Score: A-

Things are definitely getting out of hand here. At present the conflict has split into three fronts and all of them are rather important to the overall picture. If the main cast can’t win even one of them then they might be in a tricky spot. And it’s made all the trickier since they are counting on one of those fronts being handled by arguably one of the antagonists of this arc! It does not fill me with confidence having Shokuho facing off against Gensei. She is technically the lesser of two evils here, but it is still a pretty tough situation. At this point Gensei forces her into being the underdog since he’s had nothing but complete control over everything. I’m sure it isn’t his ideal situation having to deal with Shokuho himself, but he’s likely got a solid plan regardless.

Unfortunately Mikoto is forced into the victim role for the part of her show. She’s unable to do anything right now except what she’s been manipulated into doing. Slowly, she is being turned into a total beast and heading on the road to Level 6. Just taking a step in that direction has made her far more powerful than before. Luckily she is being pushed towards targeting one of the most durable structures in the city. Not because those in that building are great people, but because if Mikoto got that kind of blood on her hands she wouldn’t be able to move forward. She almost broke down completely just because she gave up her DNA Map and it was used for horrors. Even without being responsible she felt intense guilt.

Of course the role of helping Mikoto out rests in the hands of a few key individuals. Kuroko and her friends are playing a key role in helping get rid of the person contributing to messing with her head. Of course Touma is once again here to save the day. If there is anyone that can help get through this wall of power it would be him. Of course even he is having a tough time here. Getting close to Mikoto is near impossible and requires the help of another level 5 just to manage. But even when that is done he can only step in the direction of undoing what is being done to her. Start working on erasing the armor that is wrapped around her only to have it auto-repair. The only chance I can see is getting constant contact and continually erasing the power. Not easily done.

The tough battle for Kuroko will be key to this. And she is one of the smarter individuals in all this. She knows her limits and is more than willing to tap into the assets that are her friends and comrades to get the job done. Yes, she is pushing herself at the same time. But she isn’t ignoring that Uiharu and Saten can offer legitimate help. And she’ll probably need to push herself further to track down her opponent. The liquid metal is a tricky one. She can’t do any real permanent damage to it. But it isn’t easy for her to be caught either. The absolute mobility of teleportation isn’t to be underestimated. If she can find Mitori then it’s almost an instant win as well. A few well-placed teleported needles should take the fight out of her…

We are set for a pretty fun showdown. This showdown could easily last a few episodes since there are a few different layers. Of course maybe it all gets wrapped up in two…Regardless it will be nice to have Mikoto helped out and to give the creepy old man some deserved punishment for his actions. It is too bad that there doesn’t seem to be room for Mikoto to get a moment of glory in this arc. If she’s saved then that should mean Mitori is defeated, Gensei is probably defeated and naturally Mikoto herself is no longer a threat. But it is more important to just resolve this situation than simply give her some big foe to face off with. Fingers crossed though that the coming episodes are entertaining.