English Dub Review: Black Summoner: “Hero Summoning”

Overview: With a new ability to add to his arsenal, Kelvin (Van Barr Jr.) summons a new addition to his party in his new little sister, Rio. 

Our Take: Melfina is powerful with her newly restored body but the sparring match between her and Sera does not really put her strength in the greatest light with bland animation yet again. Luckily, it  presents Kelvin with a new intriguing quarrel in how he wants to proceed with his new hero summoning ability he gets from her. Giving him moral quandaries such as these are interesting and feels like the first genuine internal struggle thus far in him pondering the implications in summoning a hero from another world and how that affects them. There is also some decently interesting lore in distinguishing between teleporting somebody from their world and reincarnating someone who has already died. 

Making the ethical decision to reincarnate someone rather than rip someone from another world, Rio is summoned. She shares the very original trait of dotting over him, like nearly every other young girl he has met thus far. It will definitely be hit-or-miss for people in being a tired trope in the genre but I find it fun for what it is, even if it is generic. It is hard not to be charmed with her in how much she revels in the fantasy world, with her enjoyment of fantasy novels and her illness taking her life previously. Her newfound enthusiasm for her new extraordinary circumstances and great health are endearing. 

Their brief banter does not point to any especially unique interactions yet with his passing of knowledge through his own experience being the old Kingdom Hearts “my friends are my power” shtick. They follow it up with the sibling corniness that other shows have done a million times over. With Rio’s name being the same as the famed Japanese warrior who died tragically, she changes it to Rion as they look forward to their adventures. Hopefully, if they are going to be taking on a brother/sister relationship, it can be more interesting than the humdrum cheesiness that these bonds can be reduced to. Or, at the very least, make it entertaining moving forward.