[SPLIT LIP]

Hell yeah, FangJoker! Hopefully we get to see the actual transformation next week.

Not sure how I feel about the resolution between Tokime and Philip... mostly because Philip was absolutely right. Tokime is just a random girl who showed up, got slotted into their dynamic, and then royally screws up at the worst time. She doesn't actually do anything, either. I would be a bit more sympathetic if she didn't then snap back at Philip with a nonsensical retort. Philip was fighting as W, all Tokime had to do was not leave the client alone. She doesn't really have a case, yet manages to get sympathy and an apology for basically nothing. It's good that she tried to save Megu but it felt very ham-fisted. I recall her being similarly flat and purposeless in the manga and that hadn't changed by the time I reached the end of the fanlations. She's really just there for fanservice and causing somewhat pointless drama.

Then again it does make Philip come across as an even bigger person that he acknowledged his jealously, processed it, and was man enough to apologize. It's reminding me why I love post-series content like this. Philip has matured emotionally, and while he's not exactly what you'd call "normal," he's lacking the arrogance he once had and is committed to his job and his partner enough to set aside any personal feelings. I don't feel like early or mid-series Philip would be this self-aware and humble.

Also finally we see Terui Ryu and... they didn't even try to get a VA who sounds like him. Still, he rocks, and I'm with Akiko on watching him shoot the bugs. Due to my hazy memories of the manga I didn't expect Fang at the end and thought it might be Accel but oh well. I do know Terui gets time to shine later on.

The villain was also something I forgot. I'm actually surprised how not mean-spirited this take on an angry gamer is. Not as risen up/bottom text as I expected. He's not pitiable because he's a gamer, he's just an asshole and his chosen outlet is never called into question. Megu never had to say "they leveled up." (shoutout to circa 2010 SVU and it's sophisticated accuracy in regards to human interaction) He's still less of a douchebag than LTG though so he's got that going for him.