EPISODE CONTEXT

Sitting at the season's midpoint, this episode directly follows 'Welcome to Reality!', where Satou was forced to face uncomfortable truths about his situation—making his retreat into an online game feel like a natural but devastating regression. Episode 15 functions as the entry point into the MMORPG arc, establishing the virtual world dependency that will escalate into 'Welcome to the Game Over!' and its fallout. It's a critical pivot that shifts the show's exploration of isolation from physical withdrawal to digital escapism.