Beatless Episode 3 Review

 

   If you paid attention to my previous reviews of its episodes, you will know that I don't think very highly of Beatless- this episode has been barely different, but that barely here stands for a couple of inches towards the positive direction.
  This episode's hook is the kidnapping of Lacia, which the episode uses to show how hIE are perceived as nothing more than objects- stuff we already know. This pretty much continues into a long, long car "chase." And please keep in mind that we are using the word chase very loosely- it happens at usual car cruising speed. So, if 60 km/h down the suburbs gets your veins filled with adrenaline, you should stop reading and watch this episode right now!
  Pretty much after that, we get introduced to the kidnapper for a brief moment, resulting in him being portrayed as a stereotypical psycho before Kouka shows up for a brief action scene, and- the credits roll. This progression of the plot leaves a lot to be desired- in the pacing especially; show seems to be moving at a much slower pace than it is supposed to- here we do get some information about a particular group of hIEs know as "Red Boxes," which I found to be somewhat interesting, but not very well explained. This seems to be a recurring problem in this show- it expects you just to pick up these concepts as the plot moves along, without any explanations. This is because, primarily, all characters are residents of this world and pretty much know all of this fancy terminology. It would be much better if it had a character who was a foreigner to this world so that we would get better explanations.
  Why was this episode slightly better than the previous one? Well, it introduces the intrigue behind the character of Kouka and Lacia and brings forwards some themes related to robots which are mildly interesting, but again- I hope that the show does not delay these revelations for too long. I just hope this does not go in the same way regarding the mysteries as .hack did...
  Visually, this episode is so-so, the slight highlight being the action scene at the end- it feels rough around the edges and overall unappealing while in motion.

Score breakdown:

Story: C

Has some potentially interesting themes, some intrigue behind Lacia and Kouka.

Characters: C
The new character, the kidnapper, is stereotypical, but there is some intrigue to be found in Kouka and Lacia.

Animation: C
Has a so-so action sequence at the end, overall unappealing in motion. CG cars are not jarring as they seemed at first.

Art: A
Nothing to say here which was not stated before.

+ Some intrigue

- Slow pacing for an action series, needs to hurry up with its revelations to keep the viewers engaged.