which is to say, even though MAO has done a better job separating itself from InuYasha, this whole time I see the way this villain is operating and all I can think to myself is, “It's Naraku. She's just doing Naraku again. Right down to there being some confusion around Mao and the Byoki's relationship and who did what to whom.” But honestly, Naraku was a pretty great and memorable villain, so admittedly, I don't entirely mind this. It's a very, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it” type formula for Takahashi.

And indeed, it ain't broke. At this point, I'm pretty curious about what direction the series could be headed in with all this Kyoto stuff—which is good, because with the introduction of the apprentices we've met so far, it obviously feels like the series is building toward something. With the way the series has mostly been paced up until now, I'd be willing to bet we're going to get a payoff sooner rather than later. All we can do now, I suppose, is wait.

Rating:

MAO is currently streaming on Hulu.