Let’s drop this joke. It’s Vs. Turbo Granny.
So, as one might guess, this episode is basically one massive action sequence, from facing Turbo Granny in the Tunnel on until Momo and Okarun drag her outside of city limits to her apparent doom.
And, it’s a very solid sequence. I’ve said it before in many a review and I will say it again here asn in the future: in a good combat sequence, or really a good action sequence, you need instability. You need a push and pull, where each side can appear to be on the ropes only to rally back into the fight, or on the cusp of victory only to have it snatched away.
This does that. Turbo Granny corners them, but Momo taunts her into accepting a challenge. Turbo Granny cheats (or doesn’t on an extreme technicality) and traps momo while depowering Okarun, but Okarun uses one of her notable neuroses to get back in things and let Momo seal Turbo Granny back in his body. But then the Location-bound spirit (a giant crab) appears and begins to give turbo chase.
Momo and Okarun get away, and try to boil the crab in a heated bath. But the crab rallies, and spirits of the dead are called to help hem in our heroes. Momo and Okarun bust out of that and hitch a ride on a train that’s faster than Turbo Granny, but she (re-merged with the crab) catches up when it hits a turn and slows down. But the train leaves city limits, and that’s the final blow on Turbo Granny.
That is… a lot. There’s point after point where, for a moment, it seems like Momo and Okarun have it or where it seems like all hope is lost.
That’s how you do a really good extended action sequence.
And since that’s basically the episode, with just a little post-script where we learn Turbo Granny may not have been that evil a spirit (she was watching over the bound souls of murdered girls) and where it seems Okarun and Momo will stay friends, I guess I’ll get into another sort of side topic.
That would be DanDaDan’s use of color. It’s been mentioned elsewhere, but in the show every supernatural entity has its own color, which becomes dominant when that’s in place. Momo is cyan. Turbo Granny is red. The sumo alien that turned things black and white was, of course, black. This is loudly notable, and makes some scenes incredibly striking.
But more than that, in this sequence it’s used to paint Turbo Granny’s threat. When she (or the crab) rallies, red light will overtake a background that might have looked normal. Unlike making the whole show go lose its colors, this isn’t something you’ll necessarily notice in a conscious fashion right away. But it makes the very quick, very punchy action hit dramatically. The bold use of color and lightning instantly creates (or disperses) the sense of threat, and thus helps the viewer keep up with the sometimes incredibly quick turnabouts in the events on screen. It’s actually kind of genius, and absolutely something that’s unique to the anime adaptation.
Next week, let’s see if we get a new hue…