WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Akudama Drive Episode 2, "RESERVOIR DOGS," now streaming on Funimation.
Akudama Drive continues directly from its premiere by throwing its ragtag group of outlaws into their next mission, which is far more dangerous than the previous jailbreak. The characters continue to remain incredibly static, but the molds they fit are interesting enough to make them entertaining. This episode cements the nonstop adventure attitude introduced in the first episode by raising the stakes and showing more of the Akudama in action.
After the successful Cutthroat breakout, the Cat is revealed to be a robot with a larger scheme than initially thought. The collars on each inmate are set to explode if they resist à la Suicide Squad, but they prove not to be the main motivation, as the next job comes with a paycheck of one billion yen. Excited by the premise of the job of a lifetime, everyone agrees to accept and regroup on a commandeered bus, but a mishap leads to them crash landing into a luxury hotel.
Law enforcement getting involved but quick work is made of them, allowing the plan to be explained from the safety of a luxury suite. The job entails stealing a safe being transported on the Shinkansen and delivering it to an undisclosed location. With maximum security and its route going straight through an uninhabitable hellscape, it seems nearly impossible to pull off, but with the combined abilities of everyone present, the Cat believes that they're up to the task.
Their meeting is interrupted when a duo of elite law enforcement officers known as Executioners arrive on the scene. Specializing in terminated Akudama, they're more than a match for everyone and make quick work of a few. It's only through a surprise maneuver from Courier that allows them to narrowly escape. However, the pair of Executioners are still hot on their trail. They reconvene at an abandoned factory and prepare for the Shinkansen siege, which is sure to be a less than flawless endeavor.
The series continues to have immense potential just waiting to be used. The introduction of this futuristic Japan's history is incredibly interesting. The premise of class-divided society following a civil war is incredibly interesting but Akudama Drive simply hasn't explored it. The show clearly has a good handle on what it wants its universe to be, as shown through the creative exposition in the form of the puppet propaganda that's shown every hour on television, but simply needs to show off more of it.
As far as character development goes, small interactions between Hoodlum and Brawler make the group dynamic more charming, and Cutthroat's crush on the protagonist gives him more of a personality, although admittedly not to a great extent. Hacker and Courier remain silent and standoffish, which generally kills the mood in most of their scenes. If more time is spent building these characters and thererelationships, the show's action set pieceswill have much more weight behind them.
With a premise interesting enough to string viewers along to the next episode, Akudama Drive is still worth watching. The fight choreography felt much more grounded in this episode, since it was between two humans rather than robots, and seeing the group chaotically journey from place to place is where the show truly thrives. However, the show's flaws are notable enough that the series as a whole runs the risk of falling into mediocrity. For the time being, however, Akudama Drive's second episode is a step in the right direction.
New episodes of Akudama Drive premiere Thursdays at 8:30 AM ET on Funimation.
