Roll Over and Die ‒ Episode 10

©kiki, kinta, kodamazon/MICRO MAGAZINE/Omagoto Project

It is certainly a creative choice to drench large portions of this episode in a thick layer of fog. Most anime want you to see what's happening on the screen, but I suppose Roll Over and Die feels more avant-garde this week. And seriously, I do understand the narrative and thematic significance of there being fog. Flum is lost and directionless, so the weather reflects her state of mind. I only think the anime could have toned it down a touch, or it could have done something more visually interesting than making the screen as grey and opaque as possible.

Unfortunately, the content of this episode is only slightly more interesting than the murky fog rolling throughout the city. Functionally, this is Flum's low point. After hanging out in the city and (kind of) following up on some leads about the Church and Dein, Flum finds her new friends and family to be vanishing one by one under mysterious circumstances. This culminates in Milkit's disappearance and the manifestation of Ink's curse, which appears to be the source of the killer eyeballs terrorizing the kingdom. The cherry on top is the updated ED, which takes away the happy dinner scene with the entire main cast and replaces it with Flum, alone and shrouded in haze. I like that, I have to admit. I'm a sucker for a dynamic opening or ending sequence.

I also like how this low point peels back the bandages covering Flum's still-tender insecurities. While she does not and cannot know the actual circumstances behind all of these disappearances, her instinct is to blame herself. Deep inside, she still thinks of herself as worthless, so it pains her even more that somebody might lose their life for her sake. I know I've struggled with similar thoughts, and it helps me to remember that this is, in truth, a self-absorbed mindset. Everyone possesses autonomy, so they are able and allowed to make their own decisions independent of my opinions. Flum may have been part of their motivating factors, but Sara, Otillie, Milkit, and the others chose the paths of their own volition. I would hope the resolution to this arc incorporates Flum learning both not to be so hard on herself and to trust her companions more.

Where this episode falls short for me is in its execution. Flum's slide into despair feels too immediate and, consequently, perfunctory. It's too much all at once, and it sacrifices a proper build-up to our heroine's emotional outbursts. Roll Over and Die is telling me about Flum's growing sense of hopelessness instead of showing me. The barebones (and fog-drenched) adaptation does not help, but this is a more fundamental issue with the plotting. While this feels like zero to one hundred, at the same time, it does not feel like much of anything has happened by the time the credits roll. Structured acceleration over a longer time period would have been more suitable.

That's not to say this episode is a complete wash. I like the confirmed parallel between Ink's and Milkit's backstories, which means Ink had been lying about her amnesia. That's a satisfying little arc, and it's enough to make me wish that Flum will find a way to save her from the spiral curse. I also like that Milkit comes to Flum's rescue by pulling her literally and figuratively out of her catastrophizing mindset. While I would have preferred a more sophisticated lead-in to that moment, Flum and Milkit's love for each other continues to anchor these girls and their story.

Some of the breadcrumbs doled out by the episode are also tasty enough. Ink unveils just how eldritch her familial situation is without giving Flum all of the answers, instead letting the audience come to their own conclusions about how “Origin” could be her father. Welcy, meanwhile, makes her return to comment on that alley's strange battle scars and to provide Flum a clue about Ink's “mother.” That's an efficient scene. And I appreciate that Flum does not master magic right away. Roll Over and Die is already a far cry from a mindless power fantasy, and I'm sure she will wield gnarly sorcery in short order, but this bit of narrative friction goes a long way.

In the end, though, this episode is a lot of setup with no payoff. We are supposed to feel the pressure of Flum's ultimate confrontation with Dein, as hinted by the next episode title, but I want the story to move on already. We've been hanging out for so long in this same city, when Flum should be going on adventures, seeing new lands, meeting strange creatures, and so on. We're too lost in the weeds. I need Flum to grab her oversized sword and start whacking them already.

Rating:

Roll Over and Die is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Sylvia is on Bluesky for all of your posting needs. You are not allowed to ask her to roll over. You can also catch her chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.