Oh, the embarrassment!
Episode Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (5/5)
And with this, we reach the end of another arc. Even though the revelation of "Hison = Yoshiki-san" was really obvious, it seemed that Renji and Narumi were too stupid to figure it out. It almost makes Alice seem "average" since many viewers out there could already figure this out. It was also obvious that The Fourth was not going to die from the attack. If I went on to talk about the other "obvious" events, I could talk for hours and still have things to say (*cough* exaggeration *cough*). Anyways, a good ending to a story always satisfies me, and this episode was no different. The start of a new arc next episode or a filler?
So it seems like The Fourth's plan of protecting the concert venue by sending all his men to guard it backfired since he is in the hospital right now. And due to his injury, everybody, especially his subordinates, is now in a state of confusion. Feeling guilty about being somewhat responsible, Mika, one of the band girls, informs Narumi about her decision to take care of everything related to the band here on out. She then asks him to e-mail her everything regarding the concert that The Fourth had. For Narumi, that isn't the hard part; seeing the destruction in The Fourth's office is a different story. Nonetheless, he focuses on the task at hand and starts to use the computer. However, he sees that The Fourth had already been preparing to send him the information, with the attack being the only thing that prevented it. On the way back to Hanamaru, Narumi remembers The Fourth telling him that, if something happened, Narumi would be in charge of the Group. Because of these words, Narumi gets the confidence to stand up the rest of the Group, rebuking them for being so hot-headed and not thinking things through when they declare that they are going to kill Renji since they know where he is now. With a new sense of leadership, Narumi and his words of wisdom are able to earn him respect and convince the others that rushing towards Renji would be pointless, with the possibility of Renji revealing his location a trap. At the end of his speech, a chorus of "We trust you!" ring out from the crowd, taking the weak-looking Narumi by surprise. Unfortunately, when he goes to visit Alice, she doesn't react the same way as the rest of the Hirasaka Group and, instead, mocks him for his out-of-character rant back there. On the flip side, she praises him for being able to arrive at the truth (Renji's location being known is indeed a trap) so quickly. She goes on to explain that Renji would have completed his objective of destroying everything The Fourth created (the Hirasaka Group) if it had not been for one miscalculation: Narumi, himself. In conclusion, she predicts that Renji will make his next move during the concert, with his target being Narumi. Until then, all they can do is prepare and continue doing their jobs. With that, Narumi calls Mika and tells her that he will continue his job as advertiser for the band, despite the current troubles.
On the day of the concert, the Hirasaka Group and the NEETs operate under the guidance of Narumi, the one in charge of this event. With everyone else looking over the safety of the audience and the band members, Narumi begins his attempt to lure Renji to an isolated area inside the venue, away from the main attraction. At first, it seems like Renji didn't take the bait, but, soon after, he shows up at the door, demanding to know why the embroidery on his t-shirt was completed, after seeing the vocalist of the band wearing it. With the prey now captured, Alice steps out of the shadows and starts to do her work. Apparently, Alice is the only smart one in that room since both Renji and Narumi looked to be in shock after hearing her tell the story of how Yoshiki-san is actually Hison, who, after the stabbing, took the money that the Gotouda Group leader gave her, using it for a sex change and to open up a store. And the reason why The Fourth hid this from Renji is because he knew that Renji loved Hison. With this in mind, if Renji were to find out that Hison was someone else's lover, things would fall apart between the three of them. On top of this, The Fourth continues to feel the guilt of being unable to protect Hison. As Alice continues to talk, The Fourth suddenly shows up at the door, still bandaged because of the wounds inflicted by Renji's minions. Then the two co-founders of the Hirasaka Group now walk towards each other, with an air of friendly rivalry surrounding them. And while the band onstage perform, the two put on a little display for Alice and Narumi, partaking in a ritual where they beat each other to a pulp.
At the end of the day, everyone involved with the concert gathered to celebrate the successful event. Sometime later (I'm assuming the next day), when Narumi walks into Hanamaru, he notices Renji's sunglasses on the table. Grabbing them, he rushes up to Alice's room to figure out where Renji is. Upon getting there, she tells him that he's late and informs him of Renji's impending departure from Tokyo. Then, all of a sudden, Narumi starts giving the "I'll try my best for you" speech, resulting in some embarrassed Alice for the viewers. While in her embarrassed state, Alice almost lets a confession slip, but recovers in time to tell Narumi to leave. Luckily, Narumi gets to the train station just in time to return to Renji his sunglasses and t-shirt. To their surprise, the embroidery is complete, marking the end of a five-year project. And with that, Renji and The Fourth go their separate ways, ending what, to me, was the most interesting arc thus far. Next episode looks to be a filler, giving viewers a break from the mysteries. Looking forward to it.
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