Recap: Hazama gets busy with work and uses the excuse to break off his partnership with Mari. After some soul searching and a timely letter from grandpa, Hazama renews his will to fight crime in his own way.

Ah, the classic superhero trap. Put a pretty lady in harm’s way and . The world’s a cruel place, and Hazama is starting to realize that very quickly. It is true that without Flamenco Girl he’d probably be dead in the water, but her brand of violence is really unsettling. I still don’t get how her mace has spikes without her accidentally murdering someone by now. Are they just for show? Understandably, Hazama takes a break and lets Sadism Girl handle things.

I’m still surprised that Goto is just letting this stuff happen. The superhero situation has gotten to a point that even a lax cop like him should realize he needs to put a stop to things. Unfortunately we also see the bleak side of police bureaucracy as Goto is assigned to take statments from superhero victims that apparently won’t even see the light of day. It seems all of this depressing business finally put him into action, as he doesn’t even trust the people he’s working for to take care of this matter properly.

The letter from his grandfather was certainly hammy in its presentation, but that’s what made me love it. Hazama started the show with a pure idealistic view on justice. When cruel reality started closing in on him, he needed someone to remind him just what he believed in. While some things may change in the light of public opinion, I do believe there are some basic moral principles that should always be upheld. Heros like Superman have always upheld the idea that thievery and threats will never be acceptable in the public psyche. As powerless people, I think the biggest draw of superheroes, is the fantasy of power that can stop the cruel realities that have come to exist in the modern world. With Samurai Flamenco now working with the police, I wonder how this will change his methods, and how his absolute moral stance will fare now that he is beholden to someone other than himself.