Wow, I am shocked to see this episode was entirely dedicated to dragging out the duel for yet another episode. I swore this was going to be the last one, but… Man… It certainly felt like I was watching an advertisement of all these fancy new monsters, alternative versions of Borrel Dragons, similarly to Odd-Eyes’s various forms. I also noticed Crunchyroll adjusted the translations a bit, switching from the English name of Topologic Gamble Dragon to Gumblar Dragon…
There was one thing we did get out of it though, and that was seeing the vulnerable and softer side of Yuusaku we haven’t seen before. He is in incredibly poor condition, barely made a clutch desperation play of using Drop Frame Wedge, with only 50 LP left. This week is probably the softest we have ever seen Yuusaku treat Ai. He didn’t snap at him once, he didn’t giving him the cold-shoulder, but rather, he instead asked more about what Cyberse World is like, and was trying to assure Ai they will be okay. And I am happy we finally get to see this side of him, especially after 45 episodes. Regardless of the outcome of this fight is, I anticipate how this event has made Yuusaku reflect on himself and the life he is living. If he defeats Ryoken, then to some degree he fulfilled his mission. He was able to learn about the truth behind the Lost Incident, and put an end to the Hanoi Knights. If he loses, well… we will think about that if they actually dare to do that. But let’s say Yuusaku emerges victorious: what will he do next? While the Hanoi Knights may be defeated, there is still a organization who intends to capture Ai, and that is SOL Technologies. So as long as SOL Technologies don’t know who Yuusaku is in the real world, and stays offline, he might finally be able to kick start the next chapter to his life- one that doesn’t revolve around Revenge.
This is why when Ai told Yuusaku about his world, and how he has his friends he must protect, and mused, “That must be nice.” I suddenly had a rush of feels. My heart broke for him, thinking about how awkward it must be to hear how an Ai of all things has more friends than he does. At that moment, Yuusaku probably felt lonelier than ever, but at the same time, it also gave him a drive, that he too has things he wants to do. Ever since the Lost Incident, Yuusaku has been otherwise alone, suffering from PTSD, seeking revenge and the truth in hopes to gain closure for himself. Aoi and Onizuka are only acquaintances, Kusanagi is more of a partner, and the boy (Ryoken) who gave him hope is now trying to crush him (along with giving him Three Things to Despair).
However, despite Ai pouring his heart out to Yuusaku, I am still incredibly wary of him. There is no doubt that Ai cares about his world and his friends, that’s how he got this far in the first place. But I still can’t ignore the other-side of him we have seen when Yuusaku isn’t around. His statement of how Ignis has no intentions of attacking the Human World and just wanted to live their days in bliss within their own unique world could be true… at least in the past. After being pursued by not only Hanoi Knights but SOL Technologies as well, who to say the Ai (specifically) wouldn’t feel as though they need to take measures to defend themselves, to prevent this kind of threat from happening again. Dr. Kogami was an idiot, and fulfilled the prophecy by giving the Ignis species a reason to perceive Humans as a threat. But still, even without him in the picture, SOL Technologies is also still poses as a threat, providing Ai the reason the need to strike first.
That’s all I got for this week’s episode. Hopefully the duel won’t drag out for too much longer, especially when you consider how little time is left for the tower to be completed.
Also we need to get rid of the frog and pigeon. I just want them to shut up already. They are incredibly annoying…
Finally, the dreaded EXTRA LINK to rob two Extra Monster Zones (that pissed off the majority of Yugioh players) has finally shown itself in the anime and this is now the undisputedly most blood-boiling VRAINS moment so far. As much as I want Ryoken to stomp Playmaker down as hard as possible, but through Extra Link? FUCK NO! Besides, I’m also upset that Ryoken didn’t use the other variants of Mirror Force apart from the original one. Yes, this classic Trap has its counterparts that also focus on nuking the field but with different purposes:
Dark Mirror Force- The first counterpart, it focuses on getting rid of Defense monsters by banishing instead of destroying them which is a hard counter for Superheavy Samurais but couldn’t do jack shit against Links because they have NO defense.
Quaking Mirror Force- A pretty strong Trap that forces your opponent’s monsters to be buried face-down and they can’t even be flipped back up anymore. Once again, it’s useless against Links because they have NO defense.
Blazing Mirror Force- The original Mirror Force AND Ring of Destruction in one card. In the anime, it’s possible to end duels in a Draw but sadly in real life you MUST take damage first for the amount of destroyed monsters’ original ATK before dealing the same amount of damage to your opponent so you’ll only kill yourself faster.
Storming Mirror Force- A nightmare for Extra Deck monsters (which includes Links) because it bounces your monsters back to your hand (and for those who’re summoned from the Extra Deck are back to the Extra Deck, meaning you wasted your resources for nothing which is even more hurting than the original Mirror Force).
Drowning Mirror Force- Probably the most powerful variant. It resets your field by bouncing your monsters back to your DECK, meaning you don’t get a second chance to use your hand to re-establish your field in most circumstances. Granted that it requires a direct attack to function, but it’s still way too powerful.
Radiant Mirror Force- POOR CARD. Released at the time when the original Mirror Force was banned, this card does the same thing as the original one except your opponent must have EXACTLY 3 Attack mode monsters for this card to work, so when the original Mirror Force returned to the game this card was immediately forgotten. 🙁
At least this season finale duel will FINALLY be settled next episode because I’m absolutely tired of this cyberspace doomsday bullshit.
P.S. GODDAMMIT NAOKI!!! SOMEBODY KILL THAT LUMP OF LARD ALREADY!!! >:(
“switching from the English name of Topologic Gamble Dragon to Gumblar Dragon”
To be fair, that’s a CORRECT adjustment, Gumblar is a trojan virus program which fits more with the dragon’s purpose (especially the hand destruction & 3000 damage effect). I’d rather see Firewall Dragon face against THIS guy though to “fulfill” its purpose.
“we need to get rid of the frog and pigeon. I just want them to shut up already.”
Yes, they should zip their mouths already, but am I guilty to admit that I no longer resent their presence? They’re a foil to distract us from this cybernet apocalypse and I can tolerate them for once. NAOKI on the other hand…
Don’t worry! The next episode would be the end of this Duel! Putting aside the Duel, I love watching Yusaku and Ai! We get to know more about Cyberse World and how each of the Ignis represents elements! But most of all, this is a one big step for Yusaku’s character development! XD
This episode was probably the most touching one ever. It actually brought me to tears. Yes, I do cry sometimes when watching anime if it’s something really tearjerking. We have definitely seen new sides of Yusaku and Ai’s personalities. I also liked Yusaku’s gentler side and how he wasn’t rude at all towards Ai, which might be a sign of Yusaku opening up to others significantly. Although I was surprised by the smile and laugh he gave even in the bad situation that was getting worse. He does has a sense of humor even if it’s a little bit dry, such as when he smiled and said that he thought AI’s don’t pray. Yusaku, you’re finally loosening up. I wonder what his personality will be like once his desire for revenge fades away.
I could tell Yusaku was touched by Ai just wanting to return home to see his friends back in the Cyberse World. You’re right about how Yusaku realized that he is alone without true friends to be by his side. He’s pushed away others for the sake of revenge and it’s implied he regrets it now. I feel like once season 2 comes along, Yusaku will finally try to make some friends now that his quest for revenge is almost over. I sure hope he’ll interact with Aoi again in the real world, as they only interacted with each other at school once, and that was back in episode 6, almost a year ago. Hopefully he may finally consider Ai as a friend and partner later. I have to say, Yusaku has really come far in character development and he’s really grown on me.
It’s the same for Ai in terms of liking his character more. Despite his suspicious behavior earlier, Ai has a more hidden serious side, can be noble and cares about his friends hidden in the Cyberse World, even if he was lazy and they considered him a nuisance sometimes. Ai did seem to regret using Yusaku and it takes a lot to admit something wrong you did, so good job.
The Frog and Pigeon are quite annoying, I have to agree with you on that. However, they need to stay in Link VRAINS in order to record the historical duel. Plus Kusanagi and other fans such as Naoki can keep tabs on the duel.
I think the pigeon and frog are there for like kiddy comic relief so little kids can be like “oh look mr frog and mr pigeon are being funny!”. If not, I have NO IDEA why they keep cutting back to them. Although in fairness to them at least they have the purpose of recording the duel so that Kusanagi can see it… Naoki has no excuse for being there! He’s way too loud and he contributes NOTHING!
I imagine if they’re setting up season 2 where Yusaku’s going to open up more, then they’re setting it up so he has to get along and be friends with Naoki because of COURSE you make friends with an annoying obnoxious person!
Also, that moment when Ai mentions that Yusaku has friends as well. We know that Ai must be referring to himself, kusanagi and possibly Blue Angel and Go. I was surprised that he didn’t actually list them…
He looks at Revolver as his vision blurs from our perspective before saying “it must be nice.” I think he may’ve been tearing up slightly which is why Ai looked so sympathetically towards him. I can’t be the only one to spot that.
Yusaku felt very alone like you said. He’s had no one to share his feelings with and we saw in the flashbacks of his recovery when he was rescued that he wanted to be socialable and open up but his own demons and PTSD stopped him. so I think his main reason for revenge even if he hasn’t realised it himself is that its the hope that maybe once his past has been resolved he can allow himself to open up. That maybe it’s easier than actively working to just let it go. Of course, he’s sort of realising now that it wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped but he’s already trodden the path so he needs to get to the end to finish it.
I truly felt sorry for Yusaku then, because although Kusanagi is very much a supportive friend their relationship is distant and to an extent is only really there because they have a common goal. They’re not with each other because they held a mutual liking towards one another, they had a common trauma and understand the other. No real closeness other than that.
You understand why Yusaku pushed potential friends away from his past, because he felt too damaged to allow anyone to be close to him. Even Naoki, as annoying as he may be, does approach Yusaku and talks to him in an attempt to befriend him despite numerous brush offs. Naoki has many flaws but one could argue that he is soft hearted to an extent because he saw that Yusaku had no friends and attempted to change that for him despite his annoying way about it.