Phi Brain – 13

We’re really stepping it up from sudoku, huh?

I think I’m getting sick…I blame Jrow, because he said he was just getting over a cold. Don’t give me that look! Didn’t you know you can catch colds through MSN chats? It’s like getting a computer virus, except it’s a real, human virus! ….I don’t know where I’m going in this paragraph either, I must really be getting sick. *sniffles* I think I need a teaspoon of Phi Brain to make me feel better.

Kaito gets locked inside the Fool’s Puzzle, and he has no choice but to ride the elevators to get to the top and ring the bell. Unlike in the OP song where he stands there looking badass in the fool’s Puzzle room, he has to bust his ass and run from elevator to elevator while dodging flying buzzsaws. Best. Puzzle. Ever. The number on the elevator corresponds with which floor it stops at, meaning that there is a specific order they need to be taken in, or he’ll get stuck. Instead of worrying about that though, he sees Rook lying on floor number 8 and decides to check if he’s alright first instead of finding the proper route.

He gets to the 8th floor, but only after falling from the 13th due to a GIANT BUZZSAW ALMOST CUTTING HIS ARM OFF. Kaito is sent sailing through the air, miraculously grabbing onto a ledge to save his life. It’s also the same ledge Rook is on. Rook tells Kaito to find the right route while he waits there, since the 8th floor is conveniently safe due to two buzzsaws colliding and blocking any more from shooting out. Before he leaves, Rook tells him that he’s a Phi Brain and that this puzzle is meant to bring out the best of him, though through cruel measures.

Around the same time, Kaito’s friends are all in an airplane headed to where Kaito is. Cubic got scared when his tracking device indicated signs of danger and insisted on going to help Kaito. The principal was so willing to book them their own flight at the last minute that Gammon finally had to speak up. He knows BS when he hears it, and he’s tired of being strung along. I forget he’s not only smart, but street smart sometimes. Jikugawa complies and tells them all about the Fool’s puzzle on the flight. He also explains that Ana, Kaito, Gammon and cubic are all Phi Brain children who have the potential to solve the God’s Puzzle. Kaito is just the special candidate because he has the armlet.

Gammon: pants too high. Kaito: pants too low. Cubic: just right. Ana: NO PANTS.

Wait for it, here’s the best part! The God’s Puzzle treasure is the God Scrolls – which are so powerful they can bestow godly powers on the person who obtains them. Knowing the danger of these scrolls, Pythagoras sealed them up. The goal of the POG is to obtain these scrolls by training someone to be smart enough to challenge the puzzle without dying. Right now, it seems that Pythagoras is also the head of POG…who might also be Makata Jin from Kaito’s past….who might also be the principal. Back at the deadly Fool’s puzzle, Kaito and Rook talk about their past together and how much fun the two of them had with Gentleman X aka Jin Makata.Rook admits that he knows where he is, and that they can meet up again…but only after he solves the puzzle. Kaito starts climbing higher in the tower while Rook glares at him from down below. He was always jealous of Kaito for being liked more by Jin since they were both Solvers. Kaito was unaware of all this, and was devastated when Rook moved away without a word. To make matters worse, Jin also went away to travel and solve puzzles.

There’s no such thing as a farewell without rain

At a certain point, the tower catches fire. So now Kaito is dodging buzzsaws, avoiding a pit of spikes and outrunning an inferno. I’m sure if I told you there were tigers on each floor and poison gas, you’d believe me at this point. Anyways, Kaito activates his Phi Brain power to solve the puzzle quickly so that Rook doesn’t burn to a crisp. This is all, of course, keikaku doori for Rook who knows Kaito is so gay for him that he’ll activate his powers in a flash if he’s in danger. Kaito quickly solves the puzzle, but realizes he’s on the wrong path at the moment. Kaito fixes this by swiftly kicking a breakneck speed buzzsaw out of the air so it hurls into the elevator door and knocks it off. Kaito then jumps out of the elevator as it is halfway between floors and continues to the top.

At the top he rings the bell, but the flames are still rising. Rook meets him at the top and reveals the horrible truth: he’s a POG and he wants Kaito to abandon everything he loves in order to become someone worthy of solving the God’s Puzzle. He has yet another Fool’s Puzzle awaiting him in the future. After his speech, the floor under Kaito gives away and Rook is forced to dive after him to…save him…somehow…I guess his hair is a parachute or something. He leaves Kaito unconscious on the road before walking away, leaving Nonoha and co. to find him.

Going up?:

The “Kaito’s Harem” club weekly meeting

Come on Sunrise, can’t you just have them make out a little? Just a few inches more and you’re there.

“Kaito, puzzles. Puzzle, puzzle, puh-puzzle, puzzle, zul zul puzzle puh.”

Is that a puzzle in your pants, or are you just glad to see me?

End Thoughts: Phi Brain is actually starting to get really good. The Fool’s Puzzle is a lot more like what I imagined most of the puzzles in the series to be like – lots of running around for your life with split-second decisions and innovation. It almost felt like a Hunter x Hunter type of battle combining action and wit! I liked how they didn’t spend a huge amount of time explaining Kaito’s logic behind ripping the door off of the elevator. He just did it, causing me to go “Oooohhhhh!” when he cleverly jumped off and made his own route. This is an action-based puzzle, and it was treated as such. Flames and razorblades is a bit extravagant, but I loved it. Come on, how can you not be impressed with Kaito for kicking a speeding buzzsaw out of the air to protect himself and solve the puzzle? If you aren’t impressed, I demand you to explain yourself!

Rook was also quite the badass this episode. He finally revealed everything to Kaito, while Jikugawa explained the same things to Kaito’s friends. His motives are still a bit strange, but he’s one of the more “complex” characters of the show. Please note that by complex, I mean that in comparison to other Phi Brain characters who just have personalities that can be described in one sentence like “YELLS REALLY LOUD.” Rook has a weird love-hate relationship with Kaito. He’s jealous of him for earning the attention of Jin, but he also wants Kaito to become smarter. He wants Kaito to risk his life to solve the God Puzzle, but he also doesn’t want Kaito to die. I’m not sure how jumping after Kaito into that spiral of flames saved him in any way, shape or form, but that gesture really says a lot about him. Rook cares about Kaito, but in a way one cares about a butterfly specimen with a pin sticking in it. He’s an object that can’t be broken and can never be given to anyone else. I’m surprised Kaito didn’t realize his intentions sooner, with the way he was smiling obviously while speaking of dark, depressing things. I guess ignorance is bliss.

Kaito is going to be pretty emo in the next episode, I’ll bet. Remember that one time he lost his power to solve puzzles and he practically hung himself over it? Yeah, this is going to be bad. I get the feeling he’s going to realize that Gammon, Cubic, Ana and what’sherface are really his friends while Rook…is not. Based on the preview, some of the minor characters are finally going to get a chance to step into the spotlight. I’ve really started to like Cubic, and I think his adorable stalker ways should be sufficient to show Kaito how dedicated his current friends are. Or Gammon could just punch him again, there’s always that form of persuasion too. If Kaito actually forms a cohesive unit with the other phi brain children and starts co-operating, they could introduce some unique co-op puzzles. The type of puzzle where you need at least two people or more to solve it, you know? It’d allow for more tension than just one character solving it while the others stand around idly or follow closely at the main solver’s heels like a cocker spaniel. However, Phi Brain will be Phi Brain so who knows where this show will head to? For all I know, the finale will be set in space, involve laser beams and mechas and end with a deer jumping off of Pluto to push Kaito out of the way of danger.

Preview: Kaito is stuck in the hospital to wallow in his own misery while his friends try to cheer him up. Cubic takes a more vengeful approach and actively goes out to solve a puzzle from the POG, but runs into a bit of trouble. Solving something from a POG member working directly under Rook is not an easy feat.

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.