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Everything was going just fine and then Natsuko snaps and we are left wondering if this show is about to go down the toilet.
Previous Recap: King’s Game: Season 1/ Episode 1 “Begin Again (Break Again)”
Back When There Was Innocence: Nobu
Mixed in with Nobu’s present day life, is his past experience with the King’s Game. Seemingly to make up for the 10 who quickly died at his current school. Leading us to learn how the game started in the past. First with the denial of letting a boy, Hideki, touch a girl, Satomi’s, breast. From there, chances aren’t taken. Daisuke ends up having sex with a boy named Shouta’s girlfriend, and then that leads Shouta to give a King’s order. Meaning, whatever he says has to be taken into account as if the King said it.
His order? For Daisuke to hang himself. Something Nobu thought he was going to prevent by hanging out, mutually enjoying their love of rock and roll, but Daisuke ends up hanging himself anyway. So all that effort was for naught.
It’s Not Just The King Playing Games: Nobu, Natsuko
In the first episode, it seemed rather suspicious that despite Nobu’s behavior, Natsuko remained persistent in pursuing Nobu’s affections. So with her being ordered to have sex with Teruaki, her first time, and Nobu being callous about it, she snaps. I’m talking, not just going off on Nobu but trying to set him up to look like a rapist kind of snap. Trying to have Mizuki use her order to kill Nobu kind of snap. Leading us to wonder, is this the true Natsuko?
Criticism
Too Many People At Once
Can I just say, it was hard enough keeping up with all the people in Nobu’s new school but to add his old schoolmates too? And I could see if it was 5 or so, but there are 22 still alive. Which is only being marked negative for if this takes a similar route as Juni Taisen (Zodiac War), that means we’ll only learn who is who when it is time for them to die. If not contribute to someone else’s death.
Which, like with how death is handled on Juni Taisen, it is going to make really caring about anyone’s death difficult. I mean, Chiemi being an exception. Which may make this show the first real drop of the season.
On The Fence
Natsuko Losing Her Mind
It should be expected that people are going to lose their minds. After all, classmates are dying if they don’t do anything from letting a person grope or have sex with them, to texting someone to die. However, the way Natsuko snaps, it just seems off. For one, she did a hard 180 after Teruaki basically tried to rape her. Which I can understand to a point, flipping out after you have been this nice girl and this dude tries to rape you. However, her then stripping and talking about having sex in front of everyone, making it seem Nobu assaulted her and all that, that was such a turn-off – story wise.
Like, I can get her being mad at Nobu for not trying to keep her from being raped, much less everyone watching and doing hardly anything. Which, considering how they whooped Nobu’s ass, even without seeing it happen, was odd. But for her to frame him seemingly out of spite? All the while laughing maniacally?
I mean, for those who saw Future Diary (Mirai Nikki), you have seen a scenario like this done right. But the way King’s Game did it just seems like they wanted to quickly cause a stir and that’s it. Only causing a serious eye roll.
TV Shows We’re Covering This Season
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