Rokka – Braves of the Six Flowers Episode #03 Anime Review

Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers Episode #3

The enemy of my enemy is my… enemy?

What They Say:
Episode #3: “The Girl Who Kills Braves”

The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)

Adlet was firmly in Flamie’s gunsight at the end of the last episode. Adlet isn’t about to fight another Brave, especially one who is calling herself the Saint of Gunpowder. Flamie falls in the category of the short, quiet and mysterious girl. (Her ridiculous outfit actually shares some similarities with Goldov’s, but the chest ban doesn’t look so strange on a guy. Whom I kidding? The outfits are all silly.)  She doesn’t want anything to do with Adlet, and tells him over and over to leave her alone, and then flees. Adlet isn’t about the let the woman wander off alone and gives chase.

What a merry chase it is too! Flamie is skilled at avoiding people and keeping them at arm’s length. Given that her main weapon is a riffle she needs to keep people and monsters from getting the drop on her. However Adlet is a master of his own game, and tracks her down with a spyglass and cuts off her route of escape. We find out he’s building his own reputation after the events in Piena, that of the cowardly warrior. You can imagine how that must bother Adlet, who considers himself the strongest man in the world.

You know what bugs me? When the spelling of the names changes mid show. Fremy is now Flamie, Nashetania is now Nachetanya. I blame the official website, which has the names written out in that way… except that website was up before this show started so I could blame Crunchyroll. However, people say the names were written out in English in the light novels and the previous spellings were the correct ones. Moving on…

After Adlet steels Flamie’s gunpowder and bullets, a truce is reached. Flamie thinks that Adlet is too trusting, but Adlet never lets his guard down with here, as shown with the mirror he uses to make sure his gambit works. Adlet is determined to travel to the meeting point with her and Flamie reluctantly agrees. She refuses to tell him why she’s determined to fight alone, saying the explanation would cause him to turn on her and they’d be forced to kill each other. Considering Goldov and Nachetanya now believe her to be the Brave killer I’m sure her actions carry some heavy baggage. Her past is certainly the most mysterious of all the current Braves.

On the way to their destination Adlet and Flamie come across a fortress which is down to it’s last regiment. Here we learn a contingency plan was set in place by the Saints of Salt, Fog, and Illusion. A magical barrier can be activated to trap all demons from entering or existing the barrier, and that once the Braves are on the far side they can use it to keep the monsters trapped.  Six against thousands wasn’t a fair fight, so this would even the odds a bit. That’s only if the garrison can hold out. There’s a backup signal which can be used if the fort falls, which I fully expect to happen.

The fact that the continent clearly has systems in place for this cyclical event makes me wonder why Nachetanya was so hurried to take off before being briefed on this stuff. She might have already known about these defenses, but Adlet clearly didn’t. Then again, he was living with a hermit during his training.

Adlet and Flamie continue on their way after the briefing at the fort. Flamie is uneasy and we soon learn why. Nachetanya and Goldov catch up to the two and instantly attack Flamie. The battle between the Braves is cool, with some very quick action a lot of interesting magical sword art from Nachetanya. Goldov fights with what looks like a massive harpoon of sorts which he can fling through the air. Adlet tries his best to stop get the two warriors to cease their actions, and all Flamie can say is a ‘I told you so.’

In Summary:
I’m happy to note the animation is steady and holding in Rokka, but the main draw here is the growing sense that something isn’t right about this save the world quest. Flamie gives little away about herself or her motives, leaving only more questions about the Gunpowder Saint then there are answers. Adlet, despite his bravado, seems to know that the Braves stand their best and only chance to save the world by working as a team. We don’t often see characters with his combination of cleverness and confidence that don’t come off as overpowered or a joke in some way. Adlet is going to have to use all of his charm to keep the Braves from killing each other before all of them can assemble. Everyone is hiding something, and the more Braves we meet the deeper that sensation grows.

Episode Grade:  B +

Streamed by: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:  27” iMac running OS 10.10.3, via Safari 8.0.6, FIOS 15/5 Mbps connection.  Your milage may vary.