Episode 16
While we didn’t get a continuation of what Riyo is going through, we do at the very least get to see what is going on with Zanka… and it’s not going well. We also get to see a little of what is going on with the Santas and while things don’t look quite as dire, it’s definitely not looking too good. The Cleaners are definitely having a rough time, though I guess maybe not Enjin so far or the Kaiju girl since she’s MIA doing her own thing at the moment. And while Rudo isn’t currently fighting, he seems to be in mental anguish with his chat with Zodyl. With everything going to absolute crap, we can only go up from here… right?
We didn’t get too much from the Santas this episode other than Bro and Bundus acting like two uncles catching up at a family gathering. Unlike the other Raiders who seem to be itching to get rid of their respective Cleaner (though unclear what is going on with Enjin’s opponent), Bundus seemed a lot more civil. Instead of attacking first and asking questions later, he seems to be keen on exchanging information with Bro about the leader of the Cleaners. And the questions he asked… were much more mundane than expected, which made it weird. The guy was asking about Corvus like he was trying to get to know him more to date. It was really strange and it seemed like Bro shared the same sentiment. At this point we don’t fully know what he’s going to do with that information other than seemingly “humanizing” Corvus, but the fact he equated it to the same level of information as the Raiders cultivating Trash Beasts makes it much more mysterious. To us, the information was super mundane and didn’t equate to much, but I guess to Bundus, it was actually valuable. But man, whatever his power is… I was absolutely horrified by all the fingers and hands that came out of his Vital Instrument. My immediate reaction was: EW. I am terrified to find out how he uses it in battle. Though I am very curious at what the Santas can do, so it feels inevitable for them to end up fighting.
I’m not sure if a fight will break out between the two, but Rudo is certainly not having a good time talking to Zodyl. And while I feel like a lot of what Zodyl is saying is going over my head, he at the very least is able to comprehend that the people Rudo wants to “punch in the face” might just be people who only understand what they grew up with and may not even know any better because that is the reality they were given. And the ones Rudo wants to get revenge on may not be them specifically, but the ones who “poisoned” the people who carried out the “mission.” It’s an interesting perspective… but then I felt like everything became moot as soon as he ate that cockroach. I’m sorry sir, but I am not listening to anything else you have to say after eating a freaking cockroach right in front of me. But in all seriousness, it sounds like he wants to create change in some way. But whether or not it is good is still left undetermined.
But man, Zanka really got the short end of the stick. I feel like I’ve really come to like the guy over time especially with how different he is compared to the “rival” character in other shounen. I feel like the rival character would constantly be at odds with the MC (which he is to be fair) and constantly trying to one-up them. However, in Zanka’s case, he seems to already be in the mindset where he can’t surpass Rudo and as his teacher, does give him some pointers here and there. And while he was at a severe disadvantage, he still put up quite a fight against Jabber. And I can’t help but admire his way of thinking that even if he can’t beat a natural genius, that won’t stop him from trying. Given how he always claims that a “mediocrity like himself” with such a defeatist outlook, I am surprised that despite that, he always tries his best even in the face of someone he most likely won’t be able to defeat. Considering Jabber was fighting with a power-up, Zanka really did put in a really good effort to fight back. Bro literally caught Jabber’s attack with HIS TEETH. That’s metal as heck. Not to mention he cracked Jabber’s rib and then proceeded to punch him in the exact same spot. What a freaking savage lol. Sadly, he wasn’t able to pull through at the end and I was pretty bummed about it. Especially since I wanted him to at least bash Jabber’s face in.
Though there might be some hope as it didn’t occur to me until someone pointed it out, but it’s possible that Zanka could possibly come back from this since he and Tamsy were the only ones that didn’t receive a lethal blow back in the skirmish with Amo. So at the very least, he’s not dead, but probably in a lot of pain. Come on Zanka! Don’t let this freak beat you!
Episode 17
So my dreams were immediately dashed in this episode of hoping that Zanka would be able to make it through his fight with Jabber. And now I just feel even more bad for him especially with his backstory. Gachiakuta, why you gotta do him like this? Zanka definitely has become such an interesting character to me and there wasn’t even that much to his backstory. It wasn’t terribly deep, but it was still very interesting and mostly just answered why he feels the way that he does currently. Not to mention the school atmosphere was freaking TOXIC as heck. Not in the usual way of this series, but the fact that the school nurtured the sentiment of how everyone in the school is a rival to your success. And it shows with how everyone is constantly comparing themselves to others.
Right from the start, the guy had an EGO. Given he came from such a prestigious family, he was probably raised into thinking that he had to succeed. Already that is a lot of responsibility for someone so young. However, I think the big difference in his ego is not because he’s naturally talented and thought himself better than everyone else, but he actually works his butt off in order to give off that impression to his classmates. I even caught what those two boys at the start said about themselves compared to Zanka is literally how he talks about himself in present time. Even right down to his catch phrase of “Us mediocrities can’t beat a natural talent. Which lead me to believe he got humbled HARD in order for him to adapt that way of thinking of himself. And I was right in a way, but not in the way I expected.
I knew that the white haired girl he thought about briefly in the previous episode was the one to humble him, but she was only one piece to the puzzle. He was literally a big fish in a small pond, but not in the way it is usually referred to. He was essentially the epitome of a tryhard and when faced against someone with a lot more talent than him, he was shook. And while he is furious at the fact he was defeated in front of everyone, his mindset was substantially different compared to everyone else’s. While everyone claimed that they were just “off” that day, Zanka sought to train himself more so he could win next time. He didn’t belittle her efforts or look down on her like the others, he was more frustrated with himself that he wasn’t able to put up as much of a fight as he would have liked. In a way, he’s kind of in a similar vein as Oikawa from Haikyuu as the two are constantly trying to better themselves and their skills despite not being at the same baseline as “natural geniuses.” However, it does seem like Zanka doesn’t hold it against others but ends up having rather low self-esteem. Especially when forced to face his biggest insecurity.
Hyo begs the question of what even is the point to being able to sit in the golden chair at the end and if it really amounts to anything in the end aside from looking good. Literally what she said is what Zanka has been essentially doing all his time at this school. Doing everything he can so that other people can find him impressive. But when phrased like that, it ends up ringing hollow. Which in most cases would make Zanka angry because that would be attacking his biggest insecurity. However, I’m actually surprised he didn’t end up lashing out and instead looked inward all the while confessing he was the biggest fraud compared to everyone else. In a way, he did look down on others for being frauds, but knowing he was also one.
The nail on the coffin came from him choosing an ordinary wooden staff. Poor guy thought he was the main character to an anime by picking the worst object on the table and believed it could have actually been a secret powerful weapon. And the embarrassment and reality of the situation sent him to crawl into an empty well and stay there for three freaking days. While he did this to himself by trying to act like he was a big deal when he wasn’t, he at least has the self-awareness to realize that what he’s been doing was a waste of time and he won magically be stronger. And I think this is where Enjin’s words from a previous episode rings true. After being faced with his faults, he’s “got nowhere to go but up.” It’s also interesting to note that both he and Rudo also shared the same sentiment to their self-awareness by calling themselves crap. Which shows a similarity between them and how Enjin was there for both of them during this time of self-deprecation. Which is probably why Zanka looks up to Enjin a lot because he was the one to inspire him to keep going despite not being a “natural.”
And I think it says a lot about Zanka’s skills using the staff and holding his own against a powered-up Jabber. Like he said, it wasn’t even a weapon and it doesn’t even seem to have any crazy abilities on its own. However, because of how he uses it, it was able to become a formidable weapon. Yet another similarity between him and Rudo. Where anyone else would have just tossed it because it was junk, Zanka probably still saw value in it or at least seemed to relate to it in a way. Both are ordinary and don’t hold a candle to a natural weapon or a genius. I absolutely loved the scene of him finally climbing out of the well because he found the determination to chase the dream of overcoming a genius despite being ordinary.
But man, I got so freaking mad at the ragebait the series pulled on me. They made it seem like he would overcome by getting back up, only for it to be a hallucination from Jabber’s poison. They did him so freaking dirty in this moment all the while elevating my hatred for Jabber. While it was a nice subversion of expectations, I won’t lie over it ticking me off a bit. Especially with all that build up and making me really like Zanka as a character. It made me want to root for the dude and it was rough to just see him lose his mind in his hallucinations. I felt like I was kicked while I was already down by Jabber joining him in insane laughter. Bro really had to disrespect him even more.
Man, this episode was rough for Zanka and I’m worried at what is gonna happen to the poor dude now that he is just completely out of it. This series really left us on another illegal cliffhanger. Especially with that rather foreboding sight the kaiju girl stumbled upon. I had really hoped she would have ended up helping Zanka or Riyo in their fights…
