REVIEW: ‘Scarlet Nexus,’ Episode 9 – “A Dubious Wonder Drug”

Scarlet Nexus is a sci-fi anime from Sunrise, based on the video game by Bandai Namco Entertainment. With both Yuiot’s and Kasane’s reunions with their missing loved ones falling short of expectations, both groups have struggles ahead as they try to discern what the next step should be. But while searching for deserter members of the OSF, Yuito’s squad is about to stumble upon a secret that will make their situation infinitely more complicated in Scarlet Nexus Episode 9.

As our dual protagonists continue their search for answers and solutions, it’s little wonder that they seem to be having some struggles when it comes to trusting anyone outside their immediate circles. As the questionable decisions from all sides seem to only increase in frequency, the numbers of people and groups they can have faith in seems to be getting fewer by the moment. And the hits just seem to keep coming.

The rapid-fire nature of the revelations that have populated this series’s episodes and continues in Scarlet Nexus Episode 9 highlights the story’s troubles adapting the game’s narrative with the breaks between story beats that the gameplay provided. The relentless barrage of plot points weakens each moment as it is washed away by those that follow it. This episode brings the situation to its most noticeable as it even clips through its opportunities for action to facilitate its mad rush through the narrative.

While the action sequences in Scarlet Nexus have rarely risen beyond the realm of solid, Scarlet Nexus Episode 9 opts to clip around the bulk of the episode’s potential action, as Others are cut down off-camera in all too quick moments. A solid action sequence, perhaps overlayed with thoughts from one of our protagonists as they struggle to grasp the overly complex web they’ve been drawn into, and how the struggle is affecting them would’ve been a huge boon to the show’s pacing while also granting a bit more weight to the threats being dealt with. Alas, it’s not to be.

Despite the break-neck speed the narrative continues to travel at, the episode does a commendable job of laying out its new plot beats in a way that allows the viewer to keep up with the unfolding drama. When it decides to swap between Yuito and Kasane’s sides of the story are chosen well, which helps the story beats not become jumble as both characters’ stories are compelled forward.

The animation delivers the moments of Scarlet Nexus Episode 9 that it is allowed to show well. It manages to continue to bring the unique brain punk look of the series to life in an appealing way. While nothing exceptional happens visually in this episode, with hints of where the story will be going next week, my hopes are high that the show will have some new aesthetics to bring to life then.

When all is said and done, Scarlet Nexus Episode 9 continues to deliver its narrative much as it has in the previous eight episodes. A fair amount of emotion and cool visual design, riding through story points that come too fast and frequently to manage to truly land.

Scarlet Nexus Episode 9 is streaming on Funimation.