「Determination」

After witnessing exactly how corrupt Ishihara and Sasaki are, it was probably only a matter of time before somebody ended up getting killed in the juvenile corrections institute again. Regardless, I was still pretty shocked when I found out who their next victim turned out to be. Things just started looking up for Sakuragi too, with Kumigai catching onto those bastards’ plans to kill him before his release impending release in six days. Seeing as Kumagai was secretly bringing him meals, I would’ve figured that Sakuragi’s release would’ve been all but guaranteed had they not shown the water torture in the preview last time. Still, that didn’t prepare me for the goosebumps I felt when Sasaki overheard everything Kumagai was telling Mario and the Koike about, which were followed up by my worst fears of Kumagai getting killed for knowing too much.

As such, it was pretty damn aggravating for Ishihara to rub it in Mario’s face that Kumagai got into an accident while driving under the influence and drowned when it was clearly a cover-up. Even Koike figured as much, and couldn’t stop trembling out of fear knowing that the doctor she works for is an accomplice to murders. In light of that, I did appreciate the overwhelming resolve depicted in Mario as a result, as he was determined to help An-chan escape before he gets killed. Even with the risk of being thrown into a real prison for an attempted escape, it was pretty moving to see all the others quickly agree to help out once reminded of the friendship An-chan showed them. Given the fire incident and how he almost sold out all his friends, the most surprising one was Baremoto, who was quick to jot up a map of the facility and come up with a plan. While he sort of redeemed himself already with the way he desperately clasped onto the cell key as Ishihara beat on him, this showing of self-sacrifice did improve my opinion of him further.

On the unexpected side of things, I can’t really say I foresaw the cute nurse Koike being in love with Sakuragi. After her formal introduction as Koike Setsuko (again, played by drama actress Kanjiya Shihori), it was even surprising to learn that Mario had already picked up on that fact somehow. I suspect he must have heard from An-chan at some point, but details aside, it made for a pretty good moment when Mario asked her to visit Sakuragi in their place after he ensures that he gets released alive. Aside from that, it was good to see Sasaki hit Ishihara for panicking and killing Kumagai on his own accord, rather than simply letting him transfer him to another corrections facility far away. However, watching Ishihara get consumed by his fear of his crimes getting exposed was admittedly pretty disturbing. It was literally the psychological makings of a criminal, where one incident snowballed with cover-up after cover-up until he’s completely insane with no human conscience anymore. Because of that, I really hope somebody deals with him sooner rather than later, while he still has some sense of guilt within him.

I honestly have no idea how Sakuragi can still be alive after enduring days of having freezing cold water on him. Without food and clearly experiencing symptoms of hypothermia, it was torture on two different fronts. Mario on the other hand seems to have regained some use of his right-hand (enough that he can move all his fingers and make a fist), which I find pretty unbelievable given the state it was in. In any case, the boys are putting their lives and futures on the line to save Sakuragi next time, and I dearly hope they succeed.

 

Preview

20 Comments

  1. Oh God! It was such a shock that Kumagai was killed. *shakes head in disbelief*
    The nurse has the hots for An-chan is not much of a surprise though. Hopefully their plan will work out well next episode!

    Lil' Lilly
    1. Um, you’re welcome, but I still find it odd how readers thank me for a summary when I don’t really summarize anymore. I don’t consider my posts “reviews” either, but merely impressions by a fan to share with fans.

  2. Oh, sorry for the double post, spotted this:

    …it was probably only a matter of time before somebody ended up getting killing in the juvenile corrections institute again….

    should be killed. Tense fail. XD

    Skins Thunderbomb
    1. Sakuragi’s future self is not in the opening so I suspect that he might not make it.. but then again the expression of the 6 comrades as they unite near the tree makes it seem if they pulled it off (saving Sakuragi), but who knows…

      Geass
  3. Ahhhh. Kumagai! Why do the good people get bad endings..

    I thought it was already foreshadowed back in ep 4, when the boys said that they can trust her with Sakuragi’s life (or something similar). Also, I found it strange that they would let a character randomly start telling a nurse about his life story unless she’s going to play a rather important role in his life. In addition, Sasaki remarked on her interest in him previously, and she’s labeled as the heroine by the production team (mere interpretation on my part, but heroes and heroines sometimes end up together LOL)

    Even though you say it’s not a summary, your posts pretty much include the plot points, it’s easy to understand what’s going on even for people who haven’t seen the episode 😀

    moto
  4. Setsuko Koike….I’m not gonna say much but I don’t remember Kumagai getting killed off in the manga….might have to re-check later today. I’m having serious problems in trying to find teh RAWs for Volum 21 of RAINBOW…has anyone got their hands on it ??

    I already read the first 20 volumes and only 2 more volumes to read. Volume 22 is getting released as a tankoban this weekend but vol 21 is nowhere to be found. >_>

    JCDRANZER
    1. I think you can get the Japanese raws via verycd torrents, though I’ve never figured out how to use that. If you can read Chinese, there’s an online version here.

      I decided to spoil myself first and read the latest 2 volumes yesterday so I want to ask..
      Show Spoiler ▼

      moto
      1. @moto —-> the answer to your question is the end of Volume 5.
        @Geass —–> the anime is following the manga very nicely….no real cut-backs and I kinda hope the series is not just 13 episodes. It could easily be 50 episodes and I just hope Madhouse can do that with the production money they have. 😉

        @MOTO —–> UR FREAKING AMAZING……AWESOMENESS….Just started reading it. =)

        JCDRANZER
  5. people is so stupid.. do u feel “cool” throwing little spoilers like that ? “ohhhh look guys i read to the volumen 2 im the best! o yeah this what gonna happen ;), ohh i read the 22 volumes! wooow!!! im so fuckin cool!” really pathetic

    neko

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