EPISODE 10
This was a very intense episode! I don’t remember the last time an episode from this show made me feel nervous, what with Riz’s large frame and being able to switch from sweet bear to murderous grizzly. And just like Legoshi said, it’s kind of hard to hate the guy. He’s not a simple villain you can just hate, he’s a complex person with complex emotions in him.
I’m guessing Gouhin is going to give Legoshi a bit of aid. Legoshi says he doesn’t want to punish Riz, but wants to just talk to him. Turning him to the police doesn’t seem like an option he’d take, so would it be rehabilitation? Riz doesn’t really have a meat addiction problem, his problem here is more mental. He keeps entertaining these delusional memories of him and Tem at the end, thinking that Tem LET HIM eat him as a sign of unity in their friendship. Obviously, this is not the case and it’s just horrifying to think about. Right now, Riz is mentally unwell and in order to maintain those false happy memories he wants to kill both Legoshi and Pina. Opening up the episode with Riz talking about Tem and eating him did such a great job setting up the unsettling mood for the rest of the episode. Any time he would appear on screen I’d immediately get nervous, especially during the bathroom scene with him and Pina. And I have to give Pina props for that declaration during their rehearsal, I love it.
They have until New Years to prepare for the final brawl between Legoshi and Riz. In this time, Legoshi I’m guessing is going to continue to train hard and might even seek out Louis once again, and get whatever help Gouhin suggests. I’m not sure what Pina will do, but he’ll probably support Legoshi the best he can. And hopefully not as recklessly as this time.
And finally, Haru shared her true feelings with Legoshi. She loves him…but she’s still really worried about Louis. Not in a romantic sense, but just genuine worry for someone she cares about. I think it’s great that their relationship is moving forward now, but I wish that maybe we had spent a bit more time with Haru. She’s been pretty absent this season despite their romance playing a huge part before so I wish there was just a bit more. And I won’t lie, Legoshi beating himself up for having lewd dreams about Haru was funny. But what was even funnier was his reaction to Haru’s confession involving Louis.
EPISODE 11
So, no rehabilitation. Bugs…I guess? This episode was a little weird, I’m not going to lie. I suppose I understand what they were trying to do with the moth scene but it kind of felt unnecessary? Honestly I felt like we would have been totally fine without it because at this point, I thought Legoshi already had respect for all life. So…it was just a really weird start and probably a scene that could have been taken out because it felt so out there. Also I have no clue how all of Legoshi’s fur grew back so quickly.
The scene in the bar was equally as weird, but also so funny. It took me completely by surprise and everyone’s reactions and the second-hand embarrassment from it all had me laughing quite a bit. Maybe it took away from the seriousness of the situation for a bit, but I do like it when Legoshi and Louis have lighthearted moments like this. Also, and I keep getting this feeling from Louis, but there was a bit of a romantic air about them. And I find it kind of telling that in the moment when Louis realized he actually loved carnivores, it was Legoshi’s face that showed up. Not Ibuki, not the whole Leo group he knows, or the drama guys. Maybe it’s because Legoshi has had the most impact in his life, and that’s most likely it, and he’s genuinely concerned for his safety in his fight against Riz…but that was interesting. He loves carnivores and he thinks about Legoshi. I don’t know, I thought the same thing with that one scene with Juno so apparently Louis exudes sexual tension for everyone or something. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And I knew that Louis always had a love for carnivores, as much as he said he disliked them. It was always more out of envy but the way he spoke about them had an air of admiration. Even though I knew that, Louis coming to this conclusion and him wanting to quit the Leo Group in just a minute felt a bit sudden. For awhile he felt the Leo Group to be sort of like a family and it seemed like he found somewhere he belonged, and so this outburst was shocking and happened a little too fast? I don’t know if I’m in the minority to think that, but I wish maybe we could have spent a bit more time with Louis (which I’ve been asking for for so long).
We got multiple cliffhangers this time around, both with the fight and with Ibuki and Louis. When it comes to Riz and Pina, I don’t think Pina actually died…I hope. I’m thinking it’s a bluff in order to enrage Legoshi and really make him go all out on him. Pina did a horrible job trying to film Riz confessing to his crime, and he may be injured at least for Riz to get that blood.
And as for Louis and Ibuki, the entirety of the ED finally happened. The lyrics of the song make more sense now as we’ve seen their relationship grow, and we now know about Ibuki’s past and how important Louis is to him after living in the dark for so long.
“But then when that pair of eyes appeared before me, shining deep into my heart, and taught me all these things that I had never known before
I never had any idea that having someone to defend could give me all of the inner strength I never knew”
Ibuki really cares about Louis and even said his time with him was the best in all of his life. I really don’t think that Ibuki shot Louis. He was a little desperate enough to threaten him to make him stay, but there wouldn’t be any point in shooting him, especially when he’s so important to him. Ibuki is most likely on the end of that bullet, and I think back to the previous episode when Ibuki asked Free to shoot him if he were to ever attack Louis. I thought the scene was really random since it didn’t connect to anything last episode, but it may have foreshadowed this scene. I don’t think Free is in the car, so it could be that Ibuki pointed the gun at himself, ending his life in the darkness of the tunnel where he feels he belongs. But, we’ll see.
A bit of a strange episode, but it ended on an exciting note for a big finale. It’s been a fun ride, so we’ll see how Legoshi vs. Riz will go!
