REVIEW: ‘Scarlet Nexus,’ Episode 11 – “Togetsu”

Scarlet Nexus is a sci-fi anime from Sunrise, based on the video game by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Having been labeled a rebel by the New Himukan government, Yuito and his squad strike out for the free city of Togetsu. Controlled by a religious group that is said to rever the Moon, it answers to neither Suoh nor Seiran. Meanwhile, Kasane and company have learned that the human brains used to make the ampules that keep Naomi in control of herself seem to be coming from Togetsu. Determined to learn the truth, Kasane’s squad also strikes out for the free city in Scarlet Nexus Episode 11.

With this latest episode feeling a bit more focused on a single plot point, the twin parties reaching Togetsu, this entry in the series feels a bit less rushed than many of the previous episodes. Further helping this improved pacing is the fact that Scarlet Nexus Episode 11 only changes who it is following twice. With Kasane’s squad occupying the middle of the episode and Yuito’s squad bookending the story.

Another thing that makes the narrative approach to this week’s installment in this series is how the episode opens. Taking a moment to show what is happening in the wider world beyond Yuito and Kasane’s squad, the viewer is reminded that the world beyond the core groups is supposed to exist. While this brief glimpse doesn’t do too much to build the world around our protagonists, it is a nice start.

Another area where Scarlet Nexus Episode 11 shows improvement over previous episodes is how it utilizes some of the supporting cast. A couple of Kasane’s squadmates get a fair amount of dialogue in this episode. Within this dialogue, we are given more specifics about their personalities and some of the motivations that have brought them to where they are. The moments the show has spent fleshing the larger cast out have been few and far between in the past, and it is nice to get some of that here.

There are a couple of other story beats within this entry, but to even hint at the whats or whys feels like spoiler territory. Suffice it to say, there are moments where some of the larger motivations for characters will begin to come together.

During Kasane’s squad’s trek to reach the free city, they unsurprisingly come across the threat of Others. While some of the story elements are strengthened in this story, the combat remains largely the same. Overly quick, with little genuine threat allowed to develop, the moment is over almost before it ever got to begin, leaving the vague feeling of “why bother” lingering after the moment.

The animation throughout this episode does a solid job delivering both the numerous story beats and the brief action. In addition, the less frantic pace of this episode allows the visuals to build the mannerisms and personality of some of the characters a bit more.

When all is said and done, Scarlet Nexus Episode 11 delivers what I would call a step up from recent entries but still doesn’t exceed the range of solidly good.

Scarlet Nexus Episode 11 is streaming on Funimation.