Change the future
What They Say:
Osamu Mikumo is a member of Border, an organization designed to protect Mikado City the from alien invaders knows as Neighbors. One day a mysterious new student named Yuma Kuga transfers to his school and turns out to be a humanoid neighbor himself. The two are supposed to be natural enemies, but could there be more to neighbors than Osamu has bargained for…
The Review:
Content (warning as portions of this review may contain spoilers):
So this arc has been a long and winding road, but we’re finally towards the climax. Unfortunately the trip getting there seems to have taken a toll on the show’s production in addition to the pacing. The battles are starting to look a lot more stilted here though it’s not too much of a distraction as things continue to progress.
The whole “change the future” subplot takes center stage for these episodes as the battles escalate. It proves to be pretty difficult to fight fate as Karasuma’s battle against Hyrein ends in his loss and he’s unable to stall him long enough from getting to Osamu despite being warned by Jin before hand (and the constant animation stills during this fight doesn’t help things either). Despite Karasuma managing to make a slight change by giving everyone a warning about Hyrein’s Trigger, Osamu himself doesn’t fare much better when Hyrein goes after him. Osamu manages to make a pretty good run but right before the entrance to Border HQ he finds himself sandwiched between Hyrein and Mira, completely isolated from any help…
Or so it seems as who should arrive on the scene but Miwa. We already knew this save was coming thanks to Jin’s warning way back when, but it’s because of it that Miwa’s reluctant to help out since he doesn’t like the idea of being manipulated by him. Though when he sees Osamu’s desperation to keep Chika safe, it reminds him of his own desperation to save his sister in the past and how he was unable to do so. However rather than just being outright helpful he berates Osamu for trying to rely on someone else to solve the problem before starting to fight Hyrein, but it’s also clear that it’s partially a message to himself as he clearly doesn’t like having to do that himself. It works as a nice little moment of development for him nonetheless as it shows he’s at least somewhat sympathetic to his allies.
A much better character moment arrives though, during the finale to Yuma’s ongoing fight against Viza. Viza has Yuma outmatched in every way, and he recalls that his father would have advised him to flee in that kind of situation. This is especially true in Yuma’s own experience, as the one time he acted recklessly is what got his father killed, and it’s something he still has to live with. But Osamu desire to help others regardless of the odds is something that’s inspired him as he’s lived somewhat pragmatically up till now, and he knows that this is a battle he can’t run away from. It really highlights how much he’s grown from the initial disdain he showed towards Osamu way back in episode 1 concerning his heroism, and it’s nice to see Yuma starting to see the value in fighting for others. He decides to go at Viza with an all or nothing attack which is appropriately the best looking (and only good looking) sequence in this entire pair of episodes, and he manages to succeed with the use of a clever tactic concerning his Trion body.
Back with Osamu and Miwa, Osamu decides to make a break for the base while Hyrein’s busy with the latter but has trouble evading Mira despite Replica’s assistance. He finally manages to make a clean break by discarding his Trion body, similar to Yuma’s earlier tactic, and Miwa manages to simultaneously deal a fatal blow to Mira and Hyrein. With Yuma arriving at the end, as both he and Miwa are ready to deliver the final blow, it looks like we’re finally towards of this arc as the key moment of Jin’s prediction is about to arrive. The actual conclusion though, isn’t coming till next time.
In Summary:
World Trigger’s battle to change the future hits it’s climax as the major battles finally start to wrap up. With the pivotal moment of Jin’s prediction arriving, it should be interesting to see what the actual result of it is and how it’ll affect things going forward. The end of this arc is fast approaching and hopefully the anime can make it a strong one.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, Hulu
