I’m happy we’re moving on, but I’m more agitated, than anything, after this Chapter. The praise from the last two Chapters has dissipated. But onto what I like first.
I liked the implication that Leon will be a recurring character. He was, without a doubt, “rescued” by Nguyen’s men. Seeing how Nguyen works only for his own interests, maybe Leon’s fate is more grim than I think. Unless, of course, Nguyen needs to use him for something else.
The mysterious girl seems to be in possession of an EX-ARM. The left foot (Number 14, I assume, based on the numbering scheme so far). Since this is VR, I wonder how her EX-ARM could possibly function. Could it? Unless it’s also some form of hacking or something to do with electronics. At the same time, however, it might not be an EX-ARM. She could be working for IHI and was placed there to test the protagonists. I have a lot of doubt and uncertainty in regards to this arc, which is good.
Glad to see that the repercussions for the GPS hacking are severe. However, I feel that Kido will smooth things out and this’ll all be forgotten/forgiven.
I am confused by this sudden need to unearth Akira’s memories. It would make more sense that he’s in coma, after the overload, and the group is trying to wake him up. Oh well.
@Talon13184 “The author is basically admitting that the whole thing is contrived as Hell”
Seeing as how that same author has been doing that exact thing from Chapter 1, in the “real” world, I doubt he thinks badly of it, let alone contrived. It’s just Kondo being annoyed, besides being too old for that bs.
Personally, I HATE fan-service. There’s no point to it, it’s distracting from the main story (in all the wrong ways) and is just stupid, imo. If I wanted “real” Ecchi, I’d find porn to watch.
Now, what I call “organic nudity” is welcome and is, fortunately, present in this story. It’s the nudity that makes sense and isn’t the focus, in a perverted way (ie. appears naturally, “organically”). The best examples are the sexxaroids in the strip club, at the start of the previous arc, and Elmira being naked in the Bipod. It makes sense, isn’t censored and yet isn’t focused on or fetishized. That, along with gore, makes a story seem so much more real, serious and effective than if it isn’t shown. That’s what I’ll always appreciate, especially since how rare it is, particularly in today’s (sensitive) society.
But I will agree that it makes sense in VR. Akira’s subconscious is holding the strings and there’s no helping it. My only hope is that it’s toned down if this arc is to be any good. I have an unfortunate feeling that it won’t.
On an unrelated note, I’ve been thinking about the OGRE. What if it had an EX-ARM inside of it? Akira can hack stuff, fine, but I feel that there was something more to OGRE’s “Berserk mode” than just the hacking. Just a hunch. It would also be a crazy twist. ‘Iriya Heavy Industries’ is still rather mysterious. I’m sure that they managed to get their hands on an EX-ARM or two, seeing as how they have the resources to build something like the OGRE. I’m also sure that Akira’s brother works there, as well as his girlfriend, whom we’ve seen (it’s just that her face was conveniently hidden). We’ve yet to see if they’re aware of/responsible for Akira’s current predicament. The ending of Chapter 13 definitely points to the girlfriend, at least, being responsible. Food for though, I guess.
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Ignoring all my bitching, This setup has me intrigued and excited. I feel that this’ll be a short arc, since it takes place in a virtual world and the supposed “main villain” of the arc has already appeared. It’s just that this particular kind of story direction can get creative, but shouldn’t last for too long. It’ll be interesting, but not better than the last arc, that’s for sure.