After a relatively breezy (even by this series’ standards) episode last week, Illegals takes a decidedly more action-heavy turn here. There’s still no sign of Knuckleduster, but he does get a mention (and his prominent place in the title sequences speaks for itself). Ultimately this series was always going to pivot to the intersection of the vigilante and hero worlds. Of Kouichi’s and the heroes’ in other words – and it’s Aizawa who’s been the most prominent big-name hero in the story. He seems to blend in the relatively grim and weary look of Naruhata very well.

Kazuho extracted a promise from Kouichi not to use his newfound attack, but it’s clear the idea hasn’t left his mind. And who can blame him? He wants to be a hero, and heroes need to have a means to go on the offensive and not just run. Her logic is sound – as an unlicensed vigilante using effectively a projectile weapon (even if the projectile is air) he’s basically committing battery against everyone he targets with it. Worse, he’s surely going to attract attention that way – and the sort of attention that’s especially dangerous for someone living the life he’s living.

Pop shames Kouichi into ceasing and desisting a rooftop trial, but circumstances soon give him no choice but to test the ability under fire. A villain shows up, looking something like a giant walking octopus but actually a squid (and that will prove plot critical). Kouichi does his usual routine of drawing the monster’s attention and giving the civilians a chance to flee, but he soon winds up in front of the Hottas‘ hock shop, where they’re having a confab with Eraserhead. The two of them have a history now of course, and explaining away his presence isn’t so easy.

Again, the usual drill here would be “leave it to the pro and get the hell out of Dodge”. It’s not the path to becoming a real hero but that’s something that’s not really in Kouichi’s thinking at this point in the story. But things don’t work out that way, as Eraser – unable to nullify the quirk of another augmented villain – takes an injury when he mistakes the 10-armed squid for an 8-armed octopus. Kouichi has no option but to get involved, and indeed to test out his new power – he dubs it “Crawler SGB” – against a live foe. We can definitely say it’s a work in progress – it distracts and annoys the octoid (copyright pending) but doesn’t deal out any real damage.

Looping Kamayan into the fight averts the worst. He doesn’t exactly kick the octoid’s ass but he can at least keep it busy. Eraser’s plan even manages to snare it in a makeshift net, though Kamayan pisses it off enough that it breaks free. Eventually it’s the scarred man from Osaka – remember him? – who does kick its ass. He knows exactly what he’s dealing with, revealing that this is all orchestrated. But things do go a bit awry, and Scarred Man is about the kill the squid when Kouichi and the others show up and put that plan on ice.

You get the sense that the genie is out of the bottle with Kouichi now. Eraser knows him, and knows him pretty well. He can see that Kouichi has an interesting quirk with a fair amount of potential and a hero’s instinct to protect. Eraser may be willing to (gruffly) look the other way for now in deference to Kouichi’s invaluable assistance, but he’s still “the man” – there’s a limit to that. And what he doesn’t know is just how deep Kouichi is into the vigilante existence – or that he has allies in the trenches right beside him.