This review of Appare-Ranman! Contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the chapter yet, I recommend you do it and then go back to read the review
Chapter 5: Eve. And…
Appare-Ranman! Chapter 5. Before the big race, the starting positions for all runners must be determined by a lottery in the gala that precedes the event. On the night of the gala, where all runners are gathered, you can see familiar and famous faces as well as some hidden talents. Among them is Dylan, with whom Hototo asks one last time about the man with a snake’s tattoo. This time when he gets answers, however, they are not to be taken lightly. Such a tattoo belongs to the subordinates of one of the three thousand, the most inhumane of them, Gil the butcher.
Back in the event hall, the sets must finally be decided. Another so-called Thousand Three, Crazy TJ, contradicts the idea of leaving the contributions to chance. Therefore, his proposal to take the position by force causes chaos with a series of competitions between all competitors in order to achieve a good position. These range from duels to death, especially between Dylan and TJ, to conventional ones, such as slicing a cucumber.
It is difficult to know whether such madness was intended or not, but the next day it is no longer relevant. When all the participants are behind the wheel, all you have to do is wait for the flag that marks the start and let the vehicles do the rest. With that … the Great Transcontinental Race begins !!!
Those who wear the snake
“If something precious was taken away from you, could you forget it?” I have, said companion. Although forgetting is easier, we cannot always do it. To be honest, my life would be very different if I forgot to do “certain things”. But it’s really impossible for me to forget a few things. I feel like if I don’t pursue them I will lose all the purpose I have left.
What I want to achieve is the importance of highlighting two elements that seem to play a major role in Hototo’s development, and also to serve as a personal relationship to the character of Gil and his group. We can know from the start that this story won’t allow him to take revenge so easily if the murderer’s identity is more or less revealed, no matter what Hototo tries.
He is a character that is persistent and impulsive whenever an event is mentioned in connection with his revenge. Since the man who was responsible for his father’s death ran in the same race as him, he would surely take the first opportunity to take his head off. Of course it will fail in his attempt, but that’s not the important thing. What to expect here is the type of predicament Hototo will face, the actions of Gil and his subordinates, and ultimately the method by which he is saved.
Of the characters influenced by revenge, one tends to expect a pattern that gives you a chance relatively soon, only to fail inevitably. The goal is to write a situation that forces the character to understand the reality and in some cases creates a point of dependency and trust among his colleagues. It’s not a golden rule, but I usually see this rule repeatedly.
With Hototo you already have a certain amount of trust among the protagonists, so I would say here that we also have the main goal of marking Gil as the “main opponent” in this story. Their actions have been discussed, but we still have to see with our own eyes whether it is really as cruel as they make it sound. By working with Hototo and finally with Appare and Kosame, this personal connection is established to give more weight to their antagonistic role. In my opinion, at least, that could result from this development.
Crazy Gun Fu!
Formalities are really not my thing. Label and social codes are both elements that really exhaust me. Courtesy is valuable, but it is suffocating for me to go so far. With that in mind, I want to say how much I want to take it from time to time, ignoring all of these restrictions and codes, similar to TJ.
Its introduction is based on this idea. Participate in an event that is considered top-class and let it act as usual, without restrictions or consideration for the place or the people present. At the beginning it is shown that he is a character who does not follow the rhythm of others, but someone who constantly forces others to keep up with him.
In short, it leaves an impression from the moment it appears in your vehicle and continues until the chaos breaks out. A hurricane that passes wherever it wants without worrying about the results of its presence. These are characters that are usually somewhat unpredictable and help to relieve tension or give everyday emotions. You just have to see what happens to the raffle at the starting points to understand how weird these characters can be.
This section was my favorite in the episode. The thoughtless chaos quickly spread across the entire gala. The situation escalated so quickly and absurdly that you simply cannot help but let yourself be carried away by the chaos and forget that this should be a formal event. And frankly, I prefer this situation to a simple raffle, especially if such starting positions are really irrelevant to the story. Going for a bit of chaos to show a bit more of your characters was definitely the right decision here.
And when I talk about showing the characters, I definitely don’t doubt Dylan’s and TJ’s position within the Thousand Three now. Both of them, hmm … rivalry, that’s what we call it now, and their gun skills are real. Contrary to the absurdity in the room, his duel reaches a higher level and shows his incredible ability with the pistol. The conflict between these two is another element to consider not only for the characters, but also for the great show that happens every time they come off.
Final opinion
Finally … the big transcontinental race has started! And I have very high expectations in this regard. The main competitors have already been introduced and I like the line-up that they have formed. Not everyone leaves the same impact, but you still have a good repertoire to bring this competition to life.
From the sections that appear in the vehicles, I want to see something that is somewhat similar to the rally. This is the automotive discipline that I can imagine could serve as the basis for the sections of history that take place in the desert and other uneven terrain. If so, you would be very excited every time you step into your very special vehicle. You can’t capture the charm of rallies until you see them with your own eyes.
However, we cannot have the entire series of characters limited to their vehicles. Each stop is a good break to advance the story and further improve relationships between opposing teams. The eight-hour rule in particular is a great way to ensure that there is enough time for these interactions to occur naturally in the middle of a big race.
And of course we have a behind-the-scenes conspiracy trying to sabotage the race. I told them that these situations always go hand in hand. Well, who will be responsible, the accomplice and what the reasons will be, I have no idea. This is really not the time to ask these questions. Instead, for now, all you have to do is enjoy the spectacle that this particular race in the United States offers.
