That Ryuta is a real piece of work. But I guess since this episode isn’t introducing a new bad guy, someone had to step up to plate. What do I mean? Well, read on.
Notes:
• I find it funny that the opening is already being used to recap the show’s events thus far. There’s no way Madhouse is doing this because they thought the show had a complicated plot, right? No one would actually believe that, right? I wonder then if Madhouse instead believes that the show’s audience hasn’t quite peaked and, as a result, they want to entice anyone who wasn’t initially sold on the premise, but nevertheless felt like checking in on the fifth episode.
• Anime screenshots without context:
If you’re not watching the show but are still reading these entries for some reason, Taira is talking about ramen. You can rest easy now.
• I’ve never seen a man so happy to gulp down some instant ramen, but I guess it’s likely that he hasn’t eaten in a long while. Fun factoid: instant ramen was voted Japan’s best invention of the 20th century. Really? Crappy noodles that usually cost no more than a buck to buy? Actually, instant ramen was initially rather expensive and, as a result, had a hard time catching on. Back in the late fifties, it was seen as a luxury item. I mean, why waste more money on an imitation that doesn’t even come close to the real thing? Japan’s rapid corporatization following the reconstruction period forced salaryman to look for a convenient way to spend their lunch breaks. Well, there you go: the goddamn instant ramen.
• Even Ryuta can’t help but orgasmically utter, “Umai~” as he dives into his own cup o’noodles. This scene actually reminds me somewhat of how players enjoyed virtual food in Sword Art Online. Everything in that show was tasty-as-hell too, but of course, that’s probably because of the heroine’s maxed-out cooking skill (a fact which I’m still snickering about).
As for Ryuta and Taira, it seems as though we have to fill in the gaps in the narrative. In saying that, I mean that the ramen is probably delicious because our two protagonists haven’t eaten in a while. Unfortunately, if this is really the case, the anime hasn’t quite done a good enough job in conveying the hunger part of the game, no pun intended. Sure, everyone seems to make a mad dash for each suitcase of air-dropped supplies, but the narrative has been so obsessed with grimdark backstories and gratuitous violence that it hasn’t quite shown us what it takes for ordinary people like Ryuta and Taira to suddenly have to cope in a jungle environment. These guys are not even merited boy scouts, much less veteran rangers or what have you. Have our heroes been starving up till now? I think answering this question would’ve made the scene a little more meaningful.
Contrast it with a similar scene in The Road, a story about a father and a son’s arduous trip across a post-apocalyptic world. They literally have nothing to eat on most days, choking down ash and dust as the world around them burns. Others cope by resorting to cannibalism, but our father constantly reassure his son that those people are the bad guys. Midway through the book, they stumble upon an underground shelter replete with canned food and other necessary supplies. Just the description of the way the son devours every last drop of syrup from a tin of canned fruit alone wouldn’t have had the same impact on the novel’s readers without prior knowledge of how difficult the father and son’s trip has been or how others have succumbed to murdering their fellow man.
Do I want our heroes to starve for days before lapping down ramen as if it was the finest tin of Osteria caviar? Not exactly, but I feel as though the scene above has little impact because the anime has been so obsessed with bombarding us every step of the way with tragic pasts instead of developing something that actually pertains to the nature of the game.
• In a flashback scene, we see that his mother tried to commit suicide, but her husband came home just in time for her to be contrite? Not that I think she should’ve died quickly or anything, but it looked as though she had the right idea. Anyway, we learn what we’ve pretty much suspected all along: the mother doomed Ryuta to this twisted game. What I find even more interesting is how much of an asshole Ryuta had been to his parents. Whereas the anime tried to soften Kira’s characterization, and make it seem as though our little rapist is nothing more than a product of parental abuse, the narrative has taken the opposite approach with Ryuta. He’s our hero, but deep down, he’s nothing more than an actual freeloader who plays games all day and yells at his parents. Just exactly who are we supposed to identify with then? Maybe it’s Himiko.
• Coincidentally enough — perhaps too coincidentally — the body of the fat rapist from episode two comes floating down the same creek that Ryuta and Taira just happen to be lounging besides.
• Ryuta claims he could never abandon Taira despite the old man’s bad leg. Odd. Just two episodes ago, Ryuta made it seem as though Taira was some sort of mega-genius who was reading the game two moves ahead. All of a sudden, however, they’re now the tightest of bros.
• Why didn’t Himiko collect the chip on the fat rapist’s hand? Is she somehow unaware of what it takes to win the game?
Edit: Later on, we find out she doesn’t even want to win. So that’s why.
• Ryuta somehow outruns burning gas that seems to be right on his tail…
…but if Hollywood can outrun frost, I’m sure this is quite feasible.
• Our hero thinks Himiko murdered a bunch of people and cruelly too. I’m not sure what the show’s use of dramatic irony is supposed to accomplish here. We know they’re going to be allies, and probably lovers judging by the OP. If they had stayed enemies instead as a result of Ryuta’s initial misunderstanding, the dramatic irony would have made sense… but as it currently stands, the narrative device seems to have been employed rather pointlessly.
• Himiko’s characterization seems rather lame. She initially began as this virginal school girl who had been victimized by men, but luckily enough, she still managed to retain her virginity. Now, she’s just a caricature of the oft-feared reactionary feminist who supposedly hates all men. Good thing the hero’s here to show her the light! And of course, protect her virginity… whenever he can calm that irrational female down! Am I right, guys?!
• And of course, the Great Understanding of the Sexes wasn’t won by words. Rather, he has to literally turn the tables on the irrational man-hating feminist by using her own stungun on herself. And thus, Himiko falls to her knees — between Ryuta’s legs, I might add — and submits. You can’t make this shit up!
• Even in a life or death situation, you must always be cognizant of the massive pair of breasts weighing down on you. Sorry, it’s anime law.
• Also, comment on how good she smells… no, this isn’t perverted! A veteran of the jungle must be able to discern subtle scents… yeah, yeah! Plus, women always smell good even though our heroes have spent two days without soap on what is likely a sweltering, tropical jungle. Maybe Himiko found some coconuts — for her coconuts, if you know what I mean! — and rubbed them all over herself. Makes sense, right?
• While removing Himiko’s satchels of BIMs:
This guy, man… this guy!
• “But even if I did, I bet she wouldn’t notice. She’s cute. No one’s around.” So our hero lifts Himiko’s skirt up, and gets a good glimpse of her panties. Thanks Madhouse, for making sure she has a cameltoe too.
• I find the entire scene rather tasteless, so here’s a more benign rendition of the same thing:
• Ryuta finally connects the dots and realizse that the pantless dude died because he tried to rape Himiko. Unfortunately, he doesn’t continue on to say, “Man, I shouldn’t be like that!” or anything. Rather, we get a scene change.
• When the girl wakes up, Ryuta assures her that he’s taking her somewhere safe. Of course, the only reason he has to take her some place safe to begin with was because he made her weak in the first place, but details, man, details!
• The funny thing is, Ryuta did consider sexually assaulting Himiko, so it’s not even as though her fears are unwarranted. I mean, what makes his actions okay? Because they are unknowingly married in-game?
• I find Himiko’s reasoning weak. She doesn’t want to escape the island because “[p]eople who knew each of us well chose us to be sent here.” That’s all fine and dandy in Ryuta’s case, ’cause he got sent here by his own family. On the other hand, Himiko was betrayed by her friends. Yes, I know the girl’s traumatized by the incident, and feels really guilty for what her friends had to go through, but does Himiko not have a family of her own to return to? So when Taira disputes her claims — after all, he supposedly has a great relationship with his family — Himiko backpedals to “I just mean they’re people we know.” That’s it? You’re going to throw your life away because some people you know don’t like you?
>Actually, instant ramen was initially rather expensive and, as a result, had a hard time catching on. Back in the late fifties, it was seen as a luxury item. I mean, why waste more money on an imitation that doesn’t even come close to the real thing? Japan’s rapid corporatization following the reconstruction period forced salaryman to look for a convenient way to spend their lunch breaks.
Also, the Japanese state probably subsidized the materials required to make instant ramen, kind of like how beef and high-fructose corn syrup was subsidized by the United States government in part to strengthen the fast food industry.
>Have our heroes been starving up till now? I think answering this question would’ve made the scene a little more meaningful.
I don’t think the directors and producers behind this show care one iota about making a coherent and believable narrative. Their focus (or, to use your more appropriate noun, “obsession”) has been to show blood, boobs, and boom boom booms.
>She initially began as this virginal school girl who had been victimized by men, but luckily enough, she still managed to retain her virginity. Now, she’s just a caricature of the oft-feared reactionary feminist who supposedly hates all men. Good thing the hero’s here to show her the light! And of course, protect her virginity… whenever he can calm that irrational female down! Am I right, guys?!
Okay, at this point, I have to come clean: I haven’t actually watched this show yet. But I am fascinated by it, the reason being that every time I look at a synopsis of each new episode, there always seems to be rape or sexual abuse involved with the episode’s plot. Seriously, is this true? If so, this show has an unusually strong obsession with rape. A lot of other shows depict rape, but few have as many instances of it as this. (Now that I think about it, though, I doubt that I’ll even be able to watch this show, because I can’t stomach all that misogyny.)
Oh, and by the way, your thoughts on the scene between the MC and the blond girl are hilarious. You gave me a couple of big laughs, especially when you wrote, “Thanks Madhouse, for making sure she has a cameltoe too.” Thanks.
I can’t even imagine how frustrated you got as you were watching this episode.
Well, that’s not information I know firsthand, but even if instant ramen hadn’t been subsidized, I’d have to imagine that it would’ve taken off anyway. It’s just too convenient when you consider the work hours and attitudes surrounding the typical Japanese salaryman.
Yeah, I think three of the five episodes thus far have mentioned or involved rape to some degree.
Not so much frustrating as cringe-inducing.
Cringe-inducing is right. I mean…what the was this? What -was- this, Madhouse?
All of it… Fucking all of it, every single minute of this episode was painful, but in different ways. At one point I got so angry I thought I was gonna have a stroke! Every single character is either clueless, evil, selfish, or nonsensical! We got more needless panty shots of the girl traumatized by sexual violence! We got Ryuta’s mom being a massive C-NT for sending Ryuta off to die just because she needed money. Or because she needed to get rid of Ryuta. I couldn’t tell what they were driving at with that scene since the character’s words and the poignant scene of Ryuta cussing out his beaten not-dad told two different things.
-Oh, and giving us a protagonist who can try to help a female character triumph over her trauma and guilt complex to develop into a stronger individual? Screw that nonsense! Just make Ryuta out to be even more of a selfish bastard, with totally uncalled for contemplations of molestation and a sudden man-boost to protect the damaged girl who hates ALL men because… They have penises? Yup, she needs protection. She needs man-tection.
I mean, because that’s how it works, right? They end up hating men, and instead of helping them through their issues what you really need to do is take care of them. Traumatized women are like puppies.
…Puppies you have to taze.
I actually watched this episode. Honestly, I did. I decided to watch this because ever since ep1 I’ve relied solely on your reviews (aside from snippits I’d see). I feel dirty now, like I just tripped and face-planted into mud and don’t have anything to wipe it off with. Almost everything about this episode is awful and on so many levels.
-The anime BTOOOM! is a failure, and not even a fun kind like SAO, which I enjoy not only reading your reviews but watching with my buddy for laughs after getting him hooked on your reviews of it. Although, I -will- say the very end of this episode made me laugh.
Guy: “Hey, what’s that noise?”
KOMODO DRAGONS OUT OF NOWHERE!!
Well, I feel as though she’s been pushed to the brink by a useless son. It’s not that he’s trying but nevertheless fails, or that he has some sort of crippling problem where he needs therapy. From his own introspection, Ryuta just seems like a flat-out belligerent loser who thinks he can make it big in the gaming industry despite his lack of programming or artistic skills.
On a side note, I wonder if I shouldn’t include a brief plot summary at the start of every post for readers who don’t actually watch these episodes.
Oof, I’m really not sure I can agree here. Well, to clarify, I agree on everything you’ve said about the failures in writing and direction and poor characterisation etc. but I don’t quite agree about our protagonist.
Wait, wut? She tried to kill him and he disabled her then tried to take her somewhere safe. I fail to see what is hypocritical or unreasonable about this. I also fail to see why there’s anything wrong with him trying to reassure her when she wakes up. Ignoring, for a moment, the parts in between tasing her and carrying her to safety, (since the above paragraph wasn’t regarding that) please tell me what he was meant to do when she threw a bomb at him then tried to tase him. Running away is about the only reasonable alternative I can see here, and when she has a huge collection of bombs and intent to kill, trying to run would be pretty damn life threatening, I’d say.
I’m not trying to say Ryuta is a good guy, but this is a little extreme. He earnestly risked his life to protect Taira, he’s trying to avoid playing the game as best he can with his life under constant threat. He peaked at Himiko’s panties and stopped himself from going any further, I find Himiko’s current kill-frenzy a lot harder to forgive. You imply she’d make a more associable protagonist at this point, judging by their actions on the island so far I find this strange.
What I do find jarring is the flashbacks of Ryuta vs Ryuta now. That flashback made his seem like a real asshole, but for the most part we haven’t seen him act like much of an entitled brat on the island. Is the show trying to say something about societal perception and influence? If it is then it’s too ham-fisted to really tell.
He gave her the impression that he followed her so she armed one of her BIMs. It was clearly a warning to the guy that he should step away. He then tried to calm her down by saying that they could either work together or he’d just walk away, and so she did calm down and turned off the BIM. But then he took at step at her anyway knowing fully well that she saw him as a threat. That was stupid move number one. He had the opportunity here to just run away. Then after she throws the BIM at him, he decides to just full out attack her, forcing her to use her stun gun because it is obviously the only close combat weapon she had (not smart to use a gas BIM at close range, after all). He can’t complain about being attacked by a stun gun when he pretty much forced her to use it. It’s not like we expect her to fight him fist-to-fist.
And what is safe? To take her to yet another stranger while simultaneously removing her means of defense? Why should she trust him? She wouldn’t need to be carried to a safe place if he hadn’t been the aggressor to begin with. This is the point I’m trying to make.
She was startled by him at the waterfall before. All of a sudden, she sees him following her again. How do you expect a two-time almost-rape victim to react? She’s just trying to defend herself. I’m not saying Ryuta is 100% bad. Yes, he helped Taira. But he was the aggressor here through and through, and I think it’s a fucking joke that he pretty much sexually assaulted her too but somehow, this gets glossed over because he all he does is peek.
Ummm, she threw a toxic/burning gas bomb at him in the jungle which he barely escaped from. You even pointed out that it was improbable that he managed to escape it. She seems like the aggressor here to me.
Yes, taking a step forward was really dumb, but she didn’t tell him to stop or re-arm the bomb as warning, she threw it at him, we are led to believe with the intent to kill. This is not ok behaviour. Kira’s backstory doesn’t make his behaviour ok, neither does Himiko’s.
Again, not saying what Ryuta did here was ok, but he’s made a much more concerted effort not to kill as far as I can see, and this issue is not in the same goddamn playing field as peeking, as far as I’m concerned. I can see why people would see it as the lesser of the evils thus far presented. Again, not saying it is ok behaviour.
Not quite. He said it himself that she wanted to flush him out. She threw the bomb in the “wrong” direction, after all.
It is if you think men are out to rape you. And judging from her experiences, what is she supposed to think? And again, she feels as though the same guy is stalking her through the jungle.
I never said he made a concerted effort to kill. I said he was the aggressor. He precipitated her actions.
Personal defense is definitely not in the same goddamn playing field as sexual assault, I agree.
We are told she has bad aim, and she throws a lethal bomb out that is shown to hit a very large area based on a momentary radar blip. I don’t see any reason for her not to think that this will likely kill him, but the show will have her have good aim or not when it’s convenient, so it’s probably pointless to argue this point.
Almost every person Ryuta’s met on the island has tried to kill him, yet he’s still trying not to kill. Himiko’s had 16 years of life experience to find out not everybody is a rapist. I’m never going to agree that being that quick to try to kill someone is ok in any circumstance other than when they have shown direct intent to kill or rape. Ryuta had most certainly not. He had taken one step towards her and was still at more than a safe distance as far as I could tell.
I didn’t say you’d said or suggested that either. I just said that he’s making an active effort to NOT kill people, despite the circumstances, a lot more so than Himiko has. I’ve already said why I think Himiko was the aggressor here regarding the lethality of that gas bomb and her ability to judge what would or would not kill him.
Not sure if you’re just being facetious here or if you actually misunderstood me. I was saying that sexual assault and murder are not on the same playing field.
Honestly, this probably sounds like I’m trying to be super harsh on Himiko, but that’s just kind of how the argument has positioned me here so I want to clarify. I think Himiko’s actions are pretty forgiveable considering the circumstances, I just think you’re being super unforgiving of Ryuta by comparison. Again, the show’s poor writing and direction kind of makes a nonsense of it all. There’s really nobody in the cast so far that’s actually associable or particularly likeable.
16 year olds are still kids. And I don’t even agree that she was quick in establishing her intent to kill Ryuta. I disagree with your interpretation of her actions. As I’ve said before, I believe she gave him a warning, which he did not heed.
You’re viewing this from the perspective of a calm person on the outside looking in. Imagine that you’re a girl who has almost been raped twice and you know your opponent has bombs of his own.
She could’ve just killed him on the spot. It’s clear that she armed the BIM in the first place as a warning sign. She even turned it off. I don’t know what else you’re asking of her when the girl has been through numerous horrific experiences, and here she is again, confronted with a guy who seems — from her perspective — to be chasing her.
I am arguing that Himiko is clearly trying to defend herself. In that case, personal defense is obviously in a different class than sexual assault. Yes, her actions are rash, but she gave Ryuta a way out. He didn’t take it. And no, I don’t necessarily agree that sexual assault and murder are on different playing fields. I don’t believe these cases can be so cut and dry.
You’re really arguing for his sake when I’m actually implicitly attacking the writers. I could give a fuck about Ryuta. On the other hand, the writers cast Himiko as this victim of near-rape over and over. The writers then cast her as this irrational man-hating caricature — so you see, I’m not even disagreeing with you that she could’ve handled things better, but I disagree with you that she’s somehow in a lesser moral position than Mr. Peepshow — who has to be subdued by the misunderstood hero with the heart of gold. And the only way he can do so is not through intelligent dialogue or any of that shit where she can overcome her fear of all men through her own terms. No, the writing forces Ryuta to do it through violence. This is what I take issue with, and I’m using Ryuta as the punching bag for the writers because as the main protagonist, he most reflects their views and philosophy. This is what I truly take offense with. If you think it’s unfair for me to snark at Ryuta, oh well.
It’s not really Ryuta’s sake I’m arguing for. I felt a doubt standard in your treatment of their behaviour and it bothered me. “You’re viewing this from the perspective of a calm person on the outside looking in”, this is exactly how I feel about your treatment of Ryuta’s behaviour. “I don’t know what else you’re asking of her when the girl has been through numerous horrific experiences.” Ryuta has been very nearly killed a lot of times already and so far every time he’s encountered someone he has had a bomb thrown at him before even considering throwing a bomb himself. I think this sort of behaviour is quite laudable. You seem to be giving extremely little credence to having your life under constant threat and I just feel mis-stepping in this case is pretty forgiveable. It’s the value judgement that bothers me, not your treatment of the character.
You’re right though, I really don’t care about Ryuuta and the real problem here is writing and direction, I said as much in my previous post. I’d also rather not get into another moral debate here, so I will quite happily leave it at this. Agreed, they’re both terrible characters and horribly developed. I agree that that scene is egregious and offensive, and the resolution to Ryuuta and Himiko’s conflict trite and unsatisfying. Despite taking issue with part of it, I enjoyed a lot of your observations here and think this is a good post. I’m happy to see you writing despite the rough time you’re having.
I don’t see it as a double standard. He did not back off after she warned him so she defended herself. They would not have had to fight if he had just backed off like he said he was going to do. If you believed you were in real danger, you would not give your enemy a second warning. She gave him one and that should’ve been enough. I mean, imagine scaring a woman in a dark alley, and she warns you with her weapon. You have a chance to back off, but you scare her again. Why should she give you a second warning? Ultimately, he would not have had to carry her to a safe location if he hadn’t been the aggressor (albeit unintentionally) and thus disabled her. That is all there is to my reasoning. I don’t care if he didn’t intend to harm her despite being under constant threat of danger. He was given a chance to walk away and he didn’t. If you continue to disagree with me, so be it.
That should obviously have read double standard, not doubt standard <_<.
I meant his behaviour in general. I think his attempts to not kill people make his momentary lapse to peek at her panties forgiveable, just how Himiko’s horrific experiences make her willingness to kill forgiveable. They’re both under extremely difficult circumstances and I don’t expect either of them to behave flawlessly. The difficulty of the circumstances regarding fear of death has, unfortunately, been conveyed really really poorly.
There’s nothing else to say here. As you said, if you disagree, so be it.
As I see it, Himiko’s actions can be interpreted in two ways: either she’s willing to kill, or she’s just defending herself. We both know where we seem to stand on this issue, so there’s no sense in repeating myself. There is, however, no alternative interpretation for Ryuta’s act of sexual assault. Even if he stopped short of physically violating her with his bare hands, it is without any shred of doubt that he commits a heinous act.
Agreed.
Bah, I couldn’t care less if Sakamoto is a good guy or not. The most important thing is, this show bad. Worse than SAO, yep. Showing a unconscious, tazed girl. Spread leg. Highly detailed panty shots complete with the labia details. Also, the positioning of the camera. How MC-kun’s hand reaching to that crotch. Is it really neccessary, Madhouse?
Next, the logic fail. It couldn’t be worse. Is it possible for somebody to have such a bad aim? I can’t say that I can hit somebody with a ball as I want, but at least I won’t be so bad to throw it 5 metres to his left/right. Also, the bomb’s unfairness! We clearly saw how the crazy isn’t killed from a lot of explosions, but this poison gas bomb has HUGE damaging area and really LETHAL. Also, covering your nose won’t work, because your body will rot as soon as it comes into contact.
Also, the genre shift. Isn’t necessarily bad. But I hate it. I thought the focus of this story was men versus men. Or women. Rations and water are provided, so that you can’t concentrate on the battle part. Fought over them with your opponents. Suddenly, it turned into Cage of Eden? Or Lost movie? Komodo Dragons? Hah. So they are in Indonesia, huh. What’s next? Mandragora?
What’s next? Well, we can kind of figure it out considering the reoccurring themes of this show.
The Komodo Dragons try to rape Himiko and then she hates all lizards. Ryuta saves Himiko by killing the dragons with a bomb, and then pontificates on some undeserved philosophical nonsense before grabbing Himiko’s tits “accidentally”. Taira will continue being fat.
Gotta rape realistically, man.
It is whatever keeps the viewers watching. So I guess lots of explosions, lots of blood, lots of rape. And if lizards could explode and rape, you’re two-thirds of the way there.
Sorry, I was typing on my phone. Now that I looked at it at home, there are a lot of grammatical mistakes.
>_>
LOL @ Exploding Komodo.
I have a suspicion that there’s something in the food that induces irrational behavior.