World Trigger is back again and this arc is still certainly a thing. Its definitely happening. I got to say, my feelings on this are likely different from most others. I see this as less a desperate fight for survival and more a bunch of outwitting opponents and strategy with powers. I like shows with characters that use ingenuity and that’s something Border agents (normally) have in spades, and even when its getting into typical shonen stuff, it feels more polished than normal.
Anywhozzles, Jin is here, along with Duckface, to back up Osamu and face off against the two enemy neighbors. Jin enters with his usual carefree, laid-back manner, whereas duck face goes for a more..dynamic entry.
I will say its going to be interesting seeing these two fight, especially since Jin doesn’t have his black trigger, now both are against opponents that could take them on, and its rather exciting.
Less exciting is the roughly 6-8 minutes of recap. The leader of Tamakoma goes to ask how things ar going, so he gets exposition on everything and its just so repetitive and boring, especially as we get a good minute recap EVERY episode. Its just…why put that there, in case the audience forgot? Eh, whatever…at least it makes my job easier.
Osamu gets one moment to shine, as when the magneto Neighbor tries to attack and capture Chika again he takes the blow. Granted, its him being a meat shield, but he’s still brave, and at least finally they work to get her out of there.
However, the enemy Neighbors are like “nah” and ready to go after them, but finally Jin and Duckface both manage to stop them and let chika and osamu get away in a pretty cool display of trigger powers.
Its kind of refreshing in several ways. We’ve had entire episodes of these Neighbors beating down on everyone and showing off their powers, but now they’re up against people who can take them on. On the flip side, we get to see Duckface and Jin fight at their full power, and show their full skill, so its overall awesome, even if it sort of gets into shonen-isms of “punch and hit harder than the other guy”.
For Duckface, its much more of a straight up battle, with his trigger’s power being used, even as he wonders why Aftokrater is after earth so badly…but then learn this place is going after every country…meaning their home has no defenses of their own. I’m curious why this powerful nation would decide to give such an all or nothing strategy and fight thisway, but the neighbor doesn’t elaborate.
Jin’s fight is far more interesting. He’s clearly at a disadvantage in strength, but his side effect allows him to keep from getting hit for the most part, and allows him to do what he does best, play inside his enemy’s head.
I have no idea what the significance of this line is, and possibly Jin doesn’t either, but it gets the enemy neighbor really pissed and he attacks Jin in a rage,and in so doing falls into Jin’s trap. However, we learn Jin is buying time, since he knows the crossroads of fate are coming, and he wants to do all h can to make a positive outcome more likely.
Meanwhile, the asshole Neighbor is going through, wrecking up the place. He’s being your typical cruel, asshole villain, laughing at how weak everyone is and mocking them, flaunting his nigh indestructability in front of everyone and being very confident.
However, this classical overconfidence leads him to walking right into a trap, as agents lead him to the testing area. I’m not entirely sure how this will affect he fight, but its clear our enemy neighbor walked into blunder, and I like it when shows pull out tricks like this and get the bigger, stronger guys caught out. I really hope they take this guy down. This big bad beaten by a bunch of low level guys? That’d be awesome.
Overall, same old same old. This episode was a bit better because the action was good, but the recap scene was not needed and honestly, it makes the entire episode feel slow and plodding. World Trigger continues to be, at best, mildly entertaining. Hoping for more to make me care or have more fun with the show. Its so far like..potato chips. Its tasty enough..but not fulling and only really good as an afterthought.