Back to the story, Taira and Sakamoto (with Himiko still unconscious on his back) find a building of sorts up on a cliff as the dragons continue to follow them. They try to climb up the ladder to get to it. Unfortunately, Taira breaks one of the rusted steps and all three fall, and rather comically I might add. Even worse, the dragons are still coming.
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Taira elects to take on the dragons himself in order for Sakamoto to carry Himiko up the ladder. Sakamoto doesn’t believe that it can be done, and even contemplates leaving Himiko behind.
And then, something weird happens that makes Taira question not only his loyalty but Sakamoto’s sanity. Sakamoto climbs the ladder by himself. He then tosses a gas bomb into the woods next to them.
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What happened is that, while on the ground, Sakamoto felt the wind from the ocean blowing in towards them. This gave him an idea with the gas bomb. He would first use Himiko to activate (basically had her press the switch). Then, he got to the higher ground and tossed the bomb into the woods, which were downwind from them. And with the wind blowing in from the ocean, the gas would be trapped in the woods, leaving them unharmed.
It was a good plan. At least, Taira and Sakamoto thought so.
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And pretty much right on cue, Taira collapses after they all make it up the ladder.
Sakamoto helps, obviously, but he can’t hold Taira down long enough to pour the alcohol (?) on the wound. He tries to get Himiko to help, but she still refuses to have anything to do with men. It wasn’t until Sakamoto revealed that Taira was hurt trying to defend her that she helped hold him down.
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Back in Japan, it appears that Tyrannos is keeping an eye on the game, specifically on Sakamoto. I don’t understand the point of the Game Manager and Iida doing this. Are they trying to test him?
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Speaking of which, there was blood in the building that Sakamoto and crew are in (happened earlier in the episode but felt out of place to talk about it then). And from all appearances, it was old. How many times has Tyrannos done this before?
Back to the island, Himiko is not getting along with Sakamoto at all. Again, it’s pretty much stemming from the events in episode 2. He even tries to touch her shoulder to get her attention and she panics.
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| Just a few of the faces you get from Himiko | |
Around Day 4 (I guess), Himiko is on her phone, looking at the picture of her and Miho they took at the beginning of episode 2. From the looks of things, her cosplay outfit almost matches her avatar on the BTOOOM! game. And I think Sakamoto recognized that when he looked at the phone, which earned him a kick to the shin for his curiosity.
Sakamoto has had enough of being gentle. He demands answers, specifically for all the supplies that she had when they met. She refuses to say anything, claiming that it was all self-defense.
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Suddenly, the radar signal goes off. Luckily, Taira was not spotted. Same goes for Sakamoto.
But not Himiko.
Himiko offers to leave but Sakamoto declines, believing that he can get the jump on them and drive them away from the building. With that he sets off for the woods. He tries to initiate his plan, but it backfires as the attacker appears behind him.
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Recognize that knife? If you’ve watched episode 2, you should.
“…we will see the bandana guy again (remember, he retreated from a poison bomb). And he’ll probably sneak up on someone when he reappears since his bombs were taken from him.” – From my analysis of episode 2.
So, what can we look forward to in later episodes?
First things first, Bandana Guy is back. And from the looks of things in the teaser, he’s got a group that’s going to kidnap Himiko. Now, since he’s with her right now, what does that mean for Taira? I have no idea.
Second, something seems off about Iida. Just look at him.
He almost looks robotic in nature. What happened to him? Did he partake in a BTOOOM! event like this before? That could explain why he has a chip in his hand.
Third, since I didn’t bring this up last week, what would happen if Himiko makes it back? I assume her family would welcome her back but how would her friends — or should I say ex-friends — feel about her coming back? It doesn’t take a psychologist to know how temperamental a teenage girl can be. I’m almost positive they’d still hate her, and probably have no regrets about sending her away.
Fourth, the lawyer Natsume returns next episode. He only appeared for a second in the teaser but it seems that he came across Bandana Guy while running away from Kira. What his role will be is still uncertain.
Fifth, where is this guy? Is he ever going to be anything more than a montage prop? Does he have anything to do with this?
Finally, based on the title of the next episode, it appears that Sakamoto will realize who Himiko is. He may have a head start on it anyways after seeing the cosplay picture on Himiko’s phone. We’ll find out next time.
BTOOOM! is developed by Madhouse, published by Showgate, and licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks. You can catch new episodes of BTOOOM! on Thursday nights through the simulcast on Crunchyroll.
