AI~!!!!! We lost three characters today, in effort to destroy the Neuron Link for once and for all. Unfortunately for the Hacking Team, Bohman noticed something was amiss and caught them trying to tamper with his system. Upon realizing that, he wasted no time of going after Akira and Emma, and took them both out, but they were able to set their bomb off on time. While they were able to successfully split the origin and mirror world of Link VRAINS and SOL Technology were able to use that small window of time to log the remaining “active” users out of the network, their success was short-lived, as Bohman was able to quickly restore it.
Since Ai recognized that the Neuron Link is their biggest threat that could lead to their defeat, he decides he will try taking it out by sacrificing himself, only for Bohman to resort to an alternative source (Link VRAINS itself) to enable his skill. And seeing Bohman do that and make Ai’s sacrifice’s seemingly all for naught is super frustrating and heartbreaking to say the least. However, while it looks like Ai is gone, if I had to make a guess how he will likely end up contributing to the fight, he will be to enable Yuusaku to potentially use Master Storm Access as well. And if we really want to go down the poetically cheesy power-of-bonds path, then Yuusaku may be able to access it through his comrades who have fallen in battle. I also believe there is also a good chance that Ai will be the key to enable them to just do that since he was able to cast himself into the Neuron Link. Remember Ai is actually a lot smarter than he looks, so I am sure he has a whole stunt planned, not to mention, he loves to be dramatic. Just watch the guy make a smug return to rub in Bohman’s face, it would be so satisfying to watch.
At the same time, Ai choosing to put himself out there by sacrificing himself shows how much he has grown. He used to be so selfish, only looking out for himself, and didn’t care too much about Humans and others. But after everything he and Yuusaku have been through, they have formed a special bond between them, and is willing to do whatever it takes to defeat Bohman who seeks to reign all. Seriously, we need to appreciate Ai’s and Yuusaku’s character development.
Overall this episode had a me internally screaming, “WTF” almost every two seconds, especially with how Bohman is so overpowered. Despite everyone’s efforts, the guy keeps on regaining control of the battle, and has knocked Yuusaku down to 100 LP, which he had only been able to shave him down to 2500 LP. But with next week looking to draw the conclusion of the battle, hopefully we will be seeing Yuusaku make the full reversal and pummel Bohman because somebody gotta knock that guy off his high horse. FINISH HIM YUUSAKU!!!!!!!
Oh Pigeon and Frog fell too, but eh, I don’t really count them. I’m just glad we will probably be spared from their commentary for the next episode. They have become quite aggravating to listen to.
Until next week!
Perfectron Hydradrive Dragon is basicly Bohman telling us that Dragrid and it´s heads aren´t viable anymore due to his luck running out, on the other hand there is one glaring weakness with this new monster: It starts with 5 counters but dosen´t generate them, so once they are used up it´s game over for Bohman. On a sidenote that monster is looking so crazy awesome, it´s that kind of apperance that screams power that I hope Playmaker´s Link 5 have.
A turn from Bohman and Playmaker each dosen´t feel good, just like last week while the monsters are awesome the amount of turns lover the quality of the duel.
Next week is final part of the duel and I pray to god it´s Link 5 vs Link 5 so we can end this duel on a F–cing high note.
Ai’s sacrifice, his last words to Playmaker, and how it all played out reminds me of what Tentomon did in the third Digimon Tri movie. Speaking of which, Ai and Tentomon do have some similarities. They have the same seiyuu, are digital creatures, have computer geniuses as partners, and have purple as their main color theme.
Also, I just hope PM gets a turnabout in the next episode. This duel feels way too one-sided despite knowing that Playmaker will win. I feel like him using Link VRAINS as excess data just to use Master Storm Access feels way too outlandish. I’m guessing the concrete reason for it is because he’s LV itself? (Once again, WHY ISN’T SOL TECH DOING ANYTHING?)
Also, props to Zaizen for showing what humans have that AI don’t: determination. Even when he’s falling, he still keeps going forward because of his sister.
Roboppy’s expression when Ai sacrifices himself T_T
I don’t care if it’s cheesy or cliche, I like the moment when Ai sacrificed himself. Ai has proved everyone how much he has changed, also that Ignis is not a threat to humanity, and forming a bond, coexisting with A.I with free will is not an impossible feat.
Ai’s encouragement is exactly what Playmaker needed after the seemingly hopeless situation. Their relationship sure has grown so much. In Season 1, he flat out denying/rejecting that they are comrades, in duel against Earth Playmaker has accepted Ai but still too shy to say it so he confirmed it in roundabout way, and now in this episode Playmaker finally admit it loud and clear that Ai is his partner. It’s because Ai came into his life he is able to start opening his heart to people.
One thing that bothered me from this episode is the animation. I have a mixed feeling about it, especially the expressions during certain moments.
Finally the duel is going to reach the climax. Beat Bohman, Playmaker! And Ai, I know that you’ll be okay somehow, please come back safely after stopping Bohman’s Neuro Link!
Next week is gonna be animated by Noh Gil-bo who is their very best animator so it will go up an considerrable amount that I can promise.
Only reasson I personally would find AI´s sacrifrice cheap is because death isn´t permanent in this series and it has been overdone both in season 1 and 2, that being said I like his message though.
This episode was all about character development! I can’t believe Ghost Girl, Akira, and Ai are all gone now! Ghost Girl and Ai have both come far in their character development. Before, I used to think Ghost Girl was incredibly selfish and only was a greedy woman who just wanted treasure or money and didn’t care about any conflicts going on. However, she’s grown to become selfless and would even push Akira away to buy him time to detonate the virus bomb. It’s quite hard to believe Emma was once selfish in season 1. This season doesn’t really focus on her want for money. In fact, I think the authors have completely abandoned that side of her. I think Playmaker changed her for the better, and in turn, Playmaker considers her to be one of his good friends.
Ai is the same way like you said. He was very selfish and even attempted to covertly manipulate Playmaker to escape. But being with Playmaker changed him for the better too. I do remember Ai didn’t care much about humans at first, but in this season, he really starts to think like a human. I remember in the first episode, he said that AIs don’t pray and that they make calculations to win. But later in S2, he told Lightning and Windy that not everything can be calculated by probabilities and that miracles are a thing. That was what he learned from his time with Playmaker. I was surprised Ai was actually smart enough to remove the lock bonding him to Playmaker’s duel disk. That means that while he could have removed the lock himself, he decided to stick around because not only was it not safe if he were to go out on his own, but also because he’s grown fond of Yusaku and genuinely wants to be with him. Yusaku isn’t the only one that’s made friends, but Ai has too with the ones that Playmaker considers his friends. Ai even mentioned Spectre, which shows that he decided to let bygones be bygones and no longer has a grudge against him for what happened last season. Ai is truly a selfless Ignis now.
Finally, Yusaku/Playmaker. He’s really shown that he’s grown up a lot since the first season. He definitely has shown that he’s learned from his past of wanting revenge and he regrets pushing people away. He’s really opened up now and decided to let out his emotions more. I was so touched when Playmaker defended Ai from Bohman’s ridiculing and called Ai his “aibo”, or an affectionate way to refer to a partner. Yusaku’s come a long way since the start of the series. I think he’s really starting to develop the more noticeable noble character traits with friendship and bonds that are prevalent among previous Yu-Gi-Oh protagonists. I like how revenge is not what’s fueling him anymore, but his friends and the bonds that he’s made with them. And that includes Ai, who Playmaker says he’s fighting for.
My predictions for season 3 are that Yusaku starts to smile more often and becomes more open to talking to his classmates at school. I still want Yusaku and Aoi to become friends and everyone on Team Playmaker to learn each others’ true identities. It’s about time that happened because we’re almost done with the second season and still not everyone knows each other’s identities in the real world. I would love if Emma goes to Den City High School and meets and speaks to Yusaku for the first time in the real world. I could definitely see her addressing Yusaku as “Yusaku-kun”. Getting more Roboppy scenes would be nice too! It broke my heart to see Roboppy so sad after Ai sacrificed himself. She looked like she was crying for her supposedly dead “aniki”, or big bro.