I am not going to lie. I thought this episode was a weird one. For most part, I was quite entertained me with seeing Blood Shepherd’s strategy of preventing Yuusaku from him from being able to use his Skill/Link Monsters. It was a clever tactic, bringing about an interesting interaction of trying to make sure he keeps Yuusaku’s LP just above the conditions for Skill Activation. His relentless attacks were also fun to watch, because for the first time in a while (besides a major opponent), we actually saw a rare glimpse of Yuusaku freak outing for a split second. However the second he got a window of opportunity, he made the most of it by dismantling Blood Shepherd’s strategy and throwing him a curveball by whipping out Fusion Summon!
That’s right! Fusion Summon is back baby! They made sequence look real pretty too!
Now I spoke about the possibility of this happening before when Ritual Summon was announced, so while I wasn’t surprised to see it, I was more taken aback by Fusions making their debut on the VRAINS stage sooner than I had anticipated. If you may recall, at the time I mentioned about being a little concerned about how it will be handled. This is of course nothing wrong with having multiple summons methods at the story’s disposal, but l just hope Ritual Summoning won’t get overshadowed…again.
But hey, at least we go ta cool new Dragon, right?
However the biggest problem I had with the episode was the way they brought up and delivered Blood Shepherd’s backstory. They litterally threw everything at us: His name, his face, and his reason for his hatred towards A.I. Now I don’t know about you, but I felt it was not only a bit soon, but also incredibly ludicrous. Frankly speaking, the way it was executed made it feel as though this was a lazy idea, and they didn’t put a lot of thought into it. Kengo and his mother gets in a car accident after an A.I taxi malfunctions (after he jinxs himself by saying it’s safe!) and his mother’s signal cord is damaged and she will never stand again, while he lost the use of his right arm and his eye got messed up a bit too. They didn’t do themselves any favour by rushing through it too.
That’s all I have to say about this week’s episode. The duel itself turned out to be a tad more underwhelming than expected, not that I was expecting anything amazing out of it, but it was still fun to watch. It was nice to see that Data Storm Skill sequence be simplified to be not as nearly as intense as we saw in the first season, which is a nice change to say the least. Speaking of which, I would also like to note both OP and ED features Aoi’s new design, so we’re in luck! Blue Girl is here to stay!
/CRINGE I really can’t get used to that name.
Next week, they are off into the new world, or at least trying to. A major Data Storm whipping up is going to cause some problems. It will be interesting to see whether or not our two pairs will bump into each other, or remain separated. Really I just can’t wait to see everyone bump into each other again. Seeing how star-struck Takeru was with Onizuka, I can’t help but anticipate how he’d respond to meeting Aoi and her new look!
Even when the Monster of the day shows up, he says yeah, they have to make him Happy again…but first they need to experience the ideal summer. Kyōtarō whispers a deal with Karls and then they run through everything on the list of the ideal summer in quick succession, while totally ignoring the Monster. Even though it’s cold and raining, they go to the beach, smash watermelons, eat cold food, go camping. Even giving the Monster some curry after he accidently helps light their camping fire.
Then the four of them power up together and take out the giant demon that had formed from a bunch of demons fusing together. Kokoro-chan beats down the guy who gave the Prima girls their powers for using a sketchy and mostly illegal contract.
In the end, the one who came to her rescue was Oodanna, who made the quick decision to skip the important Hachiyo Night Meeting, prioritizing Aoi’s safety first. He was able to track her down thanks to the Ogre Fire, that was later revealed to serve as a familiar spirit of a sorts, and eventually its fire will die out soon. Byakuya was left to take care of the rest in his steed.
All of that was thrown out the window when I collecting the screencaps, and caught sight of a very tiny, but crucial detail: The cut on her hand. Although we did not see any long black nails, (which had prompted me to assume it most likely had been Ginji’s hand) we know from the first episode when Aoi handed Oodanna the lunch, his nail broke her skin that time too. I swear to god, if it turns out it really is Oodanna, then god damn it, that means my suspicions of Ginji serving as a red-herring would be right 
But one of the things I found rather interesting is how Aoi seems to be a lot more self-conscious around Ginji than she is around Oodanna (probably because she has him in the Friend Zone). She was flustered about her bedhead, she often feels at ease around him and is thankful for his support. And if he does turn out to be the one who saved her when she was little, I am sure she is bound to feel a bit more attracted to him, perhaps perceiving him as her knight in shiny armour due to being the one “saved” her. But as I mentioned last week, I also find it rather strange why she is in such a state of denial when it comes to thinking Ginji may have been the Mystery Akayashi. Maybe there is a part of her that wants him to be the one, but it afraid she may be setting herself up for disappointment.
I do want to quickly note, the first time we have seen Orio-ya was at the end of Episode 1, discussing about the arrival of Oodanna’s Human bride with a tengu. At the time, they mentioned “the day of the ceremony is approaching” (why yes I rewatch the entire show often enough to remember these things, and I regret nothing!) Whatever that is, I am going to guess that could have potentially been the subject of the Hachiyo Night Meeting. When Byakuya returns, perhaps we will get some answers of what we missed, if he was allowed to participate at the meeting in Oodanna’s steed in the first place.
I was a bit disappointed with this fight because of how quickly they were able to get the best of Madarame and probably because there wasn’t enough Yusuke fighting action (though the last reason was a biased one, but I digress). Though the fighting dynamics are getting better from how they started with the first few episodes by using their weapons and guns, not just their personas. After Madarame was defeated, Yusuke’s last words to him felt so chilling and packed full with resentment and disappointment in his his expression and voice. “At least put an end to all this and use your own artwork for once.” I just love that line of dialogue. I think the weird thing that I immediately noticed from this part was that “the one in the black mask” was not mentioned like it was in the game. The black mask was a pretty prevalent mystery in the game, especially since it makes the thieves realize “we’re not the only ones who can come in here.” I’m really wondering why they’re not mentioning it at all. Are they saving it for later? Maybe they’ll drop the line later, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.
With the aftermath of Madarame’s confession, everyone is talking about the Phantom Thieves a lot more since they took down such a big target. With all the buzz, the thieves decide to lay low for a little bit and decide to finally celebrate their victory while also celebrating the addition of Yusuke. Welcome aboard ma boi! Yusuke moves out of the old shack he once lived in with Madarame and because he doesn’t believe the student dorms would be a good artistic environment, decides to move in with Ann at her place. He even got a gift for her parents… This is why I love him. And he says it like nothing is wrong! And he’s legitimately shocked when Ann says no and confesses he spent all that he had left on the sweets he got. The first example of many of Yusuke’s terrible spending habits. He seems to grown quite attached to Ann, which I find endearing. But boy, he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to social norms. Though I’m sure his eccentricity is why we all love him.
After the sleepover with Yusuke, the next morning he decides to live at the student dorms. I love the small bits of development in Yusuke early on as even though he doesn’t like the idea 100%, he realizes he needs to experience interacting with different people. I am so proud of him because he does want to change and is willing to take steps in the right direction to do so. And it also says a lot of him leaving the original Sayuri behind at Leblanc. He’s not leaving it behind, rather, he left it in a place he can regularly return back to whenever he wants.
He’s obviously distraught with the news, so he starts working harder in his training right away, but the episode actually doesn’t focus on him, but on another player called Thomas. Thomas is American and a pitcher. He hasn’t really been successful enough to warrant recognition in the pros and he mostly plays in junior leagues, but from time to time he’s used in professional games. He’s worried he’ll the the one in the chopping block if a new player gets hired and he has reason to because it turns out that there are quite specific rules about foreign players in the Japanese pro baseball league.
I found this explanation very interesting and educational. I can’t say if that’s a real life rule outside of the Gurazeni universe, but I thought it was cool that it was included. Now, the reason why I didn’t enjoy the episode as much this time around is because I really disliked Thomas. He had a terrible attitude he can’t manage properly, he seems a bit entitled and he complains a lot. Bonda still does his best to support him by giving him advice on what to do if he gets dropped, by taking him along with him to work so Thomas won’t get lost and by reminding him that he should keep his cool on the mound since he has a short fuse.
When Yoyorozu brings up a fairly good point. They are really recognizable, they are the students of Class-A, who performed on live TV at the sports festival and had a lot of publicity from the USJ incident. So it’s time to stop by the shop and grab disguises. I’m sure most of them are supposed to either look like other anime characters or just flat out stereotypes.
So when the stalker approaches him. He drives him to his knees, verbally assaults him, even gloats that he’s wearing Nijimin’s panties. Wonderful, fan-disservice…nobody wanted to stare at this jerks bulge in a pre-teen girls panties.
Julia wants to be close to someone and cherished, she felt it with her parents while holding hands with them and afterwards with Seiya until he threw her out. She actually seems kinder than I expected, seeing this side of her surprised me a bit. In the end she had nowhere to go and a friend of her told her about a house she could stay at for free. Once she arrives there, she meets Ryuou for the first time. It turns out he’s home alone a lot because his mother is always working. Out of curiosity and a sense of duty Julia tries had to get closer to him and take care of him. Eventually Ryuou gets her to play a game with her and she loses, becoming his slave.
I liked this twist a lot because although Ryuou is cunning and clever, he didn’t quite seem the ruthless type to me and the stories of torturing Julia didn’t add up with her open displays of devotion because she doesn’t strike me as a masochist either. His interest in getting money from his slaves finally makes sense too as he needs it to pay off the debt. I still feel like her devotion to him is a bit excessive considering how they became close, but well, the story needs her to feel and act like that and there’s only so much screen time. I also wonder now if her brand is a real tattoo or a temporary one. I must say I think it’s pretty though!
The fact that Narumi turned out to be an assassin class yet looking like an adorable elf pretty much sums up her personality very well. Considering she often portrays herself as this cute woman but in reality she’s this closet otaku who spends her time drawing up Yaoi porn lol. As opposed to Kabakura who is very straight forward just like the warrior class. An interesting tidbit that Kabakura brings up is how Hanako just suddenly wanted to play an online game with everyone despite her usual indifference towards them. It definitely pops the question of whether Hanako wanted to play because it was with friends or she wanted some sort of similar interests with Kabakura. Especially since Hirotaka and Narumi game a lot together (as seen on Christmas lol). Speaking of Hanako, she shows up as a sorceress in a “paid-only” outfit. Hanako please…
The second half of the episode is essentially boy and girl separate bonding time with Kabakura taking out his juniors for dinner and drinks while Narumi and Hanako go have dinner together. Now, what Hanako did is what I wish my friends would do lol (Though I am also guilty of not immediately watching something I am recommended heh…). Narumi suggested an anime to her and she immediately caught up so she could talk about it with her. What a great otaku friend T^T. However, the moment is ruined when they end up shipping opposite things. Oh, how that happens a lot in real life… That honestly happens a lot with one of my friends where we just end up shipping the opposite. It makes sense you’d want to ship similar things with your friends so you can talk about them. However, because of how touchy shipping is, it’s very difficult when you just flat out don’t ship the thing your friend does.
