As we approach the referendum over whether the Kanae system will continue, the boys struggle with the part they can play in its survival or destruction.
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As we approach the referendum over whether the Kanae system will continue, the boys struggle with the part they can play in its survival or destruction.
| Aired | 3/23/2022 |
| Network | Crunchyroll |
| Directed By | Ryō Kodama |
| Written By | Vio Shimokura |
Recap
November – Gori, Kinako, Shuta, Red, Koki, Wataru
November is a hellacious month for Shantytown residents. The Winner’s Casino is announced, and with that comes rent increases for those in surrounding areas and evictions on the rise. Some of which Gori outrights supports to hasten the process of redeveloping the area known as Shantytown.
But, as a true showing that DoRed is a threat to undo things, Gori tasks Koki and Wataru with drawing out Red and his team by exploiting their most vulnerable member, Kinako. They have some thugs put her in a position where it seems she might be assaulted, and Red almost falls for this trap. Luckily, Shuta arrives, in nothing but a skimpy towel, and handles the situation – thus keeping Red and his team from having to expose themselves and get arrested by Wataru.
Early to Mid December – 0th, Red, Gori, Hajime
How did the Graffiti Wars become so big? Well, going by what 0th says, it was with the help of Hajime. Yes, our favorite low life was involved by having his people fan the flames of rebellion, mainly for his own benefit. But with the enemy of my enemy being my friend policy in use, 0th doesn’t seem to mind working with Hajime, even if Red believes Hajime should be punched on sight for the role he played in Kunai’s demise.
In fact, when he sees him, Red punches Hajime in the face. But, on top of using his thugs to cause political strife, Hajime is also offering to hack the election, and for this, Red finds a reason to calm down. Though, with Gori already seeing polling not go in his favor, this just means him using the fact felons can’t vote as a reason to up arrests and weaken the opposition.
The Referendum Approaches – Sakiko, Shuta, Kozue, Asumi, Koki, Red, Kinako, 0th, Koki
As shown, Kozue is in the rebellious phase of her life, and because of that, she is out on the streets protesting, running from SARG, and getting into trouble. The kind Shuta tries to save her from but gets chided a bit for doing so. Why? Well, mainly because of how selective Shuta is when it comes to being a hero. He sticks to small, personal battles, but with him staying out of the war engulfing the ward, whether or not he is a true hero is up for questioning.
But, with Sakiko waking up and revealing to him the truth about Asumi, there is a chance he may no longer sit on the sidelines but participate in the war. Red too may become even more emboldened as 0th seems to reveal the details of why the Cornucopia had to be hacked and Asumi’s place in all this.
However, while Red and Shuta seem geared towards freeing Asumi so she may finally rest in peace, Koki just wants to make her part in the Kanae system more peaceful. So that maybe her consciousness isn’t triggered to awaken whenever someone she loved while alive is in trouble, and so that her empathy doesn’t keep causing errors that make her existence redundant.
Things To Note
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- So did Koki and SARG really set up Kinako as bait?!
What Could Happen Next
- Expect a trolley decision focused on the boys either destroying Asumi and the Kanae system or a massive, violent uprising
Review
On The Fence
Knowing We’re Building Towards Something, Yet Not Being Excited
The two episodes left may determine if Tokyo 24th Ward will join other great high school anime or fizzle out, and it’s hard to say which direction this show may go. Yes, we have so many developed characters with good storylines, but something about this show is missing a certain oomph. Maybe it is because Gori is the closest thing to a villain on this show, and his minor screentime makes it so he can’t fulfill that role?
Perhaps it is because the conflict doesn’t seem big enough? Granted, people have died throughout the season, and Gori is even causing a massive uproar by evicting people with seemingly no place to go. But as we skip through time and RGB continues to operate as individuals, two on the extremes and Shuta in the middle, I feel that each side doesn’t present their case to make you feel their point in a passionate way.
Red, while a Shantytown native, I don’t believe they’ve done enough to show his community beyond the Kunai episodes. Then for Gori/Koki’s case, while I get Kanae is the trigger for all of this, because of how calculated both are, it drains the emotions we should be experiencing to justify their crusade for a safer district. Especially Koki’s need to set aside the morality of his younger sister’s corpse being used to power a system named after his mother.
Lastly, with Shuta, shouldn’t he be us at this point? Shouldn’t Shuta be the one exploring the points of both sides, torn on who is the hero, be it short term or long term, and us right there with him and not knowing how anything or anyone can be seen?
I see what Tokyo 24th Ward wants to do, but I do think the execution is iffy.
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