Arisu, Chota, Karube and Saori set off to locate and participate in the next challenge. They find it at a large botanical garden and they're the only participants. There's a big problem though: it's a game of betrayal and only one of them can survive.
The most intriguing challenge yet: how do our heroes all manage to survive this? I was thinking, as were most viewers I imagine, that our intrepid foursome would find a way out of this as it appears they're set to be the main characters throughout the series. I was hoping Chota would buy the farm though - he's incredibly irritating and anytime he has any screentime I feel like giving up on the show.
However, in a surprise twist, there is no clever out: three of the seemingly main characters are gone by the end of this episode. On the plus side, one of them is Chota. On the negative side, two are Karube and Saori. Karube is the most likeable of the four characters and Saori is, well, hot.
This said, the engagement levels with the characters have not built up to such an extent that we'd miss any of them. This is where the twist is weak and disappointing: if you're going to suddenly and violently remove a character or three, make sure that you've built up an audience engagement with them - it makes their death(s) more powerful.
The episode gets points for unpredictability and for getting rid of Chota but those are the only positives.
The most intriguing challenge yet: how do our heroes all manage to survive this? I was thinking, as were most viewers I imagine, that our intrepid foursome would find a way out of this as it appears they're set to be the main characters throughout the series. I was hoping Chota would buy the farm though - he's incredibly irritating and anytime he has any screentime I feel like giving up on the show.
However, in a surprise twist, there is no clever out: three of the seemingly main characters are gone by the end of this episode. On the plus side, one of them is Chota. On the negative side, two are Karube and Saori. Karube is the most likeable of the four characters and Saori is, well, hot.
This said, the engagement levels with the characters have not built up to such an extent that we'd miss any of them. This is where the twist is weak and disappointing: if you're going to suddenly and violently remove a character or three, make sure that you've built up an audience engagement with them - it makes their death(s) more powerful.
The episode gets points for unpredictability and for getting rid of Chota but those are the only positives.