Where is Shiki vs Mikado? Tougen Anki is really pushing that out until the very end of the season, and my hopes of getting a cliffhanger-esque finale are slowly getting dimmer because of it. As for this week’s episode, it honestly felt like a drag. Not exactly filler, but the whole episode focuses on one single fight, which wasn’t even that interesting.
It could have been, if the characters didn’t act so predictably. Still, the highlight of the episode has to be Shinya getting caught red-handed, and his one-trick pony move finally not working this time. And how did that happen?
They used a freaking VR set to trick him. Like, geez. Sure, it was innovative as a counter to Shinya’s CCTV-camera ability, and seeing him run, because even he knows he doesn’t stand a chance in a face-to-face fight, was honestly satisfying. But then came the same Shonen slop.
The Big Fight Turned Into a Generic Shonen Slop
Now, by ‘big fight,’ I’m not talking about the Shiki vs Mikado fight. That’s just not happening anytime soon. Even though they teased that it might happen in the next episode, I’m already getting skeptical about it. Anyway, the big fight here was Ikari vs Osuke, the two overconfident individuals.
I mean, on paper, it could have turned out to be a fascinating clash, but even if I ignore the fact that some scenes had janky CGI, the characters are just so one-dimensional when they fight. I thought we’d moved past that era, but I guess some people still enjoy that earnest, straightforward style of combat?
Even on the antagonistic side of things, Tsukuyomi, Osuke, and Mikado were all like, “Okay, let’s have a fair fight.” Mikado even split up the battlefield so he could 1v1 Shiki. Osuke tried to rematch Mudano, revealing that his technique is basically copying. And honestly, whenever a shonen character uses a copy ability, they usually end up super OP.
But Mudano was like, “I’m not fighting a copycat,” and just sent his students to deal with him. Osuke resisted a bit at first, but it didn’t look like he was struggling much either. Still, as any typical Shonen plot goes, the fight didn’t end up going in Osuke’s favor once Ikari stepped in.
This Was Certainly Ikari’s Episode, But at What Cost
Ikari from Tougen Anki | Credits: Studio Hibari
The way characters are introduced in Tougen Anki, I honestly don’t care about who gets to shine next. I’m just waiting for Shiki vs. Mikado; that’s the only thing I care about. So, Ikari going up against Osuke was supposed to be hype, since it was basically his moment in the story.
And so, in another stereotypical fashion, Ikari actually won. Of course, not on his first try, because the rule of thumb in Shonen fights is that the eventual winner always loses the first round. Naturally, in the second half, Ikari literally turned into a bird with blood-transfigured wings.
With all that in his arsenal, Ikari finally got his long-awaited W in the storyline. However, it left him bleeding so badly that he might not even survive, but would he actually die? I think we can all predict how that usually goes in a typical Shonen like this, right? Now, let’s just wait and see when Shiki vs Mikado finally happens.
Tougen Anki is currently available to watch on Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
