{"id":4311,"date":"2017-12-24T03:57:44","date_gmt":"2017-12-24T03:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/?p=4311"},"modified":"2017-12-24T03:57:44","modified_gmt":"2017-12-24T03:57:44","slug":"kings-game-the-animation-episode-12-demise-end-grudge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/24\/kings-game-the-animation-episode-12-demise-end-grudge\/","title":{"rendered":"King\u2019s Game: The Animation \u2013 Episode 12 \u2013 \u201cDemise ( End | Grudge )\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Season\u2019s Greetings one and all! Josh here, back again for one more trip through the un-drainable swamp that is King\u2019s Game: The Animation<\/em>. Yes, we have arrived at the end of our long trek through this palace of mediocrity, and I think we\u2019re all a little older and wiser because of it. Let the scars that this show has left behind on our very souls serve as a reminder that life is too short to watch crappy anime. Sometimes, it\u2019s okay to duck out after a few episodes. Especially when it comes to this one. Heaven knows I wish I had. But hey, I’m a sadistic kind of guy…<\/p>\n

If I can say one thing about the final episode of King\u2019s Game: The Animation<\/em>, it\u2019s that it stays true to itself right up to the very end; being completely and utterly ridiculous. Episode 12 is a recap of everything that has plagued this show from the jump: from the poor animation to the random acts of stupid and unexpected character changes, it\u2019s all here and in bold vivid color for all to see. But what exactly makes this finale so bad in my book? Well, let\u2019s jump in one more time to find out. Oh yeah, since this is my last review for the series, I decided to make this one a little longer…just over 5,600 words and chock full of pictures! Only the best for the worst.<\/p>\n

To quote \u201cFeed the Fire\u201d by Coldrain\u2026 \u201cThis is the end, this is the end\u2026you\u2019re not alone in this my friend\u2026\u201d I\u2019m Josh, and this is my review of King\u2019s Game: The Animation<\/em> episode 12!<\/p>\n

Last time out, the remaining classmates were still on their Forrest Gump inspired run up to the summit of Nuegakubi, with the last-place student getting killed off every 8 hours. Nobu-kun and the Perpetual Sand-Up-The-Vagina Tsundere Riona spend most of this time arguing about who will be first to sacrifice themselves, at one point playing a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide because\u2026meh, why not. When he still won\u2019t play ball, Riona decides to kick Nobu-kun in his<\/em> as she gives him a Hanamura-Approved critical hit to the nads before they go running off again. (And if you get that reference, you are awesome). Meanwhile, remember Aimi? Yeah, well she\u2019s dead now, so you don\u2019t have to worry. Anyway, during their run, Nobu-kun sends us back to \u201cBetter Class Land\u201d for a few seconds to tell us what happened to his girlfriend Chiemi. Spoiler alert: SHE DIED. End Flashback. Meanwhile, Natsuko arrives first at the summit and decides to play mind games because nothing gets her off better than being a manipulative cow. She breaks one student\u2019s legs by setting a trap, and causes another one to trip balls and fall over a conveniently placed cliff. The episode ends with Natsuko making like a Snorlax and blocking the path of the approaching group asking them to play a game of Blue’s Clues and guess what she\u2019s about to do. You caught up? Good. Now let\u2019s end this foolishness.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
You know, I’ve said this to myself many times before watching this show for review…<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We pick up once again where we left off from the previous episode with hat-boy Ryou announcing to the group that they only have 60 seconds left to reach the summit. Natsuko appears and does that evil grinning \u201cWhat am I going to do now?\u201d thing, to which Nobu-kun promptly runs into Natsuko, knocking himself, Natsuko and Aya (riding piggy back) to the ground. He urges Riona and Ryou to run ahead and he turns to follow, but, of course, Natsuko grabs his ankle to prevent him from leaving.<\/p>\n

Cut to the OP and\u2026well\u2026I have a confession to make guys. If I can give this show one compliment, it\u2019s that the song is\u2026really good! I mean, it\u2019s drive worthy, and I can be very particular about what I drive to. And yes, before you ask, I do drive to anime music quite often. Almost every day. And yes, I do sing along. And I\u2019m even so polite as to invite others in the lanes opposite me during traffic jams if they want to sing along too. It\u2019s only polite. Anyway, I played the song at full blast while driving down the street at 4AM and I have to say, it sounds awesome. I also found a great cover of the song which I\u2019ll link to here<\/a>, and I have to say, they do an amazing job. Now if someone would do a cover of this anime, maybe it\u2019ll be better. One more thing about this OP; while I\u2019m not a fan of the animation that plays over this song, there is one small part that I can honestly say I like. There\u2019s a moment right before the chorus kicks in that shows the faces of both Nobu-kun\u2019s classes being crossed out. I really like the juxtaposition of that for some reason\u2014seeing the two classes being metaphorically killed off in time with the music. See? I am able of giving this show praise! I just gave it TWO compliments. Don’t expect this to be a regular thing. Let’s press on.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Ryou, while I do admire your determination, you’re currently fighting a losing battle for our attention…because most of the viewing audience is focused on Riona’s bouncing breasts…<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the OP, we see Riona and Ryou running towards the summit, with Riona doing her best impersonation of a white girl running in a horror movie. Seriously, baby girl looks about three seconds away from tripping and having Freddie Kruger slash her to pieces. Anyway, Ryou decides to hoist his own death flag by randomly stating that he\u2019s going to get stronger to earn the admiration of Nobu-kun and the late Teruaki. Riona then throws cold water on this because\u2026well\u2026she\u2019s Riona. Ryou runs even faster for a couple of seconds until he and Riona approaches the abandoned house at the summit.\u00a0 Nobu-kun approaches not soon after, still carrying Aya on his back. Riona switches to Tsundere mode, asking why Aya has to still be on his back. Riona, just…just shut up for a second if you\u2019re not going to turn the Tsun-Tsun off. It\u2019s not endearing to your character whatsoever. Nobu-kun asks Ryou to count up the “Obedience Confirmed” messages. Conveniently enough, the King sends a message out to everyone stating that Yuuna Kobayashi, Takuya Sakamoto and Rina Minami are all given punishments for not making it to the summit. BUT\u2026those three characters are already dead. Well, maybe Takuya isn\u2019t dead, because if you recall, he only had his leg broken after falling in Natsuko\u2019s trap. But the other two girls fell off plot-convenient cliffs. So how can you punish them when they\u2019re already dead?! In fact, we actually see a shot of all three of them dead by various means LONG before the King got to them with his Bloody Vomit punishment! Even Takuya is dead, having somehow went off a cliff. Again, why is the King punishing people who are already dead?! It makes no sense.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Oh, Lawd…he done caught the crazy.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyway, Natsuko is ready for some hot King\u2019s Order action and beseeches for the next order. And to show just how bat-crap insane she is, the camera spins around her crazed face. Yeah, I don\u2019t get it either. Anyway, before Nobu-kun has the chance to address the crazy broad, he is suddenly knocked out by a glazed-eyed Ryou. Yes, another character gets the crazy switched inexplicably flipped, and it\u2019s the little sheepish shouta. Good grief. When Riona asks why he clocked Nobu-kun unconscious with a plot-convenient rock, Ryou replies that the next order is that the class must cut their bodies up and put the parts together to make a large human doll. Riona spends a while freaking out about this while Ryou seriously begins contemplating how he would go about cutting off parts of his body, including his own head. After a minute, Natsuko comes from inside the abandoned house carrying\u2026a chainsaw. Yes. A chainsaw.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
On this, I would agree. Point a chainsaw at me, and I’ll give you everything you want!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Someone please tell me how in the world is it that a chainsaw stored in this house that looks like it\u2019s been abandoned for years, looks like it is BRAND NEW?! Seriously, this thing looks like someone just opened it out the box, gassed it up, applied the necessary oils and lubricants, chained it up, and left it there. Also, please tell me how Natsuko just so happened to know that it was in there and that it was ready for use? You know, I\u2019m used to plot-convenient things appearing or disappearing in anime, but this has to be the first plot-convenient chainsaw I think I\u2019ve ever seen! Congratulations King\u2019s Game: The Animation<\/em>; You\u2019ve finally struck new ground in the world of Plot-Convenience. Just when you thought the Plot-Convenient Vagina in Episode 3<\/a> was the low point, here comes the Plot-Convenient chainsaw, here to solve all problems! And it\u2019s also convenient that this particular chainsaw is light enough for Natsuko to carry around like it\u2019s nothing. The last chainsaw I picked up on was pretty heavy, and I transport vehicle parts for a living. But I\u2019ll just chalk that up to just her athletic abilities.<\/p>\n

Ryou picks up the plot-convenient chainsaw and cranks it up, smiling that insane smile of hers\u00a0while saying that he\u2019s finally going to get to help somebody like Nobu-kun and Teruaki did. He cranks up the chainsaw with one pull, but immediately kills it. Now I call shenanigans on this. I\u2019ve spent most of my life using gas-powered lawn tools, and I can tell you that with very few exceptions, it takes MULTIPLE pulls to get a small stroke engine like that going. MANY a summer I\u2019ve spent yanking on the pull-cords of various lawnmowers, weed eaters, and leaf blowers trying to get them to turn over. I wore out my right arm pulling those start cords like some guys wear out their right arms doing\u2026ahem\u2026other things. So yeah, I call bullpocky on Ryou, a boy who does not look like the strongest guy in the world, being able to crank a chainsaw from a cold start in ONE PULL.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Ah, Natsuko…always willing to give a helpful hand…to cut off your effing leg.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Natsuko, once again getting all hot and bothered that another killing is about to go down, tells Ryou the proper way to work the chainsaw. How she knows this is beyond me. Ryou cranks it up once again and upon declaring that he will be a strong man, lifts the chainsaw high above his head and slams it down on his leg, screaming bloody murder as it grinds into him with blood splattering all over. After a few moments, the chainsaw gets stuck and Natsuko, helpful witch-with-a-B that she is, offers to help by stomping on the chainsaw handle to push it further into his leg. Once completely severed, Natsuko leans over and tells Ryou to keep going or else he\u2019ll bleed out and die. However, much to her delight, Ryou is already dead. I\u2019m surprised she didn\u2019t ask for a cigarette afterwards.<\/p>\n

Anyway, she cranks the plot-convenient chainsaw herself, which is now REMARKABLY clean considering that it just cut through a teenage boy\u2019s thigh bone, and turns it on a terrified Riona to cut more parts for the doll. However, Aya comes around and begins choking Natsuko. But Natsuko ain\u2019t having it and swings the chainsaw across Aya\u2019s chest, instantly killing her. Welp, that\u2019s ONE way to kill of a needless character, I guess. So Natsuko turns back to Riona threatening her with the chainsaw. Riona begins crying for Nobu-kun to save her, but Natsuko gleefully pushes her to one side, mocking her and telling her in no uncertain terms that her Captain Save-A-Ho ain\u2019t gonna save her.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Still looking sharp with that haircut Teruaki gave him.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Natsuko must\u2019ve forgotten whose show this is, as Nobu-kun, AKA Captain Save-A-Ho wakes up and stops Natsuko from making her cut. Natsuko calmly explains the order to Nobu-kun and that Ryou actually went through with the order. Riona adds that he did it so he could be strong like him and Teruaki. Nobu-kun tearfully reminisces about how strong Ryou actually was for running all that way and encouraging the others. It has the potential to be a really good scene\u2026if it weren\u2019t for the fact that ONCE AGAIN this is a character that we\u2019ve only had for a handful of episodes and know next to nothing about and who pretty much hoisted his own death flag as all the characters in this show that are fated to die tend to do.<\/p>\n

Nobu-kun attempts to beseech Natsuko to not follow this order and focus on how to end the game, but ONCE AGAIN, Natsuko doesn’t hear any of it\u2026but she does recall that Riona and Nobu-kun were up to something before coming to the summit. Riona then tells Natsuko about the mysterious letters that appear on students\u2019 phones upon their death. Natsuko shares that she has indeed noticed the messages during her King\u2019s Game and had been collecting the letters since then. Riona comes up with the idea that they should pool all their information together to come up with a sentence. Then for some strange reason, and out the clear blue sky, Nobu-kun feels the need to remind us that Ria, a girl that neither Riona or Natsuko have met before, discovered that a BIOLOGICAL virus somehow got on the Internet from a rural village and spread to text messages. Yep, it\u2019s still as stupid now as it was when the idea was first postulated.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Okay, shoutout to whoever made this cell phone. They’ve been running around for 24 hours and the battery is only now at 12%!\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally convinced, Natsuko collects the phones and compares the information, combining all the words together on one device to form a sentence: \u201cEnd the game by offering all your lives. As long as even one of you survives, the King\u2019s Game won\u2019t end until all of humanity is destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nobu-kun then realizes what\u2019s going on. Of course. As he stands up, (faceless I might add), he confirms what we\u2019ve just seen; the virus of the King\u2019s Game lives in the people who play the game, and in order to save humanity and keep the virus from spreading to others and starting this whole thing all over again, everyone who has been involved with the game must die. Natsuko takes this as well as can be expected\u2026she says that saving humanity is none of her business and she starts ranting about Nobu-kun\u2019s high ideals. And for some reason\u2026the camera on Natsuko doesn\u2019t quite seem to know where it wants to focus. It\u2019s zoomed in tight on her lower face and chest. It looks bizarre and I have to wonder what the creators were going for. Of course, I\u2019ve been wondering this since episode 1, so this is pretty much a moot question. Natsuko continues ranting and raving about all she had to do to survive in the King\u2019s Game, including killing off her friends and the one person she loved, watching them die or be killed horribly as the game proceeded on. She then tearfully tries to kill Nobu-kun by strangling him, all the while ranting about how she couldn\u2019t forgive him for giving the class false hope and being a false savior.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
“Not my lover, you bitch!”\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, just as it looks like Nobu-kun is going to punch his ticket on the Midnight Train to Georgia, Riona finally gets her time to shine as she picks up the plot convenient chainsaw, cranks it up (with one pull, I might add) and jams it into Natsuko\u2019s back, effectively killing her. Well, it\u2019s about dawg gone time! Way to go Riona! Way to expertly use that heavy-duty piece of lawn equipment I\u2019m sure you have ZERO experience actually working! Way to go managing to effectively kill off Natsuko in the bloody, most gory fashion imaginable with blood shooting everywhere\u2026but end up completely clean and spotless afterwards! \u00a0That takes talent\u2026or laziness on the part of the animators, but at this point, it doesn\u2019t really matter so let\u2019s carry on.<\/p>\n

\"tumblr_n426w0AOnB1sfjpmgo3_500.gif\"
Me watching Natsuko come back to life.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Riona and Nobu-kun share a pretty tender moment together, and she is just about to confess her love for him when who should come back to life after getting their spine severed with a chainsaw than everybody\u2019s favorite psychopath Natsuko! Yes, you read that right\u2026Natsuko comes back to life. And not only that, she seems to have enough strength to stand up, pick up the plot convenient chainsaw, crank it (ONE PULL), and make a fatal cut to Nobu-kun\u2019s neck, saying that she\u2019s going to take him with her. You know, of all the Idiotic, Half Baked, Asinine, Thick-Headed things I\u2019ve seen in this show, this one takes the cake. See, I thought the apex was having a blind girl navigate her way around Japan flawlessly<\/a> was the high point. I was wrong there. I thought the whole “biological virus finds it’s way onto the INTERNET” thing was the high point. Heck, I even thought the whole thing with Ria casually talking about her life and tapping on her laptop WHILE SHE IS ON FIRE<\/a> was the stupidest this show could get. LORD KNOWS I WAS WRONG! I\u2026I just can\u2019t believe this show actually took the cheap horror movie approach by not making the psychopath actually dead! That\u2019s so cheap and so pathetic, it\u2019s borderline insulting to the viewer! I don\u2019t care if this is just an anime\u2014there are just some things that can\u2019t be waved away even in anime. Natsuko took A CHAINSAW TO THE SPINE! You can\u2019t move after an injury like that! You can\u2019t do ANYTHING after an injury like that! SHE WAS DEAD! But oh, it\u2019s not over yet\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Umm…so this is pretty much Nobu-kun with contacts and hair dye.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After taking the plot-convenient chainsaw to Nobu-kun\u2019s neck, the two fall down next to each other. Natsuko then gets the chance for her final dialogue. She tearfully states that it\u2019s better to kill the one you love yourself than let someone else kill them. We then get several flashbacks about her time with Nobu-kun in the first episode before she went crazy, which culminates with the real reason why she couldn\u2019t stand Nobu-kun: he reminded her of the boy in her first King\u2019s Game that she loved and had to kill, except this guy has orange hair, violet eyes, and a tracksuit. Natsuko passes away with tears in her eyes. Why is this show trying to make me have sympathy for the person who was involved with the murder of DOZENS of her fellow classmates?! WHY?! No, King\u2019s Game\u2026NO WAY. You will NOT get that from me! I will NOT have sympathy for the psycho chick!<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Rest in peace, Nobu-kun…<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyway, now it\u2019s time for Nobu-kun\u2019s final words. Riona tearfully tells him to hang in there, but it\u2019s blindingly obvious that he\u2019s not going to make it. With his last breath, Nobu-kun tells her to survive\u2026which is a pretty stupid thing to say. It\u2019s already been established that in order to END the King\u2019s Game, everyone involved, INCLUDING Riona, must die. Telling Riona to \u201csurvive\u201d is pretty much condemning her and others to play the King\u2019s Game, keeping the cycle going on and on. Why would you tell her to \u201csurvive\u201d with your last breath!?<\/p>\n

As Riona begs for him to stay alive, Nobuaki Kanazawa dies with a smile on his face having finally finished playing the King\u2019s Game.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
So, wait…what happened to the River Styx? Where’s the blue haired chick riding on a paddle with the pink kimono<\/a>?!\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The scene then cuts to the exact opposite of the scene we were met with when the series was open. Instead of a hellish landscape that looks straight out of End of Evangelion<\/em>, Nobu-kun wakes up to a beautiful mountain meadow filled with flowers. Chiemi walks up next to him and the two embrace while Ria, Naoya, Mizuki, Kenta, Teruaki, Ryou and a smiling Natsuko look on approvingly, and together, the group walks towards a bright rainbow staircase that looks like something straight out of that old religious cartoon Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten<\/a>.<\/em> In fact, I half expected everyone in the group to start singing \u201cFollowing the Love Light\u201d<\/a> as they go towards their destiny. Now, ordinarily I would think this is a pretty sweet way to end Nobu-kun\u2019s storyline: he finally gets his respite from the game, and is reunited with those whom he loved and sacrificed so much for. And I do think that this acts as a good bookend to the series. Yes, it’s sappy, but it would still be pretty nice. But I have a couple of things bothering me; first of which being why only Ria, Naoya, Mizuki, Kenta, Teruaki, Ryou, Chiemi and Natsuko\u00a0<\/em>get a ticket to Better Class Heaven? The way I see it, there are four other characters that should be included in this sequence! Let\u2019s break this down:<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n