One great example of this is the attempted rape of Miko. It wasn't even dark out. I think not only was this scene to show the dispicable level that humanity has dropped to sprinkled in with all the violence, but it was also to show some things about Miko. I think the return to her old more innocent wardrobe may have indicated that Miki saving her last episode has impacted her for the better. However, there is no shred of doubt in my mind that she took the rapist as a toy to release her sexual and violent urges together. It's notable that she was jogging in her non-demonic way which she wasn't afraid to show off, and this time alone. Nor did she go after him until he showed her he was a horrible person. To me, this all indicates that seeing the good side of Miki, alike how Akira saw the good side of the devils Silene and Kaim, has grounded her to some degree. It may have shifted her mind back to one of which was not as spite driven and more human, but also one that still wants to act on the urges it has.
This is a horrible future for Akira. Not only did he already want to upkeep human life and peace, but now he has an understanding that a devilman isn't that rare. That there are plenty of devilmen, and possibly that the devils themselves aren't that bad. He finally understands all of this, and as if on purpose the world has come to spite him, making both sides kill each other, humans kill themselves, and putting him directly in the middle. It was pretty heartbreaking to see Akira try and save that devil which fled from even him. We saw how Koda attacked Miko thinking she was a human because of a similar notion to why Ryo killed Nagasaki, "You already saw me", however the two seemed happy to be able to see each other for what they are, rather than to hide it.
Ryo is only getting more mystical and more mystical as the anime continues. The talk about this showing that humans are weak, and him telling Akira to rather observe the path humanity takes made me think this was some crazy test to see if humanity is strong enough to live, as well as an evolutionary stepping stone or something. He then looked at the bible and cited the part where it said God came back to fight Satan and I assume the bright flash represents that to some degree? Either way its confusing. What we know for sure is Ryo has switched, more prominently in the past, to a psychotic presence rather than a sociopathic one. Two interesting things are how he spoke to himself about how he never turned Akira into a devil for him to fight back for humankind with other devilmen which indicates he really didn't plan this far; although him saying to stay alive could be either because he cares about him or because he wants him for another part of his plan. That said, I think the fact that Ryo was looking at pictures of them as kids may mean it was out of genuine concern. And the scream he did at the end was the most genuine emotion we've seen out of him and it was terrifying.
People keep saying that Akira has changed but I don't know if I buy that. We saw that adorable scene where he saved Miki as kids alike how he has a few times in this series. But even if the rapper squad saved her this time, it's not like Akira isn't a crybaby who cares about everyone who he can feel has emotion, and whom cares about Miki dearly. I think he had changed, he turned into a monster. But now, I don't think he's too much different from episode 1. I once said he had more confidence, but even seeing him as a kid he had it. It's more likely that the biggest change is that he has the power to fight back, and had urges he couldn't control. I love Akira. He's adorable, his development is great, he's badass, and he's so lovable and empathetic.
I wonder if Taro had a devil merge with him because of the worldwide bloodshed, as to even summon them at all Ryo had to slaughter people at the Sabbath. I just realized when mentioning how cruel Ryo was and how Akira tolerated him, I never mentioned the amount of death he's caused just to expose devils and summon them.
There's a lot to unpack in this episode that I don't feel strong enough about to touch on. Two big things I need to know is why Miki and Miko were roaming around. The other characters like Akira or the rappers are clear, but those two had definite reasons. I wonder if Miki was out looking for Akira, I do think her new outfit is important to note, and I wonder what Miko's goal was. She jogged casually, she released some urges, she looked from her now dead grandmas special view, and confronted Koda wearing Kikun's glasses with some flashes of his hands ripped apart(with the butterfly tattoo). She and Kikun's role in the story and what happened to him are things I'm interested in but I think watching more and rewatching the anime will help put those together.
