Filthy Casual for Life

EPISODE 8: RELOAD

In the hospital, Taichiro is talking to the doctors. Asuma had some blood vessels behind his eyes ruptured explaining the bleeding eyes. The doctor assures Tachiro that everything is fine. Meanwhile, a pillow explains the white feathers swarming the room. Asuma explains it was boring in the hospital, so he tore up the pillow. Asuma thanks Taichiro for visiting. He also apologizes for lying to Taichiro. He confesses that he does play Planet and that he does enjoy it. He considers Planet his home. At that moment, Taichiro calls him by his gamer tag, AAAAA. Taichiro confesses that he is Ichi.

Asuma confesses that he looked up to Taichiro. As a child, Asuma found it hard to make friends and to show emotions. On the other hand, Taichiro was surrounded by friends. Asuma tells Taichiro that he was the light in his life and that all changed when he became a shut-in.

Realizing Taichiro and Ichi are the same person, he hugs Taichiro and immediately wants to run a dungeon with him. Taichiro declines and tells Asuma he is still too weak. On the way home, they have something in common and worth talking about. Realizing that Taichiro is part of the Akabane family has allowed him to find the sun in the real world. While waiting for the bus, Asuma realizes he doesn’t have change for the bus. Taichiro grabs the money and says he will bring back change. While waiting on Taichiro, the mysterious girl shows up and tells Asuma to not log into Planet.

Asuma doesn’t heed the warning. He picks up his headset when he gets home and puts it on. He notices that his login no longer works and calls Taichiro to help him. He takes off the headset wondering where Taichiro went. When Asuma turns around, the Black Bird is there. He runs around the house looking for Taichiro. When he goes outside, he receives a message. Durability test commencing. A truck is heading straight for him. Taichiro goes to Asuma’s room and finds Asuma on the floor bleeding from the eyes.

As Taichiro freaks out, the mysterious girl appears. She introduces herself as his father’s subordinate. She tells Taichiro that his brother is dead. She begins to explain what the Black Bird is and what it does. It infects the mind and causes the player to die. The Black Bird draws the mind into what she called the “bird cage” and the mind cannot be freed. Just as Taichiro is trying to come to terms, he notices that Asuma is not dead. He is breathing and his hand twitched.

Back in the bird cage, the Black Bird is running its durability tests. However, Asuma is not freely dying in the simulation. As Taichiro pleads with his dad’s subordinate, she asks him if he is willing to die in Asuma’s place. He immediately responds with a yes. To save Asuma, he transports into the Bird Cage. As Asuma is about to be killed by a truck, Ichi steps in front of it and disposes of the truck. He tells Asuma the world he is in isn’t real. Ichi battles a few of the Black Bird’s minions and defeats them with the help of light that cuts the link between the Black Bird and the Bird Cage.

After disconnecting the Black Bird from the Black Cage, Asuma returns to the real world, except he learns at a price. Ichi lets go of his hand as Asuma floats away. In the real world, Asuma wakes up.

THOUGHTS

Wow. Not what I was expecting. I was sure Asuma escaped the Black Bird’s grasp. Unfortunately, he did not heed the warning and still put the headset on. It was heartwarming to see the brothers instantly mended from years of dysfunction. It warmed my heart to see how much Asuma loved his brother and how he revered him. It’s hard when our heroes fall from grace. While it may have shocked some, it did not shock me that Taichiro was willing to give his life to save his brother. Taichiro is well aware of his inability to function in the real world. It did not surprise me that he would give up his life so that his brother had a chance.

PREVIOUS EPISODES

Episode 1: LOG IN
Episode 2: ERROR
Episode 3: INSTALL
Episode 4: UPGRADE
Episode 5: VIRUS
Episode 6: REMOVE
Episode 7: BAN