It just wouldn’t be a Bones battle shounen if there wasn’t some flexing involved. Gachiakuta isn’t the sort of battle shounen that gives a studio opportunities to do that every week – it has a full set of gears, and puts them all to good use. But there will be plenty more chances like this week’s, especially if the series get a long-running adaptation (which I still think is a decent possibility). It’s just nice to have the luxury of a Bones or I.G. when those moments do come.
It’s hardly a surprise to find that Zanka is down for the count, given how last week’e episode ended up. The Supporters do their job and located an exit, but at that point it’s a waiting game. They don’t have to wait long but it’s not their fellow Cleaner that shows up. It’s Jabber Wonger (Shin Yuuki). He announced that he’s only knocked out Zanka, rather than killed him, though he probably isn’t enjoying Jabber’s “venom”. Jabber is clearly another Raider, and he too is mainly interested in Rudo. But he’s plainly on another level from the pair who fought last week.
This is a conundrum, both for Rudo and the Supporters. They have no means of taking on a Giver like Jabber, but their assignment was to protect Rudo and Gris is not the sort to take that lightly. Rudo begs him to stand down but by that point it’s too late – Jabber has stabbed (should’ve been called “Stabber”) Gris through the chest (not strong enough to worry about killing). He says Gris is probably dead – he’s not, but certainly not in a good way. This all plays out almost in slow-motion for Rudo, as depicted in a gorgeous series of black-and-white line animations.
Given recent events this hits Rudo pretty hard, along with his memories of Regto. He was an empty vessel when Regto took him, and while that relationship changed that, his anger still simmers inside him. That’s fine with Jabber – he’s one of those shounen badasses who likes the fight for its own sake, including getting roughed up himself. If this pissed off little man can entertain him for a while, so much the better. But even so, Rudo is probably a bit more than he was expecting to deal with. And the circumstances bring Rudo’s true ability into sharper focus.
Rudo, it seems, doesn’t just turn items into vital instruments, but maximizes the potential that dwells in them. That includes Gris’ charm, which becomes a sort of all-purpose protective device – the fusion of Gris’ wishes and Rudo’s ability. Nothing Jabber launches can breach it – the boy doesn’t even have to move to avoid the attacks. Eventually Rudo tires of Shithead Jabber’s taunting and starts giving as well as evading, in the form of his fists. It’s a gorgeously animated and choreographed sequence – stuff like Jabber trying his super speed and Rudo punishing him anyway is classic Bones gloriosity.
Jabber is clearly a psycho, but he’s also pretty smart it seems. He realizes that Rudo’s Gris shield works by detecting and avoiding hostile intent. By attacking without that – for example, launching inanimate projectiles rather than his own claw weapons – Rudo has to do the actual dodging himself. Jabber’s solution – use his neurotoxic venom on himself (seemingly not for the first time), and turn himself into a mindless attacking berserker, theoretically (we’ll see) impossible for Rudo’s jinki to pick up. Gris’ condition certainly ups the pressure on Rudo to bring this to a resolution quickly, but Jabber is going to put his potential fully to the test.
