REVIEW: ‘Tank Chair’ Episode 4

Tank Chair Episode 4 offers little beyond the fight with the Kurosaka siblings and a few revelations here and there. As such, while still engaging, it doesn’t hold a candle to the previous episode. The episode begins where the last left off, with Touko (Saori Hayami) squaring up against Nagi (Koki Uchiyama) and his Tank Chair Mark III. Touko uses the second tank valve on her belt, which instantly strengthens her.

She leaps at Nagi with full killing intent, using her extendable fists to pull him in and give him a clothesline before berating him with multiple punches. Unfortunately, this is the most exciting part of the entire episode, as the rest boils down to one-shots and lackluster attacks.

Despite Touko’s barrage of attacks, Nagi is unaffected, as her potent killing intent only strengthens him. One retaliatory attack from him was enough to incapacitate Touko. Watching this is incredibly disappointing, as the fight with Touko was hyped up in the previous episode and framed as a much more exciting, longer bout. The reality in Tank Chair Episode 4 feels like it was cut short before we could even see what Touko was fully capable of in combat. Even worse is that what follows after this doesn’t provide a better viewing experience but a worse one.

An underwhelming fight sours Tank Chair Episode 4.

After seeing Touko get easily defeated, Naozumi (Gakuto Kajiwara) tells her to step back and rest, then transforms into his hideous, squid-like monster form. It’s revealed that the reason he always suffers from headaches is that he uses a Migraine Mollusk, which is a semi-living brain parasite that can camouflage and disguise the host, as well as mask their brainwaves, presence, and killing intent, at the price of agonizing migraines.

This form makes him a bad matchup for Nagi, and this is quickly proven as Naozumi uses his abilities to easily skewer Nagi with knives, because he can’t track him or evade his attacks without killing intent. He does this while berating Nagi for letting himself get injured because of Shizuka (Minori Fujidera), whom he insults for being weak, after reminiscing about how he always wanted to be Nagi’s equal.

It’s obvious Naozumi always had complicated feelings toward Nagi, but instead of talking about it or doing literally anything else, he pours out his frustrations like every other generic anime villain, which is disappointing. However, just before Naozumi can finish him off, Shizuka runs in and attempts to stab Nagi.

Shizuka and Nagi’s conflict is understandable, but their love is undeniable.

This produces enough killing intent to strengthen Nagi enough to hit Naozumi with an incredibly powerful punch, instantly ending the fight. While it makes sense that Mark III is designed for heavy, devastating hits, it’s underwhelming to watch two fights start and end with a single punch after some subpar build-up. Additionally, Naozumi’s tentacle form, while appropriately grotesque, looks immensely uncanny because of its low-quality 3D model.

After Nagi’s heavy-hitting punch, Touko runs in and grabs Naozumi before escaping with him. Naozumi then voices out his shock that Shizuka was willing to actually kill her brother to produce genuine killing intent. Meanwhile, Nagi and Shizuka discuss how now that the Kurosaka siblings know where they are, so will the Academy, and their lives are about to get even more complicated.

Nagi shows remorse that Shizuka will now be in more danger and tells Shizuka that, if she’s ever in danger, she should save herself over him. This enrages her; she hits him, and they start to argue. This is the first time the two have had a proper sibling moment without Nagi’s condition interrupting them, leading to a surprisingly wholesome scene. Shizuka’s inner monologue then reveals that one person produces enough killing intent to potentially cure Nagi, but she was too afraid to even consider it.

A mysterious “Sensei” shows up at the end of Tank Chair Episode 4 and may be a potential enemy.

This thought triggers the next scene, showing the Academy and introducing a mysterious character referred to only as “Sensei,” who projects enough killing intent to kill all the birds around him. He’s told Nagi has been found in Guicheng City, and he perks up in excitement. Tank Chair Episode 4  ends with Shizuka thinking it may be time to fight him.

All in all, Tank Chair Episode 4 is incredibly underwhelming despite its few revelations, thanks to its weak fights. However, with the introduction of a new character and how the episode teases their capabilities, future episodes will hopefully be more exciting.

 Tank Chair Episode 4 is streaming now on Prime Video.

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