Oh of course there’s a third-party involved in the whole mess. And of course it’s another numbered child from the facility. You didn’t think that Nine and Twelve were the only ones, did you? What, did you think Numbahs 1-8 were dead? They sure as hell would be too old to join the Kids Next Door at this point.
Still, it does kind of bug me that Five is a white-haired chick in a school girl outfit who can apparently control a large police organization. Yes, Nine and Twelve are superhuman hackers and all that, but at least if you cast off that “reality” handicap, I can believe these kids can threaten the country with these specific tools. Being in control of men who can prevent the Japanese police from defusing a bomb even when they know where it is and causing large-scale electrical interference? When they say the youth will shape Japan’s future, I don’t think this is what they mean. And if she is an actual adult (I honestly couldn’t tell and haven’t read any official descriptions of her at this point), well she can’t be that much older than the two to begin with. And why is she wearing a sailor uniform? What, is she Koko Hekmatyar now?
My favorite thing about the bomb-of-the-week formula in this episode comes down to two things: 1) Nine and Twelve are really kids who can’t pull the trigger despite their big talk. 2) There is somebody out there who is willing to pull the trigger. It gives the two more interesting human qualities whilst not ruining what made them cool before. They’re still the same “invincible teen geniuses with an agenda”. They’re just against someone stronger (well, more like “different”) than the opponents they faced before. And let’s be honest, they were never really “invincible” to begin with. They just seemed that way due to the fact that we mostly saw them through other people’s eyes. It’s kind of like Celty from Durarara only the reveal isn’t quite so “anime”.
Plus, the riddle being so easy, only for problems to occur is a cool twist on the formula by itself. Loved seeing the two – and Shibazaki – panic despite utilizing their superhuman talents to the best of their abilities.
Not really sure what this upper organization has to gain by letting innocent people die though. Sure it’d bring Nine and Twelve down even further through the public eye, but it’s not like they were worshipped to begin with. And yeah, Lisa’s moments in this episode were cute and all, but sooner or later she’s going to have to contribute to the plot. I don’t mind too much that she’s doing fuck all right now because the point of the show so far is that it’s just another typical adventure for these characters and Lisa just happens to be there, so we don’t focus on her too much. But why is she there? I dunno, but as long as the plot doesn’t chicken out on an answer in the end, I’m interested to wait for her individual contribution. Just hope it happens sooner rather than later.