Btooom! Episode 9 – The Strongest Player

Summary:

Sakomoto Ryouta and team engage in an epic fight over food.

Review:

The episode begins with Taira waking up and freaking out at the strange man at his bedside. But the man claims to be a doctor who treated Taira and has no intention of playing the game. Taira is naturally grateful. Ryouta and Himiko are skeptical but the doctor’s kind act and unused BIM’s win them over as well.

The doctor, Date Masahito, is an absolute asshole. I don’t mean that in the way people playing this game are forced to extreme, unpleasant measures for the sake of survival. No, Date is just an ass. Manipulative and deceitful, he has every intention of using our trio for his own ends. As he’s the same man from Shiki’s story, it’s easy to see that he has a bad tendency to ‘use’ people.

A food and supplies delivery happens at that moment, and Ryouta, Himiko and Date chase after it, once again leaving behind poor Taira who acts like he’s developed abandonment issues. And then ensues the most fun action sequence in this show so far.

Ryouta and the rest manage to scare off all the other pursuers except this guy in shades – Oda – who’s the same person Ryouta encountered back in episode 3. The two of them are evenly matched as they go after the food, but interference from a third party – an unnamed man who’s teamed up with Kosuke – turns the situation in Oda’s favor.

Meanwhile, Himiko encounters Oda’s companion, the woman in the last episode who betrayed her partner at the time. The two of them face off. The newcomer is revealed to be a royal asshole as well as she goes about cruelly baiting Himiko. I like both of these fights and Himiko’s is notable for being neither a dainty catfight nor a graceful showdown. These two girls tearing at each other is rough, crass and ugly, and all the better for it.

Date tries to take the opportunity to finish them off but they both survive. Himiko is on to his nice-guy-act but keeps it cool so as to avoid suspicion.

Elsewhere, the unnamed man with Kosuke gets blown up by Oda. He didn’t last long, did he? Oda and Ryouta end up in a stalemate, both of them too good to fall for the other’s tricks.

Next episode promises to be good and this series already seems too short. I knew what I was getting into though.

That sounds very unpleasant. And rather hard to accomplish without lubrication.