Phi Brain S2 – 06
There is no puzzle Kaito can’t solve…except how to drink from a cartoon giraffe cuppy.
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Hey there, puzzle freaks! Seeing that Kyokai is letting us experiment with posts now (check out her Fate/Zero posts), I thought I’d try something different too. All I did was sort my thoughts into sections and cut out the summary. I doubt many of you will miss it, anyways. I hope you like it! And if you don’t…I hope you tell me that it sucks so I can change it! |
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I liked pretty much everything about this episode aside from the puzzle itself. The build-up was a little slower than usual, but it was nice to see the gang just…chilling. Kaito used to be quite distanced from everyone, but it seems like he’s letting himself have more fun nowadays. He has friendly eating competitions with Gammon, pays attention to his devoted stalker Cubic, and even compliments Ana on her cup design. It was sweet. Instead of diving right into trouble, we’re reminded of how closely-knit this group has become. This may be the signal for someone to start switching sides though. Rule of anime number 678, if more time than usual is devoted to showing a beautiful friendship, IT WILL BE SMASHED INTO PIECES VERY SOON.
The biggest problem here is this week’s puzzle: another very static creation that doesn’t allow for a lot of interaction. Movement is restricted, so most of the time is spent standing still and talking. Compare that to other versus puzzles such as Gammon riding a motorcycle against Bishop or the final puzzle versus Rook. This puzzle is incredibly boring in comparison, and I have no idea why they’re stretching it out for more than one episode as if this were a shounen anime with fight scenes. Despite it being a very dull puzzle, I did enjoy some of the dialogue between Cubic and Melancholy. Most of the Order characters have been a bit flat, and this little flash of Melancholy’s harsher side helped to ameliorate that.
Overall, a pretty good episode that combines a boring puzzle with some teasing dialogue that faintly brushes against the dark truth the Order holds close to their chest.
Analysis
Jikukawa: Poor, poor Newton. Jikukawa has carried on through his disappointment over not being a Phi Brain child all throughout season 1, taking consolation in being useful for many other things. He saved Kaito once, and worked with Cubic to get past the POG’s protective program to read their secret files. Now he’s barely even included in what Kaito and his friends are doing, and he has to face constant slights from the Orpheus Order. Sure, he does some back-up work, but all in all, he’s been forgotten. When was the last time you saw anyone hanging out with Jikukawa? His feelings of inadequacy will have to show at some point, and this might be his weak point that the Order will attack to try and get him to betray Kaito. He can’t wear the Orpheus armlet and the Order is working on making a universal version that everyone can wear…Their interests coincide to a certain extent. It would take a bit more to push him over the edge so that he ignores the psychological issues that come with donning such a twisted artifact, but if they’re going to make all of Kaito’s friends turn on him…This is the most likely angle they’ll approach it from regarding Jikukawa.
Gammon: He’s totally back to normal after his puzzle slump, except for one thing…he seems to be completely unabashed when Nonoha is practically in his lap. What happened to him blushing like a maniac every time she so much as touched him? I want to scream “BECAUSE HE LOVES KAIITTOOO” but it’s more likely that they’re setting him up to be with Elena now, since Nonoha is basically off-limits. I doubt this show will ever really go the romance route though, so Gammon and Kaito will remain single with their respective lady friends continue to try and catch their attention. Gammon may also have come to terms with Nonoha liking Kaito, and he accepts Kaito as a good enough man for her. That’s a huge step for someone as stubborn as Gammon. It sure took a while, but they have a strong mutual respect for one another now.
Speculation (aka CRACK THEORIES):
Kaito’s childhood was predominately spent going to the Crossfield Academy or being groomed into a puzzle beast by his fake parents. It’s no big stretch of the imagination to assume the Orpheus Order hails from the Crossfield Academy. They’re all smart, so it makes sense…but things are a bit fishy. Kaito was very elusive and only hung out with Rook as a kid, from what we can tell. If he actually spent time with other kids, that kind of makes his flashbacks to only ever being friends with Rook rather disingenuous. It’s really bugging me how Kaito could have such a large memory lapse of not one but five different people who he personally snubbed in some manner. Based on what I know about memory processing, he’d only forget it due to:
1. blunt trauma force to the head (concussion)
2. lesion of the hippocampus or other brain areas related to memory (very, very unlikely)
3. disease that affects the memory, like Alzheimer’s (lol no)
4. traumatic event that has been suppressed
5. unimportant memory that was never encoded into long-term memory in the first place.
Will I ever learn to stop applying real life logic to this show? No. Never!!!! My best guess would be that Kaito just didn’t give a damn about these 5 random kids who pestered him since his world revolved around Rook and Jin. Melancholy’s BIG BETRAYAL was having her puzzle insulted. Is she…is she serious? In that case did Kaito just promise he’d buy a matching necklace to Freecell but then he didn’t? IS THAT THE BIG GRUDGE GOING ON HERE THAT SPARKED THIS SERIES OF SERIAL MURDER ATTEMPTS VIA PUZZLES? =_= I really hope the real reason for their hatred isn’t so petty as what we’ve been told so far.
Although 4 or 5 seem the most likely, there is also another more kooky possibility. Bear with me here. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s also possible that the entire Orpheus Order never met Kaito. Klondike and Whist might have implanted some memories into their brain (okay, this is where I throw away neuroscience and go back to animu logic) so that they have this fake hatred towards Kaito. Think about it…how would all these people of different ages be in school at the same time as Kaito? In the end, it could be that their Orpheus armlets are ALSO prototypes, and giving them a rival such as Kaito was a convenient way to test their thesis and get some quality data.
I’m horrible for not committing myself to any one theory, but those are my thoughts laid out. Why? Mostly for me to read over them again later when the show has progressed and laugh like a hyena at this madness. Remember Mawaru Penguindrum and Madoka and how bloggers would come up with elaborate theories from only the slightest of hints? This is like me with Phi Brain, except I’m trying to squeeze the Da Vinci code out of a crayon drawing by a toddler. I can’t stop myself…it’s too fun!! Mixing logic and Phi Brain just NEVER WORKS, so I can’t wait for this show to prove me wrong and go somewhere wild. Feel free to share any theories about what’s up with Kaito’s past and such! Last week, you guys really made me think about what Whist’s role in this show is. I look forward to you all supporting my unhealthy addiction to this show.
Bonus Screenshots:
You know you have it rough when NONOHA tries to tell you that you did a good job
“Okay, okay….Was THIS the card you were thinking of?” “Whist pls, it’s been 5 hours.”
I’m switching my degree to Puzzology so I can buy my own shopping mall mafia base.
Preview: Pinochle challenges Kaito. More importantly: a flashback to Kaito’s past with Freecell!
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 338 comments
Omg Kaito was a jerk!! He broke Anna’s giraffe cuppy!! He should be shot!!
Oooo I like the idea of memory implants, always a person favorite. That sounds the most plausible as I cannot see HOW Kaito can be forgetting so much of his past!! Unless the brain messing from the finale of S1 did more damage then we realized.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
That adorable cuppy was the main character this week in my books. BEST PUZZLE EVAR!
If the problem isn’t on Kaito’s end, there must be something screwy with the entire Order. I will rage if they’re just like “OH KAITO JUST FORGOT ALL THESE PEOPLE FOR NO GOOD REASON AHAHAHA” :/
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
Damn, I thought I’d be the only one to come up with crack theory 2.
Guess I can’t feel as smart about myself if it happens now.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I thought I was the only one who even came up for theories about this show. I feel better now.
If crack theory number 2 comes true, we can both still feel proud. It will be the accomplishment of all accomplishments.
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 62 comments
Boooo bring back the lulzy captions!
Just kidding, they were my favorite part but I love speculation. Besides, we now have somewhere to gather and spout crazy theories!
I can accept that as Melancholy’s reason because she’s childish, she’s probably following the others and of course puzzles are the holiest thing ever (plus it’s anime), but if the others don’t have better reasons I will be disappointed. I like your theory! It justifies why Melancholy is younger and Doubt is older (though Crossfield could be a huge campus for all ages). Moreover it matches mine: Klondike doesn’t exist and it’s all Whist’s shenaningans.
This puzzle was pretty static, but it was put together better than episode 4’s and allowed the characters to shine. But it’s still far from Gammon and Kaito’s sword fight. I loved this one! I don’t get how Whist decided the matches’ order. He didn’t choose which pair would be which color and didn’t even shuffle his deck. Was he just showing off his cool cards? He sure loves fancy stuff: big screens and equipment popping out of nowhere and leaving no trace, dramatic bright lights from behind the Order and an entire shopping mall.
My comments are way too long. I should refrain myself.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
lol I’ll see about adding more of dem bonus pics with captions then.
Yes, good, let’s make this a gathering group for all the cult followers of Phi Brain! I really hope that Kaito’s “betrayal” is more than insulting their puzzles. Even though puzzles are more important than people in this show, it’s not really a satisfying conclusion.
If Klondike doesn’t exist, we’ll have a repeat of season 1 with Pythagoras. Do you think they’ll pull that trick twice, or would they try to vary it at least a little bit? I do think that the person holding the power in this show is probably someone other than Freecell though.
I loved that swordfight too. It didn’t have a single moment of hesitation! I want more puzzles like that.
I…I have no idea how he chose the order either. Everyone got to duel with who they wanted to anyways, so it couldn’t have been at random. :/ I don’t even know. The Order is so flamboyant, nothing they do makes sense.
Hey. Check out BlackBriar’s comment on the Metaverse post. It’s over 2k words. DO YOU STILL FEEL BAD? Never worry about length, because even if someone writes a 3k word comment, I’d read it all and reply accordingly. And not just out of duty either XD
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I wouldn’t say everyone got to duel who they wanted because most of them wanted to get back at Doubt for the defeat after the last puzzle. It was after that everyone got paired accordingly. Only Gammon got the opportunity for a little payback and I’m sure he’s still thinking about the remarks Doubt made on his sister. And it was only natural Freecell got paired with Kaito since he has an axe to grind over something Kaito doesn’t even remember.
Ooh, that stings. Word travels around fast. I never imagined my comment on Metaverse would be that huge. It’s the biggest one I’ve ever made and only because there was so much to talk about. It’s over 2k words? Well, I guess I achieved a milestone for myself. LOL. So, Rolca, like Overcooled said, don’t feel bad about long comments. They’re good as long as you talk about what’s on your mind.
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 62 comments
I wanted Freecell vs Nonoha! Except it would have been a disaster for Kaito’s team. We need 2 wins on each side to make things interesting there.
Gotta have tension over Kaito’s body’s ownership. What was this wording I don’t even.Who do you think will win? I semi-expect Ana vs Mizerka to have someone step on the wrong arrow and screw up.At the time I wrote my comment, there were only two short ones above. I felt it was pretty long in the comment box but it turned out to have normal size (for you and me anyway). Then there was the podcast and holy shit you could even do your own blogging! Although I understand wanting to talk a little about each point. The comment was long because you had something to say for a lot of series.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Everyone wanted to fight with Doubt, but they also have their own respective rivals. I wish Nonoha were Freecell’s rival. MOST ONE-SIDED FIGHT EVERRRR.
I really want Ana to win his match. He rarely gets to do any actual puzzle-solving anymore – it’s like he’s just the oddball character now. :/ I’m rooting for him to solve the puzzle properly now that Kaito’s body (yeahh, I don’t know why it was worded that way LOL) is on the line.
Well, now you know to never feel bad about long comments again because Briar’s comment is…indeed, famous. To put that in perspective, most episodics I write are around 1500 words. I only go that long for editorials. XDDD
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 62 comments
Oh wait I rewatched that part. Maybe were the subs wonky? I don’t understand Japanese but I felt Cubic and Ana were refering to how they lost to their respective adversaries. Besides, Whist did shuffle his deck, but he still drew 4 aces+joker in a row… weird.
Aaaah I watched ep 7 this morning and I’m so excited! >o< It's a bad idea for me to do that, I have nobody to share my excitement with afterwards! Ep 8 is indeed about Ana, there will also be a flashback!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I wasn’t paying attention. I know basic Japanese so next time I’ll listen more carefully :B I still don’t think it’d explain Whist’s magic deck….
Aw gee, I have to get on that soon. I still need to blog about Tsuritama hahahAAAAAAAAAA….Can’t wait to see what you’re so excited over. GO ANA!!! o u o
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 62 comments
There are tons of flashbacks and the BL angst level is going through the roof, but I didn’t completely understand so the plot may actually be disappointing lol. At least Sugita thrilled me. Pinochle is a bigger stalker than I thought 😮
You’re blogging several shows and have a lot of work currently, are you going to be okay? You don’t have to hurry up!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I just saw it now. OH MAN. Yeah, I’m super busy, but I feel terrible unless I get all of my work done as soon as I can. It’s like a sense of duty that I have. I can’t procrastinate…it WOUNDS me.
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 62 comments
I tried another subbing team’s version of ep 6 and it made a lot more sense, they all wanted rematches and Freecell wanted the entire group to join them. Still doesn’t explain the cards but whatever.
Hehe I’m looking forward your post!
I guess it’s a good thing? I used to have a sense of duty that made me finish my homework no matter what, except I always waited until the night before it was due and ended up not getting enough sleep.
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 62 comments
Yay! Speaking of bonus pics, I just noticed Ana’s pose on the first one.
Glory to Phi Brain! With the Phi Brain Logic, insulting one’s puzzle is an affront of the highest order, grudges are settled over deadly puzzles, and puzzles are the only way to get anything you ever wanted. Who wouldn’t enjoy absurdity like that?
Having repeats is a problem indeed. Maybe not existing is different enough from being dead all along? Or maybe he’ll make a big appearance midway in the series. The Order appeared early and is getting developed, there is definitively more than that in store.
I saw his/her comment, holy shit this is huge! I felt better after that monster. My comments have nothing on it. Though it wasn’t about only one series so there would naturally be a lot to say.
I hope what I write doesn’t seem awkward sometimes. I got pretty good at writing in English thanks to my years on English-only games
and fanfics, but I’m not always sure about idioms and prepositions. Oh and my natural awkwardness too, although it seems to get better lately, I feel welcomed here~POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Ana is everyone’s sassy gay friend.
I guess not existing in the first place would be enough of a difference for them to put it in. I still want Klondike to actually exist though :B The more bad guys, the better!
Your comments aren’t awkward at all. We get a lot of commenters who speak english as a second (or even third) language, if that makes you feel better. It’s not like you’re writing gibberish so just keep feeling those welcoming vibes we’re trying to give off =w= Glad you like it here at Metanorn, Rolca! (Now you can never leave. It’s part of the contract we never told you about ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ )
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Varieties are the best thing. Be proud of it. My first language is english but my second one is french. Yikes, OC, that’s a terrifying sounding contract. I didn’t even know there was one. LOL. And I signed my own on one of your posts.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Kukukuku…that’s right Briar…your soul is mine!
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 62 comments
Heh, I am French~ although with the time I spend in international fandoms, my brain is more in ( Fr)English than anything.
Nooo QB is on me! ( ；ﾟДﾟ) Metanorn has a lot of diversity, so it’s good. I only come out of my lurking for Phi Brain, though. I guess my soul is also yours, Overcooled?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I speak French too! Technically I have a bi-lingual certificate, but I can really only understand it. If I tried to comment in french, you’d laugh at my childish grammatical errors u_u
Yes, that means you are also mine, for all eternity. :3 Bwahahaha!!!
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 62 comments
Can’t blame you on that, French is full of grammatical oddities. Most high schoolers still make a lot of stupid mistakes.
I’m alright with written English, but I hate how I can never know how to pronounce English words. Everything is different! I prefer German in that aspect. Everything is clear-cut in German!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Nice intimidation on the bad guys part. “No need to follow us, we’ll come to you”. They continue to show how bold they can be. Doubt has gotten infamous, everyone has a bone to pick him.
My earlier theory was right that the Orpheus Order members came from the same school as Kaito and Rook but season one didn’t even show a glimpse of them so I’m surprised my wild guess hit the mark on the head. I don’t understand how he spent so much time around them and not remember a thing. I’m going with repressed memories or pure amnesia. Tasogare Kaito x Amnesia.
The puzzle battle between Cubic and Melancholy was entertaining as she was trying to get in his head but too bad he had to sacrifice his match to get a little data. But I wonder: Why do they always put these potentially murderous puzzles so damn high?! If the edges weren’t secure, one wrong move and they could’ve fallen off. It also felt like Melancholy was dating him with all that sweet talking
LOL. I don’t think you’ll be able to stop applying real life logic to this show. The plot seems to be tempting you to do so because you want to know the cause behind the situation.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Sending invitations is one thing..meeting up in person for a direct challenge is another. They really do have guts, now that you mention it.
All of Kaito’s flashbacks will seem like a farce unless there’s a really good reason for him not remembering them. Why would he suddenly contract amnesia? That doesn’t happen without getting hit in the head (or just having a really bad memory). :/ Goddammit, anime!
I would cry if I lived in the Phi Brain world, because I’m deathly afraid of heights without really high railings or barriers. So many puzzles could have gone awry if someone just slipped and fell. :B If I was Melancholy, I’d probably try to seduce my opponent too to catch them off guard. FEMININE WILES, GO!
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
First thought that popped in my head: Avenge Ana’s giraffe cup! XD Overall, I find this puzzle to be interesting and it is something I can do and that does make sense to a normal person(although winning would be a different matter).
I really don’t know what to think of Melancholy’s reveal other than she is very stupid. The fact that Kaito doesn’t remember her does suggest that they met only once but like you mentioned, age is a problem here…unless all of the characters are the same age minus one or two years and due to anime logic they all look the same.
I do wonder though, if they do decide to give more Orpheus jewelery to Katio’s friends to turn them against him, would they actually attempt to control Nonoha? For some reason I really do want to see Nonoha be an awesome puzzle-maker and have the mean expression and everything. It would be interesting how Kaito deals with his own “love-interest” as an enemy.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Haha, I like how Ana was all about the cup too. He’s just so…weird!
Accounting for anime logic is so hard…Melancholy looks like a little kid, and Doubt looks considerably older, so I don’t know. With anime, anything goes. At the very least, Melancholy is younger than Mizerka since she calls her onee-sama.
I think controlling Nonoha is supposed to be some big hook (with her hair down!) and I really want to see that as well. He would definitely hesitate against her. The only problem is…Nonoha is dumb as a brick when ti comes to puzzles. Even if they REPLACE HER BRAIN WITH AN ORPHEUS ARMLET, she’d still probably suck so hard that Kaito would win no matter what.
POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 47 comments
Yeah, I don’t think they would use their Orpheus jewelry on her either…If we are to take hints from OP and ED then something big involving her will happen, but not that way.
Besides both Airi and Chie are involved with puzzles in one way or another, while Nonoha isn’t at all xD, so you may be right when you say that even if they replace her brain with Orpheus armlet, she would still suck at puzzles….
Maybe since she has great talent for sports and photographic memories, and armlet thingies nullify persons emotions, they could make her into assassin/spy or something like that…Which is not needed in Phi Brain universe unless you have some ability that’s about puzzles xD
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Airi’s puzzle was pretty easy, and she at least USED to be good at puzzles at some point in her life. Nonoha…yeah, I can’t see her being a threat. I feel like something ELSE will happen involving her, based on the OP animation.
Ah, I forgot about her memorization skills…They should really make her use it more. Someone needs to make another memorization-based puzzle so she can actually DO something.
lol, no one needs spies. ONLY PUZZLE-SOLVERS!
POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 47 comments
lol Exactly xD It seems like Sunrise, NHK, or whoever is in charge, put poor Nonoha in the wrong series xDDD