Because of the insects that were released by the MOTW, Battle Hopper goes berserk and becomes a killing machine! Can Kotaro stop his partner or is he left with the option to kill him?
This is probably, one of the best episodes this series has to offer. It is the best because it explored more with the fact that Battle Hopper is a sentient motorcycle and Kotaro's friendship with this bike. The fact that Kotaro watched over Battle Hopper at night just to find out what is responsible in his berserk showed us how much he cares for his pal. After discovering the cause of Battle Hopper's berserk, Kotaro becomes more determined to stop his partner's berserk. But nope, he can't stop it, causing Battle Hopper to continue its rampage.
To be honest, I hated how they showed it. It's just them showing a picture of mass destruction with a picture of Battle Hopper slapped on top of the image of mass destruction. It didn't give me the proper feeling that this small motorcycle is the cause of the destruction of buildings and vehicles. Even if that's the case, the best part of this episode is Kotaro trying to stop his partner with its berserk... only for Birugenia to appear who seems to be interested with the Battle Hopper. What I like about this scene is Kotaro fighting Birugenia while Battle Hopper is running wild. The fight scene is quite intense, especially the ending wherein neither Kotaro nor Birugenia getting hold of Battle Hopper.
This is then followed by Kotaro being quite sentimental with the loss of his partner, it's one touching scene, which reminded us viewers that Battle Hopper is more than just a motorcycle, but a friend of justice. Thus it is no surprise that Kotaro is willing to fall for a Gorgom trap just to save his friend. Said trap is Bishium planning to blow up a dam and Kotaro has left no choice but to stop in its destruction while waiting for Battle Hopper to appear so that he can stop it. The fight against the MOTW is really intense. To make matters worse, Road Sector can't reach the place where the missile launcher is located!
What made this scene much more interesting is how they pile up all of Kotaro's problems in just one scene. The other problem aside that the Road Sector can't reach the place, the missile launcher has a timer, the missile from the launcher can kill Kotaro and the MOTW is the appearance of a berserk Battle Hopper. Its appearance made the scene more interesting. Can Kotaro divide his focus so that he can finish these two problems at once? That's the question that's been bothering me while watching the scene.
Instead of facing Battle Hopper first, he decides to finish the MOTW and the missile first then fight Battle Hopper next. Kotaro's fight against the MOTW is really well done. What's more is that he used the MOTW as a springboard so that he can jump to the part where the missile launcher is located! I just love that while he is on top of the MOTW, he starts destroying its wings before destroying it for good.
Finally, Kotaro's fight with Battle Hopper is really emotional as we saw a side of Kotaro that we rarely see. He is willing to fight his friend even if it will cause his life. Crashing the Road Sector just to destroy the bugs inside Battle Hopper is something I didn't expect Kotaro will do, but just to save his friend, he is willing to sacrifice his life just to do it. At the end, his attempted suicidal attack worked and Battle Hopper is now back to normal.
