English Dub Review: SHIBOYUGI: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table “—- It All”

Stump Dem Bunnies.

Overview

Contestants dressed as Playboy Bunnies prepare to play a week-long game of Hide and Seek while being hunted by the opposing team.


Our Take

Picking up from the previous episode, we finally witness the infamous Candle Woods game that had been referenced in earlier episodes. Set during Yuki’s ninth game, this other prequel story places her in a more inexperienced stage, still reliant on her mentor’s guidance. The setup is striking: veteran “Bunny’s” in bunny suits must survive a week while being hunted by the “Stumps,” mostly comprised of first-timers armed with weapons. The premise draws from the old tale of “Waiting for a Rabbit,” giving symbolic weight to the dynamic. While the rabbits hold experience and numbers, the stumps possess firepower, creating an inherently unbalanced and ominous battlefield that explains the game’s dark reputation.

While the rabbits hold the advantage in experience and numbers, the stumps possess weapons and desperation. Moegi, the lone experienced hunter among a group of novices, quickly establishes herself as a ruthless pragmatist. Faced with teammates who hesitate or panic, she makes horrifying but calculated decisions to harden them before the game officially begins. Her leadership is cold, unsentimental, and disturbingly logical within the context of a death game. At the same time, the episode subtly frames this match as a pivotal turning point for Yuki, hinting at how her motivations and identity may have been shaped by what happened here.

Overall, this arc marks a turning point in Yuki’s evolution, revisiting the formative game that altered her path while withholding its outcome. The collision between necessity and idealism, veterans and armed newcomers, gives Candle Woods a weight far beyond a standard battle royale. By casting seasoned players as prey and rookies as executioners, the story builds a tragic inevitability that shadows every exchange, heightened by the mentor’s looming milestone and unspoken pressure. With haunting direction, restrained sound design, and rising psychological strain, the episode delivers tense, high-stakes buildup that firmly establishes this as one of the most defining chapters in Yuki’s journey.