REVIEW: ‘Marriagetoxin’ Episode 5 — “Lord Chladni”

Marriagetoxin Episode 5 provides some payoff to the several events set up in the previous episode. It also superbly displays the anime’s interesting power system through its action scenes, and shows how capable the Masters really are.

Marriagetoxin Episode 5 picks up where the previous episode left off, with Shiori (Asaki Yuikawa) and Hikaru (Haruki Ishiya) going through the woods for a test-of-courage challenge set up by the other students. Kinosaki tells Hikaru that going with her is his chance to get closer to her romantically. He and Shiori have a conversation in which Shiori shows some vulnerability and thanks Hikaru for sticking with her despite her peculiar actions, even though they often inconvenience him, but Hikaru reassures her otherwise.

They both quickly get separated when Lord Chladni from the previous episode shows up. The monster chases Shiori, and it’s revealed that the folklore was made up by Naruko, who uses it to exploit widespread fear. The monster turns into Shiori’s father, and he uses Shiori’s fears and insecurities to manipulate her to the brink of suicide. Luckily, her self-preservation kicks in, and for the second time ever, Shiori showcases a strong will and breaks free from Naruko’s illusion.

Shiori shows great strength in Marriagetoxin Episode 5, and we can see how far she has come.

The scene here in Marriagetoxin Episode 5 excellently highlights Shiori’s inner fears and concerns while using it as a plot device to showcase the extent of Naruko’s mind-manipulation abilities. He made up the legend in the last episode, so it was easy to drive the characters into the woods. It’s a well-thought-out plan, considering the entire episode takes place there. Additionally, while not much, the scene also proves Shiori’s steady character progression as she becomes more assertive.

Upon breaking the illusion, Shiori accidentally runs off a cliff, but she’s quickly saved by Hikaru. The two masters finally meet officially, and a battle between them commences. Naruko uses the wires he set up in the previous episode to send fast-moving vibrations and waves to simultaneously attack and attempt to remotely manipulate the duo’s minds. While Hikaru is able to evade them, Shiori is compromised for the second time, but Hikaru stops her hallucinations.

Naruko’s powers are fully in the spotlight this episode, which does a great job of showcasing all the nuances of his abilities. He’s able to send attacks from his body, use strings and violins to amplify sound, and even use just the sound of a camera shutter to separate the two, earlier in Marriagetoxin Episode 5. His powers are creative, effective, and mostly consistent.

Naruko’s powers get a chance to shine in Marriagetoxin Episode 5, and its use gets creative.

This all proves just how capable Naruko is as a Master and shows the difference in strength between him and the last Master Hikaru faced. It also proves how each opponent so far is more formidable than the last in unique ways, which is an important part of a shonen battle anime.

Hikaru sedates Shiori to prevent her from being affected by another mind manipulation attack, especially as she’s Naruko’s target. He then tasks Kinosaki (Shion Wakayama) with taking her back to camp and protecting her, while he plots to take out Naruko. Naruko goes all out with an offensive attack by conjuring a giant golem, but Hikaru is able to immobilize it by destroying Naruko’s wires by injecting the trees they are attached to with a growth serum.

The battle between the two Masters so far has been engaging in many ways, mostly thanks to their creative use of their abilities. This makes the fight similar to the odd yet engaging tactical nature of fights from the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series.

The fight between Hikaru and Naruko is engaging and a little odd.

After his golem is immobilized, Naruko makes a last-ditch effort to take out Shiori remotely by controlling the other students who fear the legend of Chladni, and they decide to use her as the next “sacrifice.” Marriagetoxin Episode 5 ends as Hikaru prepares for Naruko’s next mysterious attack.

Marriagetoxin Episode 5‘s main highlight is the engaging fight between Naruko and Hikaru. However, while the animation from Bones did a sufficient job of showcasing the characters, specifically Hikaru’s swiftness, it doesn’t offer any visual marvels that set it apart from other anime.

This is especially true when compared to previous episodes with proper fights. However, the soundtrack still maintains its excellence, with even more impeccable, fitting background sounds.

Overall, Marriagetoxin Episode 5, while not perfect, is another engaging episode that showcases its characters in several great ways and sets up an epic conclusion to the current arc.

Marriagetoxin Episode 5 is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Previous Episode | Next Episode