The World Ends with You the Animation

Episode 6

Episode 6, “Turf”, picks up immediately with Neku having a genuine meltdown over the realization that Joshua murdered him. Of course, when confronted over the sudden memory, Joshua coolly reminds Neku that he needs him, especially if Neku wants to win the Reapers' Game and ultimately, save and revive Shiki. It's a bitter truth that Neku struggles to reconcile with throughout episode 6, and one that will likely weigh heavily on his mind until his time with Joshua comes to an end.

However, for now, Neku has no choice but to work with and trust his murderer, because there's bigger fish to fry. Looks like hot boy Minamimoto is up to no good. Our intrepid twosome happens upon him drawing strange sigils that have the aura and stink of nothing good. More on that when the plot kicks in about Sho's antics; for now, put a pin in it.

Post-OP, there's trouble afoot with a whole pack of Wolf Noise who are hungry for Shibuya teens in need of some counseling. Worse still, an even stronger noise appears, threatening to erase Joshua and Neku. Thankfully, Beat – now a reaper – is on the scene and kindly helps Neku and Joshua out, clearing the Wall while he's at it.

After all the action in the front half of this episode, things slow down and get a bit introspective when Neku meets Sota and Nao, two blast from the past ganguro who have a heart-to-heart with our jerk with a heart of gold. It's a pretty sweet scene that offers a bit of levity before we dive back into the heavy stuff.

You remember that pin, by the way? Pull it out because this is where we're introduced to a brand new bit of jargon: Taboo Noise. This might have been mentioned before, but it becomes a focal point in episode 6. Our pair encounters a Black Rhino, the likes of which is nigh indestructible. Even a synced attack isn't enough to cut it down. Overpowered, Neku realizes that they need to run… until they find themselves boxed in by a second Black Rhino Noise.

Then Joshua calls down brilliant, eye-searing beams of light and utterly erases the Noise, only for Kariya to witness Joshua's powerful attack. Naturally, he's a bit nonplussed, though that doesn't stop him from revealing a juicy tidbit: Joshua is very much alive, and is breaking the rules by entering the game as a living, breathing human.

Now that's two sins that our grey-haired deuteragonist have committed: he's Neku's murderer and he's an illegal player. Who knows how this will play out? I certainly do and don't, which makes it an incredibly engaging hook into episode 7, especially since we get one new, ominous term along with these final scenes: Taboo Noise Refinery.

Put a pin on that until episode 7. We'll definitely be coming back to that, especially now that these new Taboo Noise are attacking Reapers and erasing them.

Now that TWEWY the Animation has found its legs with its pacing and isn't rushing through world-building and table setting, it's actually becoming an incredibly engaging video game adaptation. While it's fascinating as a series veteran to spot the minor differences between the video game and the anime, I'm also excited to see all the plot threads laid out in episode 1-3 starting to come together. Things will only get more plotty from here on out, and I can't wait.

If episode 5 is TWEWY the Animation regaining its footing, then episode 6 is a solid transitional episode that effectively builds up to the climax of this arc. It confidently blends quieter, character-building scenes with plot developments and interstitial moments that build up the ongoing mystery of the Shibuya Underground and what's potentially happening behind the scenes with Minamimoto and even Joshua. It feels night and day compared to episodes 2 and 3, which felt frenetic, messy, and generally all over the place.

There's no telling how many anime-only viewers are still around, but if you are, I certainly hope you're enjoying the series. At the very least, I hope that this series encourages you to pick up the video game: I still stand by TWEWY being one of Square Enix's finest titles. It's definitely worthy of the sequel we'll be getting this Summer.

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The World Ends with You the Animation is currently streaming on Funimation and Hulu.

Mercedez is a JP-EN localization editor & QA, pop culture critic, and a writer who also writes & reviews at Anime Feminist and But Why Tho?. She's also a frequent guest on the AniFem Podcast, Chatty AF. This anime season, she's all about Super Cub, which is great because she's also reviewing it here on ANN. When she's not writing, you can find her on her Twitter or on her Instagram where she's always up to something.