It was a good series. I’m excited for Neo.
Joshua confused me, tho. He was confusing to me since his first appearance. Maybe I should watch the whole series again now that all the episodes are out.
Dream Drop Distance kinda put an idea in my mind of the kinda character Joshua was supposed to be and the anime showed a completely different person than the one I expected. Now that I think about it, Joshua made no sense in that game, too. I should probably rewatch the Secret Report’s videos, too.
Joshua is a complicated sort of guy. Everything he did was for the sake of Shibuya. Shibuya in TWEWY is considered a cornerstone for creativity, and that creativity spreads and influences the rest of the world.
Joshua saw it rotting from the inside and its rot would have infected the other wards and even cities surrounding it, then eventually the world. In Joshua's eyes, destroying Shibuya would have saved the world. He chose Neku, the most hopeless soul in Shibuya, to play the Game believing that it would ensure his win against Kitaniji who he believed was merely fighting an uphill battle.
And Neku represented the rot of Shibuya. Neku could see the way the city was full of selfish, greedy, self-centered people, but he also was self-centered and turned away from the world. Joshua could see that Neku understood this about Shibuya. It's one of the things they sort of agree on at the beginning of Week 2, but by that point Neku's worldview had begun to change thanks to Shiki.
And so Neku changed.
Neku changed, which meant Shibuya could as well.
So Joshua changed his mind and didn't destroy Shibuya.
And here is where Joshua was playing 4D chess lol.
Joshua might say he chose Neku to ensure his win because he was a soul that shouldn't have been able to change, but it's pretty clear that the whole time he believed that Neku could become a better, more open person. He pushed Neku to learn how to trust him and others.
Everything Joshua did wasn't to destroy Shibuya, but to revitalize it. And to save Neku from himself, too.
And Mr. H was playing 4D chess as well. In the event Joshua had gone through with his plans, Mr. H laid his own plans out to ensure Shibuya would be saved. After all, he was the one who embedded the message in the graffiti that Neku was drawn to.
Don't get me wrong, Joshua can be callous, but he cares about Shibuya and the people within it because he cares about continuing the prosperity and creativity of the city.
This episode confirmed it, after all. He brought back all of the players and reapers who were wrongly erased during the three weeks. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't care.
ANYWAYS.
NOW ON TO KH JOSHUA
Joshua in KH3D is different than TWEWY Joshua because KH3D Joshua had to live through the premature destruction of his Shibuya. Joshua gathered what remained of Shibuya and brought it to the Realm of Sleep, then used Rhyme's dreams as a portal to traverse his splintered Shibuya.
This, in a way, humbled Joshua. This is why he is more helpful and overall more open and honest than TWEWY Joshua.