Btooom!

[Buffalobiian]

Alternative title:
ブトゥーム (Japanese)

Genres: action, psychological, science fiction

Plot Summary:
Sakamoto Ryouta is an unemployed 22-year-old who lives with his mother. In the real world, there may be nothing really special about him, but online, he's one of the world's top players of the combat game Btooom!!

One day, he awakes in what appears to be a tropical island, though he has no memory of how or why he has come to be there. While wandering around, Ryouta sees someone and calls out for help. The stranger responds by throwing a bomb at him! Now Ryouta realizes both that his life is in danger and that he has somehow been trapped in a real-life version of his favorite game! Will Ryouta be able to survive long enough to figure out how and why he ended up here?
-AniDB



HorribleSubs - Episode 01

[MFauli]

Wow, that was fantastic. LOST meets "insert anime featuring mmo-gaming". Great, quality animation and art style, too. It also helps that the main character looks like Light, lol.

But seriously, this was really fun to watch. Opening with the current popular trend of anime-about-mmo-gaming, but then changing to some mystery island, being thrown right into the action. Highlight of the season already? Well, I hope it doesn´t devolve into anime-clichees, that´s the only thing that could hurt this show´s potential.

Oh, and what the hell was up with his zombie-mother? Sure, he´s an antisocial person, but that was damn creepy. Or was it supposed to be a dream of his only?

[Idealistic]

I get the whole Battle Royale feeling at the moment.

[Archangel]

That was awesome~

[animus]

Yeah, I've been following this manga for awhile (it definitely does follow that Battle Royale survival theme). Looking forward to watching it.

[David75]

Like K and Tempest, nice production qualities.
Seems targeted at a slightly older audience.
I guess I would understand how the guy being a virtual genius, would need some noob time to adjust being thrown in and IRL version of his game.
I cannot however tolerate the other guy to be so inneficient. 8 damn grenades/bombs and he can't even scratch a noob who needs like 10 minutes and 3/4 tries to understand he's got timer bombs/grenades?

Give me my time back, bastards. There are so many ways you could still have kept that time he needs to adjust but also throw in a better oponent... like bad luck (shit happens) or just have the MC figure out the timebomb quicker...

[shinta|hikari]

It's weird how things are blowing up right on their faces but they are practically uninjured. I know this is anime and all, but the setting seems to be at least grounded in reality. They could have made the explosions a bit farther away from the target to aid in the suspension of disbelief.

[Ryllharu]

I had the same problem. With a lot of conventional explosives, it's the shockwave that kills, not so much the fireball. Bigger yields and different explosives (e.g. nuclear) the flash (overwhelming infrared and UV) will kill before the shockwave gets there, but these are obviously hand held, conventional bombs.

The shrapnel kills too, but that depends on what the casings are made out of. Here, it is presumably plastics. Otherwise either one of them would have been perforated.

It was definitely bothering me that only a direct hit will kill. It's like they're using fireworks, not bombs.

[Buffalobiian]

I could not get into 90% of this episode at all.

The game-introduction was easy enough to swallow, but the MC taking forever to figure out shit* was painful to watch. The explosives bag had the same distinct pattern on it as his suit. Somehow a player with 2 years experience can't figure out something an audience figured out from 2 minutes of footage.

Blast radius aside.. the only thing that saved the MC's sorry ass is that his opponent completely sucks. He seemingly also had no concerns for conserving ordinance. If it's a game (which generally strives to maintain balance), he should have had 10 bombs or less. Given his skills, I highly doubt he could have killed anybody for extra bombs.

The entire hiding thing also seemed weird. Games can have unnatural physics (unreal jump heights, limb strength and fall damage), so I can see cool moves happening online, but here you have this real-world scenario with the relatively "open" terrain. Sneaking up or hiding from people shouldn't happen unless you were quite far away from your opponent - somewhere around the limits of your throw distance.

If we're just comparing the opening episodes, I'd prefer SAO.

The whole mother/employment thing on the other hand was really captivating.

[MFauli]

I think it´s better to assume the bad guy was a beginner himself, hence explaining his shitty accuracy. But yeah, that was the one silly part for me.

However, regarding blast damage and such ... my theory is that it isn´t the real world, but another virtual reality. Sure, we saw the MC get cut and bleed, but maybe that´s part of this "world". At least a VR would explain the crystal on the back of his hand and why there´s no pain from past surgery.

[Buffalobiian]

HorribleSubs - Episode 02









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Hmm, too bad it wasn't the continuation from last week that I was hoping for. Then again, it wasn't as repetitive as I thought it was going to be either, so that evens things out.

I didn't get find this episode engaging, but at least I didn't cringe. Himiko's side of things was a better watch since stuff actually happened. She was concerned about the morality of killing someone instead of coming to terms with how she should use her bloody bomb.

I don't blame her for running away from the rape scene, and in fact see it as the best course of action. There was no way she could have rescued 3 girls and beat down 4 older males. In fact, she shouldn't have escaped at all, those band members must have been too drunk to catch her or something.

How do you make rape victims realise that instead of blaming the lucky one for random misfortune? I also wonder if those disappearance forms have something to do with selecting candidates. Miho (and perhaps others) would have certainly filled one out with Himiko's name, while Ryouta's mother could have done the same if she sees him as a financial parasite and a family shame.

[Ryllharu]

It really has been exactly like Battle Royale so far, even including the format of the traumatic flashbacks that drove the characters to becoming the way they are. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but its certainly not that original.

What did surprise me was how much smarter Himiko was compared to Sakamoto. She played the game enough, but it definitely wasn't what she lived and breathed like Sakamoto or the fat guy she killed. Yet, in seconds, she figured out the satchels were full of bombs, and knew how hers worked. How can she get it so fast, and Sakamoto nearly blew his own hand off before he caught on? Now she's also one of the most well-prepared on the island. She has more bombs and more variety of them, a stun gun, knows how to use the radar better than average thanks to the fat dude gleefully explaining the positives and negatives, and a case for food and water, and anything else she can find. She'll be slowed a bit by the weight, but considering her current state of mind, she will be doing the ambushing once she ditches Sakamoto (likely without knowing his name).

It was easier for Miho to blame Himiko. She wasn't just the one who ran away, she was the one who brought them there in the first place. For Miho, Himiko was the cause of her trauma, and she also saw her fleeing as she cried for help. True, there wasn't a thing Himiko could do for her then and she did exactly what she should have, but there was no way that Miho would be able to think back on that incident in a rational way. Maybe years down the road (and probably after some rape victim counseling), but she would only be able to think about what was happening to her as he best friend ran off. By the time the cops got there, the damage had been done.

I liked the dude with the knife. He was a killer, sure, but he wasn't stupid. The teacher freaking out every five minutes was sure to give them away, and the way they were clustered and cooperating, they would be easy pickings for whoever else was around. It sounded like Kuroda Takaya doing the voice (Simon from DRRR, the robodragon shinto priest from Horizon), but I can't be sure. He told it to them straight: It's kill or be killed. If you're not prepared to kill in an environment like this, someone else will have the wherewithal you lack. Something Himiko learned hours later.

[MFauli]

Couldn´t really enjoy this episode for two reasons.

One being that it wasn´t a continuation of last week´s plot. Can´t be helped, I guess.

However, what cannot be excused are several absolute bullshit scenes, that simply failed to suspend disbelief.
Most importantly, the rape escape. COME ON! Three guys are standing next to you, and you still manage to get away? No, no, no. Clearly, these guys wanted to be caught by the police. It´s the only way I can watch that scene and not quit this anime for good. Then what was it with the photoshooting in the cabin at the beginning? Changing your full-body clothes so you can make a picture of your faces? Super silly. I thought they were planning to do some modeling. And then there comes the second rape scene. Seriously, how incompetent are these anime-rapists? So the girl you´re sitting on has a bomb in her hand - SO WHAT? Just hit her hand and she´ll drop it, or, if necessary, use both your hands to get it away from her. In the worst case scenario, hit her in the face so she loses consciousness. Of course, you did nothing, Mr. Overly-Clichee-Nerd. Instead, you, a seasoned player of BTOOOM (who also has experience with its real life-counterpart, unlike the main character in ep 1), freak out and run away, mindlessly, making a perfect target. Hope groping those boobs was worth dying for, idiot.
To summarize: I´m not demanding successful rape scenes (even though I would have enjoyed it in this case, since the girl looks totally like Kirino, that bitch :/), but if you´re having those "almost"-scenes, please make them believable. To give some examples: The first rape scene should have ended after she hit the guy for the first time. Start running away, followed by a slomo while passing the open door to see her friend being pulled into the dark room, showing her face of shock, end of scene. The second rape scene ... I mean, it shouldn´t have happened at all. No way this fat guy could have caught her.
Some of you complained about last episode and the opponent´s shitty throwing skills. Well, these guys´ "rapist skills" were even worse.

[Buffalobiian]

Some of you complained about last episode and the opponent´s shitty throwing skills. Well, these guys´ "rapist skills" were even worse.

I agree that that they're both pretty shitty (the 1st rape scene was, and I like your version better). The second scene.. I'm not sure how it could have gone. People who are suicidal are pretty scary though.. maybe he got freaked out.

And to be perfectly honest, when someone pulls out a grenade in front of me, I think RUN, not holy shit, take that thing from him. Might not be the "best" course of action, but something I'd expect from a cliche nerd. I could believe the killer dude performing differently, but not the fat one.

The main reason I got a stronger reaction last episode was because Ryouta was so retarded that I wanted the guy to give him some long-overdue punishment. I don't mind Himiko, so I can't say I'm happy she got out lucky and met fail-rapists.

[shinta|hikari]

Sakamoto has amnesia. I can't really blame him for not getting things like all the others did, including Himiko.

[Buffalobiian]

Hmmm... his memory loss has to do with the past day or so right? He still remembers Btooom! and all.

I'll try as hard as I can to land in the same scenario in my dreams tonight and report to you how I go. :P

[Archangel]

That was the single creepiest anime episode i've ever watched in my life.

Seriously, that was some messed up shit.

[Ryllharu]

Sakamoto has amnesia. I can't really blame him for not getting things like all the others did, including Himiko.

Buff nailed it. That excuse is a load of crap. He only forgot how he was abducted from the convenience store up through when he woke up in a tree. He remembered everything else with perfect clarity.

I guess the real question is how many times Himiko is going to try to kill him before one or the other figures out they are married in the game. It wasn't assured it was her from the first episode (since a lot of the female game avatars look similar), but Himiko's flashback proved it.

[Buffalobiian]

I guess the real question is how many times Himiko is going to try to kill him before one or the other figures out they are married in the game. It wasn't assured it was her from the first episode (since a lot of the female game avatars look similar), but Himiko's flashback proved it.

As many times as it takes until Ryouta saves her despite her murder attempts. After that, she'll ask for his name (or he'll give it.. either way).

That's how I foresee it.


Hopefully it'll be just once though - any more and Ryouta would still look like the dumb shit he was in episode 01. You can only have someone try to kill you so many times before you decide it's better that they died.

If she tried doing it secretly without his knowing though... that could play out for a few more attempts I reckon.


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[Shin-S] BTOOOM! OP Single - No pain, No game (Nano ver.) (FLAC) [nano].zip
[Shin-S] BTOOOM! OP Single - No pain, No game (Nano ver.) [nano].zip

[Buffalobiian]

HorribleSubs - Episode 03




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Of course there's a fucking trap there. Yet another episode where Sakamoto's dumb ass (and he thinks he's qualified to call people naive) is saved by some stupid no-name. I don't know how many more episodes I can take of this..