Toppa Bashin – Episode 5

Back at it again, no rest for the man who just wants to get through to the GOOD anime series.

In the meantime, nothing to do but have Toppa Bashin annoy the hell out of me.

“The Athletic Meet is Trouble”?

So this episode has something to do with Striker is it?

Apologies if I have a hard time believing that first of all, a school needs a news reporter for the “Athletic meet” which I can only imagine to be some kind of sports day…

And second of all, that you would be discussing LITERALLY ANYTHING OTHER THAN SPORTS.

I didn’t realise watching a Sports anime…

Seems Hayami’s been in the kitchen cooking most of the morning.

As a guy who has a food savvy family, I can’t imagine what unrealistically tasty stuff Hayami’s got prepped

I’d say this was a Mushroom Salad but that’s Broccoli not Lettuce.

Either way it seems Aibou finds it as tasty as I do.

They have a Rule in place for that?

Secondly, TWO MEALS A DAY means 2 out of the 3 meals you have…

Lastly, didn’t you say “Good Morning” just a few moments ago Bashin? Aibou hasn’t had anything yet.

I know Rats will eat basically anything, unsure if the same applies to mice.

And Aibou’s been given a Human brain and the ability to speak English, I’d imagine he’s been given other human properties, like enjoying mushrooms.

HAH

It’s funny because Bashin is more notorious for stealing food than Aibou is.

And Aibou’s a mouse, it’s not supposed to know better.

Oh joy.

More misfits… For a non-Battle Spirits event.

This show has a massive problem with this…

It’s okay, somehow we’ll shoehorn in a battle somewhere.

Something Something… J.

Something Something Something… Elementary School Celebrity.

I’d say I nailed it but J appears in the preview for the previous episode.

More of a spoiler than a guess.

Not particularly…

If his fame is derived specifically from Battle Spirits then the only reason I would care to give him the time of day is if he was going to play some Battle Spirits.

Otherwise I don’t really care what he does.

Meanwhile, with the only person who’d give 2 damns about sports.

We have Striker and his extremely huge family, aching to watch Striker score some goals.

You know, NOT playing Battle Spirits.

The older brothers suggest that Striker should do well so a Team will scout him, but Striker quite rightly states that there’s not really any point.

Because everyone’s going to be firmly attached to J’s crotch area.

“Hey get me the autograph of the guy that’s really killing your chances to get scouted by a football Team”

Get me a pair of football shoes so I can boot this kid halfway down the street.

The Bento-Size is directly proportional to the ridiculousness of their hair.

Wait, that’s a Hospital letter?

Something tells me something horrible is happening or will happen to Striker.

If it takes a busted leg to get him to play Battle Spirits then well so be it.

Your chances with this guy are 0.

And any attempt is basically grooming, stay in your League.

So from what I gather this “Athletics meet” seems to be some sort of joint Sports Day between 2 schools.

The 2 Schools must have a really good relationship if they share their Sports day together.

Small Sub translation error here, basically both are going to give individual Opening speeches I think?

It’s a little unclear so I’m not sure myself.

This chick kinda looks like J.

Very rich looking too, very pretty.

J doesn’t seem like the type to have a girlfriend so that’s probably his sister.

No one was waiting for this.

Don’t make it sound like they were.

Look at the lifeless face of the girl holding up the red sign.

So Tonari is the blue number while Bashin’s School is the Red one.

What are the points recording? Games won? Points scored?

Give me something to measure…

At what point was Striker ever identified as a Superstar?

I get he’s sport savvy but he was just known for wanting to be on a football team.

makes him stand out I guess?

So he’s rich, good at Battle Spirits AND Sports, and has just about every single female character wanting to be his future wife.

How… Boring

Show some adversity J.

I’d say running was one of Bashin’s strong points, considering he loses Meganeko on a daily basis just because he won’t slow down.

And he was able to keep up with a fully grown adult Nazo-Otona.

That’s not always a bad thing.

Don’t want to catch his boredom syndrome.

Bashin… han?

The Power of Google compels you!

…Can’t seem to find it, only record I can find of a -han honorific is literally from this series.

Seems to be a cute nickname.

Striker questions if Bashin knows who she is, Bashin of course, can’t even tell the difference between his head and his ass.

So of course, he doesn’t know.

She’s got a nice voice, I’ll give her that…

That laugh is.. SUPER annoying.

You have to listen to it for yourself, like jesus christ.

It sounds so forced

The chick suddenly leans in super close to Bashin.

So she gave him a nickname, seemed to go out of her way to talk to him.

And is now sizing him up.

Is she… checking him out? She’s wasted on this fiery nutcase.

But you see, Card Sensei is on the Bashin x Meganeko ship, so of course he interrupts this great moment.

Why would you make a face like that?

I don’t even know her name yet and I’m already losing faith in my favourite character being Meganeko.

Striker is me thus far, never thought I’d relate to a football nut.

Also is Striker genuinely thinking that the Girl they just met is into Bashin?

You see, as a talking mouse, there is no shame in telling your secrets to Aibou.

Him telling anyone would either prompt his immediate dissection, cause the person being told to panic and trample over him, or just make them faint.

Besides, he can’t talk to people who don’t know about Isekai because of his own self-imposed rules. Totally safe.

And now Bashin is back to thinking about why some rich dude who’s good at everything doesn’t have any friends.

Oh he’s having a picnic with Meganeko.

He calls J out for having no friends but Meganeko seems to be Bashin’s only friend besides Striker.

Suiren doesn’t count. At best he consoled her.

Meganeko offering Bashin food just makes me miss my own significant other’s food. There is nothing tastier than eating food from a loved one-

Just smile… smile and maybe one day you’ll get the opportunity to punish him for his unholy sins against the nicest character in the series.

Yes I know he’s upset because Bashin ate a mushroom he wanted…

But I don’t care, Aibou should be far more upset about Meganeko’s awful treatment.

AND BASHIN’S MOTHER IS THERE, WOMAN, DISCIPLINE YOUR KID.

Oh, Striker’s got that “Hair over one eye” depressing news kinda look.

This doesn’t sound good.

Ahhh, so her name is Kyouka.

That name is absolutely adorable.

Also it seems like J doesn’t specifically have any skills in Sports… he just… Trained for a day and now he’s good at it.

Well the amount of people who would “train” for a sports day are absolutely 0, so no wonder.

So Kyouka was checking on “Bashin-han” for J’s sake?

Also J nonchalantly saying “Ruby Cornerstone” as if Kyouka’s supposed to know what it is indicates that Kyouka knows about Isekai.

I can’t think of lovin’ nobody but you~

Explains why Kyouka was sizing him up, she’s making sure J’s new hubby is the right man for the job.

I jest, J doesn’t want to meet Bashin because J’s been thinking about him?

Wouldn’t that be a very good reason to want to see Bashin?

Cutting back to Striker’s SERIOUS REQUEST.

He wants Bashin to be last in the relay race.

I don’t even know what that means.

This is serious because it means the final leg of the race will be handled by Bashin, and not Striker.

This means Striker kinda gets kicked out of the limelight, for the purpose of winning.

You’re a good man Striker.

Likes mushrooms…

First thing people are going to do if they spot that mouse is trample it. This was a horrible place to get lost in.

Kyouka’s just chilling there with a whole table and umbrella set.

Did they pay someone to get it set up? There seemed to be a butler in the scene with J

Also like, no time lady, Bashin’s searching for a tiny mouse.

Bashin…

He’s a god damn mouse.

JUST TELL HER IT’S A MOUSE! WOULD MAKE IT SO MUCH EASIER!

And why is Bashin just receiving free food from a girl he’s never met?

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THIS MAN!?

BECAUSE I SEE A BUMBLING BUFFOON!

Look at him, he’s DROOLING over Kyouka’s food…

Is Meganeko just chopped liver at this point? She’s being beaten out by someone Bashin has known for all of 2 minutes.

I hate this purely because Kyouka’s pampering Bashin of all people. Not because I think Meganeko deserves a piece of crap like Bashin.

A Wild J has appeared.

I thought you didn’t want to talk to Bashin? Because he was on your miiiind?

SCANDALOUS!

Are you doing this for J or are you doing this for you?

Because you’re giving me mixed signals here Kyouka!

My guess is she realises Bashin is J’s Rival, and J has said as much.
So she intends to use herself as some sort of mediator just incase Bashin falls out with J, so J doesn’t lose basically his only friend, through pampering Bashin and becoming friends with him.
But giving him food and getting SUPER close to his face like you’re about to kiss him is NOT the way to go about it.

Or she sees the same thing in Bashin that Meganeko does, in which case I say BACK OFF BITCH.

Meganeko called dibs, and despite my gripes with that fact, you could literally get more out of dating… I dunno, Striker!

Bashin’s smart enough to click that perhaps J is not happy with Kyouka flirting with Bashin.

Since Kyouka and J’s relationship has yet to be established, Bashin probably thinks J’s into Kyouka.

Aibou’s Mushroom Arc has finally been completed.

It’d be helpful if the animals linked to the cornerstones weren’t still actively trying to murder each other.

Come on Okyou, you know better than this.

I mean, Bashin is pretty perceptive here, any reasonable person would come to that conclusion.

J having no friends really doesn’t help him understand social situations.

…WHY WAS THAT THE REASON YOU THOUGHT J WANTED YOU AWAY FROM HER?

Come on Bashin.

…I can’t tell if J is just trying to keep Kyouka’s relationship with him a secret, or if he’s being genuine.

The stutter has multiple implications.

So have we, SHOW HIM THE SIEGFRIED!

So is Aibou or Okyou a requirement for either of them to open the Gate to Isekai?

J is where it’s at.
“I don’t give a shit, just fight me normally then”

This is a man after my own heart.

It appears we’re starting from Turn 8 today.

Seems Bashin has gone right to playing Skeleton-Jaw.

I can’t tell what the other cards are just by the BP.

And Bashin’s life is in a super awkward position, so we can’t tell what he’s on either.

Is.. Is he attacking with Skeleton-Jaw?

Or is it one of the other 2?

Hm, since there’s a Core in the corner of Bashin’s Life, that would mean Bashin has at least 3 lives.

GIMME A VIEW OF THE BOARD DAMMIT!

So it wasn’t Skeleton-Jaw he was attacking with?

Then what the hell was it? Give me names dammit!

Well it would really depend…

On what’s on J’s BOARD!

Is he lamenting that he’s playing carelessly? Or is he telling Bashin that he is so his loss doesn’t seem so crazy?

So did Bashin just end his turn? Why was there a necessity to skip to THE FOLLOWING turn?

Oh look, there’s a Queen-Valkyrie on J’s field.

Completely unaffected by Spirits or Nexuses on the opponent’s field?

That’s… Not bad actually, immediately loses to magic though, and not very tough for a Cost 4.

So everyone’s under the impression that J’s ace card is the Magic, Defensive Aura?

While that is a super cool concept, Magic is single use, and using Defensive Aura won’t necessarily win him any games

But he does recognise that Defensive Aura is a prominent card he likes to use as part of his strategy. So again, cool that the show is outlining J as a unique type of player through making him out to be a “Magic-User”

But this is some foreshadowing right here, what is his Trump card then?

This is a really odd time to start dropping questions about Kyouka.

Maybe you shouldn’t have specified behind the gymnasium while she was there.

Would make it significantly harder to find you…

And suddenly J plays Defensive Aura.

While this is a legal move, Defensive Aura only grants +3000 BP to your blocking Spirits, the result would effectively be a fizzle when used on your turn.

Hence the word “Defensive”

This is either on the ball or a serious misunderstanding.

He’s blushing…

That’s never a good sign.

…Well do you J?

You’re not helping your case here sunshine.

Bashin’s drawn Offensive Aura. That gives him the opportunity to counterattack.

Also, now we finally get a look at J’s board.

He’s got Berserker-Gun, and TWO FACE DOWN CARDS.

For the record, this ain’t Yu-Gi-Oh, cards very rarely get placed face-down on the field.

There is a specific type of card that’s specifically designed to but we don’t get to see that til the 4th Battle Spirits anime.

So we’ll be waiting a while.

I feel like they should have managed their time better if they were going to have a card battle…

They just cancelled our promised rematch…

For the sake of a relay race…

This anime is just filled with disappointment ain’t it?

You are literally JUST here to butter up J.

Don’t even try to pretend you give 2 shits about this relay.

No Okyou, you’re not part of this race.

Also you’re a cat you’re like twice as fast as anyone here.

The minute Okyou catches Aibou and inevitably eats him is the minute that this series ends.

They confirmed Aibou was necessary for Bashin to open the gate to Isekai, Okyou eating Aibou directly impedes that.

And I thought to myself, “What does Okyou and Aibou have to do with this race?”

And it’s just occurred to me that the Hospital foreshadowing wasn’t because Striker had a problem.

It’s cuz he’s ABOUT to have a problem…

FEET ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BEND LIKE THAT….

OWWWWW….

At least Striker managed to make it to Bashin.

J is evidently in the front here, sucks for Bashin.

Only because Striker messed up his foot because of J’s stupid cat you assholes.

Striker talking like he’s about to die.

The problem with Sports is that if you injure yourself badly even once, and that injury requires a significant amount of time to heal.

AND it’s an injury on a body part that you need

That’s really damaging to your career, or in this case, potential career.

What’s worse is depending on the injury the damage to your body can be permanent.

Therefore completely barring you from that kind of sport in the first place.

Striker you absolute unit.

Something tells me that injury was way more serious than he’s making it out to be.

J about to give this cat the discipline of it’s freaking life.

Oh we’re WELL passed this Kitty Cat.

I generally hate answers like this, If you knew it was wrong then Why in the God damn hell did you do it?

Bashin’s mad, and rightfully so.

Okyou’s interference has cost them the race, AND badly injured Striker.

If I were him I’d want to beat J’s ass too.

J looks slightly sad here, and no wonder.

This is a punishment match.

Starting from Turn 9 this time. On J’s turn.

So it seems like they maintained the turn order for this game, meaning J still went first in this game.

Oh, a Nexus! And one that’s strong against Red!

At Level 1 it gives you a Power Boost when battling Red Spirits.

And at Level 2 you basically win or draw against Red Spirits!

Makes it really detrimental to face off against your opponent once they’ve levelled up this Nexus…

If you’re using Red of course.

Also are they picking up where they left off? J has a Defensive Aura on his field.

Which, again, does nothing on his turn.

I…

But…

HE HAD THE RUBY SUN IN HIS HAND WHEN HE FOUGHT THE NAZO-OTONA!

HE EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED IT!

HOW DOES HE NOT KNOW HOW NEXUSES WORK!?

Yes, and so do it’s Symbols.

Providing J a free White reduction for as long as he has that Nexus.

So unless the opponent can directly get rid of that Nexus, it’s going to be a pain in Bashin’s buttocks.

J has depleted his Berserker-Gun to Level up Diamond Moon.

Now Bashin can’t contest any of J’s Spirits without losing his own.

Not while that Diamond Moon exists you won’t.

So I guess they aren’t picking up where they left off.

J just has a Defensive Aura on his board for no good reason.

Also finally! Bashin uses his Key Spirit!

It’s just a shame that Diamond Moon is out, Bashin can’t make much use of his X-Rare if it’s going to be destroyed as soon as it swings.

When arranging Core, the Core doesn’t just have to be from your reserve.

You can take it from anywhere that you can access Core. Including Spirits.

If you run out of Core, the Spirit is depleted and goes to the Trash though, so make your decisions wisely.

Bashin this isn’t going to be helpful to you in the slightest.

Diamond Moon will destroy your Spirit regardless of how powerful it is.

Baby-Loki? That’s new.

It’s a Cost 2 version of Fenrircannon, and also only gets it’s effect at Level 2.

Didn’t stand a chance…

I always love it when they use special verbs for their cards… Makes the card (and the character) seem far more unique.

And all that build up went to waste…

Bro it’s not even like you didn’t know about it, before J ended his turn he EXPLAINED the effect to you!

And he’s just going to keep swinging.

Okay, Bashin is doing the Battle Spirits equivalent of flailing right now.

Queen-Valkyrie blocks the Taurusknight

And Taurusknight gets snapped out of existence.

Oh my god Bashin this didn’t work the last 2 times you tried it.

Why on earth would it work now!?

Anyone else hearing Initial D?

Cuz I’ve got some DEJA VU!

What’s worse is this happens not once but twice, Bashin lost 2 Skeleton-Jaws to 2 Icemaidens.

Why are you so depressed? You did this to yourself.

Right, so J’s summoned:

Berserker-Gun
Dualcannon-Bell
Gran-Dolbalkan
and The SteelWyvern Valkyrious

2 of these 4 cards are new.

Nothing special about Dualcannon-Bell, he’s a Vanilla card.

He IS of the “Armed Machine” family though, which is a super prominent family of card later in the game.

And Gran-Dolbalkan, of another prominent family, that being Machine Beast.

He’s got an interesting ability that can automatically end a battle with it by paying 1 cost, that’s good for when you want to cancel out an attack but don’t want to lose any spirits.

And Bashin gets his ass handed to him.

Interestingly, in almost the same fashion as Suiren lost to him.

So Bashin is on Suiren’s Level at the very least.

Possibly true, you didn’t have the Diamond Moon last time and Bashin drew Offensive Aura instead of The DragonEmperor Siegfried.

But a come from behind victory would have still been possible, just with less Spirits in Bashin’s Trash.

Yes a loss is indeed a loss, and you need to learn how to deal with The Diamond Moon.

But because J won only because he was interrupted meant there was still room for improvement, you can’t just deny him that fact.

Don’t ever give credence to an “End justifies the means” mindset.

That’s dangerous.

But kudos to Bashin for accepting a loss that wasn’t exactly his fault.

The fact that he needs a hospital to look at his freaking foot is just a testament to how badly he damaged it.

That cat needs a leash.

Bashin thanks J for looking after Striker and making use of their family doctor.

And then hops right back to the Battle Spirits topic.

No “is he okay?”, nothing?

Bashin just doesn’t give 2 shits about his friends apparently.

Awww, look at them.

They’re friends now.

All it took was for Striker to get brutally injured.

“Okyou just did something bad”

If anyone reading this doesn’t know the definition of “Understatement” by the end of this show then I will be both impressed and dumbfounded.

So they ARE Siblings!

Kyouka is J’s Sister.

So why was J getting so flushed at Bashin wondering if J fancied her?

If your immediate answer to that question is anything along the lines of “Does it bother you?”

Then that means you’ve considered that it may bother them, but went through with it anyway.

Why are you getting flustered by that question?

Her laugh doesn’t sound so forced here, thank god.

I fucking NAILED IT.

She IS happy about their rivalry.

Ah, so Kyouka’s so intrigued by him because J associating with someone with such a different personality and life is a lovely change of pace.

It’s like J’s just gotten himself a boyfriend and Kyouka’s doing her best to be friends with them.

There’s no need to be so accommodating of a friend Kyouka, even if it is J’s very first friend.

Makes you wonder why he even needs to be hospitalised if nothing is wrong with him.

J is loitering in my brain.

But unlike Bashin at least he’s not dumb enough to take up so much space.

That explains the hospital letter he was getting, likely the updates on his foot’s condition.

Wait his condition was so bad that he wasn’t even meant to be doing Sports?

And now he can’t even walk because of it?

Striker is… Crazy stubborn.

All that sport playing with a bad foot likely messed it up beyond his body’s natural ability to repair it.

At some point your body will eventually hit the limits of it’s ability to heal if you are constantly damaging the areas it needs to repair.

As such, scars can form, or worse, physical impairment.

Striker is eavesdropping on the conversation?

To be fair he should be having it with them.

His dream is slowly being ripped away from him.

And in this case it isn’t even Okyou’s fault, he was probably focusing really hard to avoid messing up his foot, the surprise from Okyou just distracted him long enough to stop being careful with it.

That’s a dark note to end on.

Alright, Episode review!

We actually got some character development this time! And this time from both Striker and J!

We’ve discovered J has a sister, Kyouka, who is mightily intrigued in her brother’s new friend like it’s some new event that’s never happened before.

Which according to Bashin seems to be the case. J and Bashin’s relationship has been improved as well.

And finally some insight onto Striker too, it seems his willing to give up the spotlight if it means achieving victory, which is an honourable trait of his. He cared more about beating J than being noticed.

But it also seems to be out of stubbornness that he does it, given that he’s been playing Sports with a bad foot for a while now, and now it’s bitten him in the ass for his carelessness.

If he was scouted for a Team and it acted up then, that would be a pretty early end for his career. And the possibility of not fulfilling his dream seems to be completely crushing him.

I’m actually curious if next episode will give us more insight into it. And hopefully get him to start playing Battle Spirits, considering he’s the only one in the opening that has yet to play, and we’re at the end of Episode 5.

Well that aside, the plot is still pretty slice of life thus far, nothing tense enough to sink my teeth into just yet.

Our card of the day seems to be The Diamond Moon, J’s Nexus and Anti-Red card.

It’s a pretty bad Nexus nowadays, the 2nd effect can still be detrimental today but the 3 core requirement to maintain the Diamond Moon’s level 2 effect is costly, and even then it’s a card that only really works on Red.

And the first effect isn’t too great at all, 1000 BP is pretty inconsequential.

The main benefit out of this Nexus is that it becomes a free reduction that your opponent can’t get rid of unless they’re specifically using cards designed to get rid of Nexuses.

And given that Nexuses are ran in almost every deck, that’s going to be a given.

Some decks may not need a Nexus to function, in which case it might be more beneficial to not bother using them, but then you’ll have no reduction outside of your Spirits, the pros greatly outweigh the cons for using them, of which there aren’t many at all.

Anyway, that was Toppa Bashin Episode 5! I’ll see you guys in Episode 6!