Ouroboros Episode 6 - Gunshot Red is the New Black

I was concerned that things were starting to slow down after episode 5, but boy was I wrong.  If anything Ouroboros writers put the story on steroids and went full throttle with so many reveals and twists that I am left gasping. This episode took the drama to a whole new level of epic and has literally made Ouroboros my #1 favorite Jdrama to date.  So let's jump into the recap with both feet forward so we can quickly start episode 7 since I can't survive much longer without knowing what happens to Ikuo.
We start the episode with Ikuo clutching his head as memories come flooding back.  They were triggered by seeing two of the men (Director Hibino & Deputy Commissioner Hijuri )with gold watches during the IA meeting regarding his shooting of the Yukaza.  As he passes out we see a memory of a young Ikuo being dropped off at the orphanage by an unknown man with a gold watch.  Eeeek.  What is going on?  Makes you wonder why these kids were being grouped together in the first place?  I have to admit my imagination is running wild thinking of everything between child trafficking to grow your own thugs from scratch scenarios.

Ikuo awakes with a concerned Hibino sitting at his bedside.  As Ikuo remembers that he finally found the people behind his Sensai's death, he jumps out of bed, leaving Hibino following in his wake.  

Ikuo finds out that he has been cleared of any wrongdoing regarding the shooting because of Director Hibino.  Ikuo pushes by both his boss and Hibino (a 2nd time) and brings the phone to his ear, saying "Let's meet".  Oh it is on!  I was a bit concerned about Ikuo losing his revenge focus, but I think I can put those fears behind me now.

You might recall that in the last episode we learned that crime boss Yamashiro left important information with his son before the Public Safety thugs killed him. In an attempt to hunt down that information, Ikuo and Tatsuya illegally enter the missing sons residence searching for clues.  They find a photo album with a missing picture (a photo of crime boss and a younger version of his son at the amusement park). Looks like our Ouroboros boys are off to the fun house.

WHAT THE FLYING SAUCER???  Smirky Cop gets shot by his partner! I did not see that one coming at all.  We are all in virgin territory now since the show has finally deviated from the manga so I was shocked and surprised right along with everyone else. 

We see cops standing around under a bridge looking at a dead body.  A dead body of a cop.  Oh thank goodness... It was a fake out.  Instead we see that it is Smirky Cop's partner (the one that just shot him) who is dead next to the river.  We flashback to see that Smirky Cop had been wearing a bullet proof vest after he realized he was being followed.  Smirky Cop overpowers his partner and demands answers.  His partner runs away after apologizing only to end up dead (probably via the Public Safety thugs). I was so happy that Smirky Cop was not dead since he is such a good foil for our two revenge driven hotties.

Does anyone else feel that the Yakuza Cougar is having way too much fun touching Oguri Shun Tatsuya?  She reprimands him for having ulterior motives and then asks what his plans are once those goals are accomplished.  Hmmm I never thought of what Tatsuya would do after his revenge.  Somehow I don't see him settling down and having 1.5 kids and a white picket fence.

Director Hibino invites Ikuo to have dinner with him and discusses the department shifting of alliances, asking Ikuo to please be on his side.  It turns out that Deputy Commissioner Hijuri (2nd gold watch cop) wants to form an illegal search department within the police force.  He wants to use this unrest to eradicate all the yakuza gangs and gain complete control. The three cops that were killed by the box killer were direct underlings of the Police Commissioner who was shot (in ep 5) creating a power vacuum in the police department.  Looks like someone really is pulling everyone's strings. Ikuo continues to be suspicious and right out asks Director Hibino if he knows anything about Ikuo's past.  Director Hibino either doesn't know anything (unlikely) or is faking ignorance.  Either way, he answers that he does not know anything.

We of course have our Ouroboros boys who are the most awesome anti-heroes ever, but we are also starting to get another gang of good guys developing in the background.  I'm talking about Smirky Cop, Division 2 head boss, and the smart looking lady from Division 1.  Add in a reluctant Hibino who is kind of working with them unknowingly, and you have an interesting group.  A group who is also watching the changes in the police force with suspicion.  Time will tell if they will be  a help or a hindrance to Ikuo and Tatsuya, but felt I should give them a quick shout out since they might have an impact in future episodes.

Ikuo and Tatsuya are busy hunting down the Crime Boss's son Hyato at the amusement park.  Sure enough they find the poor rich boy next to the merry-go-round reminiscing about his father.  Hyato is slightly confused when confronted by not only another Yakusa member, but also a cop.  However he seems like a nice guy for a gangster's son and is willing to talk.

Hyato tells our boys about meeting two men who called themselves part of Zero, a group of four that were the top of the public safety department (Phew... that is a much better name for evil killers than Public Safety.)  The two men discuss how one of their numbers is now missing and one went into the private sector to run a company.  Hmmmm I am guessing those are hobo guy and healthy CO guy, both who are now dead leaving the two other thugs as the remaining killers of Sensai.

This guess is confirmed when Ikuo went into another memory seizure in which he finally recalls the faces of the four detectives (zero) and of the big bad watch cop who ends up being Deputy Commissioner Hijuri.

Before Ikuo can relate his newest memories to Tatsuya he glances up and sees the reflection off a sniper rifle.  He jumps in front of Hyato (Yakuza son), taking the bullet meant to kill him.  ACK!  NOOOOOOOoooooooooo......... You can not kill off poor sweet Ikuo.  I forbid it as a viewer.  If that happens I will go all bat crap crazy netizen on the writers.  I am sure my husband would understand my need to fly to Japan and picket a stranger's place of residence.  It is a fangirl 101 skill after all.

Thankfully, he is not dead yet. Just very very wounded.  Also the bad guys decide to forgo their sniper rifle (not exactly sure why since they could probably pick them off right now) and go hunt them down on foot which gives our good/bad guys a chance escape to safety in a train tunnel.  Unfortunately Ikuo is still bleeding profusely and is in need of medical help.  But a tiny gunshot is not going to stop the revenge train.  Ikuo grabs Tatsuya and tells him about his returned memories and that these are the people who killed Sensai.  He tells his BFF to go out and hunt them down.  Uhm.....wow.  That is dedication above and beyond the usual revenge plot.

Tatsuya understands what Ikuo is telling him to do and goes off to hunt the Zero killers.  But first he calls Hibino to come with a first-aid kit for Ikuo.  I love that he makes sure his bestie is taken care of (sorta) before he goes after the bad guys.  Hibino recognizes Tatsuya's voice and rushes to Ikuo's rescue.  YAY!  Maybe I don't have to dislike Hibino since she is at least supporting her partner even though she now knows Ikuo lied to her.

Now that Ikuo is relatively safe (except for the giant gushing wound in his stomach), the hunt is on.  Tatsuya and Hyato end up in the haunted house for their final showdown with the Zero cops.  I won't go into great detail regarding their fight since my simple prose can not properly describe the action.  But the gist is that the bad guys split up and one fights Tatsuya and more or less beats the dickens out of our cute Yakuza.  Tatsuya is pinned down and helpless as the episode ends.

Ikuo is not fairing much better. He is being helped by Hibino, but refuses to go to a hospital.  He just dumps a bottle of rubbing alcohol on the wound and bandages it up (OUCH OUCH OUCH).  Afterwords Ikuo pulls down his blood soaked shirt and stumbles out of the tunnel to help Tatsuya.  When Hibino tries to stop him he tells her that she needs to leave him alone since he is someone that Hibino could never forgive.  Not only that but he will be disappearing soon because of his situation.  Hibino watches him stumble away with tears in her eyes.

Ikuo makes it a ways into the theme park (how is no one noticing his blood soaked white shirt?) but is forced to rest on a park bench.  He utters Tatsuya's name as he passes out and his hand goes limp. WHAT WHAT WHAT????  Ugh the torture of a cliffhanger.

My Thoughts:
Wow... I don't really know where to start.  Let me just say that this was a truly amazing episode from start to finish.  The feelz that came from watching this were slightly overwhelming.  I love that the story is going in directions that are unexpected and that my fears regarding Hibino coming between the boys were unfounded.  It will be interesting to see how Hibino deals with Ikuo's outing and if she will end up helping them.  I am sure that Ikuo is not actually dead, but seeing his hand fall limply to the side about gave me a heart attack.  There is always the chance that one of my anti-hero boys will die in the end, but I am truly hoping that they can avoid that fate.  Especially this early in the drama.  

I am also looking forward to see how the cop factions will work in regards to Ikuo and Tatsuya's situation.  There are three main fragments (if you count Smirky Cop's trio) and all have their hands in the Ouroboros revenge pot.  Not to mention the boys still have to take down the head commissioner to complete their revenge. I am really interested to see if there are more twists for us in the next episode. 

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