It’s real. It’s not real. It’s real!

——

In this episode, we’re introduced to another set of players stranded on the island. They are Kira Kosuke, his father, and their lawyer, Natsume Soichi. The key character here, however, is Kosuke. In his flashback, we see that he’s a delinquent youth, and he’s about to be charged with rape and murder. We also find out that he only fears his father — a selfish, disgusting, and abusive (sexually even?) guy. Natsume Soichi seems to be a famous go-to lawyer when looking to be acquitted. 

Interestingly, these three were taken together, whereas everyone else introduced so far have been solo abductions. I’ve kind of been racking my brain as to why they were taken as a group. I’m curious as to whether writing someone’s name in that “chain letter,” last seen in episode two, has any part of this process. 

We also get treated to a new, implosion-type BIM. Kosuke’s father tries using it first, but it seems that BIMs can only be activated by its designated user. This clues us in that BIMs can’t be stolen and used while the owner is still alive. That, or the dad and lawyer are just idiots. This all leads to the moment where we last saw Sakamoto and Taira run into a bloodied Kosuke, at the end of episode three, while trying to reach a supplies case. We now know that Kosuke killed his father in self defense and Soichi ran away in fear.

Kosuke becomes upset when Sakamoto tries to assess the situation and tell him what to do. Sakamoto and Taira realize it’s in their best interest to start running. Taira takes a step back in this episode, or rather, he can’t take a step at all after spraining his ankle. Sakamoto then takes it upon himself to draw Kosuke away.

Sakamoto starts to strategize a plan but discovers that Kosuke is also trailing him by radar. He decides to use a tactic used in the game to try to get closer to Kosuke, only to realize that Kosuke also implements the same tactic; both of them determining each is also a Btooom! game player. After a couple of heated BIM exchanges, Sakamoto gets thrown by an explosion, banging his head on a rock. He regains consciousness, but temporarily confuses reality for a dream. He treats the situation as a game and begins to show why he’s a top ten player.

I actually really enjoyed this episode. Not only did we gain an experienced Btooom! player in Kosuke, but we gained a truly sadistic character who easily treats life with little regard. It’ll be interesting to see where Kosuke will end up and what kind of opponent he’ll be. We’re also getting a glimpse into Sakamoto’s head trauma. An abrupt strike to the head turns him into a different person, and it’ll be entertaining to see what personality Sakamoto will survive with. 

GO Rating: 4/5

In your face.