The World Ends with You the Animation

Episode 8

Episode 8, “Emergency Call” drops us into Neku's third and final week in the Underground and the Reapers' Game. This is it: a loss here means that Neku gets unmade and that Shiki and Joshua never get to come back in any capacity. Safe to stay the stakes have never been higher, especially when erasure is the cost.

Post-OP, viewers get dropped back into the game, which is now enveloped in a dreary atmosphere: the skies above Shibuya are grey and heavy. Plus, this week is presided over by the Iron Maiden, Miss Konishi. But Neku can't worry about the weather, nor the tangible gloom of this week: he needs a partner. Problem is… he's the only Player in this game, and he can't access any of his Psyches.

Worse, Uzuki and Kariya, who we see early on in the episode, make an appearance. The former launches a volley of Frog Noise at Neku, intent on erasing him, only for Reaper Beat Daisukenojo to come in and skate-breakdance the frogs out of existence. It turns out that his deep loyalty and sense of justice won't let him erase someone as defenseless as Neku, even if it means turning his back on the Reapers and the game structure. He even offers to make a Pact with Neku, giving Neku the chance to survive this final bout. This is enough for Neku to clear the mission and escape the fate of being devoured by a pile of frogs. Meanwhile, Beat's wings are digitized, returning him to the game as a full-fledged player instead of a Reaper.

Upper management is informed that Beat's been eliminated, and it's quickly decided that in light of this, Beat will be treated as a player. There's no time to fool around, nor anytime to consider the nature of his actions. In fact, once Kitaniji is in the know, he issues the titular Emergency Call. Meanwhile, Ms. Konishi makes moves of her own, promising Uzuki a promotion in exchange for a special task.

Konishi goes on the offensive and directly confronts Neku and Beat, something that no other Game Master has done since Day 1. But the Iron Maiden means business, and that means crushing all who stand in her way with a smile and a toss of her hair. But she doesn't crush either boy yet; instead, Konishi claims Rhyme – the creature following Beat around – as Beat's entrance fee.

Remember that Emergency Call? It turns out to be a rallying cry for every single Reaper to exterminate Beat and erase Neku. It comes on the heels of Konishi giving the boys six days to find her and her “certain hiding spot”, which is as nebulous a clue as any. The call also comes with a new pin: the O-Pin, which gives Reapers a nice power boost… or does it? Kariya seems to think otherwise, and I'd caution viewers to do the same. If there's one thing that's clear about Konishi, it's that she's ready and willing to play dirty, especially if it means crushing Neku and Beat under her pretty little heels.

Episode 8 makes it clear that this ain't your momma's Reaper Game. The dramatic stakes here are higher than even the previous episode, which was one of the most exciting episodes of the series. Even with Beat's comedic outbursts, episode 8 feels like End Game content, the final stretch in TWEWY the Animation's story. Neku and Beat have quite the challenge ahead of them if they're going to survive both the games and Miss Konishi's machinations. Thank goodness Neku's a different person from who he was at the beginning of this series or else he'd be in trouble. Even knowing how things end, I truly hope that Neku is strong enough to see this final week through and bring all those loose plot threads together.

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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 journalist 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.