Phi Brain – 18

“I think better when I sit on top of people I deem as inferior…Got a problem with that?”

Welcome to the ‘Gammon is a giant prick’ episode. I really need to stop hating all the characters in this show except for the villain. Ah well. Let’s go over just how much idiocy occurred in just 22 odd minutes of Phi Brain, shall we?

Guess how this episode begins? WITH KAITO SULKING OVER ROOK. Okay, no it doesn’t. Rewind a bit and it actually starts with Gammon and his little sister complimenting him on being more talented as a Giver than a Solver, as well as praising him for taking care of her since their parents aren’t around. That gives him a very dangerous idea…BACK TO KAITO SULKING. He’s not as depressed as usual, mind you, but still mellow enough to provoke Nonoha to break out the devil cosplay to cheer him up. Maybe it’s not as effective because none of the other phi brain kids dressed up or even came to sit with them at lunch. Hmm. Before they can get too suspicious, they hear an announcement on the PA telling them to report to the office. It’s a big surprise to hear the headmaster’s voice all of a sudden considering he was just kidnapped, so they hightail it out of there as fast as they can.

Derp, he’s still kidnapped. Jikugawa used a voice changer so the students wouldn’t wonder why their principal suddenly stopped doing his duties. He quickly explains that he’s being closely monitored and that they’ll have to be the ones to try and bring down the POG, which Kaito is all for. Kaito is fine as long as his friends are there! Too bad..they’re..not there. Ana and Cubic are now avoiding Kaito because he doesn’t acknowledge them as friends even after they’ve risked their lives for him. Gammon is even going as far as dropping in on Elena to see just how the life of a Giver is. A bit of praise from her is all it takes for him to start putting some full-time effort into creating puzzles to stump people.

Now THIS is how you do a *head desk*

Nonoha desperately tries to convince everyone to stand by Kaito’s side as he faces Rook, but no one takes the bait. Her last resort is Gammon, but he twists the situation into a showdown. He accuses Kaito of letting everyone near him get hurt by the POG, and orders Nonoha to stay away from him so she will be safe. The drama peaks when he challenges Kaito to solve his puzzle, which he was somehow able to set up within a day. IT’S ON!

Trap your opponent in a square and you win. All you have to do it hit two pillars on the field with your sword to draw a line. The catch is that your opponent is moving too, so you’re going to be doing a lot of dodging and weaving through the field of pillars. It’s a miracle Kaito can even lift the sword with his scrawny, chicken arms. The two of them begin to d-d-d-d-d-dd-d-duel (I couldn’t resist) and have fun chasing each other down. Halfway through, Gammon mentions that the loser will explode. JUST BY THE WAY, you know, not that it matters.

“Do I get extra points if the space I enclose you in is penis-shaped?” “GODDAMMIT KAITO, STOP IT”

Kaito starts to panic a bit as heir movements become faster and more desperate. Gammon eggs him on to activate the Orpheus armlet and try and beat him, all the while backing him into a corner. So…he uses his armlet and wins. <_< Unexpected victory, of course. He spares Gammon a highly combustible death and lets him live another day. Gammon leaves and decides to join the POG to obtain sufficient revenge.

Random Headcanon + KAITO KILLS THE MOOD:

Cool’s headcanon: Rook has a photo of Kaito embedded deeply in his afro at all times.

So how many points do I get if I smack you in the face and knock you out?

Also, how many times do I get to stab you if one of these sparks takes out my eyeball?

How about you just win NOT BLOWING UP as a prize for being quiet?!

End Thoughts:

Everyone in this show is an idiot. I know people make bad decisions when they’re emotional but every single choice a character made in this episode was enraging. Kaito is handling the news about his parents a lot better than I thought and is actually trying to save Rook instead of getting revenge. This is good. However, he still hasn’t shown much of an inclination towards being a good friend by trying to keep them away from dangerous puzzles or even simple things like acknowledging their existence. Ana and Cubic really waited a long time before coming to a breaking point. I would have stopped hanging out with him a long time ago if I knew it meant sticking my neck out time after time for someone who barely notices when I talk to them. However, they skipped one very important step before distancing themselves from Kaito: talking to him. If you are having a problem with a friend, it’s really a good idea to talk to them. If someone is acting in a way you don’t appreciate you say “Hey man, that’s not cool. You are doing x and I do not want you to do x because of y. I suggest you do z, but let’s talk about a solution together!” You do not just ditch them and passively hope they will figure out how to change by themselves. Can someone just tell Kaito what he needs to do? Gammon almost did that, but he pissed him off far too much for Kaito to ever take his words to heart.

Now for the worst part! OH NO, THIS RANT AIN’T OVER YET. I have barely even touched upon Gammon, who has become a traitor for the flimsiest of reasons. Once again, instead of sitting Kaito down and explaining things to him and maybe leaving him alone if he refused to change, Gammon lashes out with the tenderness of a frenzied mountain lion ripping into a bloody carcass. I understand going against Kaito as a rival, but I don’t see where the jump from “I need to beat him” to “I NEED TO MURDER HIM” arises. This is a serious crime! You do not become a mad bomber overnight! Why does he need to go so far to prove himself to Kaito and to protect Nonoha? In the end, he’s just doing the exact same thing the POG has been doing to Kaito and his friends. “You do not care about your friends falling prey to the deadly puzzles you solve emotionlessly so HERE IS ANOTHER DEADLY PUZZLE TO FIX YOUR CROOKED MENTALITY!” Yes. Wow. Solid logic there. I found this episode to be rather irritating due to all the stupid decisions. =_= It’s just…too..much…

In a poor attempt to save this from just being a rant (I hope you all had an adequate picture in your mind of me yelling and pacing around the room, fangs bared and fingers gripping at my hair) I will actually talk about some good parts of the episode, or at least some nice hints at things to come. For one, Gammon has a cute imouto! She seems to faint a lot in class so she might have the “nondescript anime disease” where Gammon needs money for her operation. Or maybe just anemia. Even if she doesn’t have anything severe, they live alone for whatever reason (parents are probably dead, but they might also just be away for their jobs) so Gammon needs money for them to live. Therefore, his seemingly random obsession with money may have a more sentimental root than first thought. This would be great if he wasn’t an asshole this episode URRRGHHH. Okay…calming down again. Secondly, Elena is back! I was never very fond of her, but Phi Brain gets dull sometimes and needs some extra characters to spice things up. Everything still isn’t wrapped up with her since she still appears to be as jaded as ever, so we’ll probably see even more of her. Lastly, the animation wasn’t as derp. Or at the very least, the sword fight had a lot of motion and very few shortcuts. NOT IN GENERAL, please remember I’m measuring things on the Phi Brain scale of things. Impressive movement for Phi Brain…not so much for Fate/Zero.  So this episode wasn’t a total waste, but I’m still bitter… Whenever people are idiots you just want to fix them, you know? *sigh* BUT I CAN’T BECAUSE THEY AREN’T REAL AND CAN’T HEAR ME YELLING ADVICE! WHY CAN’T YOU LISTEN TO ME? >:/

Preview: Gammon tries to join the POG but it looks like he has to solve an entry puzzle first. Meanwhile, Kaito is…Jesus Christ, what the hell are you doing? Is your armlet emitting shadows? Oh great, “Dark Kaito” is on his way…

100% of his brain is being used for EVIL! …What do you mean “evil” isn’t a concrete category? SHUT UP!