Previously, Vivio stated her intention to win her fight against Rinne, as well as declaring that she wants to befriend her. Is Vivio able to live up to her words? Well, let’s take a look at episode 8 of ViVid Strike! and find out.
We begin with the end of the first round.
At the end of the first round, Vivio leads in points having knocked Rinne down. Vivio and Rinne return to their respective corners, and prepare for round 2.
Nove chastises Vivio for talking to Rinne during the match.
Round 2 starts, and Vivio wastes no time in pelting Rinne with a barrage of jabs.
Vivio gains control of the fight.
Round 2 comes to an end, and Rinne is still lagging behind in points. When round 3 starts, Vivio continues to hold the advantage – for a while, at least.
Vivio delivers a counter.
Unsurprisingly, Rinne does not respond well to being punched in the face.
Rinne wastes no time in striking back against Vivio, delivering several damaging blows. Vivio suffers an injured leg from Rinne’s onslaught – though that’s not all that happens.
Rinne’s attack breaks through Vivio’s guard.
Rinne knocks Vivio down for the count. This provides a moment for Vivio to have a flashback – she knows that her body was never suited for taking blows, but she pursued martial arts regardless.
Vivio training.
Rather than wish for something she doesn’t have, Vivio focused on improving what she does have.
With her flashback done, Vivio stands up once more.
The fight resumes, but Vivio’s leg injury causes her to drop her guard. Rinne seizes the opportunity and delivers a beatdown.
With Vivio on the ropes, Rinne starts pummelling her.
Rinne seems to be envious of Vivio’s upbringing – Vivio was surrounded by friends and brought up in a loving environment. Rinne, however, feels she can only rely on strength to get by.
Vivio switches her stance and counters Rinne.
With Rinne now unable to read Vivio’s moves, Vivio unleashes a special move.
Axel Smash Infinity – a 12-hit combo, despite what the name would have you believe.
Rinne is knocked out and the fight concludes with Vivio’s victory.
Vivio is sent to the hospital after the match.
Fuka is impressed by Vivio’s prowess, although she seems to be a little shocked to hear that Vivio will probably now choose to bow out of the Winter Cup. However, Rio shares some words of wisdom from Einhard: focus on tomorrow after you win today. Fuka is next up to fight, as you may have guessed.
Jill blames herself for Rinne’s defeat.
Both Rinne and Jill are hit pretty hard by the former’s defeat at the hands of Vivio for the second time. All that this has done is convince Rinne that she is weak.
Rinne retreats to the bathroom where she throws up.
The episode ends with Fuka entering the ring once more.
Fuka prepares for her next fight.
We’ll have to wait until the next episode to see who she is up against, though.
This was a great episode. The fight between Vivio and Rinne went back and forth, so it wasn’t immediately clear who the winner would be. I was worried for a moment when Rinne knocked Vivio down, but seeing her get back up and deliver the Axel Smash Infinity finisher was great.
Hopefully Rinne won’t spend too long moping – she clearly possesses strength, and losing twice to Vivio doesn’t mean she is weak. I still want to see Fuka take on Rinne – hopefully the latter hasn’t completely given up on fighting just yet.
Rory Muses 