Rewrite Episode #23 Anime Review

The world is about to change.

What They Say:

Kazamatsuri, a modern, well-developed city renowned for its burgeoning greenery and rich Japanese culture, is home to Kotarou Tennouji, a high schooler least privy to the place's shared values. Content to fill his pockets with frivolity, the proud and nosy boy whiles away his time pestering the self-proclaimed delinquent Haruhiko and indulging in his amorous feelings toward the oddball Kotori.

Equipped with the superhuman ability to permanently rewrite any part of his body to multiply his strength or speed, Kotarou is naturally drawn to the supernatural. One special meeting with the lone member and president of the Occult Research Club, the "Witch" Akane Senri, leads to Kotarou reviving the Occult Club by recruiting Kotori and three other members: the clumsy transfer student Chihaya, the strict class representative Lucia, and the unassuming Shizuru. As Kotarou unveils hidden secrets of each member of the Occult Club through their shared adventures, he will inevitably encounter a fate that only he might be able to rewrite.

The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

The time has come to save the world...but before we get to that, Kotarou needs to track down Kagari. Having run away at the end of last week's episode, our faithful protagonist is having a hard time finding the white-haired key to Earth's demise. Luckily for him, he has two opposing organizations and a preteen with weird looking dogs on his side. Thanks to this motley crew, Kotarou is able to track down Kagari and begin what is presumably the final stage of his plan -- betraying everyone he knows.

In order to stage the perfect betrayal, Kotarou must figure out a way to get Guardian and Gaia close together. Thankfully, the addition of a man named Oonishi (Another Guardian superhuman with the ability to see Kagari) makes this remarkably easy. After Kotarou comes into contact with Oonishi and the rest of his former squad mates, plans are made to march on the key's location. What's even more convenient is that Kotarou catches wind of a plan on the Martel side of things where Gaia is going to be in close proximity to Guardian during their key-recon. 

The first step of this operation comes in the form of luring Suzaki into a Guardian trap where he is then captured and executed by good old Bondo himself. In his final moments, Suzaki finally realizes what Kotarou's true objective has been this whole time -- infiltration. Unfortunately, he is unable to relay that to the rest of Martel. Shortly after this, everyone from Guardian ventures off into the forest where they are then torn to shreds by that darn T-Rex again. Kotarou, who had since switched back to Gaia's side, is obviously unharmed by said dinosaur and turns his attention to finding Oonishi.

While Oonishi isn't harmed by the dinosaur, he is done in by...Kotori's mammoths? Really? Isn't their only form of attacking that weird Sonic-esque roll move? Well, whatever. Oonishi,. brought to the brink of death by the least intimidating monsters in the world, is then stabbed to death by Kotarou as he too feels betrayal in his final moments. Kotarou is really doing everything in his power to ensure Kagari's safety, isn't he? I mean, at this rate, he might even betray Kotori.

And then he does. (I'll spare you the details on that, though, since it is a pivotal moment in the series.)

Kotarou's biggest hurdle comes in the form of Esaka when he catches wind of what his subordinate has been up to. And, after a hell of a fight scene and many, many rewrites, Kotarou comes out victorious. Esaka, however, doesn't seem all that surprised by this outcome. Instead, he passes away leaving words of inspiration pertaining to Kotarou's strength and perseverance. Summoning the little strength he has left in his body, Kotarou tracks down Kagari -- now barely capable of speaking. It is apparent that the world will be ending soon (This is made even more apparent by Kotarou when he says, "The world will end soon"), and even if it doesn't, Kotarou's life will. He has rewritten himself so many times now that he's beginning to turn into a tree again. And while this may prove to be dangerous concerning his well-being in alternate timelines, I wouldn't worry too much considering he has actually become a tree before and now, in this fun and exciting new world, he's a badass spy.

In Summary:

While the episode may seem rushed at moments, Rewrite does another exemplary job in emphasizing its darker themes, putting betrayal on the forefront this time around. There are several scenes that will surely incite emotion out of dedicated viewers while remaining interesting to those of you that aren't. As the series stands, I doubt the story can be completed in just the one episode this season has left, so I would not be surprised if KEY winds up slating another sometime next year. However, Rewrite hasn't been as critically successful as other KEY material, so it is not a guarantee that we will ever see a third season.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll