Episode 18 was a mixed bag for me. On one hand it was nice to see them give us some backstory on Ren and Kai but that only lasts for half of the episode and then we have a recap for the other half. As someone who has developed a huge dislike of Recap Episodes/Clip shows from my time watching Gundam Seed/Destiny and Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains' recent season (though both cases were due to behind the scenes drama) this obviously is an episode that I didn't take that well to. However for its credit this episode does try to at least make the clip show work within the confines of the story as if you combine it with Kai reflecting on what happened in the past this is more or less a summary of the events that happened after he met Ren all the way to when he reunited with Aichi.
Come to think of it maybe that was the point? Maybe this arc is trying to show the many parallels between Aichi and Ren yet how the two arrived at different destinations? Perhaps my IQ isn't high enough to grasp this show.
Ren's origin is kind of saddening when I think on it. He played card games to escape
the abuse of his life at home but he went mad with power as a result.
Anyway the actual story portion of this episode consists of the fallout of the recent ones. Kai checks in Card Capital and learns Ren was there while Misaki comments on how similar his and Aichi's fighting styles are. Miwa notes that Aichi never came to Captial which we the viewer know is because he was out taking back Card Shops from Team Asteroid members with Kamui and Kyou which they plan to do again the next day. This is likely going to end with Aichi encountering Tetsu since he hasn't had a proper fight on screen yet and the anime needs to sell people to the idea of playing Dark Irregulars in a format without Balaam. Kai leaves Capital and reflects on his past where he encountered Ren while in his "I'm tough and looking for stronger guys" phase. The Ren we meet here is for all intents and purposes a near mirror copy of Aichi. Meek, bullied (in this case he's abused by his super rich father) and fiercely wanting to fight Kai. This definitely was intended by the team as Ren even looks like Aichi except he's much more assertive in what he wants which is to defeat Kai. He loses repeatedly and begs for the secret to his strength to which Kai says "imagine yourself getting stronger" and I shit you not, this causes Ren to unlock his PSYQualia powers.
"Ah, ah, ah. It's not time for my set spoilers yet.
I'm afraid you have to sit through Mini Booster hell for a biiit longer~"
Now Ren's power doesn't manifest immediately. He like Aichi hears his card speak to him and is weirded out at first but rolls with it and through repeated fights is able to use his newly gained plothax to win his fights decisively. The rush of control this gives him proves to be too much and he gets drunk off it which disgusts Kai who as we all know is a character who values fighting with your own strength and not without some kind of outside aid. We also get an early appearance of Ultra Rare's Suiko who after an off screen fight with Ren confirms that he has PSYQualia which causes him to snap even further. Kai leaves the group after this and moves back home which sets up Episode 1.
Look at him trying to be not a robot. How adorable.
Kai also reflects on what's happened since he came back to town which is where the clip show begins. We see Aichi's fights against mulitple opponents and Kai notes that he's been steadily improving since the two met up again. It still honestly surreal that Kai is being not stoic and boring here as he's smiling at Miwa being a class clown and is looking back at these memories with fondness. We're actually seeing here that Kai sees Aichi as a friend which is something that the original series definitely didn't portray nearly as well as it could have. He also comes to the conclusion that Aichi might get involved with PSYQualia based on a conversation he had with Leon which will no doubt make him concerned about his well being given how off the deep end Ren went.
However this is still Kai we're talking about so its no surprise that he decides to try and put a stop to this by himself which Miwa calls him out on and decides to join in on. Kai doesn't decline his offer as the episode ends.
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