Kaiji - Ultimate Survivor, Episode 12: Degradation; Episode 13: Monster
We pick up episode 12 from the previous episode with Kaiji struggling whether to push the dude in front of him, and I did really like how even the episode narrator is screaming that Kaiji needs to push the dude in front of him to win. We go through a couple of minutes of Kaiji going "of course I have to push, it's the logical choice, it's a dog-eat-dog world", et cetera, but of course since we still have to make Kaiji likable, he doesn't actually go through with it, with a lout "I WILL NOT PUSH!" screaming to the heavens. The anime does make it feel like Kaiji earned this particular character development and showcases the internal turmoil in his mind very well, while simultaneously not prolonging it more than it deserves to be. There's a bit of a climax as the dude behind Kaiji pushes him, but neither falls off -- they did get disqualified for holding the bars with their hands, though.
A good chunk of episode 12 is just this tense mental strain as Kaiji goes through whether he should betray his inner moral compass to win or not, and while it doesn't leave me much to talk about, it's definitely pretty satisfying nonetheless, and felt earned and not cheap.
Hell, Kaiji even catches Number 12's hand, managing to allow him to hang on, which shows how strong his moral center is. Sahara and Ishida end up getting the first two places, but after the game's over... they only get vouchers and coupons! And as the survivors of the plank-walk is brought to the room (those who fell are escorted... elsewhere DUNN DUNN DUNNNN), Tonegawa, the douchebag from episode 1 and seemingly one of the main villains of the story, shows up. He gives a speech about how the real prize of 20 million is something they have to get... after a race. And this time around, the game is... exactly the same.
Except the bridge is like 20 stories high up in the air. And it's electrified. And those who fall will die.
Episode 13 starts with Tonegawa, who goes through a rant again about the real value of 20 million, how normal peasants and working men and women would have to go through a crapton of shit and effort to get it. We also establish that there's a lot of people who gain sick pleasure from watching people risking their lives, knowing that they're safe, and knowing that the 20 million they're fighting for is essentially chump change for them. It's definitely an eye-opening speech for those assembled, and while Tonegawa is undoubtedly a sick mofo, I did like how his motivations of 'survival of the fittest, weaklings don't deserve a chance'.
Kaiji ends up shaping up to become the ringleader, drawing lines on people's shoes and riling people up with speeches and shit... while Tonegawa is apparently very good at reading people (this will come into play in later episodes) and explains to his nameless aide that Kaiji's subconsciously afraid and trying to avoid saying things like 'we will cross the bridge', and instead use languages like 'we can do it'. Tonegawa notes how this frenzy and adrenaline won't last long, and as the competitors began walking through the metal bars...
There's an amazing, amazing description of the 'demon known as death' as they walk through the bars, alone and separated from the pack, and we get some great visualization of the panic they feel as their legs turn to jelly and as they feel death all around him. The episode ends with the first deaths of the game, with Ota panicking, thinking that there's wind (it's actually all in his head), touches the bar for support, gets electrocuted and falls to his death. Kaiji screams at Sahara for refusing to support him, but honestly? In Ota's panic, he'd probably drag Sahara down with him. Some other dude tries to run back, trips and also dies. So yeah. It's definitely an interesting take, and we're still in the same cross-the-bridge-or-fall arc as before... I'm just curious how this will end. The arc is definitely shaping up to not just be Kaiji competiting against other competitors, but that the organizers are the real enemy. In addition to the shadowy figures or rich folk in the hotel, we also get Tonegawa as a pretty entertaining villain, so yeah. Bring it on.
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