In Conflict, We Find Our Worth.
- Original Airdate: July 11, 2021
Written by: Takuro Fukuda
Directed by: Kazuya Kamihoriuchi
Summary
With Tassel, the guardian of Wonder World, dead, Wonder World goes haywire. Touma and his allies managed to stop Wonder World's encroachment, but Storious still managed to gather all of the books held by the original five members over 2,000 years ago and intends to use Touma to craft his “beautiful ending” despite Touma's attempts to stop him. Meanwhile, Ryoga and Reika try to help Touma, but their rigidness may get in the way. As for Ren and Desast, they clash against each other, with Desast knowing he only has so long before he perishes...
Episode Tropes:
- And I Must Scream: The fate of those imprisoned in Alter Ride Books. Then it gets worse when Charybdis consumes them all…
- Apocalypse How: Luna thinks the world’s about to end upon sensing the Grimoire Wonder Ride Book’s creation.
- Artificial Human: Storious’ clone of Sophia catches Touma’s attention.
- Berserk Button: When Mei gets too close to Ryōga, Reika gets angry enough to swing Noroshi at her.
- Be Yourself: Desast says as much after Kenzan defeats him.Desast: You’re fine the way you are, y’know.
- Brick Joke: Two episodes ago, Desast gets mad at Ren for not eating his ramen with Red Ginger. Guess what he tries in The Stinger?
- Cerebus Call-Back: Ren’s final words before killing Desast are the same as his last words before he killed him in Chapter 6, only said more solemnly.Ren: It’s been fun. Thank you.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Sophia’s Evil Doppelgänger is distinguished by an elaborate red gown.
- Control Freak: Subverted. The Shindai siblings aren’t actively malicious anymore but have yet to develop team-work skills. Their answer to working alongside Touma is to act as his superiors. It makes things way worse.
- Defrosting Ice King: Lampshaded. Ryoga still has trouble showing gratitude toward other people and has to be outright pressured by Mei for a “thank you.”
- From Bad to Worse: The Charybdis Megid had already powered itself up to horrifying proportions, but the heroes’ inability to work as a team allows Storious to add himself to the Charybdis too and forge a brand-new Ride Book.
- Heroic BSoD: Being cut in the face by the Kyomu inspires a very brief fight-or-flight response from Ren, who spends a good twenty seconds simply running from Desast out of fear. It takes being cornered for him to gather himself and properly dedicate himself to the battle.
- Heroic Second Wind: After a final tantrum over his own weakness, (and a very brief Heroic BSoD) Ren gains the resolve to finally fight Desast for real.
- Insert Song: This episode debuts “Will Save Us,” which plays during the final stretch of Ren and Desast’s duel.
- Killed Off for Real: Due to his Alter Ride Book getting critically damaged by Storious in Chapter 41, Desast is finally slain by Kenzan when dueling him one last time.
- Lazy Backup: Inverted. The Shindais are so proactive in wanting to help Touma, they keep trying to control the situation, which gives Charybdis enough time to eat all of the book-trapped humans and Storious to finish his ritual later on.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The Shindai siblings want to help Touma but have no faith in him, deciding they can handle Charybdis on their own. Their constant attempts to supersede Touma let the actual threat slip through.
- Phlebotinum Overload: Storious’ ritual was banking on Charybdis eating everything pertinent, eventually even him. The Megid implodes on itself and Storious has a new Wonder Ride Book to show for it.
- Sarcastic Clapping: How Storious welcomes Touma and the Shindais to his lair.
- Skewed Priorities: Reika takes a moment to chew out Touma for using Kaiji to save her brother from Charybdis instead of being grateful that he saved Ryoga in the first place.
- In fact, neither of the Shindais can work with others and seem more interested in taking command than completing the mission, which screws over everybody.
- Soul Jar: Storious has a bunch of people trapped within Ride Books as part of his ritual.
- The Stinger: Ren eating instant ramen (with red ginger this time, as Desast suggested in his last words), with a shot of Hayate and Kyomu in the foreground.
- Took a Level in Badass: Played With. Kenzan seems to develop competency as he fights, borrowing a fencing flourish from Blades… until Desast just counters it. It takes venting of frustration and fear for Ren to gather his resolve and properly fight. Once he does, he’s a force of nature compared to Desast.
- We ARE Struggling Together: The Shindais offer their help to Touma but are more interested in leading him, preventing the three from working as a team and allowing Charybdis to get stronger with each argument.
- You Can't Thwart Stage One: Due to infighting between Touma and the Shindais, they are unable to stop Charybdis from consuming Storious’ stash of Alter Ride Books, his replacement Sophia, and Storious himself, granting the Megid general the Grimoire Wonder Ride Book.
