#kaitodan

Chronologically, this quest takes place way near the beginning of World 1. Takuya and Yuki get a glimpse of Tsubasa's memories when they pass by him. He's fighting the mysterious organisation for an artefact, but he's doing it alone? Where are the rest of the Kaitodan?

Scientist (Eiji) is concerned about what Tsubasa plans to do with the artefact so he asks us to retrieve it if things don't look good.

We go looking for Tsubasa, and by peeking into more of his memories, we learn he is collecting the artefacts for his brother's sake.

Suddenly Scientist calls again. The artefact is actually a trap, laid as bait for the organisation to catch Tsubasa. The organisation is about to surround all of us so we've got to gtfo.

But Yuki is hesitant to leave Tsubasa behind. Even with Takuya telling her Tsubasa is a criminal who only works for his own goals (this is world 1 Takuya before character development so he's still a bit of a jerk), Yuki insists Tsubasa's feelings for his brother are genuine. So we help him.

In a flashback, we see a young Tsubasa with his little brother Yoshiaki. While chasing after his brother, Yoshiaki trips. To cheer him up Tsubasa performs a “magic” trick: he makes a flower in his hand disappear. Yoshiaki is delighted and asks Tsubasa to teach him too. But in fact, Tsubasa used his secret power. Unfortunately he was spotted by a henchman of the organisation.

Yoshiaki is now a proper magician. He makes a rabbit appear from a hat but he is sad that the show didn't go as well as when he practiced.

"I guess I'll never be as cool as nii-san...Nii-San, where are you?"

Note that whereas Tsubasa made the flower disappear, Yoshiaki made a rabbit appear. Their powers are fundamentally opposite.

Sadly, Tsubasa knows Yoshiaki is looking for him, but he cannot involve him.

"You are different to me. Stay in that light of the stage. The only one who needs to get his hands dirty behind the scenes is me."

Tsubasa then thinks back to earlier in the day at the Kaitodan base. Rui is curious why Tsubasa is going off alone.

Rui: "We're a team but why are you going off by yourself?"

Tsubasa: "Actually it's because there is a very important mission I want you guys to do instead. Will you do it?"

Rui: "Hehe, well when you put it that way, how can I refuse?"

But actually it's because he knows the artefact is a trap and he doesn't want to involve them.

So we now know Tsubasa was doing all this to protect the ones important to him.

Yuki feels a strong will emanating from Tsubasa's staff. Takuya explains that staff had been with him since a long time ago. Tsubasa then makes a dramatic revelation:

His staff is an artefact! It had responded to him when he first turned into a tamashii, but it is still incomplete. To reach its final form he requests that we battle.

Long story short, we fight and his artefact becomes complete. But now we are completely surrounded by the organization.

No worries though, Tsubasa says cryptically: “It's show time”.

One organisation member suddenly gets knifed. Another is being chased by a chick with a chainsaw. It's the Kaitodan!

Rui tries to make a cool entrance to impress Yuki but is rudely interrupted by Jack, Yayoi and Sumire explain Kouji told them to go wild for their leader's sake, and Kouji informs Tsubasa he and Saori successfully retrieved the artefact using Kana's app (rip Saori and Kana screentime though).

Takuya and Yuki intended to help Tsubasa, believing they were doing him a favour out of the goodness of their heart. But instead they got upstaged by the Kaitodan, awakened Tsubasa’s staff, and even let them get away with both artefacts.

All's well that ends well though, I guess. Scientist says as the Kaitodan were clearly fighting against the organisation, so they probably won't use the artefacts for evil.

Meanwhile back at the base, Tsubasa reveals that he never intended for the Kaitodan to come rescue him. He thought the task he set for them would take the whole day, but it was accomplished in only half the day. Rui explains it was because they noticed Tsubasa was behaving strangely.

Kouji wants to emphasise that although everyone is grateful that Tsubasa saved them and gave them a place to belong, it does not mean they are satisfied being protected and saved all the time. Tsubasa now knows too, that they are not people to be protected, but the nakama that fight beside him.

Trance Tsubasa is a continuation of Trance Yoshiaki. In that ranking quest, Yoshiaki asked Takuya and Yuki to help him find Tsubasa. They ended up in Nostalgia’s hideout where the brothers teamed up to defeat them. Unfortunately due to their opposing powers (Tsubasa’s “disappearance” vs Yoshiaki’s “creation”), they were unable to stay together long. Before they parted, Tsubasa vowed to find a way to subdue his powers so they can be together again.

"It's not goodbye, it's see you soon"

With the reunion, Tsubasa seems to have recovered his true power, and also a renewed keenness to continue to search for a way to be with Yoshiaki, through the artefacts. Rui is concerned when he learns Tsubasa actually went and fought Nostalgia by himself but Tsubasa dismisses his concern because he wants to hurry and find more AFs.

Tsubasa casually mentioning he totally trashed Nostalgia's hideout the night before

After they successfully retrieve the AF, Rui cautions Tsubasa against moving too fast, quoting Shakespeare in the process.

"Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” (This is a quote by Friar Lawrence from Romeo and Juliet)

Back at the base, Tsubasa tells the story of the "clock tower incident", where he had his first reunion with Yoshiaki after more than ten years.

The rest of the Kaitodan are super stoked that Tsubasa finally got to meet his brother, but Rui feels conflicted. What is going to become of them if Tsubasa leaves? It's not like they're actually related by blood, so they won't be able to be together forever.

Truthfully, Rui is a little jealous of Yoshiaki, Tsubasa's 'actual' family

Tsubasa finds Rui and apologises to him. He had underestimated not just him, but Yoshiaki and everyone in the Kaitodan. He wanted to protect them, but now knows everyone is capable in their own right (note parallels to World 1 Tsubasa). Tsubasa acknowledges Rui's skill and wisdom, giving examples of the advice he should have listened to: when Rui was undercover in the circus to keep an eye on Yoshiaki, he told Tsubasa he should have met Yoshiaki at least once. Also, Rui was the one who said going to Nostalgia by himself was dangerous (because it was).

Tsubasa concludes by saying Rui is his precious family, and that will never change.

The Kaitodan throw a party to celebrate Tsubasa's reunion with Yoshiaki. Jack throws bombs while crying. Kana berates him.

Sorry just had to throw a Jack pic in there. He's too iconic, even without showing his character sprite

Sumire reveals an ice sculpture she made...with her chainsaw. Yayoi notes it is of the Kaitodan, although there is no Yoshiaki because they haven't met him yet. Even if Tsubasa can't meet him, that doesn't mean the rest of them can't either right?

Tsubasa is incredibly happy. He tells them of his dream:

“When everything is over, I want to find a beautiful location and set up a base for my family. It'll be a place where you can come and go as you please, and I'm not forcing anyone to stay. But there will always be a home for you to return to."

So the actual story behind the advent isn't terribly interesting by itself, but I find it fascinating to see the similarities and differences with the other parallel worlds.

This family, of course, includes not just Yoshiaki, but all of the Kaitodan too.

Rui is moved to tears. As an orphan abandoned by his parents, to have a chance at a real family again makes him so happy.

Yayoi: "Are you so happy you're tearing up?"

Rui: "Noo of course not (B-baka!)"

And with this, it looks like Rui's character arc reaches an end? All the Kaitodan quests are about the members finding a place to belong but I think this theme applies especially to Rui and Kouji, who were there since the beginning, and were the ones to help Tsubasa find his place of belonging first (are we ever gonna get Kouji's story though lol).

Time for a comparative study!

*SPOILER* warning for Tsubasa 6* ranking, Trance Sumire 9* advent, and anime eps 5 and 6.

Before we start, please note I will refer to the world of the first Shoumetsu/Lost as “World 1”, and the world of the second Shoumetsu/Shoumetsu Toshi 2/the one with the ice pillar as “World 2”.

Note that Tsubasa 6* occurs in World 1, while Trance Yoshiaki and Trance Tsubasa occur in World 2.

First, let's talk about the similarities between the Tsubasa in the game. Tsubasa awakening his AF in World 1 is a direct parallel to him “unlocking” his power after teaming up with Yoshiaki in World 2. Through those battles each also comes to realise the true strength of the people they want to protect.

The difference is that in World 2 he gets reunited with Yoshiaki, while that is yet to happen in World 1. Consequently it feels like the Kaitodan take a bit of a back seat in World 2 (for example, in Tsubasa's 6* ranking, the members actually intervene to bail out their leader, while in World 2, Yoshiaki takes more of the spotlight). However to make up for that, we get to see more of the mental implications on each individual. This is particularly prominent in the case of Trance Sumire.

In Sumire's 9* advent, we see she feels a sense of unease at the changes Tsubasa underwent after the clock tower incident, fearing it might change the current dynamic within the Kaitodan (note similarity to how Rui feels). Also similar to Rui, her fears are allayed by the end and she becomes able to accept change. Essentially we see the trust between Tsubasa and the rest of the members happen along the same vein in both worlds, just in different ways.

The anime draws on a very different set of events. The two biggest changes are Tsubasa's absence, and the nature of Yoshiaki's power.

Tsubasa is missing in the anime, and the Kaitodan is only half of what it is in the game (missing Yayoi, Kouji and Saori). It definitely feels sadder although I do appreciate the details they added to the base to give it a homely vibe.

Without a leader, the Kaitodan are forced to act on their own and make their own decisions. We don't really get to see the impact of Tsubasa on the group, except in a flashback which basically shows the group's founding. Although in a way this does reinforce the idea that each member is perfectly capable in their own right and don't need Tsubasa's protection, the fact they couldn't hold their own against Souma kind of undermines this. Nevertheless, I definitely think Tsubasa's role in the anime is as a guide to help these delinquents find a way to stand on their own.

The other big change the anime made is give Yoshiaki the same power as Tsubasa, instead of an opposing one. Unfortunately they still can't be together because Tsubasa was, first, in an AF, and now he is gone. Rip.

Anyway I think the biggest motive for this change was to fit the storyline the anime was going for. One that emphasises the bond between the brothers, while conveniently resolving the AF plot thread. From a strategic point of view, this means the audience should be invested in Yoshiaki enough to justify his inclusion in the main story going forward, and also the creators don't have any more Kaitodan-related loose plot threads they need to consider, which frees them up to explore other characters and stories in the rest of the anime.

Sooo, the anime made a lot of changes I don't completely approve of, but I can see reasons to agree with them. And the characters do think and act appropriately for that context, which is all that I really need.