The entertainment world moves fast, and Sparks of Tomorrow ‒ Episode 7 is the latest development catching everyone's eye. From fans to industry insiders, the reaction has been immediate.

The Story So Far

With installment seven of Sparks of Tomorrow, the thematic potency that endeared me so much to the prior installment falls away and is replaced with part actions, motivations, and scenarios that feel nearly nonsensical to me. While the previous installment helped me accept that this show is dealing more in vibes than the structure of storytelling as a craft, and the lavishly animated chase sequence at least makes this installment entertaining, I need something more to grab onto than what Sparks of Tomorrow is giving me.

While this installment's cliffhanger finale commits to to finally reveal the relationship and motivations of nearly half of this ensemble cast, these characters have been too undefined in the narrative so far for me to really care about them. This installment kicks off with a looming engagement ceremony between the foppish Yosuke Mizoe and the fifteen-year-old Inako (ew).

A background anxiety for much of the main cast throughout the show so far, this installment largely follows Sasaki and Inako's escape from Inako's father and Yosuke to a neighboring community so they can meet with Kate's father who supposedly has the other half of the electrical catalogue. However, this escape sequence broke my, fairly generous, suspension of disbelief and made me feel more frustrated than thrilled for these characters.

This plan commences with Inako's sister subbing in for her sister at this betrothal ceremony and, even if she was doubled-over for the majority of the proceeding, I don't believe for a second that this ruse would by the main characters any amount of time considering Inako's sister is a foot and a half taller than her.

Joining Yosuke in his pursuit of Sasaki and Inako is the physically capable soft-boi Kengo Kuga who nearly apprehends the youths when he manages to get onto their riverboat…but then he decides to support them instead when Sasaki reminds him (for like the fifth time now) of Sasaki's brother and Kengo's war buddy Seiroku.

I understand characters having a change of heart and their allegiances shifting as a result is an established narrative beat in fiction and a part of the human condition, but change of heart for Kengo fails to work as the heartfelt crux of this installment for a couple of reasons. The first is that this part is pretty poorly defined outside of his affection and allegiance to Inako's sister and his commitment to doing whatever he can to support her family.

In a better written show, Kengo being a hyper effective tool that's utilized by shifting factions until he decides to start acting in accordance with his own beliefs and values would be inspirational, but in Sparks of Tomorrow it instead feels more like Kengo is just now starting to become a real part in the series. This is due to the second problem with this narrative progression, this part development comes way too late and feels less than motivated.

Kengo has been inspired by Sasaki previously in the show to an even greater degree, and it doesn'…

As the story continues to develop, TeraMovies will keep you updated with every new detail. Until then, this remains one of the most closely watched entertainment stories of the week — and the conversation is only getting started.