{"id":4102,"date":"2017-12-10T05:37:36","date_gmt":"2017-12-10T05:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/?p=4102"},"modified":"2017-12-10T05:37:36","modified_gmt":"2017-12-10T05:37:36","slug":"kings-game-the-animation-episode-10-race-evil-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/10\/kings-game-the-animation-episode-10-race-evil-run\/","title":{"rendered":"King\u2019s Game: The Animation \u2013 Episode 10 \u2013 \u201cRace (Evil | Run)\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey guys, Josh here once again with yet another trip down the sewer shaped rabbit hole that is King\u2019s Game: The Animation<\/em>! As always, I want to thank all of you for checking out my reviews and giving me positive feedback, and I also want to apologize to you for the lateness of the Episode 9 review. It was TOTALLY my fault; I didn’t start the review until late because I had a few other things I needed to take care of, and by the time it was finished, it was much too late to post that Saturday. Again, I\u2019m sorry for the tardiness and everything should<\/em> be on time from here on out!<\/p>\n

Anyway, with regards to Episode 10, this is a pretty boring and stupid episode. While the last couple of ones were somewhat suspenseful and even had some cool moments and mind games, this episode by comparison is pretty much the running scene from the movie Forrest Gump<\/em>, just with Japanese high school students…and badly written. All the kids do in this episode is run…and run…and run…and talk…and talk…and talk. Heck, even Natsuko, the antagonist of the series, only appears in the first 2 seconds of the episode, and all she’s doing is running! What a villain! But how did we get here?<\/p>\n

Let’s make like the One Tin Soldier and Ride Away<\/a>. (Happy birthday, Greg Ayres, by the way). I’m Josh, and this is a review of King’s Game: The Animation<\/em> Episode 10!<\/p>\n

Last week, after giving our protagonist Nobu-kun a much needed haircut, Teruaki decides to sacrifice his left hand to boot Natsuko out the game, unless she gave up his and Nobu-kun\u2019s phones. She relents and returns the phones, upon which Teruaki pulls an okey-doke and gives Natsuko negative points anyway, effectively condemning her, unless someone sacrificed their hand for her. After several of her classmates pass their turn, Natsuko attacks Aimi, her longtime friend, by smashing her hand and then coerces her to give up her positive points and ending the game with no deaths. Ah, the joys of friendship. After getting patched up at the local hospital, Natsuko has everyone meet by Yatsuhashi Bridge where it\u2019s revealed that Natsuko blocked the King\u2019s messages from Teruaki\u2019s phone, causing him to unknowingly break the rule about backing out the game and resulting in his decapitation, dying in Nobu-Kun’s arms. And this is why you should always lock your phone with a PIN, a fingerprint, Irises, and a lock pattern if you\u2019re gonna dip your pen in a crazy girl\u2019s inkwell, fellas. The episode ends with Nobu-kun ruminating that everyone around him is on the train to the center of Loony Land.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Just run and keep running…never stop running!\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week\u2019s episode starts us right in the middle of an order. Without using any modes of transportation, the remaining class members are to run to the top of Nuegakubi, which I can ONLY assume is a mountain or something as when I tried to Google it, I got bupkus. Anyway, the trick is, every eight hours, the class member that\u2019s the furthest behind will get a punishment. The scene shows all the remaining classmates quite literally running for their lives. However, there seems to be several people missing. Speaking of people who are missing; one wonders what the TEACHER of this particulate class is doing now that NONE of his\/her students are present. I mean, let’s think about this, the school sports festival was about two days ago. Maybe three. Even if you were to say that the sports festival was on a Friday–at the very earliest, it’s MONDAY MORNING. They should either be in school, or there should be some police around doing searches for these kids who are in a class that seems to have a problem with its attendees STAYING ALIVE! Sorry, guys. Let’s go to the Opening!<\/p>\n

Speaking of the OP, maybe it\u2019s because I\u2019ve heard this song over and over and over again, week after week, but I think I\u2019m starting to like it. I even found myself humming the song under my breath while at work. It\u2019s odd. Ah well, credit where it\u2019s due.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Ryou, brother man, you need to learn one thing about this show: when someone makes a promise to you, ESPECIALLY Nobu-kun, expect it to be broken.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It seems as though Nobu-kun, Ryou, Aimi and Miss Perpetual Sand-Up-The-Vagina Riona are lagging behind, still at Yatsuhashi\u00a0Bridge with Nobu-kun still mourning the loss of Teruaki, and Ryou still on the train to Loony Land. Eventually, Nobu-kun attempts to snap Ryou out of his stupor, telling him that he has to concentrate on accomplishing the next order and living for both himself and Teruaki. The rude awakening eventually works and Ryou breaks down and goes off with Riona. Well, I\u2019ll be\u2026she actually has emotions other than \u201cInsufferable,\u201d \u201cSmug,\u201d \u201cTsundere,\u201d and \u201cKnow it All.\u201d Who knew? Aimi seems to be completely defeated, willing to let herself die instead of going ahead. However, Nobu-kun decides to take matters, and Aimi, in his own hands and give her a ride by piggy back against her will, refusing to abandon his classmate to the jaws of death. Eventually, Aimi relents and runs on her own.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the group that left earlier is fairing about as well as you would think. As they climb up a set of stairs, one classmate, Takuya, decides that Masatoshi was in his way and throws him down the stairs. Now, as many of you know, I\u2019m a Louisiana boy; Born and Raised in Baton Rouge. So a few years ago, when I went to Washington DC for a little vacation (Back when I had money\u2026ah, those were the days) I rode the Metro Rail quite a few times. The concept of an underground train system that could take you ANYWHERE you wanted to go enthralled me. But one thing I learned quick fast and in a hurry was that when it comes to riding on the many escalators, you stand to the RIGHT if you\u2019re not actively walking down the escalator, and you leave the left side for those who are running or actively walking unless you WANT to get pushed over by rushing commuters. YOU DIDN\u2019T JUST CHUCK THEM DOWN THE STAIRS! Takuya, brother man, if Masatoshi were moving THAT slowly, all you had to do was RUN AROUND HIM! Bump him out the way and keep it moving! You REALLY didn\u2019t have to throw him down the stairs! And the fact that you stopped to actually gloat over it is not only cruel, it defeats the purpose of throwing him off by delaying you further!<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
You’re walking away from the body of your severely wounded classmate to save your own skin without even trying to save him. “Heartless” is the BEST thing you can be called.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyway, when Aya asks why he would do such a thing when they should be working together, Takuya pretty much says that he can\u2019t play nice and runs off. Rina urges Aya to leave the unconscious Masatoshi behind, and continue on, but she wants to stick around and call an ambulance. However, Rina rightly explains that because an ambulance might classify as a mode of transportation, Masatoshi could very well be punished. However, Aya decides to stick around with Masatoshi, and the rest of the group runs ahead leaving her behind.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
You heard her, Nobu-kun. Leave the Tsundere cow to her own devices, she’s so smart.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, Aimi and Nobu-kun catch up to Riona, who looks rather beat after having run so far. But, of course, she denies it. Nobu-Kun runs off, leaving Aimi and Riona to rest. As they wait, Riona explains that she\u2019s done her own research into the game, but has run out of energy to continue on. Aimi states that Nobu-kun hasn\u2019t given up, and states that while they were running, he was matching her pace even though he\u2019s clearly faster, and that he continues to put his own safety above others. Riona admits that he\u2019s been through a lot; more than they could ever imagine. Before she has the chance to ruminate further, Nobu-kun returns with drinks for the two girls. Riona forcibly tells Nobu-kun and Aimi to go ahead of her, saying that she will catch up later. Nobu-kun turns that into a promise before running off. As the two leaves, Riona smiles after them, then returns to her struggle of opening the soda can with her stupid nails. Oy.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Nobu-Kun and Aimi catch up to the group from earlier. When Nobu-kun asks what happened to Aya and Masatoshi, Rina explains what happened earlier with Takuya. However, Nobu-kun isn\u2019t angry, understanding why they did what they did. He tells the group to go ahead and to take Aimi with them as he has to go back.<\/p>\n

Of course, he\u2019s going back for Riona, who is pathetically running to catch up with the group. As she runs, she thinks about how Nobu-kun left her alone on the side of the dark road, putting her life in danger. I know this is supposed to be a tsundere thing with her, but come on! YOU WANTED THEM TO LEAVE YOU! Are you really that stupid to blame someone else for YOUR OWN DECISIONS?! Again, I know, this is a Tsundere thing, but this is played up to an extreme that is downright ridiculous.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Umm…hello sir. Who are you and why are you dressed like our series protag?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyway, she trips, of course, and the can she was holding earlier, still unopened, rolls conveniently at Nobu–HOLD UP! WAIT A MINUTE!! Um\u2026did the animators forget how Nobu-kun is supposed to look?! This looks like a completely different guy! And don\u2019t think I didn\u2019t miss the faceless characters from the earlier scene! Again, the animation is still disgustingly sloppy! Budgets are one thing, but at least make an attempt!<\/p>\n

When Riona demands to know why he came back for her, Nobu-kun states that he figured she could use a hand opening the soda can she struggled with earlier. Of course, Rionna pulls her Tsundere act again saying that he should\u2019ve realized that earlier. Hey, cow; here\u2019s a thought\u2014if you needed help with the can earlier, WHY DIDN\u2019T YOU ASK HIM OR AIMI TO OPEN IT FOR YOU WHEN HE FIRST GAVE IT TO YOU? I swear, you are like Sakura Haruno from Naruto: Shippuden<\/em>\u2026a completely useless cow!<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Oh hey, it’s Klein! When did you get out of SAO?\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyway, as Riona takes a drink, who should walk up but Masatoshi, sporting a makeshift headband that makes him look a lot like Klein from Sword Art Online.<\/em> Nobu-kun is glad he\u2019s safe and the trio begin running to catch up. With four hours and eighteen minutes until the first Death Checkpoint, Nobu-kun begins ruminating about his new travel companions; Riona being too out of shape with too little stamina to run for long periods and Masatoshi who is running on a limited amount of adrenaline. As he contemplates this, a mysterious voice rings in his head that he should just abandon them. The scene then cuts to negative to reveal Nobu-kun being mentally confronted by\u2026umm\u2026yeah, I don\u2019t know guys. This looks like a Persona knockoff to me. And much like Persona<\/em>, the Persona Knockoff removes its mask to reveal Natsuko taunting him to give up and leave the others behind to die. Masatoshi and Riona wonder what\u2019s going on with their leader, and Masatoshi suggests that Nobu-kun may be worried too much about others and not so much about himself. He then runs ahead leaving him and Riona behind.<\/p>\n

After the act break, Ryou gets a phone call from Nobu-kun asking for an update on their location. Ryou explains that they\u2019re running along the industrial roads with the sun rising in front of them. When he asks Nobu-kun where he is, Nobu-kun refuses to say, instead telling the others \u201cGood Luck\u201d and to keep running. When Rina scoffs at how \u201cSoft\u201d Nobu-kun is, Ryou rebukes her, saying that he\u2019s just as nice and strong as Teruaki and he aspires to be as strong as them. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Masatoshi, Nobu-Kun and Riona run along a coastal road. They stop to admire the sunrise and rest for a few minutes, as Masatoshi is about to collapse from exhaustion. As they watch the sun come up, Nobu-kun hallucinates that Riona is actually Chiemi, his old girlfriend from \u201cBetter Class Land.\u201d I\u2019ll be dawg gone, we\u2019ve actually gone about tr. When he reaches out to touch her, Riona slaps his hand away, stating that she won\u2019t\u2019 let him get way with mistaking her for someone else. PERPETUAL\u2026SAND\u2026UP\u2026THE…VAGINA. Good grief, I get that you don\u2019t want to be touched, but come on! You know he\u2019s exhausted and you know he\u2019s probably hallucinating. Do you have to keep acting like a petulant cow?! Anyway, Masatoshi, clearly thinking that death is better than dealing with Riona\u2019s attitude, drops off the side of the road unconscious and unresponsive into the water below. Nobu-kun strips off and decides to dive after him against Riona\u2019s pleas not to. He pushes her aside and dives in after him. Nobu-kun eventually catches up to Masatoshi and attempts to revive him by giving him mouth to mouth and pounding his chest\u2026UNDERWATER.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
CPR–YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG! Tempting the Yaoi-Fangirls…you’re doing it RIGHT.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, I\u2019m no expert in CPR. I\u2019m gonna tell you that right now. My late sister India was certified to be a CPR instructor. Me? I just fixed her computer when she needed me to. The last I checked, she didn\u2019t mention anything about being able to give anyone CPR while underwater, and I\u2019m sure if I had asked her if this were possible, she would just give me a confused look would say \u201cMy baby brother has lost it, bless his heart.\u201d So, yeah. I call shenanigans on that! First off, Nobu-kun is breathing in the mouth of a guy who has been under water for quite some time. You have not cleared his airway because HE IS UNDERWATER! So you\u2019re probably breathing any water in his lungs EVEN DEEPER IN HIS LUNGS! Also, you kinda sorta need that oxygen FOR YOURSELF! He then gives Masatoshi\u2019s chest a couple smacks with his fist, which I can only assume is to try and restart his heart. Again, the effectiveness of this is next to ZERO. If you do get his heart restarted dummy, the first thing Masatoshi is going to do is take a breath\u2026OF WATER! You\u2019re essentially reviving him to kill him all over again. What a pal!<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Sure…YOU were more afraid on dry land…while he was about to drown underwater!\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Masatoshi comes back to life just enough to get Nobu-kun to let him sink and drown. Nobu-kun then figures enough is enough and allows himself to sink down to his doom. However, Kenta, Mizuki, Teruaki and Chiemi come to him in a vision, encouraging him to keep living. He swims up to the surface much to the relief of Riona. Masatoshi\u2019s makeshift headband comes up to the surface, causing Nobu-kun to grieve for his friend. Meanwhile, Masatoshi\u2019s phone shows one character on screen. Later, lying on the beach, Riona comes up with his clothes, stating that she has to punish him later for what he done. Sitting next to him, she then suddenly reaches out and hugs him gently, stating in typical Tsundere fashion, blush and all, that she\u2019s only warming up his body. She then admits that was both sad and afraid that Nobu-kun would die too and that he needs to keep his chin up for her. Nobu-kun agrees.<\/p>\n

Later, Riona lays out the course they have to take to get to the top of Nuegakubi. Long story short\u2014it\u2019s a long, long way to Tipperay. As the group runs, Nobu-kun checks the time; 7:55AM \u2013almost time for the first Death Checkpoint which means that either him or Riona are about to be punished. Nobu-kun realizes this and falls back under the guise of tying his shoe. Riona decides to wait for him. Nobu-kun decides that even after his ghostly pep talk, he just can\u2019t bear to lose anyone else. A message from the king comes in, stating that eight hours has elapsed and the person farthest from Nuegakubi summit will die by suffocation. Riona suddenly realizes what\u2019s going on just as the show ends. I thought you were supposed to be the SMART one, Riona-SAN.<\/p>\n

22 Dead 10 Remaining\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Wait, what?! Last time I checked, Masatoshi died this episode\u2014so he should be marked off the list! Maybe they\u2019re only counting characters killed directly by the King? I don\u2019t know\u2026but it\u2019s inconsistent!<\/p>\n

Well, this episode was pretty boring. I mean, there wasn\u2019t really anything for me to get interested in. All they did was just literally run around and have conversations between runs and the typical \u201cDeath of the Week.\u201d While I\u2019m not one that wants or needs Die Hard<\/em> level action every single episode, a little something other than the status quo would be nice. However, it is cool that the class is getting away from just being in dark parks along riverbanks. I do like the fact that we\u2019re getting a small fragment of character development, like with Riona in the last few minutes, but once again I have to mention the fact that we know NOTHING about these characters we\u2019re following along. We have yet to form any kind of relationship with them. I actually had to wait around to hear the character names so I could accurately use them in the review, because I didn\u2019t remember their names. While I admit I harp on this issue over and over again, I do it because it\u2019s a prime failing with this series\u2014we spent WAY too much time in \u201cBetter Class Land\u201d and we became so invested in those characters, that when we get back to the real-time, we know nothing about the group and the individual characters, which is important now that the class is whittled down to a precious few. The only time we learn about any of the characters is when they\u2019re about to die! Think about it, before episode 8, what did we know about Teruaki? NOTHING! What did we know about Ryou? NOTHING! What did we know about Rionna? NOTHING! But we know what Daisuke\u2019s hopes and dreams were from Episode 2, didn\u2019t we? We know how much Naoya cared for Chiemi and Nobu-kun, huh? And in the end, that really mattered huh? Oh, wait\u2026no it didn\u2019t BECAUSE ALL THOSE CHARACTERS DIED! Meanwhile, all the characters that we SHOULD be getting to know and growing attached to only get a few words about what their hopes and dreams are before they are killed off.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
How about thinking about the throbbing erection he probably has at a girl grabbing his arm begging him not to go? That’s something to think about.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also, let\u2019s have a small talk about Riona. I\u2019ve had a problem with this stuck up cow from the jump and this episode just drives the point of my hatred home. I find it hard to believe that a girl who is caught up in this game of life-and-death and is now forced to, quite literally, run for her life, would still continue to act so insufferable, especially to Nobu-kun, the ONE GUY IN THE WHOLE CLASS ASIDE FROM NATSUKO who knows what the King\u2019s Game is all about, and is the LAST person you want to make upset. Hey, dingbat, Nobu-kun is your one best hope of getting out this game alive\u2014CAN IT WITH THE FOUL ATTITUDE. Granted, the scene after Nobu-kun\u2019s failed rescue attempt was kind of sweet and did redeem her SLIGHTLY.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Praise me like you should!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the end of the day, this episode just seems to have been mostly focused on telling the audience how good a guy Nobu-kun is; something WE ALREADY KNOW! We\u2019ve seen just how good a guy he is\u2014we didn\u2019t need an entire episode of everyone telling the audience how selfless and awesome Nobu-kun is. We\u2019ve seen the sacrifices he\u2019s willing to make to get the job done. We\u2019ve seen the fact that he is willing to lay his very life on the line in order to save those he loves and cares about. I get that the character is designed to be a self-insertion Gary Stu, but come on! Oh, and that cliffhanger at the end of the episode? Nice try, show, but we\u2019re 2 episodes from the finale\u2014we know you\u2019re not going to kill off the male lead beforehand, and I doubt the writers are smart enough to pull a bait and switch.<\/p>\n

So, yeah, for what it\u2019s worth, this is a typical episode of King\u2019s Game: The Animation<\/em>, and I don\u2019t mean that in a particularly good way. Whereas the earlier episodes were completely tolerable, this one is firmly entrenched in the mire of stupidity that we\u2019ve come to expect from this show. Next week is the penultimate episode, and heaven only knows what kind of foolishness these writers can come up with. I would say that it couldn\u2019t be worse than what we\u2019ve already seen, but if I\u2019ve learned one thing about this show, the creators, for better or worse, always find a way to turn it up to 11.<\/p>\n

Just a reminder that\u00a0<\/strong>King\u2019s Game: The Animation<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is currently streaming on Crunchyroll with new episodes every Thursday at 11:00AM. Funimation is currently doing a simul-dub of the show, with new episodes premiering on Saturdays at 3:00PM CST.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hey guys, Josh here once again with yet another trip down the sewer shaped rabbit hole that is King\u2019s Game: The Animation! As \n [...]<\/a>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[29,726,18],"class_list":["post-4102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation","tag-anime","tag-kingsgame_anime","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.surrealresolution.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Screenshot-2017-12-08-20.34.04-1.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8GYHU-14a","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4102"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4212,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4102\/revisions\/4212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}