They’re actualyl going to go much further with Gammon than I thought here. At first I thought that this episode would be the regular “let’s fight and be friends afterwards again like nothing happened”. Instead, the opposite happened and Gammon got even more pissed off at Kaitou. I like this twist a lot: he’s currently hating what Kaitou has turned into, and is tired of constantly being looked down upon. Now, I really hope that the creators don’t back down and have him return to being Kaitou’s lapdog near the end of this first season, because he would the perfect spice for the second season.
The one thing I think that the creators should have spent a bit more attention at is how Gammon feels about the fact that his puzzles can kill people. This is the thing that needs a bit more work to really flesh out. Especially after what he said to Nonoha: that Kaitou could very well end up killing her (a very good point, by the way). However, this episode revealing that he has a sister was a very nice touch here, because his dislike with Kaitou is also large enough to abandon her.
Oh, and the puzzle in this episode was actually very creative here. This also was the first time where the puzzle was more like a game between two players, rather than something that had to be solved (not counting the makers trying to cheat their asses off, of course).
Rating: ** (Excellent)
I really liked the puzzle. It was essentially the equivalent of two rivals beating the crap out of each other, except here it was about t made the scene and the conflict dynamic, using shounen fight clichés without the characters resorting to actually beating each other up.
Gyamon has an excellent motivation to go above and beyond the call of rivalry.
Yeah, clearly, he’s a rival, and he resents the hero just as typical macho rivalry.
But beyond that, there’s an evil idol girl with lavender hair who just might be a romantic interest – and she’s in POG. And she invited him out to coffee.
If I were in Gyamon’s shoes, I would have told her, “Sure, I’ll join POG on one condition – you have to be my exclusive girlfriend.”