Nice try Sparks of Tomorrow, but shoehorning a baby-queer romance into your story isn’t enough to make me forgive the shortcomings in this episode’s story structure and conceit. While the first three episodes of this show had an interconnected narrative, Sparks of Tomorrow episode five and the previous episode are establishing a pattern where a new piece of electrical technology is used to solve the problems of people living in steampunk Kyoto. While there’s a lot of potential and room for creative expression in this premise, it’s clear now that this show does not have the character writing chops to effectively execute this setup.

Beginning with a cold open of a twenty-something-year-old man spying on a bunch of fifteen-ish-year-old girls (ew), this episode’s OP focuses on the blonde-haired and blue-eyed Kate Okura’s immigration to Japan, the awkward isolation she first felt when she arrived, and how making friends with Inako and pseudo-ninja girl Suzu Harashima helped her settle in. In fact, it’s even implied that there might be something more than friendship going on between Kate and Suzu…but this episode doesn’t have time to explore more of what’s set to be the central relationship! No, instead half the OP is dedicated to the foppish Yosuke Mizoe hating the responsibilities tied to his aristocratic station and making the drive over to Kihachi’s shop as the episode begins with him being thrown out by security.

Why the team at Kyoto Animation working on Sparks of Tomorrow chose to pivot away from the central characters of this episode to the largely unimportant to this episode is beyond me, but this misplaced focus goes on to define much of this episode. The adult man who was spying on these teenagers (ew, again) is a college student who’s in love with Suzu and wants to use an electrical love tester that Kihachi invented to see if Suzu feels the same way about him. After testing the device on various pairs of characters to what’s supposed to be humorous results, this teenager rejects this adult man’s public love confession. The episode ends with Kate and Suzu having snacks on a bridge together at sunset and, while the scene is cute, I’m fairly disappointed that there’s no acknowledgement of the burgeoning romantic relationship between these characters. I wouldn’t go so far as to accuse this episode of queerbaiting, but I’m going to be really disappointed if we don’t at least see Kate and Suzu’s developing relationship turn into a recurring subplot as the anime progresses.

Also, this episode is a great summary of why I don’t really care for genres that are broadly considered science-fantasy. The actual invention of electrical power and its proliferation throughout the world is an interesting enough story by itself without the addition of fake technology like a machine that makes you express your true feelings for another person thrown into the mix. Sparks of Tomorrow doesn’t recognize what actually makes its characters interesting or trust its own premise to be appealing, and is rapidly becoming a slog to watch week after week.

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Lucas DeRuyter finds sparks of inspiration in all parts of his life, which would explain why his portfolio features such a broad array of interests and writing formats! To read what he’s ruminating on more regularly, you can keep up with his regular contributions to ANN’s This Week in Anime column.

Sparks of Tomorrow is currently streaming on
Netflix.

Trailer previews story, gameplay for PS5, Switch 2, Xbox X|S, PC game

In my first review for this season, I made a point of stating that Mushoku Tensei isn’t the story of Rudeus becoming a hero—or even a better person. Rather, it’s the story of Rudeus finding personal happiness. However, this does not mean that Rudeus never does heroic things or never grows as a person. In fact, as we see in this episode, part of his path to happiness is becoming better than he was.

Rudeus has long been attempting to escape the mindset of his first life—the experiences and personal choices that turned him into the socially isolated degenerate he was. But such a massive change is not as simple as flipping a switch. In fact, it’s taken him an entire second lifetime to get to where he is now—and he still has a literal shrine with a pair of his wife’s panties from a decade ago and his other wife’s blood from losing her virginity.

And speaking of the shrine, it’s important to note that Rudeus knows it’s wrong to have it—or Aisha wouldn’t have been able to blackmail him with it last episode. He knows even his wives would see it as perverted or even downright disgusting. It could end his marriages. Yet, even after Aisha discovers it, he doesn’t do away with it. He can’t give it up. In a very real way, this episode is about Rudeus realizing why this is—what the shrine truly represents that he couldn’t put into words before.

In this episode, Rudeus comes to understand that there is one thing required for him to fall in love with someone truly: they have to have “saved him” after an emotional tragedy. For Roxy, it was giving him the confidence to leave his shut-in life behind him—to experience the world in a way he failed to do in his first life—not to mention being there for him after Paul’s death. For Sylphie, it was curing him of his impotence—giving part of herself to give him the security he would need to open up his heart and be vulnerable again.

Rudeus is able to realize this about himself after being forced to revisit his rebound relationship with Sara (and its disastrous ending) now that a few years have passed. He can admit in hindsight that, while he was attracted to Sara, he never really loved her. He was just looking for some way to move on from Eris. While it was never anything intentional, he can now see it as a scummy deed and truly wants to apologize for it.

Even Sara herself can see Rudeus’ growth as a person for what it is. He can look back, reflect on his actions and emotions, and understand why things unfolded as they did. And because of this, he can now make new, better choices that would have otherwise been impossible.

And here at the end of this episode, he makes his first one. While it’s his instinct to promise that he will never fall for a woman besides Sylphie and Roxy (a promise he already broke to Sylphie once), he realizes that there is still a woman out there who holds the same place in his heart as his two wives: Eris. Rather than lie to himself and both of them, he admits it. And through telling the truth, he gains acceptance—because now knowing the qualities needed for him to love someone, the two can see that any other woman would have had to save him emotionally when they were not able to. That doesn’t mean they are giving him carte blanche to sleep with anyone he wants, but they are willing to meet any woman who has won his heart and potentially allow the relationship.

And as for Eris, well, she’s taken some solid steps toward her goal, having mastered the balance she found back in episode 2. I have a feeling it won’t be too long now until she re-enters the story proper.

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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation III is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.