NT Warrior: Chisao's In Town!

Plot Synopsis
Dex's younger brother Chisao is visiting from Netopia, and he's impressing everyone with his genius intellect. Wanting to try to impress him, Dex has filled Chisao's mind with all kinds of big talk about how all his friends are his students, and how he's the best NetBattler in town. Of course, just before Chisao showed up however, Dex begged everyone to agree to play along.

While this is going on, a new Noodle Shop has opened up right next to #1 Curry, and the competition is fierce. Slick Noodle's spokesman, NoodleMan.exe has everyone in town doing a really badly animated Noodle Dance, and that's scaring World Three. In order to keep Lan and his friends from trying the new Noodle Restaurant, Yahoot offers them free curry.

While they're eating, Chisao wants to see Dex NetBattle everyone, and everyone's Navi's try and take a fall from GutsMan's poor operating. Chisao wants to try operating GutsMan and pulls off the Life Sword Program Advance on his first try, nearly blasting MegaMan all to hell. Dex scolds Chisao, and tells him to get his own PET, but this whole incident is being watched by Sambo, the Slick Noodle owner.

Sambo hatches a plan into tricking Chisao to destroy #1 Curry. He gives him NoodleMan, who disguises himself as a GutsMan lookalike named NuggetsMan... or maybe NoGutsMan, I'm not sure. Anyway, Sambo tells Chisao that aliens are invading, and directs Chisao to attack #1 Curry's system network, starting fires and the like.

With Chisao missing, Lan, Dex and everyone else go looking for him, and there attention is caught when #1 Curry starts billowing smoke out its doors. World Three wants to know just what gives with Chisao attacking them, so Lan and Dex jack in and try to fight NoodleMan. All is not going so well until NoodleMan gives himself away by doing his patented Noodle Dance. Upon recognizing the dance, Lan and Dex bust in to the Slick Noodle to rescue Chisao.

After the whole mess is taken care of, Mr. Match and World Three are about to go medieval on Sambo's ass, when Lan suggests they forgive him, citing Spicy Noodle Curry as a great recipe. This causes everyone to break down in tears from the "beauty" of the two dishes uniting and they decide to all be friends. Dex breaks down too and promises Lan that he'll tell Chisao the truth, in about ten or twenty years.

Critique
I really think Chisao is a bit of a waste of air time. There's potential to use him to develop Dex, but it isn't used all that often, and even in the games, Chisao doesn't fill a role any other character couldn't do better. Then, he takes a more active role in Axess, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, given the circumstances, but they shift around characters so damn much on that series that all hell breaks loose.

But that said, I'm not shitting on this episode really. Chisao isn't annoying or anything, just not particularly interesting. What works in this episode is the whole Noodle vs Curry battle, and it's pretty damn funny how World Three went from kidnapping and terrorism, to the victims of Dex's younger brother, and Mr. Match plays it so straight too, the guy cracks me up.

There's a few little things that make this episode pretty good too. Just look at Yahoot's night gown! It looks so damn funny, yet it seems to fit him just so perfectly. Lan also gives a nice Phoenix Wright style OBJECTION! pose, that has to be intentional. Finally, you have the ending which is just so over the top dramatic, that you can't help but love it. While I don't particularly love Chisao, this is a good episode regardless.

Rating: Thumbs up!