Build vs Build continues this week as we learn more about the reasoning behind Katsuragi Shinobu’s decision to side with Evolt. Along the way, there is a lot of interpersonal drama, packed in between action pieces that show what Build’s basic forms could be capable of. According to Shinobu, the Build Driver was originally built for him, and as such he has a better understanding of the basic forms than Sento ever did. He demonstrates this by nearly defeating Sento, Banjou, Kazumin, and Gentoku in a 4-on-1 fight. Also important to note is that, in this encounter, Sento and Banjou are both using their ultimate forms. Shinobu only survives the encounter because Sento intervenes and nearly kills Banjou in the process.
Without Vernage’s healing powers, and with conflicting views on what to do about Shinobu, the group is more divided than ever this week. Banjou spends much of the episode comatose, while Gentoku and Kazumin scheme and plot on their own about what to do. The implication, at first, is that the two men would have simply let Banjou kill Shinobu, and erased a major player from the game. Sento, obviously, disagrees with this sentiment and insists there must be another way to get things done, even as he begins to truly doubt his faith in his mission for the first time.
There is a certain degree of emotional intensity to the whole thing as Banjou lay in a bed, critically injured, and Misora reveals that she cannot heal him as she’d done in the past. In other words, no more mulligans. From here on, they are doing this for real, or not at all. There would be no second chances coming from Vernage’s powers, and Banjou could easily still lose control thanks to his newly-strengthened link to Evolt. Misora’s part in this episode is a large one, as she goes to her father with questions about Vernage’s power, only to become a Lost Smash using the CD Lost bottle.
Sento is unable to save her by conventional means, in this case, due to the complications from the Martian queen inside Misora’s body. He learns this during another encounter with Shinobu, in which the seeds of doubt being sown lead to basic RabbitTank Build overpowering Genius form. Sento is left literally crying on the ground, before Banjou’s perfect timing allows him to tag in, motivate Sento, and save the day. After another short battle, the team figures out what to do, and the plan is put into action.
A devastating finishing move leaves Shinobu thinking that Sento would simply kill two of his closest allies, if it meant keeping the bottle out of Evolt’s hands, only for Sento’s true plan to reveal itself when Banjou gets up and complains about the heat. Magma form does not make him immune to heat inside the armour, it seems, and as the flames fade, so do Banjou’s complaints, though Misora remains largely out of combat from here on. She is awake, she is herself, and Sento claims the bottle as an additional prize. At this point, he also reaches Hazard Level 7 and we see him take a gold Rabbit bottle.
But with the new developments that result from this incident, including Vernage and Evolt now both being part of Banjou, what is to come next? The preview for next week’s episode indicates that Episode 44 will be the end of the Build vs Build subplot, and this combined with Gentoku and Kazumin’s capture, will make for an interesting episode to be sure.
What did you think of this week’s Build? Leave your thoughts below and let’s discuss!
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