Summary
Quick Links
The Workshop Battle is now underwayand in the first game, Team Sweet and Sour have their work cut out for them as Miseng has gone berserk with some kind of overwhelming power. To pass, participants must insert their baton-like flag into one of three available slots on the field, but with eight contestants per stage, doing so can only happen if one is strong enough to fight off several other eager warriors.
Miseng’s rampage is not entirely a matter of manipulation by Shibisu’s oddball teammate, Verdi, but also stems from the girl’s desire to become stronger and frustration at her own powerlessness, but the situation was resolved not too long into the episode’s runtime.
How Miseng Got Swole
Verdi Can Offer Her “Dolls” Great Power
The episode begins by showing us events on the Archimedes after Prince and Miseng were brought on board by Verdi. Prince was the first to awaken and was taken aback by the childish outfit he found himself wearing. Verdi told them that they were aboard the Archimedes, and asks them directly to become her dolls. She claims that doing so can grant themaccess to immense power, which interests them because they have no way of winning the way they are currently.
She offers them flower-shaped hair accessories which, when the wearer chants “Long live Verdi” three times, they will have the power to get through the first game. When she leaves, Prince tries to reassure Miseng that they will make it through because himself, Ja Wangnan and the others will be doing the actual competing, and she can just watch from the sidelines. Without hesitating, Miseng put on the hair accessories, said the passphrase three times and was immediately overcome by an incredible power that also led her to go berserk and even pummel Prince, whose facial lacerations and swollen eyes from the end of the previous episode had mysteriously healed up.
Some Development For Sweet and Sour’s Weakest
Miseng Suffers From Scars of Abandonment
The episode’s focus in the early stages is the relationship between Prince and Miseng and the frustration they both feel for being weak. Prince has been loud about reinventing himself, calling himself Super Prince, but as per Arkraptor’s very astute observation, him opting to run away from Miseng and rely on the actions of others instead of bring her back to his senses himself is just like the earlier version of himself. Refusing to allow his growth to have been merely cosmetic, Prince becomes a central cog in the effort to snap Miseng out of her rampage, and hopefully break her connection to Verdi’s wellspring of power.
The battle is quite intense, but it was impressive seeing Prince and Miseng’s characters get some development, because the reason she was tempted to use Verdi’s power was because of how helpless she has felt over the years being unable to contribute toTeam Sweet and Sour’s overall combat strength. Prince enacts a plan to keep Miseng distracted, showing a decent level of Shinsu control with his Triple Stopper technique that summons three Lighthouses to create a kind of shield, but Miseng easily smashed it.
However, he manages to block her attack and use a Reel Inventory Interlocking Technique to summon a special rope made of light that fastened itself to his Lighthouses and Miseng’s flag, immobilizing her. He manages to talk Miseng out of the rampage and what would’ve been a decisive blow stops short of his face before Ja Wangnan snatches the hair ornament from her, releasing Verdi’s power. Miseng suffered parental abandonment which gave her a complex about her usefulness in the team.
When Kang Horyang (Ilmar Beniamino) and Viole left under mysterious circumstances the nightthe Hand of Arlenwent down, Miseng blamed herself, thus reliving the awful feelings she experienced from being tossed aside by her own parents. Miseng begs him not to go anywhere, promising that she will get stronger too. With Miseng safe but exhausted, Arkraptor, Ja Wangnan and Prince are the winning trio on their stage, defying the odds. Buoyed by the victory, Ja Wangnan declares that he will crush FUG, which catches the attention of Viole, who was watching from the sidelines. While it was great to learn more about Prince and Miseng, the whole thing wrapped up within 10 minutes, and is barely the main event of the episode when it very well should have been.
Some Highlights From the Other Groups
Ilmar is Reunited With Goseng, Yihwa Meets a Kindred Spirit and The Strongest E-Rank Regular Appears
After Ja Wangnan’s group match concludes, the other groups get going, with Goseng being lucky enough to be put in the same group as Ilmar and that guy with the scar Team Sweet and Sour runs into a lot, Chang Blarode, who both make light work of the other competitors, allowing the three of them to proceed without a hitch. Elsewhere, Blarode’s insane fire-user teammate gives Yihwa something to consider as he diagnoses her inability to run rampant with her fire as a consequence of the fear of her own fire, while Yama’s Wild Dog, Varagarv; known asthe strongest E-Rank Regularfinds his group to be a cake walk. Like Viole, Varagarv has ties to FUG as he was once a Slayer climbing the Tower, but for unknown reasons, he cut ties with the organization and stopped climbing the Tower.
During Viole’s round, some of the other competitors claim to be his worshipers, giving him the freedom to advance without conflict, but he takes them all out, aggravated by the various expectations being placed on him as if he is some kind of wish-granting god. After all the battles are over, there is a brief moment where we see Viole visiting Ilmar and Cassano’s “little brother”, Beta, who we know is another Living Ignition Weapon, and there are 48 competitors left with one fight left to go. Among the final three groups, Group 29 is the most stacked, with Khun Ran and Anaak Jahad placed together, a battle that will most likely be the focus of the next episode of Tower of God as the Workshop Battle continues.
