Latest / Michelle Explains Anime, Poorly / Banana Fish Ep. 22- As I Lay Dying

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Banana Fish Ep. 22- As I Lay Dying · Michelle Explains Anime, Poorly

0:00
Speaker 1: Hey, it's your person, Michelle. I guess back again, not
0:05
Speaker 1: as depressed as last week. Yay, I guess. I mean
0:10
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter, nothing matters, but whatever. It snowed outside
0:15
Speaker 1: and that was nice because I got to shovel my
0:18
Speaker 1: driveway and I like shoveling driveways, so yay, high five
0:24
Speaker 1: for me. Anyway, we're gonna talk about episode twenty two,
0:29
Speaker 1: but there's something that I wanted to talk about a
0:31
Speaker 1: little bit about banana fish before we get into twenty two,
0:34
Speaker 1: and this seemed like a good enough time to discuss
0:37
Speaker 1: it because I really just can't find another spot too,
0:41
Speaker 1: and I've been trying for like weeks and I haven't
0:43
Speaker 1: found anywhere. So let's just do it now and make
0:46
Speaker 1: this episode even longer than it's already gonna because it's
0:49
Speaker 1: gonna be long. So I wanted to talk about scars
0:54
Speaker 1: and how in a lot of anime characters that have
0:57
Speaker 1: like some sort of like really intense have a scar
1:01
Speaker 1: from it. I'm thinking of like Garfield in re Zero,
1:07
Speaker 1: or for an example that you definitely would know if
1:09
Speaker 1: you've been listening, someone like Vash from Trygun who's just
1:14
Speaker 1: covered in scars, which definitely represents how humanity has treated
1:19
Speaker 1: him and kind of how he feels about himself. And
1:23
Speaker 1: then also you know people like Shineosen from eighty six,
1:27
Speaker 1: who has a scar on his neck from when his
1:29
Speaker 1: brother strangled him, which makes zero sense because strangulation does
1:33
Speaker 1: not cause scars, and it's always pissed me off. But
1:36
Speaker 1: what I'm saying is I see it a lot. It's
1:38
Speaker 1: a pretty common trope, and I, for one, really likes
1:43
Speaker 1: scars on characters. I think they're cool. I think scars
1:46
Speaker 1: on people are cool, except for my scars, which are
1:50
Speaker 1: from really dumb things like jamming my knee into the
1:55
Speaker 1: end of a nail that was popping out of a bed.
1:58
Speaker 1: But anyway, I think they're cool. I have characters, actually,
2:02
Speaker 1: I think like every main character that I make for
2:05
Speaker 1: my own stuff is usually pretty scarred up. But they
2:09
Speaker 1: can be a little bit convenient because you see the
2:12
Speaker 1: character and you know that something has happened. Right. Oh.
2:15
Speaker 1: I'm also thinking of Chi Chititti from Fushigiyugi, who has
2:19
Speaker 1: that like big scar in his face and he wears
2:20
Speaker 1: a mask because of it. Like seeing the scar makes you,
2:24
Speaker 1: especially when it's in a really prominent location, makes you
2:28
Speaker 1: in the audience and the people around the characters go like, oh,
2:31
Speaker 1: they had some really bad shit happen to them. So
2:34
Speaker 1: that's my really roundabout way of saying, like, I find
2:37
Speaker 1: it interesting that this runs pretty much in contrast with
2:40
Speaker 1: the characters and banana Fish, because there are obviously scars
2:44
Speaker 1: in the banana fish world. We saw Fox last episode
2:47
Speaker 1: has a scar on his like cheek. I'm trying to
2:50
Speaker 1: think of there's definitely another character who has a scar.
2:54
Speaker 1: I don't know now, I'm like second getting myself and
2:56
Speaker 1: getting confused. But anyway, it's not like you can't get
2:59
Speaker 1: a scar in banana Fish, but most of the characters
3:02
Speaker 1: don't have any because they're teenagers and they haven't lived
3:05
Speaker 1: a long crazy life yet, just a short crazy one.
3:09
Speaker 1: But if anyone who's going to have a scar in
3:12
Speaker 1: Banana Fish, if Akimi Yoshta wanted, that could have easily
3:15
Speaker 1: been Ash, because you know, all of the years of trauma.
3:22
Speaker 1: But as much as I really like that, look, it
3:27
Speaker 1: wouldn't have worked right because most of the abuse, I mean,
3:31
Speaker 1: there's physical abuse obviously, but most of the long lasting damage,
3:36
Speaker 1: or really all of it that's been done to Ash
3:38
Speaker 1: is mental, purely mental. So while a scar could have
3:42
Speaker 1: been used to reinforce that as it was in eighty
3:46
Speaker 1: six for Shin, it would have cheapened things a little
3:50
Speaker 1: because it wouldn't really make sense with the story. We're
3:54
Speaker 1: talking about someone who was valued for his body, so
4:01
Speaker 1: obviously you don't want to fuck it up because he
4:04
Speaker 1: would command less if he wasn't physically perfect, right, So
4:12
Speaker 1: obviously he is not going to be, you know, fucked
4:17
Speaker 1: up in any way that's visible. It just wouldn't serve
4:21
Speaker 1: the purposes of the people who are using him. So
4:24
Speaker 1: because of that, we and the characters around him lose
4:28
Speaker 1: that little bit of a touchstone where they could be like, ah,
4:31
Speaker 1: this dude's been through some shit. So everything has to
4:36
Speaker 1: come from observing him and his reactions to things, which
4:40
Speaker 1: means that a lot of people aren't just not going
4:42
Speaker 1: to know that he's had a rough life, which is
4:46
Speaker 1: important and serves the story really well. Yeah, I'm gonna
4:51
Speaker 1: stop because I have no idea what my point was
4:53
Speaker 1: going to be, So let's just talk about episode twenty two.
4:57
Speaker 1: So remember last week and I cried a little bit
5:00
Speaker 1: and I was like, I really don't want to do
5:02
Speaker 1: episode twenty two. That, of course still holds true. But
5:07
Speaker 1: what I also didn't explain is that episode twenty two
5:09
Speaker 1: is actually one of my favorite episodes of the series.
5:14
Speaker 1: I love it. So I assume this is going to
5:17
Speaker 1: be a very information danse episode for you that's long
5:22
Speaker 1: and drags and you hate me afterwards. But I'm sorry,
5:26
Speaker 1: and I'm going to stop a couple of times during
5:28
Speaker 1: it because some of the stuff needs to be said
5:31
Speaker 1: right after it happens. Otherwise so much will have happened
5:35
Speaker 1: at the end that we will not be able to
5:37
Speaker 1: circle back to it in a way that makes sense,
5:39
Speaker 1: So prepare for that. I guess. Yeah, I'm still not
5:44
Speaker 1: looking forward to doing this, so let's just get into it.
5:48
Speaker 1: Episode twenty two is called As I Lay Dying, which
5:51
Speaker 1: is named after a novel by William Faulkner that again
5:55
Speaker 1: has nothing to do with Banana Fish or you might
5:58
Speaker 1: know it from the band As I Lay Down, which
6:01
Speaker 1: I don't think they're together anymore, I hope not. The
6:03
Speaker 1: lead singer was in jail for like seven years because
6:06
Speaker 1: he tried to hire someone to kill his wife, but
6:09
Speaker 1: the person he tried to hire was an undercover cop
6:11
Speaker 1: or something. Basically, he's not a good dude. Sorry, as
6:15
Speaker 1: I lay dying Singer, if you're listening, I just think
6:18
Speaker 1: that was mean. Anyway. I think it's a really good
6:22
Speaker 1: title for this episode though, And if you haven't watched it,
6:26
Speaker 1: you know, when you're just listening to the podcast, that
6:28
Speaker 1: might make you kind of scared, and it should. So
6:32
Speaker 1: let's go. I'm sure you remember from the end of
6:36
Speaker 1: the last episode that Ash had come out of one
6:40
Speaker 1: of the buildings in this abandoned complex and surrendered to Fox,
6:46
Speaker 1: and a lot of the gang members were being held
6:49
Speaker 1: as well. So we start right where we left off
6:53
Speaker 1: at the abandoned complex of sub Sort, with Ash and
6:57
Speaker 1: his gang being held by these former French foreign Legian mercenaries.
7:02
Speaker 1: It looks like it's almost morning at this point. Everything
7:06
Speaker 1: is kind of blue in that blue hour way, like
7:08
Speaker 1: the sun is about to come up. Anyway, Oh shit, Ag,
7:12
Speaker 1: Jessica and Sing have made it back and they are
7:14
Speaker 1: watching all of this from behind some sort of wall,
7:17
Speaker 1: either like a partition or who knows what it is,
7:19
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter, and AG's like Ash. Then we hear
7:24
Speaker 1: Kane say Sing. Sing looks over and we see that
7:27
Speaker 1: Cain and Alex are like walking up, which is really
7:30
Speaker 1: great because I didn't know where they were. And Kane says,
7:33
Speaker 1: this is bad. Obviously. We cut back to the gang
7:36
Speaker 1: members who are now being loaded into a box truck,
7:39
Speaker 1: which seems also like that's bad, and and then we
7:43
Speaker 1: go to Ash and he's like, where are you taking them?
7:46
Speaker 1: Fox says, I'd be more worried about myself if I
7:49
Speaker 1: were you. Great doctor Mannerheim will take good care of them.
7:53
Speaker 1: Oh that's not who I want to take good care
7:55
Speaker 1: of them. And Ash is like what we see Max
8:00
Speaker 1: and Kong and they kind of like look over when
8:02
Speaker 1: Ash says what maybe, And one of the mercenary dudes
8:05
Speaker 1: who's standing next to Kanan like hits him with the
8:07
Speaker 1: butt of his gun and like knocks him over, and
8:09
Speaker 1: he's like, hurried up. He can't hurry up because you
8:12
Speaker 1: just made him fall over, but sure, and Max is
8:15
Speaker 1: like Kong and he kneels down to help, but you know,
8:18
Speaker 1: his hands are tied and everything, and he's like, soldiers
8:21
Speaker 1: shouldn't treat hostages like this. Fox says, too bad. International
8:26
Speaker 1: law doesn't apply to us. We don't exist, you know.
8:29
Speaker 1: At this point, I guess Max and Kong have finally
8:32
Speaker 1: finished getting into the truck and they look pretty horrified,
8:35
Speaker 1: probably because they're not gonna be saved by international law.
8:39
Speaker 1: And the doors shut and the truck begins to drive away.
8:44
Speaker 1: We cut to Alex and he's like off all of
8:46
Speaker 1: the truck. He starts to walk off. I hope he
8:48
Speaker 1: has a car. AGI's just kind of watching in silence.
8:52
Speaker 1: Fox says, now, then take mister Dino's son inside. I'd
8:57
Speaker 1: like to have a word with him. Ash says, there's
9:00
Speaker 1: nothing to talk about. Fox is like, I'm sure you'll
9:03
Speaker 1: change your mind about that, and then we know the opening.
9:07
Speaker 1: Yay back from the opening, we cut to a bunch
9:11
Speaker 1: of grinning, smoking mercenaries of some sort. Why they're grinning,
9:16
Speaker 1: I'm not sure, and we hear Fox say, to think
9:21
Speaker 1: that a young boy with such an innocent face killed
9:24
Speaker 1: so many of my seasoned men. Ash is sitting in
9:27
Speaker 1: a chair with his hands tied behind his back, and
9:30
Speaker 1: like his neck is also tied, so it's like his
9:34
Speaker 1: hands are tied to his neck. It's kind of not confusing,
9:37
Speaker 1: except for now that I'm trying to explain it to you.
9:40
Speaker 1: So rope goes around his neck is tied, and then
9:43
Speaker 1: goes down his back to his hands, which are also
9:46
Speaker 1: tied to the rope, so if you know, his hands
9:50
Speaker 1: were to move, he would kind of choke himself. Basically,
9:52
Speaker 1: not super nice, but seems like it's effective anyway. He
9:57
Speaker 1: looks pretty defiant because he's Ash. Fox turns from him
10:02
Speaker 1: to the guys and he kind of nods and they
10:03
Speaker 1: walk out of the room. He then takes a drag
10:07
Speaker 1: of his cigarette and he blows the smoke and Ash's
10:10
Speaker 1: face an Ash just kind of doesn't acknowledge this is happening.
10:14
Speaker 1: He doesn't flinch anyway. Fox says, you're like a leopard.
10:19
Speaker 1: We cut to an image of a leopard, and he continues,
10:22
Speaker 1: a deadly monster of the jungle, feared for its ferocity,
10:26
Speaker 1: and yet its appearance is incomparably beautiful. Gross At that,
10:31
Speaker 1: Ash says, you know, bastards who hate me call me
10:34
Speaker 1: all kinds of names, like devil, reaper, whatever, but I'm
10:38
Speaker 1: not taking that from you. I don't get off by
10:41
Speaker 1: carving people's eyes out of their head while they're still alive.
10:44
Speaker 1: Fox at that punches him like hard enough to knock
10:47
Speaker 1: him out of the chair and he falls to the floor.
10:50
Speaker 1: He then grabs the rope that's connecting his hands and
10:53
Speaker 1: his neck and pulls him back into a sitting position
10:57
Speaker 1: and it looks like super painful. And they also forgot
11:00
Speaker 1: to draw that the rope was connected over there. But anyway,
11:03
Speaker 1: Fox says, why do you resist the mature He is
11:07
Speaker 1: kind of pulling on the rope of bits, so making
11:11
Speaker 1: it probably hard for Ash to breathe, and he continues,
11:14
Speaker 1: you're young, handsome and extremely gifted. You could have anything
11:18
Speaker 1: you want, and Ash is like anything, No, only the
11:23
Speaker 1: shit he wants. He never asked me. I've got nothing
11:26
Speaker 1: to do with it. Fox says, why don't you join
11:29
Speaker 1: forces with me? Then? Ash? Oh? Ash kind of bristles
11:34
Speaker 1: at this and looks back at him like really confused.
11:37
Speaker 1: Fox is kind of like kneeling kind of next to
11:40
Speaker 1: Slash behind him now, giving him some slack on the rope,
11:43
Speaker 1: which is nice. And he says, if you become the
11:46
Speaker 1: head of the union, course the world would bow down
11:50
Speaker 1: before you. I'll take over the shady business, so you
11:53
Speaker 1: don't even have to soil your hands. He puts his
11:56
Speaker 1: hand on Ash's shoulder. Join me in the world will
11:59
Speaker 1: be Ash is silent for a second, and he drops
12:04
Speaker 1: his head and he just starts to laugh because he's
12:07
Speaker 1: fucking awesome, and Fox looks pretty confused. Ash smirks, are
12:12
Speaker 1: you serious, I'd rather kiss a slug than join hands
12:15
Speaker 1: with you. Fox does not look pleased that he would
12:19
Speaker 1: rather kiss a slug, I guess, than join hands with him,
12:22
Speaker 1: and he retightens the rope, forcing Ash's head back and
12:26
Speaker 1: very much choking him this time, and he says, the
12:29
Speaker 1: son of a distinguished man shouldn't speak like that. He
12:32
Speaker 1: lets go, leaving Ash coughing and gasping for air, and
12:36
Speaker 1: we got a really cool Dutch angle of them, I
12:38
Speaker 1: mean Ash in the foreground and Fox kind of standing
12:41
Speaker 1: over him, and he continues, I've noticed that the mateur
12:45
Speaker 1: seems to have a trump card with the US government.
12:48
Speaker 1: You know what that is, don't you. Ash, who is
12:52
Speaker 1: finally catching his breath, is silence. Fox continues, the Corsican
12:57
Speaker 1: foundation has deeply penetrated the heart of the US. Yes,
13:00
Speaker 1: there must be some reason behind that. We get like
13:03
Speaker 1: a really close shot of like Ash's body as he
13:07
Speaker 1: inches himself back against the wall, and we cut back
13:12
Speaker 1: and we see that Fox has his hand on Ash's chin,
13:15
Speaker 1: which is not what I want, and the other hand
13:18
Speaker 1: on the wall. Next to him. He raises Ash's chin
13:22
Speaker 1: to meet his gaze and says, you'll tell me, won't you,
13:25
Speaker 1: as a sign of our partnership. Ash is kind of
13:30
Speaker 1: almost partially smiling, but he looks totally concerned now, and
13:34
Speaker 1: he says, you've gotta be kidding, you're insane. Fox is like,
13:39
Speaker 1: I understand very well that simple violence isn't gonna work
13:42
Speaker 1: with you. No. He lets go of Ash's chin and
13:46
Speaker 1: we see just a bit of fear flash and Ash's
13:49
Speaker 1: eyes right before Fox grabs him by the hair and
13:52
Speaker 1: like shoves him into the floor hard. Ash lets out
13:57
Speaker 1: like this really pained gasp sounded like really hurt me
14:00
Speaker 1: to my core. And Fox continues, you've been trying to
14:05
Speaker 1: escape from the mature because you were once his sex toy. No.
14:10
Speaker 1: Ash stares at him from the floor in contempt. You
14:14
Speaker 1: know he'll control you once again if you return to him.
14:17
Speaker 1: Ash looks away. Your knees will give way and you
14:20
Speaker 1: won't be able to move. He reaches his hand and
14:24
Speaker 1: her Ash's shirt. You're still powerless against that curse. Ash
14:30
Speaker 1: gasps and begs him to stop, and Fox like kind
14:35
Speaker 1: of embraces him, like pulls him in close and It's
14:38
Speaker 1: kind of like leaning in for a kiss and Ash
14:41
Speaker 1: is like, stop, get your hands off me. So at
14:44
Speaker 1: this point, Ash is completely folding down on his stomach
14:48
Speaker 1: and Fox is basically on top of him, and he says, now,
14:51
Speaker 1: are you ready to talk? Ashes? Like you bastards are
14:54
Speaker 1: all the same. Fox kind of sits up a bit,
14:58
Speaker 1: and Ash continues always using force to get what you want,
15:01
Speaker 1: smacking people around when they try to resist. You just
15:04
Speaker 1: want to dominate people. Well, you can do whatever you
15:07
Speaker 1: want to me, but you are never going to dominate me.
15:10
Speaker 1: He grits his teeth. I'm never going to bow down
15:13
Speaker 1: to you. My mind in spirit are mine. I'll fight
15:16
Speaker 1: you assholes all the way with everything I've got. Fox smirks, well,
15:21
Speaker 1: then I really will do whatever I want. He unsheathes
15:25
Speaker 1: like the largest knife in front of Ash's face. We
15:30
Speaker 1: cut the two mercenary dudes who are like standing outside
15:34
Speaker 1: the entrance. They're armed obviously, and we hear Sing say
15:38
Speaker 1: to on watch outside. You guys need to hurry up here,
15:41
Speaker 1: really hurry up. The gang is kind of like peering
15:44
Speaker 1: around a corner and Sing continues for inside. Kine says
15:49
Speaker 1: we need to contact Ash. So we can take action
15:51
Speaker 1: from inside as well as out. We cut back to Ash,
15:54
Speaker 1: who is very much not contact ready. He is laying
15:58
Speaker 1: on his side, I guess, and his hair is over
16:03
Speaker 1: his eyes so we can't see his expression or even
16:06
Speaker 1: if he's awake, which I'm not sure he is at
16:08
Speaker 1: this point, and he has been just very much ruffed up,
16:13
Speaker 1: like he's just scraped up his neck has I guess,
16:17
Speaker 1: like a rope burn on it. And to make matters worse,
16:21
Speaker 1: of course, his shirt is ripped pretty badly and his
16:27
Speaker 1: pants are unzipped. Yeah, in case you thought we were
16:32
Speaker 1: going somewhere else, we cut back to a wider shot
16:36
Speaker 1: and we can see that Fox is sitting in a
16:38
Speaker 1: chair backwards right in front of him, smoking a cigarette,
16:42
Speaker 1: and he says, you're quite obstinate. There's a knock on
16:46
Speaker 1: the door and he's like what. A guy opens the
16:50
Speaker 1: door slightly and he says, I'll call from the machure.
16:54
Speaker 1: Fox is like, okay, I'm coming. He tosses the cigarettes
16:58
Speaker 1: still it onto the ground, says you'll surrender to me
17:01
Speaker 1: one day. He stands, don't forget that, and then he
17:05
Speaker 1: turns to the guy and says, keep your eyes on him.
17:08
Speaker 1: Get your revenge if you want. Cheez, hasn't he had enough?
17:14
Speaker 1: Terrible things happened to him in this episode. Fox starts
17:18
Speaker 1: to walk out as one of the mercenaries walks in,
17:20
Speaker 1: and he continues, but don't kill him. He's expensive merchandise
17:24
Speaker 1: after all. Great, the guy's like, got it. We hear
17:29
Speaker 1: the door shuts and we get a shot of the
17:33
Speaker 1: still lit cigarette burning on the floor with Ash in
17:37
Speaker 1: the background, and then we pull focus from the cigarette
17:40
Speaker 1: to Ash's face as he stares at it. He has
17:45
Speaker 1: some sort of expression on his face. He's awake, but
17:49
Speaker 1: I don't know what to call this expression. It just
17:51
Speaker 1: certainly isn't defeat anyway. The guy says, still out of it, Huh,
17:58
Speaker 1: seems like you got some love and from Colonel for
18:01
Speaker 1: fuck's sake, dude. He walks over to Ash and just
18:04
Speaker 1: like kicks him in the face. It's a hard enough
18:06
Speaker 1: kick that Ash kind of like rolls a little bit
18:09
Speaker 1: and he gasps in pain, and the other guy in
18:12
Speaker 1: the room says, is that all you got? We get
18:15
Speaker 1: a quick shot of Ash's hands as we see that
18:18
Speaker 1: he's holding the cigarettes to the ropes against his wrist,
18:22
Speaker 1: which remember are behind his back so they cannot see this,
18:25
Speaker 1: and the guy continues, got the life knocked out of you. Here,
18:28
Speaker 1: have some water. He splashes like a bottle of water
18:31
Speaker 1: and ashes face, and Ash gasps and coughs like you
18:34
Speaker 1: might if somebody splashed water in your face. The guy's
18:39
Speaker 1: like the mature son, huh. He grabs him by the
18:42
Speaker 1: hair and kind of lifts him up, and we get
18:44
Speaker 1: a quick cut to the cigarette as it's burning the
18:46
Speaker 1: rope and he continues, you're nothing but a whore, and
18:50
Speaker 1: the rope snaps. Ash grabs the dude's knife from his
18:54
Speaker 1: like polster thing and he plunges it into his chest. Yes, finally,
19:00
Speaker 1: the first guy is lighting a cigarette while this happens,
19:02
Speaker 1: and he looks over really confused, and it's just in
19:05
Speaker 1: time for Ash to fucking throw the knife at that
19:08
Speaker 1: guy's head and it hits him right in the head, obviously,
19:11
Speaker 1: and he goes down. But I guess he was holding
19:14
Speaker 1: the trigger of his gun because his gun just like
19:16
Speaker 1: goes off and it's like shooting everywhere, and there's this
19:19
Speaker 1: huge commotion seeing an ag who I think are the
19:22
Speaker 1: only ones with loaded guns rush forward and they start
19:25
Speaker 1: shooting at the building and AG's like ghosting. They're like
19:28
Speaker 1: not doing good job. It's shooting these two mercenaries. But whatever,
19:32
Speaker 1: it certainly is fucking everything up. So we cut back
19:35
Speaker 1: to Fox and like the guy that's with him, and
19:37
Speaker 1: they're like running down the hall and Fox is like,
19:39
Speaker 1: damn it. They get to what I guess is the
19:42
Speaker 1: room that Ash was in and they start getting fired
19:46
Speaker 1: on through the door and that guy is like stand back, colonel,
19:50
Speaker 1: and another guy like reaches them and he's like enemy
19:52
Speaker 1: attack numbers unknown. Fox is like, shit, not now. Ash
19:57
Speaker 1: kicks down the door and emerges, shooting with one of
20:00
Speaker 1: the guy's machines guns and Fox turns as he sees
20:05
Speaker 1: the door shattering in slow motion and he's like totally
20:09
Speaker 1: shocked and he thinks, unbelievable after all the damage I
20:13
Speaker 1: just did to him. Fuck, And also, of course, dude,
20:17
Speaker 1: Ash is running towards him and he says, face me, Fox.
20:20
Speaker 1: Fox shoots at Ash, and Ash like ducks around a
20:23
Speaker 1: corner and Fox is like, we'll meet again. Ash, don't
20:26
Speaker 1: forget what I said, and he throws like a smoke
20:28
Speaker 1: bomb and like takes off as scops AG from behind him.
20:35
Speaker 1: Says Ash. Ash looks back totally surprised, and AG's like,
20:39
Speaker 1: you're safe, not freely Agy. The rest of the gang
20:43
Speaker 1: runs towards him, and Ash is like, you idiots, why
20:46
Speaker 1: did you come back? Ag and Sing WinCE and Jessica
20:50
Speaker 1: does not look too happy, and Kane is just very
20:53
Speaker 1: very confused, and Ash's like, We've got to get out
20:56
Speaker 1: of here. We missed a really cute part where they
20:59
Speaker 1: were like, what the fuck is his deal? Why is
21:01
Speaker 1: he so pissed off? And Age's like, it's just how
21:04
Speaker 1: he is. We just have to accept that. But that's
21:08
Speaker 1: fine anyway. Moving on, we cut to the exterior somewhere
21:15
Speaker 1: and Sing is climbing like over some boxes and then
21:18
Speaker 1: like over a like brick wall. I think he jumps down,
21:21
Speaker 1: and we cut to the group on the other side,
21:25
Speaker 1: and they are sweating and breathing hard, and I think
21:28
Speaker 1: most of them are sitting except for Ash and Sing
21:31
Speaker 1: who are standing up, and Ashes like not with the
21:34
Speaker 1: rest of the group. He's like just a ways away
21:36
Speaker 1: for some reason, and I don't know where they are.
21:39
Speaker 1: I don't know if they're like in an alley or
21:40
Speaker 1: they're behind a building, but it's like heavily graffiti and
21:44
Speaker 1: singh says, we'll be safe here, I hope, so Sing,
21:49
Speaker 1: while the rest of the group just kind of catches
21:52
Speaker 1: their breath. Ash, like I said before, slightly isolated from everyone,
21:57
Speaker 1: is standing kind of like doubled over, holding his stomach,
22:04
Speaker 1: maybe just like shaking and maybe like whimpering slightly. Kine
22:16
Speaker 1: notices and walks over and says, what's wrong. Are you okay?
22:22
Speaker 1: Show me your injuries? He puts his hand on Ash's shoulder,
22:25
Speaker 1: and at that Ash panics and instinctively slaps Kin's hand away.
22:31
Speaker 1: Sing looks over surprised. Kine says what's wrong. Ash is
22:37
Speaker 1: clearly surprised by himself and kind of embarrassed, and he
22:43
Speaker 1: kind of just covers his mouth with his hand and
22:45
Speaker 1: he's starting to shake again, and he says, I'm sorry,
22:48
Speaker 1: it's nothing. We get a shot of Jessica and ag
22:52
Speaker 1: and they just look super concerned in a different way
22:59
Speaker 1: than Sing and Kane do, very very clear that they
23:05
Speaker 1: know what's going on. Ash walks down the alley or
23:10
Speaker 1: whatever just a little bit to where there's a wooden
23:13
Speaker 1: crate on the ground, and he says, I just need
23:17
Speaker 1: some rest. He sits down and he closes his eyes
23:21
Speaker 1: and just like holds himself and shakes. While he is
23:27
Speaker 1: sitting there trying to collect himself. He hears someone walking
23:32
Speaker 1: over and he opens his eyes and he is confused
23:36
Speaker 1: to see Age standing in front of him. Ag has
23:40
Speaker 1: like a particular like look in his eyes, like I
23:45
Speaker 1: don't know, like stern maybe, or like tough. He looks
23:51
Speaker 1: very confident that he knows exactly what he needs to do,
23:55
Speaker 1: and he's so fucking cool. He reaches out his arms
24:00
Speaker 1: and he puts them around Ash's neck and he holds
24:04
Speaker 1: him close. He doesn't say anything, he just holds Ash
24:09
Speaker 1: as he shakes. There's no music in this scene, just
24:16
Speaker 1: kind of the ambient sound of traffic somewhere in the backgrounds,
24:20
Speaker 1: and he just holds Ash for a long time, and
24:25
Speaker 1: eventually Ash stops shaking. So we're gonna have to stop
24:30
Speaker 1: there for a little while because we need to talk
24:32
Speaker 1: about this. So that encompasses maybe about the first eight
24:36
Speaker 1: minutes of this episode, and it is it's like a lot,
24:40
Speaker 1: like a lot obviously, so there's a lot of really
24:49
Speaker 1: interesting interactmen here. I wanted to point out before we
24:52
Speaker 1: get into what just happens, that's on some level, it
24:58
Speaker 1: would have been good if Ash had just told Fox
25:01
Speaker 1: he would work with him, it would have meant that
25:03
Speaker 1: he would be able to get rid of coal scene
25:07
Speaker 1: and probably live a life that's not terrible, right, But
25:10
Speaker 1: that would go against pretty much his entire moral code.
25:13
Speaker 1: He doesn't want to work with these just despicable people.
25:18
Speaker 1: He doesn't want to take over an empire that is
25:20
Speaker 1: just harming kids. He doesn't even want to lie to
25:26
Speaker 1: Fox and then to stab him in the back. That
25:29
Speaker 1: is just not his style. Because he really does have
25:33
Speaker 1: like a moral code, he just can't use it very much.
25:38
Speaker 1: So I was super fucking proud of him for standing
25:42
Speaker 1: up to Fox, like so proud of him in that
25:47
Speaker 1: scene where he knew things were gonna get worse and
25:51
Speaker 1: he just decided that he needed to say something because
25:57
Speaker 1: as mouthy as he is, he's lets so many things
26:02
Speaker 1: happen to him without protests in order to survive. So
26:05
Speaker 1: anytime he is like telling one of these horrible individuals
26:12
Speaker 1: as it is, I think it's the coolest thing ever.
26:18
Speaker 1: But you know, of course it meant things were gonna
26:21
Speaker 1: get worse, and he did basically relent. I mean, he
26:25
Speaker 1: couldn't have gotten away at that point. What was gonna
26:30
Speaker 1: happen like he was gonna get raped, like so it's
26:34
Speaker 1: you know, at some point fighting is just gonna hurt
26:37
Speaker 1: you more. H Well, that really upset me. So anyway,
26:43
Speaker 1: for this scene, I used a combination of the anime
26:48
Speaker 1: and manga translations because deep manga translation really really excels.
26:55
Speaker 1: But I couldn't use all of the manga translation because
26:58
Speaker 1: there are parts of it that are just the liberties
27:02
Speaker 1: you know, taken in it are too great. For example,
27:06
Speaker 1: when Ash said that he would rather kiss a slug,
27:10
Speaker 1: then I guess team up with Fox ni manga like
27:15
Speaker 1: really wanted to localize this because honestly, i'd rather kiss
27:19
Speaker 1: a slug doesn't sound that's threatening, Like, it doesn't sound
27:23
Speaker 1: like you're saying something that's totally horrible, even though you
27:28
Speaker 1: shouldn't kiss slugs because slugs have lots of bacteria on
27:31
Speaker 1: them and you can die, so honestly, it's still a
27:35
Speaker 1: pretty nasty thing to say to someone. But in the
27:38
Speaker 1: manga it was translated to I'd rather give a monkey
27:41
Speaker 1: a rim job, which is a lot meaner, and I
27:46
Speaker 1: personally like it, but I didn't want to put it
27:48
Speaker 1: in there because it's totally inaccurate, Like I checked the
27:52
Speaker 1: actual manga in Japanese because I have access to that
27:55
Speaker 1: one because I keep having to check things, and I
27:58
Speaker 1: like translated it myself with the hell of Google. And
28:01
Speaker 1: it's absolutely that he would rather kiss a slug, So
28:05
Speaker 1: just letting you know for some reason. Yeah, And I
28:08
Speaker 1: think the whole scene with him using the cigarette to
28:12
Speaker 1: escape was great. And I also wanted to say, because
28:14
Speaker 1: we obviously cut this out a little bit, that fucking
28:18
Speaker 1: the mercenaries that came in when Fox left were totally
28:21
Speaker 1: going to rape him again, like they said as much,
28:25
Speaker 1: so it was only gonna get worse anyway. That's fun.
28:32
Speaker 1: Oh and the whole thing about Fox saying that Ash
28:36
Speaker 1: is afraid of Goalzen, I totally believe that. Not only
28:41
Speaker 1: is Goalzine like a well funded mafia boss that could
28:46
Speaker 1: take anybody out he wants basically, but he's just been
28:51
Speaker 1: one of the biggest causes of trauma and ash S
28:55
Speaker 1: life for I don't know, like at least seven years
28:59
Speaker 1: at this point. Like there's got to be some fear
29:02
Speaker 1: associated with that. Yay. So what I really wanted to
29:08
Speaker 1: talk about was the next scene, which I've got to
29:11
Speaker 1: tell you is probably my favorite interaction between two characters
29:18
Speaker 1: in a relationship just in media. But I think I
29:22
Speaker 1: really mean that something about Ag just going over and
29:27
Speaker 1: being like, I listen, I know exactly what to do,
29:30
Speaker 1: and just holding him is like the best thing ever.
29:35
Speaker 1: Like that he is just paying enough attention, you know,
29:43
Speaker 1: and nothing really needed to be said. Well, I'm really upset.
29:50
Speaker 1: He just knew immediately that he needed to be held.
29:57
Speaker 1: And again, this was just a few seconds after Kane
30:03
Speaker 1: had you know, tried to touch him and he freaked out.
30:08
Speaker 1: Like the idea that as messed up as everything is
30:13
Speaker 1: that Age is just like a constant comfort, is it really,
30:20
Speaker 1: I don't know, It's like like the thing that makes
30:24
Speaker 1: the show palatable because without without like the little moments
30:30
Speaker 1: between them, it would just be sad. Sorry, yeah, but
30:44
Speaker 1: and I just thought it was done really well too.
30:46
Speaker 1: It's just quiet, you know, nothing needed to be said
30:51
Speaker 1: because they because he already knows, you know, they both
30:56
Speaker 1: already know. And it made me wonder if this is
30:59
Speaker 1: like the first time that Ash has been like comforted
31:04
Speaker 1: like this. And I mean, if they hadn't come back,
31:12
Speaker 1: if Ag wasn't involved, it's possible Ash would have still
31:16
Speaker 1: gotten away. But like, I think he really needs a
31:23
Speaker 1: like for his first soul. My god, I'm really like
31:31
Speaker 1: just like a straight up crying. I don't know if
31:36
Speaker 1: you're watching this, if you're just like not sold on
31:39
Speaker 1: their relationship at this point, Like I don't know how
31:42
Speaker 1: you could not be, but you know, maybe you're not.
31:46
Speaker 1: Who knows. Maybe I'm making a much bigger deal of
31:49
Speaker 1: this than it should be, but uh, we have to
31:53
Speaker 1: move on. Obviously. I can't just cry at you for
31:55
Speaker 1: another hour, even though I would like to. Anyway. We
32:00
Speaker 1: cut to a kind of rough looking steer of a
32:04
Speaker 1: building which I assume was supposed to be that like
32:06
Speaker 1: warehouse or storehouse, but it looks like it maybe an
32:08
Speaker 1: old fucking school or something. I don't know. Our apartments
32:13
Speaker 1: it's like stone, and the stone is kind of cracked up,
32:16
Speaker 1: and all the windows are intact but like cracked, which
32:20
Speaker 1: probably wouldn't really happen, but that's okay. Oh and there
32:23
Speaker 1: are these big wooden doors, and we cut to Sing
32:27
Speaker 1: and Kane as they are pushing them open, and Sing
32:30
Speaker 1: is like, okay, there we go, and then they both gasp.
32:34
Speaker 1: Luckily it's a good gasp because everyone has made it
32:37
Speaker 1: and they're super happy to see them. So the gang,
32:41
Speaker 1: including Ash, Kane Sing, and Age and Jessica, walk in
32:46
Speaker 1: and the guys are like saying things like, oh my god,
32:48
Speaker 1: we're waiting for you. I'm so glad you're okay and
32:50
Speaker 1: stuff like that, and then Lao to Sing says, where's
32:54
Speaker 1: William Yang sings like they were caught them in about
32:59
Speaker 1: ten others. I was like, what. Ash sits kind of
33:04
Speaker 1: against the wall and he's just, you know, concerned at
33:08
Speaker 1: the moment with bandaging up his arm because he's got
33:11
Speaker 1: a lot of rope burn or something, and he's just
33:15
Speaker 1: doing this really matter of factly, and he says, very calmly.
33:20
Speaker 1: I know where they took him, the National Mental Health Institute.
33:24
Speaker 1: And I was like, if you knew, why didn't you
33:26
Speaker 1: help them? Like, I get your upset low. But Ash
33:31
Speaker 1: is like covered in scrapes and bruises right now. He
33:35
Speaker 1: does not look like he can help someone anyway. Ash says,
33:40
Speaker 1: I was caught to singing. Kane saved my life. Lao
33:44
Speaker 1: turns to sing like scowling, and he's like, you left
33:47
Speaker 1: our guys to die and saved him instead. Yo, He's
33:51
Speaker 1: right there, sings like I didn't have a choice. He's
33:55
Speaker 1: pretty much right about that. Kane's like, there are more
33:58
Speaker 1: than twenty guys with them, and they're all pro too.
34:00
Speaker 1: We'd have gotten caught too if we tried anything. Blows like,
34:04
Speaker 1: since when are you Ashes Shadow Kane and Kane's like what.
34:08
Speaker 1: Caine's guys are also listening and they are hissed, and
34:12
Speaker 1: Loo's like, don't act like you aren't being bossed around
34:16
Speaker 1: by a white boy like that. He like spits gees wow.
34:20
Speaker 1: Ash is still there, by the way, tending to his
34:23
Speaker 1: wounds from this assault that he just went through while
34:26
Speaker 1: they are talking about him awesome, and one of the
34:31
Speaker 1: Black Sabbath guys is like, say that again, and another
34:33
Speaker 1: one is like, you're asking for it now. I actually
34:36
Speaker 1: really like Cane's guys. They're pretty fucking cool. And Jessica
34:40
Speaker 1: finally butts it in, is like, hey, there's no time
34:43
Speaker 1: for this. Ag is standing next to the very hurt Ash,
34:49
Speaker 1: watching all of this with concern, and while we are
34:54
Speaker 1: kind of on Ag and Ash, we hear the argument
34:58
Speaker 1: continuing and seeing just like stop but Lou and Lao
35:01
Speaker 1: says let me go, sing I can't stand this anymore.
35:05
Speaker 1: It's kind of continuing, and Ash gets to his feet
35:07
Speaker 1: and he slowly puts on his jean jacket and ages
35:11
Speaker 1: like Ash, and we hear Lao say, what the hell
35:15
Speaker 1: were you doing anyway? Saving Ash over your own guys.
35:18
Speaker 1: Ash straightens his jacket in size. Lao continues, you call
35:23
Speaker 1: yourself a real boss and sings like say that again,
35:27
Speaker 1: and finally Ash says nothing better to do. Huh. Everyone
35:31
Speaker 1: stops talking and looks over at him. He continues, you know,
35:36
Speaker 1: have it your way, but don't get in my way anymore.
35:39
Speaker 1: There's silence for a minute. Kane's like he's right. If
35:43
Speaker 1: you're not serious about this, get out. Lao makes kind
35:46
Speaker 1: of a tisk sound with his mouth. We cut to
35:49
Speaker 1: a stairwell and I guess Alloo and Sing are alone
35:54
Speaker 1: kind of downstairs in this darkened hallway, and Sing says,
36:00
Speaker 1: explained it to you already. Stop picking fights with Ash.
36:04
Speaker 1: Lyo's like, you're our boss, not him, and Sing says
36:09
Speaker 1: he's on a totally different level. He looks down. I
36:13
Speaker 1: can't calm down everyone with just a few words like
36:15
Speaker 1: he can. Those who have power take charge period. Lao
36:20
Speaker 1: says Shorter was never submissive to Ash and sings like, yeah,
36:26
Speaker 1: because they were best friends. I'm sick of being compared
36:29
Speaker 1: to someone who's already dead. He starts to walk away
36:32
Speaker 1: and miles like, I just want you to become the
36:35
Speaker 1: king of downtown. Oh Singh stops surprised. Shut up, it
36:39
Speaker 1: doesn't matter who's the boss. He turns back. We're just
36:42
Speaker 1: gonna get sucked dry by the LEAs and Golden anyway.
36:46
Speaker 1: If we don't fight back now, we'll be their expendable
36:48
Speaker 1: tools forever. There's a pause. Lao says, fine, have it
36:53
Speaker 1: your way, but I'll never bow down to Ashlings. I'll
36:57
Speaker 1: never acknowledge him, no matter what you say, and he
36:59
Speaker 1: like runs off, sings like LAO, where are you going?
37:03
Speaker 1: Lao runs up the stairs at this point, and as
37:06
Speaker 1: he's going, he passes Ash, who is on his way
37:09
Speaker 1: down and sing slams his fists on the banister and
37:12
Speaker 1: he's like shit. Realizing that Ash is there, he says,
37:16
Speaker 1: you're gonna say something like and you call yourself a boss? Right?
37:22
Speaker 1: She's like, nah, Alex is back, Come with me if
37:26
Speaker 1: you're in. He starts to walk away and sings like Ash,
37:31
Speaker 1: Hash stops, do you ever regret becoming the boss? Ash?
37:36
Speaker 1: Looks away all the time. Sing looks pretty surprised, But
37:44
Speaker 1: that is exactly the answer that I wanted him to give.
37:48
Speaker 1: In fact, when I watched it the first time, I
37:50
Speaker 1: was like, I hope, he says, like all the time,
37:52
Speaker 1: so I was happy. Anyway. We cut to a busy street,
37:57
Speaker 1: maybe the exterior of a kind of like graffiti looking,
38:01
Speaker 1: and we hear Lao saying I won't do it anymore.
38:05
Speaker 1: He is standing in a room with Yuelung, who is
38:08
Speaker 1: sitting and I think eating something. He continues. Why do
38:12
Speaker 1: I have to kill that little amateur kid, ue Lung says,
38:17
Speaker 1: because you can save the life of your precious Sing
38:20
Speaker 1: that way. Lao looks away. Ueilon continues, have you already forgotten?
38:26
Speaker 1: Lao says, I can't kill a guy who hasn't done anything.
38:29
Speaker 1: If you want me to kill ash, fine, but Uelun
38:32
Speaker 1: cuts him off. I regret to tell you this, but
38:35
Speaker 1: you lack the ability to do that. Lao exhales sharply,
38:40
Speaker 1: and Uelon continues, But that's fine, he smiles. I'll have
38:45
Speaker 1: other things for you to do for me. Lao pauses
38:47
Speaker 1: and then says a g okimura and Uelung splams his
38:51
Speaker 1: fist on the table and says he's no longer your concern.
38:55
Speaker 1: Just pretend you don't know anything no matter what happens.
38:58
Speaker 1: Lao looks shocked. We cut I guess A little bit later,
39:04
Speaker 1: still with Uelong picking up a wine glass, and he says,
39:08
Speaker 1: we still have two other scorpions. Fuck. He and Blanca
39:13
Speaker 1: are in a room now together, and he continues, unlike Lao,
39:18
Speaker 1: they know it's best for them, they'll do anything. Blanca
39:23
Speaker 1: is kind of looking off to the side with a
39:25
Speaker 1: furrowed brow, and Uie Lung says, you seem distressed, Blanca.
39:30
Speaker 1: Blanca kind of snaps back to reality and he's like, no,
39:33
Speaker 1: I'm just curious. Why do you despise a g O
39:37
Speaker 1: Kimura so much? Uie Lung says, you think he's ashes
39:41
Speaker 1: weak point too, don't you. Blanca is like I used to, yeah.
39:48
Speaker 1: Ui Lung's like you don't now. Blanca says, I'm not
39:53
Speaker 1: sure anymore. Ui Lung's like, it's best for Ash to
39:58
Speaker 1: return to them A sure. We are watching his wine
40:01
Speaker 1: glass as the light hits the liquid and kind of
40:05
Speaker 1: morphs into this kind of ghostly demonic form that I
40:08
Speaker 1: believe is supposed to be Ash and Yue Lung says,
40:12
Speaker 1: I want to see ash Rain as a great demon,
40:15
Speaker 1: a real heartless monster. It's my aspiration to fight tooth
40:18
Speaker 1: and nail with such a monster. I can't have him
40:21
Speaker 1: playing friendship like a fool. He sets the wine down
40:25
Speaker 1: hard enough that some of it splashes out at the top.
40:27
Speaker 1: He's an encumbrance. Blanca is just kind of calmly listening.
40:33
Speaker 1: Yw Elon continues, I'm a monster to Blanca. He opens
40:37
Speaker 1: the door and gets ready to leave the room. Good night. Fuck.
40:43
Speaker 1: We cut to the exterior of the National Mental Health
40:46
Speaker 1: Institute and there's like cranes and very much construction around.
40:52
Speaker 1: Dino is inside, looking out a really big window and
40:54
Speaker 1: he says, I see the construction is going smoothly Mannerhi'm's like, yes,
41:00
Speaker 1: the security system will be flawless this time. Dino says, hmm,
41:05
Speaker 1: nothing in the world is flawless, not as long as
41:08
Speaker 1: it's created by humans. That's true. Fox is there too,
41:11
Speaker 1: by the way, great, and he says, but this is
41:14
Speaker 1: quite a security system. Dino's like, the inmates here are
41:18
Speaker 1: all violent criminals. Fox kind of looks over and has
41:22
Speaker 1: a slight smirk on his face, and he's like, is
41:25
Speaker 1: that so? Dino kind of catches that something is up,
41:30
Speaker 1: and he says, why do you ask? Fox is like,
41:34
Speaker 1: forgive me, I was just being curious. Dino says, did
41:37
Speaker 1: the reporter spill yet? Fox is like, no, he's quite stubborn.
41:41
Speaker 1: I'll use the truth drug if necessary. Dino fully turns
41:45
Speaker 1: him at this point, because he'd just been kind of,
41:46
Speaker 1: you know, glancing at him, and he says, I must
41:49
Speaker 1: recover that data, no matter what it takes. Fox is like,
41:53
Speaker 1: leave it to me. As long as we have that, man,
41:56
Speaker 1: we can luer out your son. Dino's like his sentimental
42:00
Speaker 1: his shortcoming. Fox says, nothing in the world is flawless,
42:05
Speaker 1: or so you say, do you know, just kind of
42:08
Speaker 1: stares at him. We cut to a very beaten Max
42:12
Speaker 1: and he is suddenly kicked in the face and he
42:15
Speaker 1: falls to the floor and we see his hands are
42:16
Speaker 1: tied bind his back. By the way. He and two
42:20
Speaker 1: kind of mercenary type guys are in some sort of
42:22
Speaker 1: nondescript room in the institute. I'm sure one of the
42:27
Speaker 1: guys kicks him in the stomach and Max is wincing
42:31
Speaker 1: and shaking at this point, and we hear some footsteps
42:35
Speaker 1: and Fox says, you're holding out quite well, mister Lobo.
42:38
Speaker 1: Max looks over. Fox continues, you should thank the boy
42:43
Speaker 1: until we catch him. You get to stay alive. Max
42:46
Speaker 1: kind of groaning, gets to his feet and says, so
42:50
Speaker 1: he got away safely. Huh, that's a good one. He
42:53
Speaker 1: really got away. And he laughs, serves you right, and
42:56
Speaker 1: at that Fox punches him and he's like down on
42:59
Speaker 1: the floor. Fox says, you won't be laughing anymore. The
43:04
Speaker 1: two mercenary guys bend down and they grab Max. Fox,
43:08
Speaker 1: who is holding us a ring, says, we need you
43:10
Speaker 1: to be a bit more obedient, mister Lobo. We go
43:13
Speaker 1: to a hospital room where Robert I guess is recovering
43:17
Speaker 1: from being shot in the last episode, and he's reading
43:20
Speaker 1: some book called Desire of Fish. I just look that
43:24
Speaker 1: up to see if it's a real book, because I
43:25
Speaker 1: didn't think it was. It's not, and if you look
43:28
Speaker 1: it up you will mostly just get banana fish stuff,
43:32
Speaker 1: which is probably fun, so go ahead and do that,
43:34
Speaker 1: but it is not a real book. He hears the
43:37
Speaker 1: door open and he looks over and seems pleased. He says, Jessica,
43:42
Speaker 1: what a surprise, Ash and Jessica walk into the room,
43:46
Speaker 1: Ashes in that green suit that he's been wearing sometimes,
43:49
Speaker 1: and Jessica says, you're really looking well. Robert's like, Ash, Ash,
43:55
Speaker 1: I heard you saved me. Thank you, Ash exhales, and
43:59
Speaker 1: he says, I have some bad news. Do you know?
44:03
Speaker 1: Call Max. Robert's like what. We cut to the exterior
44:08
Speaker 1: of a bank, specifically the Rona Ma Dallion Bank, which
44:13
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure isn't a real name or thing, but
44:15
Speaker 1: that's fine. Then we cut to like a safe room
44:19
Speaker 1: and there's a guy pulling out a safe deposit box
44:22
Speaker 1: from like the wall, and there's another guy there too.
44:24
Speaker 1: They're both in suits. The guy set it down like
44:27
Speaker 1: on the table and he opens it and it's just empty. Yay,
44:31
Speaker 1: I think. The guy says it's gone, and then he
44:35
Speaker 1: turns to outside of the room where the bank dude
44:38
Speaker 1: is standing and he says, hey you. The bank dude
44:41
Speaker 1: turns and the second guy says, did anyone come here
44:44
Speaker 1: before us? The bank Guy's like, yeah, a woman and
44:48
Speaker 1: a young boy just this morning. They look shook. We
44:52
Speaker 1: cut to a close shot of a laptop plugged into
44:56
Speaker 1: an external hard drive and we see that jess Kah
45:00
Speaker 1: is looking at the screen. We can't see the screen,
45:02
Speaker 1: you know. We are looking at her from the front,
45:05
Speaker 1: so the computer is facing away from us. And she
45:08
Speaker 1: puts her hand on her head and she gasps kind
45:11
Speaker 1: of lightly. She is not having a good time. Ash,
45:16
Speaker 1: who was standing over by the door, says, makes you sick. Huh.
45:20
Speaker 1: Jessica's like, if this gets released, it'll throw the White
45:22
Speaker 1: House into an uproar. Good, it's just an unheard of
45:26
Speaker 1: level of scandal. She's kind of sweating. Ash says, this
45:31
Speaker 1: is our last resort. He walks over to her. All
45:34
Speaker 1: we can do is expose his connections to government officials.
45:37
Speaker 1: As long as we have this, Max is safe. I
45:40
Speaker 1: can't say for how long though. Jessica has a pretty
45:43
Speaker 1: somber expression on her face, and she looks down and
45:46
Speaker 1: then she closes her eyes and she says, how will
45:49
Speaker 1: they come for us? Ash is about to say something
45:53
Speaker 1: like he opens his mouth to say something, but Alex
45:55
Speaker 1: approaches and he says, Ash, everyone's here. Ash starts to
45:59
Speaker 1: leave the room, but Jessica says Ash, and he stops.
46:04
Speaker 1: Jessica's like that day were you? But she stops herself
46:10
Speaker 1: in size Sorry, it's it's nothing. Ash is still facing
46:15
Speaker 1: away from her, and he says, yeah, I was. You
46:21
Speaker 1: wanted to know if I was raped, right. Jessica seems
46:24
Speaker 1: pretty shocked, and she says, how are you being so
46:26
Speaker 1: calm about it? It took me six months just to
46:29
Speaker 1: kind of start getting back to normal again, and Ash says,
46:34
Speaker 1: I mean, if it took me that long, I'd just
46:36
Speaker 1: be dead. First he leaves, so before we continue, I
46:40
Speaker 1: just wanted to say that this is kind of what
46:42
Speaker 1: I was talking about in the beginning of this episode
46:46
Speaker 1: of the podcast with scars and stuff, where Jessica just
46:50
Speaker 1: doesn't know. She doesn't know that, like he is an
46:53
Speaker 1: absolute disaster emotionally and has not gotten over any of this,
46:58
Speaker 1: which is understandable and he probably has complex PTSD honestly,
47:04
Speaker 1: But yeah, that's all I wanted to say. We go
47:08
Speaker 1: to a game board of some sort of Chinese game
47:12
Speaker 1: which I looked up and I think it's jan Key
47:15
Speaker 1: maybe I don't know how to pronounce that. It's like
47:17
Speaker 1: a chess like game. Anyway, There's a hand on the
47:22
Speaker 1: board and it moves like a piece on it. It's
47:25
Speaker 1: very clearly Ue Lung's hand, by the way, and he
47:28
Speaker 1: says I'm not hearing any good news. We hear a
47:32
Speaker 1: voice say, Ash is always at that Japanese voice side,
47:35
Speaker 1: we can't get close. Ue Lung's like, you're wrong. Ash
47:39
Speaker 1: becomes tame when he's around. He's degraded from a loane
47:43
Speaker 1: links to a contented housecat. Get him. When they're alone together,
47:49
Speaker 1: Blanc is there too, and obviously this is those two
47:53
Speaker 1: Chinatown gang guys that are you know doing Yue Lung spidding,
47:56
Speaker 1: and Uelung taps the board with one of the little
47:59
Speaker 1: pieces from the game and says, you might even be
48:02
Speaker 1: able to get Ash too. The two of them gasp,
48:06
Speaker 1: and then they leave. When they're alone, Blanca says, you
48:10
Speaker 1: understand Ash's weak point very well. Ue lungs like, we
48:14
Speaker 1: go back a long way now. Maybe you're listening to
48:18
Speaker 1: this and you say, they don't go back that long.
48:20
Speaker 1: It's got to be over a year now, and they
48:22
Speaker 1: are kids, so maybe that feels like a long time anyway.
48:26
Speaker 1: Blanca says, but those two aren't going to be able
48:29
Speaker 1: to kill him. Ue Lung's like, but they might be
48:32
Speaker 1: able to kill ag. Blanca looks. Blanca looks, I only worried, honestly.
48:39
Speaker 1: We go back to Ash and the gangs who are
48:43
Speaker 1: all around this really big table. And Ash says construction
48:47
Speaker 1: work and Alex is like, yeah, and a lot of
48:49
Speaker 1: it too. Kin says, lucky for us, there are probably
48:53
Speaker 1: tons of trucks going in and out Singh says, the
48:56
Speaker 1: question is where are they locked up? Ash is like,
49:01
Speaker 1: I'm sure they're gonna contact us. I have something of
49:03
Speaker 1: his that he's gonna need back. We cut two coffee
49:07
Speaker 1: being poured out of a blue kettle into a blue cup,
49:11
Speaker 1: and we hear Ash say, you go with Jessica, have
49:14
Speaker 1: newsweeks shelter you. Ag puts down the kettle and takes
49:17
Speaker 1: a sip out of the cup. He and Ash are
49:20
Speaker 1: in a small bedroom together. Ash says I'm not gonna
49:25
Speaker 1: take no for an answer. Agy finishes drinking and says
49:29
Speaker 1: I know. Ash looks pretty surprised at this, and Ag continues,
49:33
Speaker 1: I'll go with Jessica. I think it's best too. Ash
49:37
Speaker 1: closes the gap between them, and then he stares at
49:41
Speaker 1: Ag intently with his arms crossed, and he's like, you
49:45
Speaker 1: don't have to be so suspicious. It kind of scratches
49:47
Speaker 1: his face. I mean, I guess last time was well,
49:52
Speaker 1: but not this time, I promise. Ash still looks kind
49:57
Speaker 1: of piste off for a second, and then the size
50:00
Speaker 1: this time, Oh okay, sure this time? All right? Yeah,
50:06
Speaker 1: you sure were something last time, Big bro Ag kind
50:10
Speaker 1: of sighs uncomfortably and blushes. We go back to Blanca,
50:13
Speaker 1: who is in a room putting a gun in his
50:16
Speaker 1: jagged pocket, and u Along is standing behind him in
50:19
Speaker 1: the doorway. Blanca turns surprised, and Uelung says, it sounds
50:24
Speaker 1: like you not to notice me coming, Blanca. Blanca's like,
50:27
Speaker 1: it's because I wasn't hiding anything. That's kind of a
50:30
Speaker 1: weird thing to say. But sure you, Along says, where
50:33
Speaker 1: are you going? He kind of frowns. Depending on your answer,
50:37
Speaker 1: I may not forgive you. Blanca is like, you mustn't
50:42
Speaker 1: kill ag O komoda. We go back to Ash at
50:46
Speaker 1: Ag and Ag is sitting on the bed and Ash
50:48
Speaker 1: is standing and Ag kind of has his head down
50:51
Speaker 1: and he says, in the end, we all have to
50:53
Speaker 1: rely on you again. I wish I could take your place.
50:57
Speaker 1: I didn't want to make you hold a gun anymore.
51:00
Speaker 1: You go back to Uelung and Blanca and you Aelung
51:02
Speaker 1: says it's too late. Blanca says nothing, but steps forward
51:07
Speaker 1: and just walks right past you along. Uelung looks so hurt,
51:15
Speaker 1: and he turns and says, Blanca, don't go. Blanca stops
51:21
Speaker 1: forgive me, mister ue Lung. Ue Lung says, you don't
51:25
Speaker 1: even know where they are. This is totally futile, and
51:27
Speaker 1: Blanca is like, you may be right, but I'll check
51:30
Speaker 1: all the places I can think of. U a Lung
51:33
Speaker 1: looks pissed, but then his face kind of falls and
51:36
Speaker 1: he says, Peer four, the warehouse by the fish market.
51:42
Speaker 1: Blanca gasps and turns back, thank you. He leaves. We
51:48
Speaker 1: cut two. Ash's hand as Ash is saying, my hands
51:52
Speaker 1: are dripping with blood. The credits start to roll, the
51:55
Speaker 1: blood of the innumerable people that I've killed. Agy's like,
51:59
Speaker 1: but you had to or you would have been killed.
52:02
Speaker 1: Ash says, my father always said I was a troublemaker.
52:06
Speaker 1: I'll only cause problems for you, just like I am
52:08
Speaker 1: right now. Ag furrows his brow and stands, you really
52:13
Speaker 1: think I care as if I would? You know that
52:16
Speaker 1: better than anyone. I don't want to lose you. I
52:19
Speaker 1: do anything for you. Ash's eyes widen at that, because,
52:24
Speaker 1: let's face it, he just doesn't believe that anyone cares
52:26
Speaker 1: about him. And then we go to a gun being
52:29
Speaker 1: cocked and we see those two Chinatown guys and they're
52:33
Speaker 1: getting ready for action somewhere in a darkened area. We
52:35
Speaker 1: go back to Ag as he says, Ash, come with
52:38
Speaker 1: me to Japan. You won't need to have a gun there.
52:41
Speaker 1: You could be reborn, you can be free. I don't
52:44
Speaker 1: want to make you fight anymore. I don't want you
52:46
Speaker 1: facing any more danger. Ash looks at him and smiles
52:52
Speaker 1: really calmly, and he says thanks, and then with a
52:58
Speaker 1: slight pained look on it, Space continues, I wanted to
53:03
Speaker 1: be like you two. I've always wished that I could
53:05
Speaker 1: have lived a more normal life. AG's like, you can.
53:11
Speaker 1: It's not too late. You could do anything. Ash size.
53:15
Speaker 1: Then you'll have to teach me Japanese. AG kind of
53:19
Speaker 1: like half gas laps and says, of course, you get
53:23
Speaker 1: it down in no time. Ash is like, I'm not
53:26
Speaker 1: so sure. Vowels are like the kid to Japanese, right
53:29
Speaker 1: like gie zumo. AG laughs, it's e zoomo. Ash says,
53:35
Speaker 1: ease zoom. We go the hallway where the two Chinatown
53:41
Speaker 1: gang guys are walking, and then We cut to a
53:44
Speaker 1: piece of paper with some Japanese scribbled on it and
53:47
Speaker 1: someone holding a pencil, and I can read the Japanese
53:51
Speaker 1: and it says ohiogazamasu, and then under that kunichi wa,
53:54
Speaker 1: and then under that colban wa, Yeah. Now you know,
53:58
Speaker 1: I'm so excited that I could read that. It's not
54:00
Speaker 1: that hard. Ash is like, what's this? AG says the
54:04
Speaker 1: basic greetings. They're like sitting at a table looking at
54:07
Speaker 1: paper and in English says, nice to meet you. This
54:11
Speaker 1: is really weird because they're doing it backwards. They're like
54:13
Speaker 1: saying the Japanese things in English and the English things
54:16
Speaker 1: in Japanese very odd. And Ash's like, oh, I don't
54:19
Speaker 1: want to say that much. And then in English says
54:21
Speaker 1: how are you fine? Thank you, and he's like smirking,
54:25
Speaker 1: and Agy's like, who taught you those phrases? And Ash
54:28
Speaker 1: says eBay son. We kind of cut back into the
54:32
Speaker 1: hallway for a second and then pull back to them,
54:34
Speaker 1: and we see that the door is open to the room,
54:36
Speaker 1: which is probably not a great idea, and it seems
54:39
Speaker 1: like maybe it's been a couple of minutes. They're still
54:42
Speaker 1: talking about Japanese, but they're talking about other Japanese. Now
54:45
Speaker 1: Aig says, okay, here's how you say goodbye, sig yo
54:50
Speaker 1: ooh nada, and Ash says si yo nada. Really guys.
54:59
Speaker 1: AG suddenly looks past Ash and his expression like falls
55:04
Speaker 1: into panic and he says watch out. At this point,
55:07
Speaker 1: the ending theme starts up. Ag pushes Ash out of
55:10
Speaker 1: the way, just in time to get shot himself in
55:13
Speaker 1: the stomach. Ash gasps and stares in horror as AG collapses.
55:17
Speaker 1: In slow motion, we cuts to Alex, Kan and Jessica
55:20
Speaker 1: as they hear him scream AG. Both of the guys
55:26
Speaker 1: are firing on him now, and one of them shoots
55:28
Speaker 1: him in like the lower torso area, kind of in
55:31
Speaker 1: the appendix area, except on the other side. I don't
55:34
Speaker 1: know what that would be. And as this is happening,
55:37
Speaker 1: Ash pulls out his gun and he takes one of
55:39
Speaker 1: them out. Immediately. The guy goes down and he's shooting
55:42
Speaker 1: him still even though he's totally dead. The other guy
55:46
Speaker 1: like runs out screaming. As Kan and Alex arrive at
55:49
Speaker 1: the door, Ash runs past them and after him. Alex
55:53
Speaker 1: looks into the room and he's like AG. We cut
55:55
Speaker 1: back to the guy who is running and calling for help,
55:58
Speaker 1: which is ridiculous, and he just doesn't get very far
56:01
Speaker 1: before Ash shoots him in the head. Everyone is in
56:03
Speaker 1: the hallway now and Sing is like Shao Ti. Shao
56:08
Speaker 1: Ti is now dead on the ground and Ash is
56:10
Speaker 1: just shooting and shooting and shooting his dead body over
56:13
Speaker 1: and over again, just full of rage. Sing runs up
56:17
Speaker 1: and blocks the dude's corpse with his body. Stop. Lao's like, Sing, no,
56:23
Speaker 1: watch out. Ash says, out of my way and sings
56:28
Speaker 1: like stop, he's already dead. Ash points the gun at Sing,
56:32
Speaker 1: and Loo's like no, and he raises his gun, but
56:34
Speaker 1: Ash fucking shoots him in the hand to knock the
56:37
Speaker 1: gun out of it. Sing, of course, is like Lao,
56:40
Speaker 1: and then Ash just takes a really pained breath and
56:43
Speaker 1: turns back. Sing calls after him. Ash walks back into
56:48
Speaker 1: the room where Jessica, Alex, and Kane are kind of
56:51
Speaker 1: hovering over Ag. I think AG's head is in Jessica's lap,
56:54
Speaker 1: and Jessica says, hold on. Alex is like AG and
56:59
Speaker 1: they're is just a lot of blood and there's also
57:02
Speaker 1: a lot of blood pouring out of Ash's wound as well.
57:06
Speaker 1: Ash falls to his knees and leans over Ag and
57:09
Speaker 1: he's like ag ag Ag is probably passed out. Jessica's
57:15
Speaker 1: like call nine one one. At this point, Ag opens
57:19
Speaker 1: his eyes and he looks like he's in pain and
57:22
Speaker 1: he says Ash. Ash nods. He continues, you're safe. I'm
57:28
Speaker 1: so glad. He closes his eyes again, and Ash's eyes
57:32
Speaker 1: widen and he's like ag ag. As the commotion continues,
57:38
Speaker 1: we briefly cut to the paper that they've been practicing
57:41
Speaker 1: Japanese on, and then we go to the title card
57:44
Speaker 1: as I lay dying, and that's it. Yay, okay, closing thoughts.
57:54
Speaker 1: So let's start at the end. So when I watch
58:00
Speaker 1: this episode the first time, I had just listened to
58:03
Speaker 1: the lyrics to the ending theme for the first time
58:08
Speaker 1: earlier that day, and I started like bawling. This was
58:14
Speaker 1: the last thing that I did before I went to
58:15
Speaker 1: sleep watched this episode. So I just went upstairs and
58:19
Speaker 1: cried as I brushed my teeth, and then I just
58:21
Speaker 1: cried and cried and cried for a while, and then
58:23
Speaker 1: I fell asleep, and then at about three am, I
58:26
Speaker 1: woke up and I cried about the earlier scenes that
58:30
Speaker 1: I cried about earlier in this episode. So yeah, this
58:35
Speaker 1: was a lot for me. Obviously this is bad, right,
58:39
Speaker 1: I mean, of course it's bad, But I wanted to
58:41
Speaker 1: talk about the events leading to it with Ash Nag
58:46
Speaker 1: practicing Japanese because I think that after watching it like
58:51
Speaker 1: a third time, I picked up on something that I
58:54
Speaker 1: hadn't before, which is Ash is protesting about, you know,
59:01
Speaker 1: like how like Japan isn't gonna work out basically, and
59:06
Speaker 1: She's like no, like you'd start over and all the shit.
59:08
Speaker 1: And eventually Ash gives up, right, Like, we know that
59:13
Speaker 1: he fawns a lot, and this is kind of like
59:15
Speaker 1: he stopped wanting to have the fight that they were having,
59:19
Speaker 1: not that it was like a real fight. I mean
59:21
Speaker 1: it was just a conversation about something that would be
59:24
Speaker 1: totally normal if it wasn't this situation. So he just
59:29
Speaker 1: eventually decides like he's gonna let Ag have this and
59:33
Speaker 1: you know, practice Japanese. Then we know that Ash is
59:38
Speaker 1: lying because when he lies, he gets really quiet, and
59:43
Speaker 1: we know that because Ag knows that because I think
59:48
Speaker 1: it was in like maybe episode eighteen. It was after
59:51
Speaker 1: age he had been shot and Ash was like leaving
59:54
Speaker 1: the room and Ag was thinking about how he just
59:58
Speaker 1: gets terribly quiet when he So the consistency and the
1:00:05
Speaker 1: characters is really really good here because Ash doesn't believe
1:00:13
Speaker 1: he's going to go to Japan at all. And if
1:00:18
Speaker 1: we understand AG as someone who is very empathetic, which
1:00:24
Speaker 1: he is and actually gets Ash really well, which he does,
1:00:31
Speaker 1: that means that AG knows that Ash doesn't think he's
1:00:35
Speaker 1: going to be able to go to Japan either, and
1:00:37
Speaker 1: that this is just performative on both of their ends,
1:00:42
Speaker 1: which is so so sad. Yeah, and also of course
1:00:53
Speaker 1: when he's like, you know, I do anything for you
1:00:56
Speaker 1: kind of deal in, Ash is surprised by that. You know.
1:01:00
Speaker 1: He doesn't believe anyone cares, not really, not even AG.
1:01:04
Speaker 1: And I mean it's not to discredit AG, because all
1:01:08
Speaker 1: AG has done are things that prove that he cares.
1:01:14
Speaker 1: But sometimes I think when you hate yourself that much,
1:01:17
Speaker 1: there's just not much anyone can do to convince you otherwise.
1:01:23
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think the only other thing I wanted
1:01:28
Speaker 1: to talk about is just Yue Lung and his insanity.
1:01:33
Speaker 1: It's important to remember that he is maybe sixteen, sixteen
1:01:39
Speaker 1: or seventeen at this point. He's pretty young. I mean, obviously,
1:01:44
Speaker 1: so is Ash, and he's not having little tantrums about
1:01:48
Speaker 1: people being happier than him, but not everybody develops at
1:01:53
Speaker 1: the same time, I guess. But Yue Lung, he's just
1:01:58
Speaker 1: so messed up. I think he really relished in the
1:02:03
Speaker 1: idea that someone else could be as messed up as him,
1:02:06
Speaker 1: you know, like that there was someone who had been
1:02:10
Speaker 1: hurt and beaten down as much as he had and
1:02:14
Speaker 1: had also tried to rise up, but was also completely alone.
1:02:21
Speaker 1: And the idea that Ash, who is also kind of
1:02:26
Speaker 1: a disaster and kind of a monster, as U A
1:02:29
Speaker 1: Lung feels like he is. The idea that Ash could
1:02:32
Speaker 1: have someone who truly cared about him, and that he
1:02:38
Speaker 1: could express so much, you know, softness back to that person.
1:02:44
Speaker 1: I think it offends u a Long on a very
1:02:47
Speaker 1: personal level. I think it confuses him because he doesn't
1:02:51
Speaker 1: understand how that's even possible. And I mean, obviously I
1:02:55
Speaker 1: think he's jealous of just having someone who actually cares.
1:02:58
Speaker 1: I mean, I know, so he I feel like at
1:03:01
Speaker 1: this point in the anime, he really values Blanca, Like
1:03:05
Speaker 1: he kind of feels like Blanc is that person who's
1:03:08
Speaker 1: gonna be like there with him and take care of him.
1:03:12
Speaker 1: But it's just the job, you know, and Blanca is
1:03:15
Speaker 1: probably concerned about you along, but it's just a fucking job.
1:03:19
Speaker 1: To him, this isn't real, and he wants to be
1:03:25
Speaker 1: seen the same way that Ash gets to and he
1:03:29
Speaker 1: can't be then I guess he wants Ash to not
1:03:33
Speaker 1: be able to as well. You know, I don't think
1:03:36
Speaker 1: I'm saying anything that's really that groundbreaking here, but I
1:03:41
Speaker 1: do feel really bad for him. I mean, he's kind
1:03:43
Speaker 1: of a piece of shit. You can't just kill Agy.
1:03:47
Speaker 1: It's not a nice thing to do. And really, Ash
1:03:53
Speaker 1: a g Ash is gang. None of those people have
1:03:56
Speaker 1: done anything to him. He should just leave them alone.
1:04:01
Speaker 1: So I don't like him, but I feel for him
1:04:05
Speaker 1: because he's also just so horribly fucked up. So I
1:04:12
Speaker 1: think that's all I have for this episode. Yeah those
1:04:15
Speaker 1: were some cries, huh. Yeah, So I guess thank you
1:04:22
Speaker 1: for listening to this. I don't know how you're getting
1:04:25
Speaker 1: through these, but I appreciate you for you know, sticking
1:04:29
Speaker 1: with me and sticking with this. And I'll see you
1:04:33
Speaker 1: next week for twenty three, which is not any less sad,
1:04:38
Speaker 1: I promise, so look forward to that, I guess. And yeah,
1:04:45
Speaker 1: I hope you have just the best whatever you can have.
1:04:49
Speaker 1: Later weeps