Gleipnir, Episode 9: How Fragile We Are

Shuuichi and Clair venture through the mountains with their new team and meet a dangerous group of Gatherers.

Episode 9 – “Staked Claims”

Hmm.

Gleipnir spent a couple of episodes on the Star Coin collecting group Clair and Shuuichi joined, mainly to show how different Shuuichi’s powers are and its mysterious origins, since he can’t remember anything or how he got them. However, we know that Team Choker is atypical in its relative offensive power. There are monsters in those mountains, as Sanbe and Subaru showed us, so it’s time we met some of them.

Thankfully, or lazily, Gleipnir made sure we already met two of those other strong gatherers. When Clair and Shuuichi met Sanbe, the episode set the scene with a glasses-wearing giantess and a ferocious gorilla. We finally got an answer on how that fight turned out. We saw important things for this episode in that small encounter. Besides how quickly things turn to violence out in the forest, we saw that groups that have strong leaders fare better than loners and independents. Even Elena doesn’t travel alone in the mountains.

Because the Gleipnir episode focused on how the Gatherers organized themselves, we saw a nice comparison between Sayaka and the Gorilla Guy. Each are charismatic and they both have articulated goals for collecting the coins. Even though Team Choker is supposed to be a “weak” group, Sayaka keeps her crew in line the same way Gorilla Guy does — by threats of violence. Speaking on that choking threat, I still have questions about Ikeuchi’s relation to that Sudo the Green Titan. There’s this general foreshadowing of betrayal around him, but Sayaka’s hair choker hasn’t activated yet. I’m hoping that moment is as dramatic as the low-key suspense. I’m also hoping we see Ikeuchi’s head in a plastic bag soon because that garbage person really grates on me.

Heh.

Gleipnir needs to show Sayaka making a big speech for some reason. Just go find that spaceship already! Ikeuchi really hates Shuuichi for paying attention to Chihiro. Trash person. Team Choker wants to end the alien Star Coin game, but they’ve only got 5 coins out of a hundred. Aiming high.

Har. Team Choker found the battlefield where Clair and Shuuichi met Sanbe and he killed the Green Titan in that earlier Gleipnir episode. Hoh. Sudo’s body is still rotting out there. Garbage Ikeuchi seethes. Gang territory signs. Avoiding turf may be bad if you’re already on someone else’s turf because what stops that gang from attacking you if you’re not a strong gang? Game theory is not Sayaka’s strong suit. Clair has already shown her chops at this stuff.

Ikeuchi has recorded video of this territory, but doesn’t this just show when he got coopted by that dead Sudo the Green Titan guy? How has Ikeuchi’s Scope Head not snapped off yet? Unless the Green Titan’s power does something about loyalty? Questions still needing answers. Sayaka’s purple top is still making me think I should switch to Team Poker. Guh. Was Green Titan part of this big gang of Gatherers? He claimed to have sex slaves, but he wasn’t a leader? Gleipnir is getting bogged down in the character details of this alien crash site story way too late in the season.

Trash Ikeuchi needs to keep Shuuichi’s rank below him. Scent sniffing is passive surveillance, which Gleipnir has already shown is much better at finding long range threats than Ikeuchi’s active line of sight attention. Poor cuckolded garbage Ikeuchi. He isn’t the only one feeling those jealous pangs. Clair doesn’t like the attention Shuuichi pays Chihiro. Ho. Invisible Girl Miku appears to lean in the yuri direction for Sayaka! Clair picked up on that too! This girl is awesome.

Fun. Isao can grow watermelons for a nice outdoorsy snack. Bah. Clair is a typical teenage hot chick who can eat whatever she wants. It goes straight to her boobs at her age. Youta is the bro’s bro in Gleipnir. He warns Ikeuchi to stop snapping cleavage shots of Clair! Shuuichi has a passive sniffer, so Ikeuchi could take a break to eat some watermelon. He’s not a good team player. Yuri shippers don’t have to try hard imagining Sayaka and Miku together.

Gleipnir’s default on human nature is that they keep secrets. There’s always this big inertia to overcome to tell Shuuichi he has a problem with Elena. Elena kept the secret. Chihiro is keeping the secret. It’s understandable for Elena, but why does Chihiro need to defer to Elena’s feelings? Teenagers are always so full of emotional drama.

The action in Gleipnir starts now. Clair figured that turf sign herded them into a vulnerable spot. Ikeuchi only scans in 2D, not 3D like Shuuichi’s nose. Sayaka says Team Choker is good at getting away from trouble, but I have a hard time figuring out how Chihiro’s ability to talk to animals helps when they’re crashing through the woods scaring them all away. Ugh. A huge centipede dude ran after them. Sucks for that dude. After watching One Punch Man, we know those guys always lose.

Well, it looks like we’re not going to advance Gleipnir’s overall plot very much this week. Let’s just have fun with scary monsters in the forest. Every time Youta speaks, I like him more. Clair knows the centipede dude is just stalling for his buddies. Eh? Why is Clair such a terrible fighter against this guy? Bah. I know it’s because we need to see Youta pound some guy down.

Yes. Here comes the sexy torture porn. Sayaka was too much of a target. Gleipnir knows what we like. Miku is most concerned. The yuri is strong in this one. Clair is taking on the mantle of Team Poker from Sayaka. Oops. I spoke too soon. Clearly, Sayaka is still the reigning queen of Team Poker.

Ugh. Head in a plastic bag. Aw no. It’s the cute glasses-wearing girl we saw back in Gleipnir’s fifth episode when Shuuichi and Clair hiked into the mountains and met Sanbe. Don’t mess with cute girls in ikemen Youta’s presence. Let’s see how his powers work. Sayaka is confident in Youta’s abilities. Ew. Censored jaw breaking. This isn’t over yet. Centipede guy was just stalling Team Choker until Gorilla Guy could catch up to them. He has a comrade who can see the Invisible Girl naked, but not through Shuuichi’s costume.

Gorilla Guy, what a man. He can’t heal a broken jaw, but he can commiserate with a missing tooth. Thanks, I guess? He’s got his own kind of charisma. It’s also time for Gleipnir to show how strong he really is. Clair should get back into Shuuichi right now! Gorilla Guy busted right through Isao’s fence of big trees. Youta couldn’t one-shot him. Is Youta a glass cannon? All offense, no defense? Ugh. Gorilla Guy likes the look of Clair, but he’s more interested in Shuuichi’s suit. “What the hell are you?” he asks. Shuuichi would like to know too! Nice way to end the episode.

Gleipnir streams weekly on Funimation.