Kaiba Episode 3 - Chroniko’s Boots
Kaba and Hyo-Hyo stop off on a planet (this is a running theme for the next few episodes - I’m not quite sure why they stop at these planets, although I presume the shuttle is a passenger liner) - this one’s named Toto. There they are saved from Vanilla’s clutches by Chroniko, a young girl looking to have one last memorable day before her body is sold off by her aunt so her aunt can buy back her memories (which she had to sell to pay for bionic arms after a mining accident). After Chroniko’s body is sold and her “mind” disposed of instead of being stored, Kaiba transfers himself from Kaba (whom Chroniko has made miniaturisable) into Chroniko to remain undetected; however, the body merchants who her body was being sold to give chase when they discover their meal ticket missing, and it is a slightly paedophiliac Vanilla who ends up coming to Kaiba’s rescue as Chroniko’s aunt realises that having her memories back makes selling Chroniko off all the more painful.
Whilst this episode is very unlike the two that precede it, in that it tells a fairly predictable, almost “moral” story that’s fairly self-contained and sets a pattern for the next few episodes, the execution is utterly marvellous. The visual flair of the show comes back to the fore as we escape the confines of the space shuttle for some nice open vistas (the purple landscape that Chroniko sits and watches with Kaba and Hyo-Hyo springs immediately to mind) and enlivens what might otherwise be a slightly pedestrian script. It’s enthralling, but for very different reasons than the mysteries presented in the first episode for instance.
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