Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens - Episode 3 (Review)
By: RogueSymbioteSaito is on the run after being named the primary suspect in Qioamei's murder. Desperate to clear his name, Saito turns to Jiro, the man from the avenging agency that previously abducted the would-be assassin. Jiro believes Saito's story and accepts the avenging commission to frame the people responsible for the crime. Meanwhile, Lin is on the warpath to eliminate everyone involved in his sister's demise.
Story Arc
Lin rushes into Zhang's agency and quickly disposes of the on-site staff. After confronting his former employer, Lin learns that his mother died 5 years ago and the money he believed to be sending home was actually being pocketed by Zhang. Ivanov, one of Munakata's men, intervenes just in time to save Zhang's life and allow him to escape. The massive assassin easily overpowers Lin, but is ultimately killed thanks to a pistol knife. Seriously though, that pistol knife looked amazing. Banba shows up and agrees to help Lin in exchange for a 5 year supply of spicy pollack roe.Enokida uncovers crucial information about Qioamei's murder. Although Saito is the clear suspect, Enokida's evidence indicates that the mayor's son Yusuke is responsible for the murder. With this shocking new information, Lin suggests a risky plan in order to confront the privileged psychopath. He wants to go undercover as one of the girls being sold to Yusuke and asks Banba to act as his dealer. While putting the plan together, one of Banba's friends receives a job from Zhang to recruit the Niwaka Samurai to eliminate Banba and Lin. The charismatic detective is not phased by the news and tells him to go through with the commission. We learn that Munakata has had a run in with the Niwaka Samurai in the past which resulted in the loss of his right eye.
Enokida is confronted by Munakata and reveals details of the plan to confront Yusuke. After successfully selling the crossdressing assassin to Yusuke's suppliers, Lin is transported by suitcase. The trip is shorter than expected however as Lin finds himself in front of Zhang and Munakata. Enokida's betrayal places Lin in an extremely dangerous scenario that he may not escape from... Who am I kidding, Lin's a main character... He's not going anywhere. I'm interested to see how he gets out of this situation though!
Episode Review
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens continues to world build. The slow reveal of the Niwaka Samurai continues to draw interest. As more details of Lin's backstory come to light, his character becomes even more likable. I still think a crossdressing assassin with a hothead is an absolute genius character choice. Besides Banba and Lin however, there are no character standouts. Yusuke seems interesting, but we've barely had any screen time with him so far. Once again, a series that promotes itself as assassin centric NEEDS to show a bit more gore and violence. The most graphic scene from this week was only shown by shadow... Seriously disappointing. The storyline continues to more forward at a reasonable pace and leaves you wanting more. Even though I wish the series was better, I find myself needing to know what happens next. Here's hoping episode 4 has some crazy action!
