Filthy Casual for Life

EPISODE 5: VIRUS

The Pirates are officially disbanded. Instead of helping Ichi, she abandons him to deal with Shigatera. Shigatera divulges that many of the infiltrators of the Pirates are actually an Anti-Pico group that banded together on social media. Leon of Granada admits that he is not after money like Shigatera. Instead, he did it for the purity of the game. Pico arrives to get Shigatera’s side of the story. Shigatera admits that he is going to quit the game. In a turn of events, Pico tells him not to quit. They will avoid each other and still play. Shigatera lets his real personality show. He looks down on all of the other players who use the game to bring a smile to their faces. As he continues to berate the others, Ichi shows up.

In another turn of events, Ichi decides to join the Pirates.

Back in his lab, Taichiro (Ichi)’s father tells his assistant to cancel the 300-million yen prize for defeating the Black Bird.

Back in Planet, Ichi tells Pico he has one condition to joining the Pirates. That condition is to be the guild master. Ichi plans to rebuild the Pirates as a much smaller guild with people they can trust. He mentions to Pico that he can be in her guild because the Akabane family is not an official guild.

Just as they recruit their first members, Shigatera emerges with the Pirate’s secret weapon, The Pirate Centurion.

Back in the lab, Taichiro (Ichi)’s father asks his assistant why Ichi is logged in. He was supposed to be blocked from logging in.

Switching back to the Pirate’s ship, Ichi continues to battle against Shigatera and the Centurion. Ichi uses one of his moves to pin the Centurion down. Shigatera asks Leon of Granada for help, but he refuses as he wants to maintain his relationship with Shiro. Ichi asks Pico why she isn’t mad. She wants to say because it’s just a game, but she knows she would lose Ichi again. Pico daydreams about what it would be like to meet Ichi in person.

Pico then tells Ichi how to defeat the Centurion. Like any tower defense game, the flag must be destroyed. She tells him it is in the captain’s quarters and heads that way. Ichi then tells her that he has been overly attached to the game. Otherwise, he would have met her years ago. As she enters the captain’s quarters, there to meet her is none other than Shiro.

THOUGHTS

There were a few twists and turns in this episode. I never thought Ichi would give in and help Pico restore the Pirates. Does this mean he is forming an attachment to Pico that could help him return to the real world? Shigatera’s mindset is not all alarming. I think many people feel as he does in MMORPGs. There are always people who can distance themselves from virtual connections. There are those that feel those virtual connections are just as real and those in the real world. As in previous episodes, there is foreshadowing of Shiro/Kojiro’s abusive nature. When his assistant fails to block Ichi, she asks him to hit her which tells me he has done it before. This anime highlights how one abusive person can change the dynamic of an entire family.

PREVIOUS EPISODES

Episode 1: LOG IN
Episode 2: ERROR
Episode 3: INSTALL
Episode 4: UPGRADE