Karneval ep11: a pretext to do better

I’ve come to grips with why I’ve yet to drop this disappointing show. It’s not because it’s bad, it’s not. And it’s not because it’s boring, though it certainly can be at times. It’s because of Gareki. If they don’t make his character awesome by the end of this it will be an unforgivable waste. At least this episode gives me the pretext to believe that that will be possible.

Events are somewhat jumbled, but basically Hirato is talking to some corporate big wig about how a rival company (or was it his company? Hirato’s eyes are so mesmerizing…) was up to “No Good Shenanigans” and probably harboring monsters. Meanwhile, we cut to Yogi, Gareki and Nai as they go through a shopping montage. They finally get to the store that features Nyanpero material, and Yogi is super hyped. Unfortunately, Gareki has had a bad experience with the suit and kinda blows up in the store. I don’t get this guy. He makes an enormous amount of effort to look like he doesn’t care about anything, but when it comes to Yogi and that suit he just loses his sh*t!

Anyway, the outburst attracts the attention of some snobby little rich kid, who you can tell is destined to be a pretty boy.  He blackmails them into helping him find some “pasta shop” because, well you know kids have dreams.  And those dreams could die if they ever find out there are people in those suits.  I mean it.  They could really die from heartbreak, murdered and bloody dreams, and a lack of “feels”.

(I don’t know why I feel like being such a condescending *ss tonight.)

They escort him around town.  Hirato finds out the kid is the sun of the man he’s been talking to, and puts out a Circus A.P.B. on the kid.  He’s just escaped from his room, which isn’t that bad except for the likely fact that bad guys will be after him.  After all, that is the ONLY thing that could make this set up exciting.  And my prediction comes true when some creep in a mascot outfit similar to Nyanpero’s tries to kidnap the brat at gunpoint.  It fails because Yogi is contextually awesome, Hirato, Tsukumo and some goons for the client they’re helping show up.  Hirato orchestrates a ruse to allow Yogi to take Nai and the kid away so they can finish their little quest and hang out more.  This leads us to the kid finding the “pasta shop” he was looking for.

The shop is actually his mother’s home, who left (divorced) his dad awhile ago.  He shows up only to find out that his mother had recently died due to an accident.  When then get a flashback illustrating how when he last got a chance to see his mother, he ignored her because he childishly thought that she had left him, too.  So his last memory of his now dead mother is one where he treats her like crap.  F*ck you Karneval, that was such a cheap shot.  I refuse to have empathy for such a forced set up.

Nai senses the pain the kid is feeling, and attempts to comfort him, though he’s quite ignorant in how he’s to do so.  A young caretaker of the home gives him a robot, that was supposed to be a present for him.  The robot has his mother’s voice recorded into it, asking him how-

Really Karneval!  Really!  This is too much you jerks!  Even the happy moments in this set up are incredibly sad!  F*ck you!

With things healed after a good cry, the kid is picked up and taken back home.  But he doesn’t leave before telling Nai that he’s heard Karoku’s name before, it was from a girl in his school named Elysium… or something.  This becomes important soon because that very night Nai is contacted by Karoku, imploring him to come to his very location.  It seems Karoku’s life is in danger.

Nai takes this information to his friends on the Second Ship, but it seems that it’s very unlikely they’ll be able to invade a place that they don’t have evidence enough to attack.  That is until Hirato steps in and says that all they need to do is leave the responsibility to him, and attack under the assumption that they’re going in to save Karoku’s life.

Two important plot points that I glossed over – while it looks like Akari is in denial, there’s definitely a mole/traitor in the Research Department.  And also, it looks like Gareki has been invited to be a part of the Second Ship crew.  I assume that means that he’ll receive a bracelet and the appropriate super/magic powers that go along with it.  I’m happy and excited about that, because I have been wondering for a long time how long Gareki was going to be marginalized and useless.  Though it looks like he won’t have time for that upgrade before they raid one of Kafka’s major headquarters.  I just hope everyone is more prepared than last time they encountered Varuga.

Further Reading:

• Episode 10