Thunder 3 ‒ Episode 10
Dragon Ball Z pacing: thou art my nemesis. How many episodes has Thunder 3 been teasing that its titular trio will finally join the fight against the extra-terrestrial invaders? Two episodes ago, they were thinking about it. Last episode they were getting ready to jump into the sky. This episode, they jump into the sky… and spend most of the runtime there, only – eventually – landing in Shibuya's battle zone, where they proceed to mostly stand and gawp. I get that they're kids, and the sight of a bunch of massive powersuit-clad alien soldiers is probably a bit overwhelming, but come on. This show's plot proceeds at a pace even more lethargic than an Antarctic glacier. It doesn't help that every episode is preceded by an obnoxiously redundant recap. When almost nothing happens week by week, we don't need to be reminded of that fact. I won't lie, though – the kids' joy during the flying scenes is infectious.
At least the fight scenes this week are kind of amusing, and backed by an admittedly awesome classic rock soundtrack. Genius' one-on-one duel with John Travoltalien threatens to make the dreadlocked aggressor seem incompetent. Genius dodges in and out of the copious smoke to confuse and disorient his foe. Does this mean to suggest that this advanced invasion force doesn't have technology like heat or motion sensors? Then Segami belatedly returns, along with his temporary Empowerall-induced “run fast and hit hard” ability, which almost gives the Scientology reject a run for his money, until he adapts. Turns out that mere speed isn't enough to best this guy, and Segami ends up flat on his back, paralyzed and useless, staring into space, a blunt reminder of his narrative redundancy.
Meanwhile, Futaba continues to wander around the alien mothership crying for her mother… and that's it. The cartoon boys' teacher and classmates meet the “realistic” world's teacher… and that's it. The episode's main point of interest is the scene where two random alien soldiers find the TV portal to the cartoon world, and proceed to panic and spray everyone with (likely ineffectual) gunfire when they realize the entire place is populated by abstract abominations with godlike powers. I'd like to see a bit more of this storyline.
What continues to frustrate me so much about Thunder 3 is how entertaining the underlying concept and story beats are. Unfortunately, the painfully lethargic pacing sucks out all of the joy, leaving us with a shriveled husk of what could have been. If next week's episode doesn't bring some proper cartoon-person-on-alien violence, I may have to track down my own trans-dimensional PS5 disc, crawl into the TV, and start bashing alien heads together myself.
Rating:
Thunder 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.
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