Meeting Date: 11/21/2020
Disclaimer: The Herald Anime Club discusses shows in a generally unmoderated format. Naturally, there will be spoilers for a given episode. You have been warned!
Samantha Ferreira: Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Herald Anime Club. I’m Samantha, and I’m here with Anthony.
Anthony Simpson: Evening.
Samantha Ferreira: Tonight, we’re heading back to Tokyo to talk up Ikebukuro West Gate Park episode 6: “Beastars season 2 is surprisingly brutal,” or “A wild plot appears!”
Anthony Simpson: Talk about quite the change from the previous episodes we have seen.
Samantha Ferreira: Right? That opening was nuts. This new gang just standing in the road, smashing the G-Boys’ windshield in, dragging them out, then beating them senseless was intense. And it just kept building from there.
It feels like they finally found something to really latch on to.
Anthony Simpson: I was wondering if we were going to see some type of gang violence. All I have to say if I want more of this in my veins.
Samantha Ferreira: Truth. Like, from the moment we saw that intro where the G-Boys and Red Angels squaring off, it felt like it was inevitable.
I’m glad they’re finally going there, and that they were able to build it well. Like, there are no good guys or bad guys in this one.
Anthony Simpson: All just shades of gray this time around.
Samantha Ferreira: Truth. I’m genuinely curious to see how this works out, given Hiroto (sorry, “Knight”) seems dead set on bringing the chaos.
Anthony Simpson: Yeah, Knight wants to just stir shit up.
Samantha Ferreira: Definitely. I’m kind of curious to see how it plays out, especially with Donglong now being sucked into things. It feels like the back half will be this all-out war and I’m all here for it.
Anthony Simpson: As bad things are getting, an all-out gang war is all but inevitable at this point.
Samantha Ferreira: Definitely.
Anthony Simpson: I mean considering how these gang members are getting brutally attacked.
Samantha Ferreira: Truth. And they don’t know who the culprit is, leading to some real distrust.
Speaking of all-but-inevitable, I kind of want to see where that movie Makoto’s acting in goes.
Anthony Simpson: Everyone is a suspect here and its a tinder box with just how easy it would be to set things off.
Samantha Ferreira: Truth.
Anthony Simpson: Part of me thinks it is someone in G-boys who is causing all the problems.
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise. I’m thinking it’s someone with ambitions of toppling Hiroto and Takeshi to be the new King.
Anthony Simpson: Part of me thinks it is Knight who is pulling the strings in all of this.
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise.
Anthony Simpson: Knight obviously wants to be in charge and if he could pull off an attack similar to Michael Corleone in The Godfather (sans the guns and likely killing) he would be in essence be the most powerful in terms of the gangs.
Samantha Ferreira: Definitely. He could easily use the chaos to wrest control.
Speaking of all-but-inevitable, I know I’m repeating myself, but I kind of want to see where that movie Makoto’s acting in is going.
Anthony Simpson: I’m curious about that movie as well. I wonder if we will get to see more of it in next episode or see more of it down the road.
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise. On that note, that was a surprisingly poignant commentary on video stores.
Anthony Simpson: Who knew that with gang violence being front and center we would get more social commentary about video stores.
Samantha Ferreira: Right? Just out of nowhere “in this world of streaming video, this is the last gasp of video stores”.
Anthony Simpson: Speaking of gang violence I have to say that I was glad they had the violence so visceral this time despite the brutality of it.
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise. It felt like they were just beating around the bush for so much of the show.
Anthony Simpson: Yes then they just let it all flood out here.
Samantha Ferreira: Agreed. Up until now, it felt like it was “good guy gangs” with “good guy gangs” with “honorable Yakuza” – like… there’s been a remarkable amount of sugar to gloss over ugly reality that these are gangs and shit will happen.
Anthony Simpson: It was only a matter of time before things got bad. Kind of like how things went in the Godfather in some regards.
Samantha Ferreira: Indeed. I’m hoping it keeps up this pace, though.
Anthony Simpson: I hope so as well. Per ANN the same writer for this episode is also doing episode 7 so I have some faith that they will be able to keep up the pace.
Samantha Ferreira: Likewise. At the very least, we get some cool action scenes.
Anthony Simpson: Yeah, the action scenes here were a high point this time around.
Samantha Ferreira: Agreed. Though it was all surprisingly compelling.
Aniwho, any final thoughts this week?
Anthony Simpson: I just hope they can keep up it up for the next episode.
Samantha Ferreira: Same. That’d be a letdown, to say lightly, if they didn’t. Anyway, that wraps things up for this week. Til next time, remember: If you see a dude in a bunny mask, run.
Have a great night!
Anthony Simpson: Good night.
