After having a lot of mixed feelings with the way things ended in last weeks’ episode, this one did a great job bouncing back. The pace of revealing the core backstory behind Dr. Kogami’s motives, and the Lost Incident was done perfectly. In fact it was done so well, that I couldn’t believe it when I checked to see how far we were into the episode, only to see we had only reached the halfway point!
The creation of Ignis was born through Dr. Kogami’s desire to create Humanity’s successor. As long as Humans’ Minds (consciousness) are trapped in the flesh, they remain vulnerable to death and extinction as a species. The idea was to have the AI inherit the Human’s dream. To help the AI better understand Humans, he had them learn from the children through duels. By using the samples from the six children he had kidnapped, he created Ignis, six AI with free will. And so the Ignis species created Cyberse, their own world in the network, along with the Cyberse Cards and Super Matter called Data Material (the substance that once coverages, becomes a Data Storm).
The only thing I am a bit uncertain about is not knowing whether or not the word “Dream” is the accurate translation. It is hard for me to decipher whether it is meant to refer to the Human’s Consciousness, or the idea is to have the AI inherit the Human’s goal/ambitions.
But what doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, is the whole process of having Ignis species learn from the children, who are being tortured. This brings about two things: The process of not only kidnapping children, but torturing them by putting them through these tests really does a great job of highlighting how messed up and dangerous Humans can be. Considering how quickly Ignis can develop intellectually, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were to think, “Wow, this guy is dangerous.” And of course, of all people, it is the same guy who invades Cyberse. Gee, of course they aren’t going to like Humans very much after that!
It is quite ironic, because Dr. Kogami himself acknowledged the problem, yet he clearly didn’t think his plan through from the start. At the end of the day, the root of the problem begins with the Humans, because he was the one who created them in the first place. “The legitimate successors” will supervise Humans and feared by them, prompting anger because Humanity will no longer the dominant species. The idea of giving an AI a “free-will” was hands down the dumbest thing he could do, unless he actually had intended to use them for a different purpose altogether.
And the most disgusting thing about the whole incident, is the fact Dr. Kogami has shown no remorse for what he has done. Instead he was proud of himself. It is beyond me why he thought punishing children by torturing them, and starving them when they failed. He took one of the darkest ways to create the Ignis species, when he could have simply sought out children to volunteer their time to be obeserved and analyze. Perhaps I am overthinking it, but I am starting to wonder if Dr. Kogami had far bigger ambitious than he lets on. On top of that, based of everything Ryoken has told us today, regardless of his dramatic “exit” in last week’s episode, there is a good chance Dr. Kogami’s consciousness is likely still alive within the network and will make a reappearance in the future. I seriously have my doubts he is gone for good. It would be fascinating if it turns out all of this was to create a diversion for his son Ryoken, because he was the one who blew the whistle on him, torn by guilt and terror of the children’s screams. His eight-years old self couldn’t bear it, helped put an end to the project. I also think it might be worth to keep in mind Dr. Kogami’s priority, saying they can deal with SOL Technologies at a later date. And speaking of the devil, SOL Technologies has been that quiet creeper throughout the entire season. All we see are chess pieces as the higher-ups’ avatars, they want to capture the Ignis species to use for their own gain and have completely monopolized the Data Material. The biggest question we should be asking ourselves, is who is running the show?
I’ll stop here. *Takes off Tin-Foil hat*
But Yuusaku made an excellent point to Revolver: Dr. Kogrami’s conclusion was only based on simulations, and there is no proof that any of them could turn out true. Yuusaku described it as being manipulated by an illusion from 10 years ago, and there is no need to do that anymore. And he’s right. Simulations are simulations, there is no concrete proof any of them could turn out accurate until it actually happens. But perhaps Dr. Kogami’s biggest mistake was not going after SOL Technologies first. He was blinded by the fear of the Ignis species evolving too quickly, and felt they needed to be dealt with first.
Seeing Ryoken in person for the first time- HOT DAMN. He grew up into a handsome fella. I absolutely LOVE his character design. Everything about him is perfect. The best part for me is how mature he looks. It is quite amazing how much he was accomplish, as it sounds like has a bright mind. Despite being the one to have blown the whistle on his father’s project, and giving Yuusaku strength by telling him to “think of three things”, he regrets saving Yuusaku, and does not consider himself to be a good person.
Well he certainly isn’t pure little angel after creating that horrible virus that affected Blue Angel, and is in the process of helping his father destroy the World’s Network with the Tower of Hanoi. It is at the final level by the way. They are in a serious time crunch now.
I also can’t help but laugh because I freaking knew it. Of course they were going to have another Phase 2 Duel. It has become a tradition where if they are going to have a Speed Duel, a Master Duel must immediately follow. Yet, at the same time, this is also a convenient way to slap the restart button on a boss fight, and we already see Yuusaku reaping the benefits as he has calmed down and cleared his mind. It was a lucky break for him really, because he while he didn’t show it on his face, went he came out of VRAINS, he was exhausted.
This time round, Yuusaku is not letting Mirror Force into into his head. He has a counter strategy prepared, but so does Revolver- who has thoroughly anylzed his deck. He won’t let Yuusaku get rid of his favourite trap card so easily, and I am loving it.
The only thing that I thing I can’t help but nitpick is the whole event of leaving Link VRAINS just to have this discussion in person. Of course it wasn’t without its merits, and frankly, it was better to do it that way. But hearing how it was the “force of the impact” is what blew them out of Link VRAINS feels weak, and not to mention– way too convenient. Then again, it would sound super lame if Yuusaku simply said, ‘because it was a draw.’ But other than that, this was a great episode, and I enjoyed it from start to finish!
Usually, VRAINS exposition episodes were the ones that kept me invested about what’s coming up, but this time I had a strong urge to sleep, and that’s mainly because all the missing dots were slowly but surely being connected by the IRL audience already. Dr.Kogami was just as, if not more selfish than Dr.Faker or Akaba Leo who said he’ll get rid of Ignis just because his simulations were factually correct?? (Please don’t just let him die “in peace” like that…) Furthermore, despite all the “revelations” by Ryoken (including being the guy who indirectly created the “three things” motto for Yusaku) mysteries were still galore where we STILL have no clue on the whereabouts of the remaining three Lost Incident children (which one definitely resembled Aoi especially when one particular AI created mirrored her so well) while the “preemptive” measures to get rid of the Ignis AIs (including the current Tower of Hanoi apocalypse) became more & more dumber with every exposition; it’s like the directors deliberately chose to play the doomsday card frequently as the short-term solution to hook in the audience then halt the pace with the recaps; rinse & repeat.
And with the Speed Duel halted to a Draw we’re back with a Master Duel for the upcoming episodes, déjà vu at its best.
P.S. Ryoken is now basically running a Mirror Force-based deck, will be better if he uses its various other variants as well.
Revolver has my condolences for having such a pathetic excuse of a father like Kogami. Revolver, there’s no need to regret saving Yusaku and the others! You’ll regret it now, but I’m sure you’ll change your mind eventually! Can’t blame Revolver either for distrustful of Ai since he had lied. Can’t wait to know the outcome of this Duel!
I thoroughly enjoyed the episode and reading your thoughts in the article. Thank you. I have to say that this was truly one of the most interesting episodes as it reveals the truth about the Lost Incident, reveals Revolver’s face for the first time, and finally Ryoken and Yusaku meet in the real world for the first time too. I guess the animators weren’t lying about how they wanted to make a handsome rival for Yusaku.
I do agree with you that the conversation between Yusaku and Ryoken was necessary for some character and plot development. I was actually pretty excited to hear what they were gonna talk about as in the preview from last week, nobody was lashing out. I was pretty shocked by how Ryoken turned out to be the voice that encouraged Yusaku and gave him the “Three things” mantra that he still uses today. Then again, that was pretty much predicted by the fans since last July. Like Ryoken said, it’s quite ironic how Yusaku knows he’s the enemy, but still considers him a friend because of the “Three Things” mantra and being saved by reporting the incident to the authorities. This episode made me feel more sympathetic for Revolver. He was torn between loyalty for his father and the morality of his father’s actions. It must have been a tough decision to make but I believe that Revolver was doing the right thing by reporting the incident. After all, those children are around the same age as him. I never expected Ryoken to be 18, only 2 years older than Yusaku. I thought he was in his early 20’s, given how mature he looks.
I can understand how Yusaku is now reluctant to fight Revolver as now he knows that Revolver was the friend from 10 years ago. I could see some sadness in Yusaku’s eyes and how he was begging Ryoken to stop the Tower of Hanoi. Now that it’s confirmed Revolver was the voice of encouragement, Yusaku must be torn on stopping the Tower of Hanoi and saving Revolver. Yusaku knows Ryoken is blinded by the thoughts of how the Ignis species will destroy humanity and I feel like that’s only because of how paranoid Dr. Kogami was. I don’t think Ai was lying either this time. Ai seemed to genuinely want to save the network to protect his friends hidden away in the Cyberse World. I wonder how the first season will end now that this should probably be the official last duel of season 1. Will Yusaku and Ai finally become mutual friends? I hope Revolver reforms after the final battle.
I think that torturing children in that horrible experiment left them with the most basic of instincts, the survival instinct. He wanted that through the duels the AI can analyze the children’s reactions and their strong emotions, choice and mental state so they could understand them, something that wouldn’t work in the same way with a more friendly experiment o using adults.
It’s horrible, but I see his twisted logic. I hate that guy.
So, Dr Kogami made an enemy of the Ignis because he feared that they Humans will see the Ignis as enemies and basically act like savages and thus cause the Ignis to have the same reaction and his conclusion to resolving this is… proving his own theory correct by making an enemy of the Ignis for no real reason other than speculation.
Am I the only one who has kind of got a Victor Frankenstein vibe here? Rather than look after the Ignis to NOT hate humanity or anything like that. They’re created and after seeing them display free will he freaks out and decides that humans must rule above all!!
I swear, he and Akaba Leo are 2 of the most stupid and selfish villains we have ever encountered. They overthink things and jump to conclusions and put other people in danger or even kill them for the sake of their own selfish goals. Seriously! Where did they study physics!? I’m not convinced either of these dudes have a doctorate!
i think i understand kogami’s pan
he didnt know or at least didnt expect ignis can grow that quick at the point they will supervise humans ,thats why he uses data materal (that ignis created) to analize ignis, he couldn’t do it before creating ignis
dr kogami said he created ignis to help humanity and humanities successer, and he said ignis is not the reason of end of humanity but human themself, so he believes humanities selfishness to rule over lifeforms will lead to make Ais think humanity are there enemy, so thats cause them to destroy humanity
Yeah, but by declaring war over them it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. He is allowing his own selfishness and arrogance to decide to make an enemy of them which is more like for the Ais to think Humanity is their enemy.
Yeah, we can understand his reasoning. It just so happens it’s incredibly stupid. The only reason Revolver does not really question it is because he greatly loves and admires his father. to the point where he ignores his obvious faults.
Dr.Kogami is most likely still alive but his body is dead just like Noah from the first Yugioh Series. Which means one thing: he is forever trapped in Link Vrains.