At long last, the battle against Bohman is over. It was such a long duel, and while it did get sluggish at times, I really enjoyed it. In fact, I had an absolute blast with this entire arc, it took us on such a rollercoaster of emotions, and both Lighting and Bohman were fantastic antagonists. They were each so despicable and messed up in their own ways, you either straight up couldn’t stand them, or you loved to hate them. It also benefited them to have only two antagonists lead the opposition, as it enabled them to secure a streak of victories to prove they are no pushover. And for better or for worse, they were also willing to play dirty. While this certainly annoyed some of us, I appreciated they embraced the darkness and selfishness of their characters.
And to put icing on the cake, it was a haunting final touch to the duel to have Yuusaku and Ai reeling the cost of the battle, and end the episode there. While the players of Link VRAINS appear they are going to be revived/set free from Bohman’s clutches, I still appreciated how they were able to create a solemn moment that is often glossed over with the immediate revival of characters (which as the preview pointed out to, will be taking place next week). It basically gives us a week to let it sink in how much was lost and sacrificed in this battle. And while the players of Link VRAINS may be saved, the Ignis’ fate is looking a lot more grim. Based on what Aqua, Flame and Lightning had said, since they had already become one with Bohman, if he is defeated, it’s likely that they have been destroyed alongside with him. That’s why they entrusted the last of their power/bonds to Ai and Yuusaku, to provide them the resource needed to create their own Link 5 Monster, something Bohman had boasted on he could do, and finish him with that.
That being said, I will be devastated if Flame, Aqua and Earth… and Windy (since it looked like he was no longer influenced by Lightning) are gone for good. They really did leave things on a terribly ominous note, with Lightning telling Ai he still doesn’t know the real truth, and Bohman telling Ai he closed the Ignis’ future by taking the Human’s side. While the latter could be referring to their demise, it could also be alluding to the next and final stage of the series. Although Bohman was destroyed, god damn it—- considering we haven’t heard a damn peep from SOL Technology throughout this entire shitstorm, I am deathly afraid they are quietly working behind the scenes of obtaining Bohman’s and the other Ignis’ data to use for themselves, similarly to how they were killing Earth for it. That’s why, if our favourite Ignis were to return, it feels like it will come with a hefty price that contributes to the other secret Lightning alluded to. Or perhaps, it may tie together with Ai himself, as it has been established how he is actually more powerful than he himself seems to realize.
Or, none of what I said will play out and the Ignis will miraculously return, and it was simply a nasty prank they decided to play on Ai.
And I wouldn’t be upset about that kind of outcome either!
This episode was definitely a fun one in terms on the variety of emotions I went through. The opener with Robopoppi had me giggling because I thought it was so freaking cute, and then laughed when Ai just nonchalantly slipped back to Yuusaku who didn’t look surprised at all. It makes me think he totally expected that because Ai can be such a drama queen. It was incredibly clever of Ai to have planted a back-up of himself within Robopoppi, and it’s even better that it was established long in advance of this fight so that it didn’t just come out of nowhere! But then I became sad again when Ai went to save his friends, only to be forced to turn back with nothing but the power they have entrusted to him. It was funny how Flame and Aqua forced Lightning to share a portion of his power to be used against Bohman.
I am a huge fan of the monster Firewall Dragon Darkfluid. It was cool how this monster mirrored Perfectron in a way of also having counters of its own, as well as having the opposite effect. I also really liked the touch of Earth, Flame and Aqua all appearing during its attacks.
Last but not least, let’s take a moment to appreciate how much the characters has grown throughout this season!
Yuusaku and Ai also went through a tremendous amount of character growth. Yuusaku who was once consumed by revenge has opened up so much, he now has friends, willing to socialize with others he previously had gone out of the way to ignore or steer clear of. He also comes to understand the consequences of being chained down to the past, and ho important it is for him and others to move forward onto a better path. Ai too has come a long way, and become a selfless individual who cares deeply for Yuusaku and fought hard for the sake of coexistence.
Emma and Aoi also had their share of development. Aoi in particular, having seen how much she has grown since the beginning had a very interesting character arc this season. Her growth was all about finding herself, making her own decisions that her brother may not agree with. She didn’t want to be coddled, and fought hard to become stronger and form her own opinions of the Ignis based on her own experiences. There were times we were frustrated with Aoi’s mindset, but the beautiful part from that was how she learned from it, and grew further as a character.
Similarly to Ai, Emma has also gone through major development in the selflessness department. Previously she didn’t give a rats about someone being in trouble if it meant she got the edge of the game, but this time, we saw her proactively help characters, like Aoi, Yuusaku, and Akira.
Ryoken is also a character who has evolved over the course of the season. He went from believing the Ignis needed to be annihilated to recognizing while some are dangerous, co-existence isn’t impossible to achieve. We also saw him being more reserved with his actions, by choosing not to steamroll his opponents when there is a hostage is held at stake.
….And Takeru, well frankly there isn’t really much to say about him at the moment. He was only introduced this season, and although he is actually a former delinquent who is now a precious cinnamon roll, aside from being hot-tempered, impulsive, and having faced his trauma, I would say at this time it’s a bit unfair to judge how much he has grown as a character.
I suspect all the Humans at the very least should be revived in next week’s episode, but I am curious to see what will happen next. Will SOL Technology attempt to take the credit for saving everyone, will they be chastised by the public or will they pin the blame onto Yuusaku?
Nice analysis on the episode and season, it can always make a season better or worse when you reflect on it as a whole and though I at times was disapointed with their choises and how they dragged some things or rushed others I do overall like this season.
Yusaku has grown as a both a character for us but also as a person in the series and while I do find some of his lines in these last 2 episodes a little cheassy I do belive it´s his experiences that´s talking, also the amount of faith he has in AI is both heartwarming and funny at the same time.
Sorry for braging btw but I so called how this duel was gonna be handled and while I think it was slow I loved Playmaker´s last turn and that Link 5.
Now comes season 3 next week and I´m allready starting to see how they can go about this.
Season finale: 6/10
Season 2 as a whole: 8/10
Thank goodness the duel against Bohman is finally over. And I’m glad the duel was not made repetitive like I feared before and it was all thanks to the emotional and meaningful moments throughout the duels.
I think this would be the last time we see Bohman (and Hari! I’m happy to see him for one last time!), but I’m not sure about Lightning and the other Ignis. There are still unanswered questions about them, and Lightning’s last words are bugging me. I won’t be surprised if Lightning survives and return as antagonist again in Season 3 aside from SOL.
Darkfluid’s continuous attack is my favorite part of this episode, especially with four of the Ignis shown and named for each attack! Seriously, they must come back! I’m especially curious about Windy here. Am I the only one who thinks he look adorable in this episode? Just a change in his eyes and he already look so different from when he was brainwashed by Lightning!
Characters’ growth sure is prominent in this season, especially for the ones from Season 1 (maybe except Spectre). Playmaker and Ai in particular are my favorite and this season has officially established their bond as partners.
Well, that’s the end of season 2. It’s now onto season 3. Overall, I really enjoyed your analysis on what has happened over season 2. While I didn’t appreciate some fillers, I have to say that this season ended pretty well. Yusaku and Ai both got a good amount of character development. Seeing how Playmaker greeted Ai so kindly and warmly touched my heart. They’ve really grown a lot since the beginning of the season and have changed each other for the better. Aoi on the hand, she’s grown a lot too. She may have not been a true Lost Incident victim, but she is a victim of the Lost Incident in her own way and had a connection she never knew about the whole time. I feel Aqua helped to change her for the better, and Aqua represents the bond and connection between Aoi and Miyu. I do agree with you about Takeru’s character development. I hope he becomes even more cheerful in real life. But what I really want in season 3 is to have Yusaku, Aoi, and Takeru become friends and start hanging out more often.
I’m so happy Ai came back! I also thought it was rather clever that he placed a backup of his own program within Roboppy. No one would suspect the backup was within her if anyone found out. But it looks like some of us were right that the program that he gave Roboppy was his own. That also explains why Roboppy could watch the duel like that. But man, I was cracking up so hard when I saw Roboppy press the button on the candy door. It even had Ai on the button to open the door. But yeah, if we didn’t know it was Ai’s door that contained his backup program, then I would have advised Roboppy not to open it. She looked as if she was expecting to see a prize behind the door. When I saw the candy door, I was immediately reminded of Hansel and Gretel, which is not a good thing.
Aqua and Flame calling Ai their last hope really touched my heart. Despite how they used to think of him as a nuisance in the Cyberse World, the other Ignis except for Lightning do love and care for Ai like their younger brother. It was seriously reminiscent of the first episode, except Ai was visibly more selfless and serious and refused to leave the others behind. I feel like after they entrusted their last bit of strength to Ai, they maybe could have possibly put a bit of their program with him. So maybe the other Ignis will live on within Ai. I really want Ai to become the new leader of the Ignis because it’s clear he’s very clever in serious situations and is the wisest of all the Ignis.
I was so happy to see Windy has his purple eyes again. I guess he was purified after being absorbed by Bohman. I really want Windy to join Team Playmaker in season 3 now that he’s no longer brainwashed. Although finding a new partner may be trouble for him if his partner did die in the car crash. If Windy is easy to talk to like Ai said, then Windy should have no problems befriending a good human.
As for Bohman, I was surprised he took the loss quite gracefully. In the end, I’m not sure if I can bring myself to hate Bohman. He may be sadistic like Lightning, but I guess he realized he developed a heart too and was happy to be joining his brother Haru in possible death. On the other hand, for Lightning, I suppose once a villain, always a villain. His evil laugh was so creepy. He did rat out to Bohman that Ai was inside him and just laughed at Ai’s futile attempts to get everyone out. I’m gonna guess if Ai did manage to free the others, he would have taken only Aqua, Flame, Windy, and Earth with him and just left Lightning there.
My friends: Quit doing 20 different things during your turn.
Me: Playmaker does 20 different things in a turn! Why can’t I?
Loved how Bohman’s “If it doesn’t exist, create it” quote was the cause of his downfall. I do like how he took his loss gracefully. Despite my disdain for Bohman, I do like how he thought of Haru when Playmaker talked about connections. He may be a grade-A cheater, but it was nice seeing that love he has for Haru lingering within him. It kind of parallels Haru’s end when he thought about Bohman before being deleted. I hope they are happy in the digital afterlife.
The Ignises being stuck in that block was sad to see (except you, Lightning, you deserve to be stuck there). It’s heartwarming to see Aqua and Flame calling Ai their hope. The bond these guys have is sweet…. If they live eternally, would they be able to come back? I hope so.
I loved the summoning animation for Firewall Dragon Darkfluid. The design is pretty awesome too. The green body reminds me of Playmaker since he has a dark green bodysuit. It’s kind of fitting in a way.
I feel like Season 2 did a great job with character development, even more than Season 1. Characters like Ghost Girl and Specter are turning over a new leaf; Aoi gets really good development that I really liked. Yusaku and Revolver are friendlier and more caring. I hope that Soulburner and Kusanagi get more development in season 3. I hope that Soulburner stays cheerful and learns to calm down and be more rational even without Flame. I hope Kusanagi lives happily with Jin.
Firewall Dragon got banned so the show runner have to give Yuusaku new ace. Real life write plot.