天下制覇

Boom! Headshot!

Impressions:

That Takano and her headshots. Minagoroshi finally ends with Takano effortlessly cutting through the kids. They did a good job beating up on unarmed men, but apparently one woman with a pistol is enough to make them turn tail and flee. I especially like the "crazy-off" between Rena and Takano. I think both were especially unhinged during that little conversation. What did Rena even expect though? "I have a clever, you have a pistol… also, every single other person chasing us is still going after my friends… oops." The episode was a lot of fun and Takano actually managed to descend into a vaguely threatening insanity instead of her normal ritalin state, so I’m pleased with how the arc (finally) ended. I’m a little confused on how they’re going to manage to throw together 9 episodes to make the last arc… but with corporeal Hanyuu… maybe they’ll visit a hot spring and everybody will win.

Forgive me if I’m a bit brief on this one. I’ve already dealt with two shows today and there’s a third waiting for my attention. All the crew is hanging out together, talking about how sad it is about the things happening. They decide to go find Oishi. Takano and her group is cleaning up Oishi’s body and preparing to start their real plan. The kiddos are with the police, but they’re not certain what happened to Oishi either so they leave. Satoko and Rika get ready to go to bed. Satoko chatters on happily, but Rika is in dark mode, thinking that things are going according to the usual plan. Satoko cheers her up a little bit by saying that fate was already changed.

After they go to sleep, Hanyuu appears and thinks that time is running out. Rika keeps repeating to herself that she’s going to die. Hanyuu tries to comfort her and Rika says not to worry, this time, fate will be destroyed. Takano’s group invades the police station and easily takes them down. Others are deploying through the town and forest, but keep running into Satoko’s little traps. Takano knows it’s Satoko doing it. Satoko and Rika run through the forest to try to escape. Rika falls as they run. One of Takano’s men runs up behind them, but Satoko throws a bag of some kind of powder at him and he’s blinded. Rika turns and sees that it’s one of Takano’s men and tries to figure things out. Rika thinks that she can’t let Satoko be killed while also putting together all the various things.

Rika finally gets up and steps in front of Satoko to face the men, saying that now she understands everything and will break destiny. Thankfully, she doesn’t have to die (yet), because all the rest of the school crew jump out with their signature weapons and save them. Rena uses the flat of her clever, but everybody, even the downed ones, get a good tasering. The kids convene briefly, then decide to keep running. Takano’s HQ loses track of the men, but she knows that it’s the kids keeping her from her goal.

Everybody keeps running through the forest. A car drives up near them and they decide to ambush them. Rika acts as bait and Rena downs one. Another attacks her from behind, but K-1 smacks that one too. Satoko’s trap takes down another for a tasering. Rika just stands there and waits for the last one… to get a Sonozaki kick to the face. All happy about their success against unarmed guys, they say that things aren’t impossible and get ready to go after the big prize… the car. Rika tells Hanyuu that she won’t give up this time and to watch her succeed with her own power.

Showing true military genius, the kids charge straight ahead. A shot rings out… Takano is standing there iwth a gun. K-1 falls, shot through the gut. He coughs up blood, apologizes to them all, tells them to run, and then dies. The other kids refuse to leave him behind until Rena tells them to run. They all finally turn tail and retreat as K-1 reaches for his bat.

The kids keep running. Mion stops, thinking that it’s wrong to leave him behind. She’ll stay and slow them down. She leaves Rika in the care of the others and waves goodbye. The remaining four stop to catch their breath later. Mion appears behind a tree, but falls, covered in blood. Takano and her men walk out. Rena tells Sion to take the others and run. She prepares to fight Takano next. Clever vs gun. I wonder who will win. Takano sends her men to follow them and tells Rena that god has commanded this.

It’s a crazy off between the two as they laugh at the other’s insanity. A gunshot rings out. The remaining three stop. Satoko collapses, thinking that everybody has been killed. Sion slaps her and tells her that Satoshi told her to protect Satoko. The men step out of the trees. Later, in front of Takano’s car, everybody, living and dead is laid out. Sion begs Takano to not kill Satoko and gets shot in the head for it. Takano then wonders what to do with Satoko… and shoots her in the head. I’m sensing a theme here. Then, to fool us all, Takano lets Rika run away free!

Nah, just kidding, there’s some generic back and forth dialogue between the two. Rika vows to burn Takano’s face into her memory and that she won’t get away with this, etc etc etc. Takano calls over one of her men as Rika continues to say that she won’t forget any of this, who the true enemy is, etc etc etc. Takano binds Rika and tosses her in the trunk. Hanyuu appears and apologizes. The two talk a bit about how the next Hinamizawa will be the last one. Rika knows how to stop it all.

Rika is laid out in front of the shrine. Hanyuu holds her hand and also vows to remember and protect everybody. Rika has a vision of all the other kids. They start talking to Hanyuu. She thanks them for trying their hardest, and they say that they just needed a little bit more to break destiny. Satoko apologizes to Rika. Rika thanks them all as Satoko comes up with her scalpel and slices into Rika. In a dream world, Rika thinks that only a miracle could save them all, but all the other kids and Hanyuu are also there and say that they can make a miracle together. Destiny can be cheated if they all fight together. Everybody puts their hands together, including Hanyuu. Rika says that next time will be the last.

In a meeting room, various bigwigs talk about Hinamizawa and how it has to be destroyed. In Hinamizaway, everybody is grouped into the rooms for quarentine and then gassed to death by Takano and her troops. Takano crazily laughs about fulfilling Oyashiro’s will.