I swear, Gachiakuta has probably given me the most surprises I’ve ever gotten from a single season. They break so many unspoken rules of shounen and I’m absolutely loving it. Especially if it catches me off guard like they did in this episode. We finally make it back to what is going on with Riyo’s fight and it definitely ended in a way I had never expected. After Zanka’s rather unfortunate defeat, I wasn’t sure what to expect with Riyo. Especially since the kaiju girl was not helping whatsoever. I had higher hopes for you, gurl.
Anyways, the fight with Riyo was a pretty interesting one. Especially since I thought Noerde wouldn’t be as emotional as she was in her fight. It’s interesting how the protagonists are usually shown to be the more serious and or emotional ones in the fight, but it almost felt flipped where Riyo didn’t seem particularly fazed by the fight even if she was at a disadvantage. I also really like the fact that we couldn’t hear her inner thoughts through out the episode but we could see her thinking what to do throughout the fight. To which, I feel like while things weren’t outright stated, they could have been subtly insinuating who Riyo is as a character. At one point during the fight, Noerde was just constantly destroying everything girl-like. It felt like it was telling us how whether it be Riyo or both of them that they were not allowed to indulge in girly things or were robbed of a childhood. Which honestly, I feel like both theories are viable considering the world that they live in.
However, the most shocking thing that occurred had to be how she pulls a FREAKING GUN and SHOOTS Noerde. I couldn’t help but just start cackling because I was so caught off guard by the whole thing. The fact that they literally just had a fight with supernatural weapons and also went hand to hand combat. So her pulling out a gun because she was at a disadvantage feels CRAZY especially since she’s one of the protagonists. Especially coming off the heels of Zanka’s backstory of wanting to prove that the hard work of a mediocre person can overcoming a genius, this was WILD. It literally felt like if Tanjiro was fighting like normal with his sword, only for him to pause mid-fight and pull out a gun to shoot someone in the head. While there was a character that used a gun in Demon Slayer, I think the shock value comes from that we didn’t know Riyo had it on her unlike the character from Demon Slayer since they started out with the weapon. But yeah, I was absolutely floored how casual the whole exchange was too. Gurl literally went “so no one can hear you scream here, right?” Only to hear a click soon after and the echo of gun shots. It felt almost illegal how that fight went lol.
Though looking at it now, you can definitely tell that something has always been off about Riyo. It always felt a little unnatural how laid back she is. There’s being laid back and then there’s Riyo’s laid back. Barely anything seemed to faze her and the only times we’ve seen her affected or give any sort of other emotion is the aftereffects of Amo’s power and being spooked by a cockroach. Even in this battle, she her expression almost seemed devoid of any emotion most of the time. And the blank smile she has on when she shoots Noerde is almost haunting. Considering we learn she was an assassin before joining the Cleaners, the demeanor does make a lot of sense. Though it does make me curious as to how she ended up in the Cleaners and how much influence does Enjin have on her since he’s the one who is preventing her from killing. Especially since all the shots she takes weren’t meant to kill, even popping off several shots on Jabber and believing he wasn’t going to die from that.
When it shows those flashes of her and Rudo, it definitely had me wondering what Rudo is to her. She seems to have a weird fascination with him, but to what extent, it’s really hard for me to tell. It’s possible she has a romantic fascination with him or it could be darker. We don’t know what is going on in her headspace so I’ll have to wait to see how things pan out because some of the moments they flashed to make me a bit worried. Especially the one where she snuck into Rudo’s room and was just standing on his bed with her scissors in her hand. Gurl, what were you thinking of doing???? But I think the one that had me wondering what it meant the most was when she was watching Rudo reach out to Amo. The way it was portrayed hints at a smidge of jealousy on Riyo’s part, but considering I don’t have any context to her thoughts or how she feels, it’s difficult to really understand what that scene meant.
Just from this episode, Riyo has become such an interesting character and I’m so curious to learn more about her now. Even her fighting style has become really interesting They even hinted that her fighting style with her vital instrument doesn’t match her movements. With the added information of how she won’t bloody her Vital Instrument “again”, her using her legs to fight with them adds another layer of intrigue to her character. It’s almost like because of how bloody her hands are, she resorts to using her legs for a “non-bloodied” weapon. And it also puts into question just what Riyo saw in Amo’s vision that rocked her to her core and who she loved so much.
There was so much intrigue in this episode and definitely made me so curious about Riyo. I’m so glad we’ve been delving into the other characters aside from Rudo now because both Riyo and Zanka’s episodes had me invested in their characters so far. Especially since it seems like how not all the Cleaners are as “squeaky clean” like their titles suggest. Looks like we’ll be delving more in the overarching Raiders plotline next week with whatever the heck Zodyl is trying to do. Though I am still curious as what is going on with the Santas and Enjin’s situations. Especially since it seems like the kid Enjin is up against doesn’t start fights, he might finish them. So I couldn’t help but agree with Enjin’s notion of not being the one to initiate. Ain’t no way I’m walking over there to you so you can attack me. This arc has been great so far and I can’t wait to see what else happens.
