「千錯万綜」 (Sensaku Bansou)
“All Complicated and Confusing”

After taking several gunshots last time, it turns out Shizuo’s mind over matter bursts of superhuman strength really knows no bounds. To him, he just thought he slipped and fell down in the rain. I was pretty amused by how things he just got up and walked to Shinra’s place for some treatment like it was no big deal, mainly because it was very Shizuo-like. The same goes for when Shinra was trying to remove the bullets from his body, only to end up cowering in fear for calling Shizuo an idiot with the forceps still in his leg. It doesn’t look like Shinra bothered to give Shizuo any sedatives either, as he appears incapable of feeling any sort of pain. That scene, plus the one where Shinra called Celty while he was chasing after Anri, ended up being a couple of hilarious moments before things really got underway.

Quite honestly, I was expecting Celty to take Mikado back to her place to talk things over with Anri after he learned the truth behind her and Masaomi’s situation, but the big garbled mess that resulted when Masaomi took his fight up directly with Horada and the rest of the Blue Square members who had taken over the Yellow Scarves was so much better in hindsight. I attribute that primarily to the foreshadowing seen in Masaomi’s resolve to kill and be killed when he couldn’t get in contact with any of the Yellow Scarves and went to confront Horada for relieving him as their leader and bringing up Mikado’s name as the leader of Dollars (something I gather he learned from Izaya). To that effect, I found Simon’s words to Masaomi on how a kid like him shouldn’t be putting himself in a “kill or be killed” situation followed by his request to Celty to save Masaomi really helped set the stage for the big showdown. All the while, Anri was frantically searching for him after hearing from Shizuo how Masaomi supposedly gave the order to have him killed, while Mikado and Celty were on their way as well.

The thought of the three of them converging on the same place and the truth behind the secrets they’ve been keeping from one another getting exposed was pretty exciting to say the least, especially when Anri and Mikado arrived to find Masaomi a bloody mess. It sure as hell made for an awesome cliffhanger anyway, but this climactic turn of events actually had me rethinking what Izaya’s plan truly is. Given the way he was analyzing the situation and sounding enthralled by how everything’s going to come to light between Dollars, Yellow Scarves, Slashers, and now Blue Squares with Celty in the middle of it all, I’m almost inclined to believe that this is exactly what he wanted to happen. In addition, he made it sound like Namie was intended to play this role of bringing them together six months ago had Mikado not found a way to stop her.

Regardless of what Izaya’s scheming, it’s nice to see Masaomi presented with a second chance to confront the Blue Squares and make up for his shameful past when he was frozen in fear and unable to rescue Saki. Hearing the name of the former Blue Squares leader, Izumii, got him pretty fired up about killing Horada as well, so it was pretty cool watching him take out a bunch of Blue Squares members and cause Horada to tremble in fear even with a gun in hand. Things still weren’t looking favorable in Masaomi’s case however, which is why Anri busting in as her Saika self and Celty following suit with Mikado paved way for some serious Blue Squares ass-kicking. I haven’t counted out Shizuo making a late arrival before this is all said and done either, since he really needs to get payback for Horada’s failed attempt to kill him.

While I would’ve liked the story to get back to Izaya in some way, the finale next week revolving around the conclusion of Masaomi’s subplot the three leaders of the major factions coming together still has me pretty excited. Other than that, I’m still left wondering which member of the Yellow Scarves this Maruyama Ou person Masaomi tried to call is, and who Namie was seen talking on the phone with. (Seiji?) There’s also Saki’s call to Russian Sushi out of the blue to tell them about what “he” is up to. Was she referring to Masaomi or Izaya? I’m leaning towards Izaya though since the very next scene had him in it.

 

Preview

37 Comments

  1. “In addition, he made it sound like Namie was intended to play this role of bringing them together six months ago had Masaomi not found a way to stop her.”

    I think you mean Mikado.

    Btw what’s up with Shinra’s dad? And that policeman? And with Shizuo’s brother? It seems kinda meaningless that they were introduced, since it looks like they won’t have any role in the anime. Though this may be the best if there will be a second season ever, where they have a bigger role.

    viral
  2. I also think that Saki called the Russian chef to talk about Izaya for the same reason(that they cut straight to him), what if she knew already that he was evil and just acted like she didn’t that would be awesome.And then Namie was speaking on the phone too and after that she seemed really scared of Izaya,maybe the Russian chef told her what Saki told him.If I turn out to be right Saki will look more awesome now and she will be even more scarier for me.I Would never date a girl smiling this much.
    Anyway I love this show and like you I hope next week will feature some blue ass kicking from Anri,Celty and Shizuo.Especially this Horada guy he’s the only one I really hate in this show even Izaya is ok for me since the meteorite joke, and he looked like a bat raising his arms and his laugh annoyed me like hell.

    Rockmanshii
  3. What I want to see is all the shit come down on Izaya for all the drama he has caused. Probably won’t happen tho, weasals like that never get whats coming to them.

    Karmafan
  4. I have mixed feelings about this episode. For one, I’m glad that things actually happened this episode and it wasn’t just tension. However, the one complaint I have about this episode is that they kind of downplayed Masaomi’s fighting skills.

    http://anni-fiesta.livejournal.com/15925.html

    I was really looking forward to that part and I’m a little disappointed that in the anime he only took down a few people. It seemed like he beat up at least 20-30 in the light novel.

    akani
    1. lol, you and me both!
      I was really looking forward to seeing Masaomi’s awesome fighting skills after reading that little tidbit. They completely downplayed that scene. Also, wasn’t the guy with the sword supposed to have deflected the bullet after it had been fired instead of simply knocking the gun out of Horada’s hand? It felt a little anticlimactic to me…

  5. I think its actually namie who told horoda or maybe she passed it on to saki…

    I agree that they somehow downplayed masaomi’s abilities, he broke several ribs, made blood come out and he also narrowly missed horoda(by an inch).

    amado
  6. Every time I watch Masaomi get hit by the nail puller, I shudder. Urgh… how is his skull not cracked and all the brain juices coming out?

    Btw, I love how polite all of the Saika children are. “Um… It looks like Mother would be sad if he died, so I acted out on my own.”

    Satoida
    1. hey you are right.

      he looks quite cool with the kerchief.

      wow, his gang is part of dollars, blue squares and yellow scarfs. next thing you know, they’re mother’s children as well! maybe. we can hope! then they will be able to explain everything seeing they have all pieces of hte puzzle.

      scratchinghead
  7. Making assumptions from the preview or next episode;
    I hope it shows Izaya (I think that’s his name, that annoying info broker) in loser mode (the chess board, him hunched and carrying a plastic bag).

    Been a good show, this… even if it just focuses about 3 brats and their “street-gangs”.

    Nice to know Heiwajima (I love how that name is the total opposite of his nature) is still alive. 🙂

    Lithium
  8. since when did masaomi turn into shizuo when i’m not looking?

    next thing you know, he’ll get shot by horada and recover faster than shizzy chan!

    gosh, that was so weird. Plus the fact he kept referring to himself as a no good highschooler. How did a high schooler get so many goons to follow him in the first place. that’s the part i can’t figure out.

    scratchinghead
    1. It’s because he was a strong fighter but the anime didn’t really show it that well. He helped a friend in a fight and then slowly various people accumulated around him because of his strength. They became the Yellow Scarves.

      The scene in the light novel where he fights makes more sense than most of the people just standing there. Although I suppose animating hoards of people rushing at Masaomi was too much, so they only made a few people attack him before he collapsed. If you want to read it, the link is in my comment above.

      akani
  9. Nice setup there. Can’t wait for the next episode.

    By the way, they already gave us the hint that Horada was from the blue squares beforehand. That’s how Kadota found the name ‘Horada’ in the earlier episode (where he met up with Masaomi to talk about Dollars).

    Yyi
  10. Wow I just looked of the voice actor for Kida Masaomi and it turns out he is in a lot of animes as the lead character, Light, Setsuna, Death The Kid, ect

    crazy.

    Good episode btw.

    LeftArrow
  11. Ah dang. I just got into this anime yesterday, caught all up today, and you’re telling me the finale is next episode? Is it a season finale or a series finale? Because.. there’s just to much that would have to be answered next time. There’s just no way it all ends next time.

    me
  12. thank you once again Divine for all your hard work. I recently decided to try this show and it’s awesome. I wouldn’t have even known about it if not for seeing it on here.

    Cain

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