| As his ship nears Graceland, Mister decides the time is right to reveal "the secret of the pendant and what Blues' bequest actually is". The pendant contains a tiny memory chip which Blues once carried inside his false eye. He used it to record the details of his successful heist of SP$10 billion from the supposedly invulnerable Grand Vault of the Central Bank--an incredible crime which neither Katana nor Bishop have ever heard of. Swamp explains that the very scale of the theft is why it could never be made public. They watch the recording, seeing things exactly as Blues once did. It begins with his arrival on a planet (entirely owned and operated by the Central Bank, and where photography is strictly forbidden) posing as "Otis Ray". He has come to take the "Central Bank Managerial Candidate Exam". His proposals for strongarm financial ploys quickly made him popular with the higher-ups, and he spent a year earning their trust and respect. Swamp paid him a visit and was amazed to find that he had acquired the blueprints to the so-called "gigabanks". "I'm in the process of having a certain something made" is about all that Blues would tell him. Blues arranged for Swamp to be hired as a security guard, in which capacity he recorded the schedules of patrols and the locations of security cameras. Blues, Swamp, plus fellow conspirators Hank and Norman travelled to Graceland, where they met their final comrade, "D. Bonnie". In a cave, Bonnie unveiled Blues "Certain Something"... |
| Basically, in this episode we learn what Blues Bequest really is and how it was acquired. I'm a little uncomfortable with being expected to sympathize with bank robbers. The people of Central Bank are described as being "elitist", and it clearly dabbles in shady (but not necessarily illegal) tactics, but does that justify robbing it? "Otis Ray"s" two assistants seem like nice people to me--wouldn't it be a riot if they decided to investigate the crime themselves (perhaps because they can't believe the man they so looked up to could have done such a thing of his own free will), without realizing what they are getting themselves into? A sort of comic relief. Security at the bank (and the tricks used to overcome it) is pretty neat at some times, but laughable at others. Apparently the state-of-the-art bank of the future still operates with coins and paper money, intead of going to completely cyber-currency. A curious note: at one point a sign appears for a library which reads "I forbid an entrance of a permission dead person" (?). This show uses a claymation ED sequence, like Shinobuden, which I think was also made by the same studio. Finally, what was that bit after the credits? Is a certain conspirator still alive? Surely devilish characters like Hank, Norman and Bonnie will reappear sooner or later! |
