BURN THE WITCH, LIMITED SERIES: CHAPTER 3 - The Hunt is On!
BURN THE WITCH, LIMITED SERIES: CHAPTER 3 - She Makes Me Feel Special
7.5 out of 10
Story-wise, we get a quick cut away to Billy Banx Jr. trying to spy any pry in on the Crown Council Central Table; soon enough, he is caught by Sullivan Squire and she (I thought she was a guy at first; I’ll make an amendment now and say that she is the amalgam of Uryū Ishida and Soi Fon) informs Banx that an elimination order is underway for Balgo and Bruno has already taken the initiative to apprehend him – Squire is all but sure Noel and Ninny will be in the crossfire. There is definitely some indication that Squire and Banx have and or had a rapport with either; I’m curious to see how it will be either developed and or divulged later on.
We then pick off right where we left off with Bruno making an explosive entrance. Noel doesn’t recognize him but, Ninny does; Bangnyfe calls his subordinates to capture Balgo – who is easily identifiable based on the Pipers cape he’s wearing (this is a nice call back as it is revealed Bruno arranged that to happen so he could be set up for right now) and makes a false report that Balgo was the one responsible for the attack on the Realist building. Bruno goes on to tell the Pipers of Balgo’s impending execution order and that who ever claims him will gain everlasting notability. Upon hearing this, Noel insults his dye job (I think it looks cool…) which infuriates him.
As he preps to attack, Noel rushes down to rescue Balgo from the subordinate Inks; while Bruno is taken aback at his men being handled so easily, Ninny points her horn to the back of his head and asks, ultimately, was he responsible for bringing Macy to Reverse London. Bruno, candidly, admits that he did recruit her and moreover discloses that Macy is a Watcher – a person that can see dragons; it was only a matter of time until she would have made her way into Reverse London.
This information stifles Ninny a bit and Bruno takes that instant to kick the horn out her hand. Noel is able to catch Ninny’s horn and, in conjunction with her own, shoots a giant magic blast; during which, Ninny grabs Macy and with Balgo and Noel in tow, make their escape. When the dust clears, Bruno is unscathed and all but irked – he summons his own dragon, named Rickenbacker and he goes hunting. This is interesting because, I didn’t think others would have their own dragons but, this just back to the symbiosis between humans and dragons, I suppose.Â
After Noel sets a cloth to hide themselves for a bit, Macy starts to explain how she found her dragon – Elly (who they just left behind) – and how she got into Reverse London; once again, it was Bruno that arranged her whereabouts – really seems like he a great master planner. Just as soon as it seems like they are getting a breather, Bruno breaks the cloth and displays that the execution order has been approved – Balgo is now Reverse London’s most wanted man.
All in all, this was a decent issue but, it seems to do little in terms of progressing the story. This would have more than fine if we would have been privy to the magic system of Wing Bind but, the “battle” ended up being nothing more than a quick skirmish and essentially a retreat and regroup. The overall outcome is not inherently bad but, the execution – moreover, the lack of execution – is what I had a problem with. Ninny, Noel, and Bruno just did some quick maneuvers but, this was the time to really lay down some spells showing how they operate and differentiate in usage between say, Pipers and Inks. For example, Noel places a cloth to cover themselves only for Bruno to break it later on. What was I supposed to take from this other than that it’s not as useful when a division leader is looking for you?
That being said, I will highlight two things I did like in this chapter. 1. Each Wing Bind Division has their own Zodiac Sign: Inks – Taurus; Anthems – Capricorn; Sacreds – Aquarius; Pipers – Aries; Sabres – Scorpio; Patchworks – ??? (still a mystery); Billionaires – Leo; Gallows – Libra. I missed that the first time around and this more than likely means there are four signs and or divisions that are not accounted for. 2. Also, Bruno’s dragon Rickerbacker shares his name with a guitar – this could mean that either Bruno, his magic, or the dragon itself is more music themed in terms of attacks. I suppose this means that the dragons can be seen as their version of Zanpakuto; moreover, that means this series is closer to How to Train Your Dragon than I realized. Nonetheless, in summary, there is substance here but there needs to be depth – Kubo knows and or should know how to give depth to his world. This chapter could have been a lateral move but, it did regress a tad based on the lack of intricacy his world and ultimately characters are failing to display. For that, it gets a 7.5 out of 10.
