A Triple Episode review for Ajin, and we begin with the conclusion of the mission to rescue Yuu Tosaki from Agents Almeida and Myers. The mission was pretty much done by the first half, with Izumi and Myers getting their rematch. As they clash with their Ajins, they see glimpses of each other's memories, realizing they both are kindred spirits as both are very loyal to their superiors. This is in spite of the fact that Almeida continues to verbally bully Myers. That was the last straw, however, and Myers takes a near face-turn and shoots Almeida dead before leaving Izumi and Yuu behind for places unknown.
This doesn't have a happy ending however, as rescuing Yuu costs them their opportunity to protect their intended target, leaving him dead by Sato's hands. Yuu is furious and acts like Almeida as he berates Izumi for not prioritizing the mission of proecting the Minister of Health first. The death of Almeida and the disappearance of Myers has also complicated things. As Yuu prepares for his deposition, Kei has to provide a cover story and putting all the blame on Sato, in hopes that the Americans focus their attacks on him instead.
Meanwhile, Sato executes his latest target, this is in spite of the minister already willing to give in to Sato's demands. He later shows the execution on the internet and announces one last target of his second wave along with the date and time. This was important as the last target is the head of an industry that provides weapons for the secretive Anti-Ajin Force, to which the Japanese Government has decided to announce its existence in response. Sato has also intentionally done this in order to use his secret weapon against the Anti-Ajin Force.
In the following two episodes, we see that the weapons the Anti-Ajin Force will be using against Sato and his group are the latest in Smart Weapon technology (making weapons more accurate and provide maximum damage using sophisticated computer mechanics). Seeing this was a clear flag that Sato's so-called secret weapon was an EMP bomb to disable the Smart Weapons.
As Kei's team prepares for their final chance of taking down Sato, there's also the matter of Yuu's strained relationship with Izumi. He can't stay mad at Izumi forever and eventually forgives her, though still acting like a jackass. Izumi wouldn't have it any other way.
Sato's plan goes into action and as expected, the EMP caught everyone by surprise. Kei and Sato finally meet face to face and a game of psychological warfare and tactics begins. Ultimately, however, Sato gains the upper hand as he is one step ahead of Kei. Not only was Sato successful in completing his second wave, but Kei has lost most of his human comrades, including bald guy Manabe, who is sort of a father figure to him. Kei's selfishness has also played a factor in his defeat as he is unable to control his Ajin. Worse, he and Ko are held captive by the Ajin Management Committee. In a surprising twist, Yuu betrays the Committee and rescues Kei and Ko, in effect making the remaining members of their team as fugitives.
One thing I noticed in the last three episodes is the gradual improvement of the animation. Recalling back to the first season, and by extension Polygon Pictures's previous work, Knights of Sidonia, the character designs and animation tend to be a bit blocky. With these three episodes, the designs are more defined and the animation much smoother and visually more appealing. I definifely enjoy this transition and I can expect something like this applied in the next season of Ajin, as well as for Knights of Sidonia.
Plot-wise, this is one of the most thrilling parts of Ajin I've seen and it borrows popular films and TV shows like Die Hard, and 24. Sato is quite the conniving and crafty villain, mainly due to his prolonged experience in combat and as an Ajin user. Yuu Tosaki's gradual concern for his fellow comrades is also a nice touch, although he hides it with his usual attitude.
I can't help but feel a bit of glee for Kei to suffer a bit as his attitude of being a sociopath comes to bite him hard. His loss to Sato also shows the very point he is emotionally vulnerable, something we haven't seen in Kei. Whether this brings out the humanity in him, or it resolves him to be more anti-social to a point he's like Lelouch from the Code Geass series remains to be seen.
This season is coming to a close with the next episode showing more tension, fights, and explosions. It's a wonder how Kei and his team still have any chance of defeating Satou with their dwindled number and resources. Whatever it is, something bigger is about to happen in the final episodes to come.
