BTOOOM! Episode 9: The Strongest Player

WARNING: Due to the graphical nature of BTOOOM!, discretion is advised.

Spoilers below.

The action picks up again this episode as everyone makes a break for new supplies. All the major players — that are still alive — make a return, though some just briefly. We also get formally introduced to two bomb types as well as get a name for one of the main antagonists.

But we begin right where we left off, with Taira waking up after his ordeal to find Date had wrapped up his hand. Just as he was with Sakamoto in episode 5 (Attack), Taira is grateful for the help. I know I said Taira may have been acting like that for his own strategy but I’m sure he put it aside for this; you know, since he was bleeding everywhere. Still not sure if he’s been completely honest since he first came on.

As for Date, he’s apparently only being helpful so that he can take Taira’s chip at the end, similar to what he did with Shiki in his first game (White Ghost). He has no knowledge of Sakamoto and Himiko yet so he thinks that Taira is a bumbling fool who’s alone.

But Sakamoto and Himiko do return, gear in hand, and start questioning Date. Date immediately goes on the defensive and even offers up his bomb case when Sakamoto asks to see them. Lucky for Date, he had yet to run into anyone while on the island.

And here we formally see the Remote Detonators, mistaken before as mines in episode 3 (Survival). What happens is that the user tosses or places the bombs in a desired place and then activates them by pressing the correct number on the remote. Just a bit of curiosity, but I’m wondering if someone was stupid enough to press the buttons with the bombs still by them. You have to figure, since they aren’t given instructions, that someone would have done that in one of the three games.

So, as you can probably imagine if you’ve yet to see the episode, Date plans on taking out all of the team when the time is right. He’s obviously happy to hear that Sakamoto has three chips — courtesy of his fight with Natsume and Miyamoto (Virtual Bride). And he doesn’t believe that Sakamoto and company will be able to hijack the helicopter off the island.

Also something of note: neither Himiko nor Sakamoto react to Date saying his name. You’d think that after hearing the story from Shiki that they would’ve recognized the name. However, it’s possible that Shiki was so disgusted by Date that she didn’t even bother saying his name. She probably just talked about him as… well, “him.”

Anyways, three supply cases are dropped in. Taira is forced to stay behind — still recovering from his injuries — as Sakamoto, Himiko, and Date run after one of the cases. They’re not the only ones as well. In one radar check, Sakamoto saw six people going after the one case. Two eventually gave up, two were in the area watching what was going on, and two continued running in, including sunglasses guy.

This is Oda (family name; given name is not yet known). We met Oda in Survival when he killed a woman with a Detonator in order to get supplies. In this episode, he’ll go toe to toe with Sakamoto to get the supplies. And he’s not alone either. But we’ll get to that later.

Sakamoto and Oda both jump off a mini-cliff toward the supplies but just miss. The two have a little stand-off before tossing Crackers at one another. The Crackers bump into each other and explode.

Meanwhile, Date runs around and gets to the case. Unfortunately, he can’t get the parachute off. To make matters worse, Oda tosses a Gas bomb toward Date. But Date is able to solve the situation by connecting a Detonator to the buckle before letting go and running from the gas. He set off the bomb and Sakamoto picked up the case. A smart move by Date.

But they can’t claim victory yet as Oda continues after Sakamoto. Worse still, the two people that were in the area watching are now making there move. And we get introduced to a new bomb type.

These are fire/flame types. These bombs, which look like throwing stars, create what appears to be a wall (or two) of fire where it lands. Use two and you can surround an opponent.

So, with Sakamoto surrounded by fire, Oda jumps in and lands an epic flaming kick. Oda then grabs the supplies and runs out toward the ocean. Not a bad idea, considering, but that seems like it could hurt, given that it’s literally putting salt on fire wounds. Sakamoto escapes the flames as well, jumping into the water as a third fire bomb lands.

So, who was throwing the bombs? A random old guy who teamed up with Kira from episode 4 (Best in the World). I’d question the move, since the old guy seems like a waste, but Kira was probably just biding his time anyway, waiting to take out the old man. He was rather happy to see the old man go toward the beach that Sakamoto and Oda would eventually come in from — probably expecting him to die easily.

And sure enough, he does. The supplies were left in a grassy area along the border between the beach and the forest. The placement of the supplies is so obviously a trap, but the old guy is too oblivious to it all.

Maybe Admiral Ack…

Naw, too easy.

Anyways, Oda regains the supplies as well as picks up the old guy’s gear and chip. But before he can leave, Sakamoto comes out of the ocean and tells Oda to drop everything. Oda obliged. As a matter of fact, Oda does everything that Sakamoto asked; dropping his gear, relinquishing the supplies and moving away so that Sakamoto could grab all the stuff.

It was way too easy. Sakamoto suspects a trap. But it doesn’t quite make sense for there to be a set trap for this. Even Sakamoto believes that after seeing that Oda is not holding his remote. Sakamoto resolves to take the gear. Unfortunately, Oda had the remote in his mouth. Oda bites down and causes an explosion.

Claiming victory, he checks with his radar to find that Sakamoto is alive. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Outside of MI5/Spooks, there doesn’t seem to be a show that is willing to kill off their main characters early and often. However, there is a difference between MI5 and BTOOOM!: BTOOOM! is a show with a limited number of characters competing to get off a deserted island while MI5 is an FBI-like show with an ensemble cast that can easily be switched out or replaced.

Even without that, how did this scene even happen in the first place? Let’s start with the trap. The way that Sakamoto was thinking of it made little sense. The thought that someone could predict that someone would be in one exact place like that is mind boggling. The most likely scenario would have been that the bombs remained in the case and Oda just armed them before he dropped them.

As for how Sakamoto survived, your guess is as good as mine. I’m still trying to figure out how Kira could survive a Cracker bomb to the face. Meanwhile, Shiki couldn’t escape unscathed by blocking a homing bomb — the weakest bomb in the game — with her case. I wish there was more consistency in this and a logical reason behind this other than “TV convenience.”

So, with Date and Sakamoto battling for the supplies, what has Himiko been doing all this time?