Hello, everyone! Welcome to another episode review, this time Crunchyroll’s Onyx Equinox Episode 4. If you have not been keeping up, then head over to Crunchyroll and check out the first three episodes. Three episodes are still an easy binge if you ask me. Now four episodes into the show, I am already feeling fatigued with the show’s slow pacing. However, I will say that I’m enjoying it a lot more than I initially did. And as I stated last week, the introduction of new, and more interesting characters is helping with the slow pacing so far. That being said, let’s kick off the spoiler-free review with the synopsis for Onyx Equinox Episode 4, “The Stranger.”
Synopsis
Izel, K’in and Yun struggle to close the second gate at Lakamha. There, they meet the suspicious wanderer Zyanya, who offers to help them close the gate, but only if they return to Danibaan with her to save her people.
Last episode we added twins, K’in and Yun, to the roster. It seems they will be joining Izel on his journey to close the gates of the underworld. This episode has a nearly identical structure to the last episode, as we add another new character and encounter another gate. So, if you’ve been enjoying this format so far, then they delivered. If not, then this is unfortunately another one of those episodes. The show is understandably slow, however, as there is a need to set viewers up for the rules of this world and get all of the pieces in place. I am hoping that once they do, the action and intensity will really pick up. Also, the animation is consistently great, and definitely familiar to anyone who is a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
RELATED: Onyx Equinox Episode 3 Review (Spoiler-Free)
Additionally, this episode does offer more into Yaotl’s position to the gods he serves. Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl light up the screen whenever they appear, so I’d like to see more of them along the way. Really interesting how they seem to need conduits to show themselves, as we have yet to see their real appearances.
Overall Thoughts
There seems to be a formula established already as we have had back-to-back episodes moving at similar beats. It is great to meet another character, but at the same time, not much has happened to really pull me into this story and its characters. The twins offer some great comedic moments and Izel is getting a little braver, but there is still some depth lacking in these characters. Perhaps more flashbacks with Izel and his sister would help amplify the stakes for him to complete his journey. Plus, for a character with nothing else to lose, he is not giving his all like I would expect. Especially given the backstory we got from him in the last episode. It seems that he has been no stranger to traumatic events, so I guess this could explain his weakness thus far. Nonetheless, these are small issues that may be fixed in the coming episodes.
What do you guys think of Onyx Equinox so far? Are you excited for the big wave of anime coming out this winter? Let us know in the comments below!
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