[DreamSword]

Episode #7: Friend

I personally would've titled this one "Resolve" but hey, sure.

Because that's essentially the overall theme of the episode: A reaffirmation of what drives each player to continue with the game despite everything.

And of course, Kuon's' is the one that's the most sympathetic even if he's not entirely sure of himself at this point. And it'd be a tough situation for anyone who doesn't know the proper way to honor the memory of someone important.

By contrast, the motives of everyone who's not the streamer are entirely simplistic or selfish. Fight for the sake of it. Fight to kill. Fight to reaffirm your delusions. And I think the show does a solid job at showcasing the intensity of these emotions while not making any one of them look glamorous.

Speaking of character development though, I rather liked the scene where Kuon meets the Makai Alchemist from before, and tells her rather politely that he's not putting up with her nonsense again. Once again, it's a great reaffirmation of character. Kuon isn't about to let the memory of Koshiai be clouded in Inga again. Not after everything that's happened.

It's also fun to see how the people running the game aren't even bothering with subtlety anymore. Both the previous "game" and this one are literally just "kill eachother so we don't have to." And you know, the masquerade has been totally broken at this point, so why even bother, right? Plus to it results in some more utterly sick wirework and stunts and this franchise is known for, so I ain't about to complain. Keep the fancy sword fights coming!

If nothing else, I'm so glad that this show isn't boring.