Recaps

Senba Gari and Takai Geki bonded over their shared longing for their fathers’ attention, and Gari began teaching Geki kendo while staying with the Takai family. After two days of training, Geki invited Gari to a special place, while the adults met in the Takai residence’s study.

• Takai Geki left after arguing with Takai Mamoru, and Mamoru invited Senba Ryo’s group to dinner.
• Senba Gari watched Takai Geki practice swordsmanship, corrected his stance, and learned that Geki wanted his father to acknowledge him.
• At the banquet, Takai Mamoru and Senba Ryo confessed their guilt over how they treated their sons and drank together.
• Senba Gari told Takai Geki that his mother had died in front of him, and the two boys introduced themselves and formed a bond.
• Over the next two days, Senba Gari trained Takai Geki in the forest, and Geki invited him to a special place.
• Takai Mamoru, Senba Ryo, and Mamoru sat together in the Takai residence’s study as Mamoru began to speak.

Takai Geki and Senba Gari entered the Takai family’s forbidden grounds in search of the legendary God's Secret Treasure, triggering a mechanism that dropped them into an underground passage. After Senba Gari apparently defeated a giant stone beast with spiritual power, Takai Geki woke alone and called for him.

• A servant reported that Takai Geki and Senba Gari had entered the forbidden grounds, prompting Takai Mamoru to explain the danger and send Kun and Mamoru’s companions to search for them.
• A hidden watcher reported the boys’ disappearance to an unnamed Family Head, while a paper spider secretly observed the fathers in the study.
• Takai Geki admitted that he did not know the route to the treasure, then pressed a raised rock that opened a trapdoor and sent both boys falling into darkness.
• Takai Geki later saw Senba Gari standing over a pile of broken stones with a splintered wooden sword, and he realized Gari had spiritual power.
• After waking in a dark, rune-covered passage, Takai Geki found Senba Gari missing and called out to him.

Takai Geki and Senba Gari were trapped in a forbidden underground land where the Four Great Sacred Beasts fought. After identifying the sleeping White Tiger behind them, they realized all four beasts were nearby, while the battle between the Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, and Azure Dragon escalated.

• Takai Geki panicked after he was separated from Senba Gari, then watched the Black Tortoise defeat the Vermilion Bird as the Azure Dragon arrived to challenge it.
• Senba Gari reunited with Takai Geki and led him away while the three beasts began a chaotic battle.
• Takai Geki and Senba Gari discussed how to survive, concluded the beasts were fighting over their own territory, and identified them as the Four Great Sacred Beasts.
• Senba Gari warned Takai Geki to listen, and they discovered the sleeping White Tiger was the rock wall behind them.
• The Black Tortoise attacked the Vermilion Bird with water and poison, and the Vermilion Bird's fire struck the Azure Dragon, which answered with poisonous mist.

Senba Gari and Takai Geki fought their way through the forbidden area’s four spirit beasts, and Qilin revealed that Takai Geki had passed a test by choosing to save his friend. Qilin began explaining that the test came from a mischievous god, leaving the reason for its deception unresolved.

• White Tiger awakened, shattered Vermilion Bird, and pursued Senba Gari and Takai Geki through the passage.
• Senba Gari used a burst of spiritual power to destroy White Tiger, then collapsed unconscious.
• Takai Geki lured Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird into a talisman’s black mist, which destroyed them, before Black Tortoise stopped its attack.
• Qilin appeared and offered to take one of the two intruders to the Divine Secret Treasure and out of the forbidden area.
• Takai Geki chose to stay behind so Senba Gari could leave, and Qilin revealed that his choice had passed a test.
• Qilin explained that its false choice had been part of a mischievous god’s game.

Takai Geki returned from the forbidden land with Senba Gari, gained the Beast Soul Driver, and reconciled with his father. The boys began training together, while Takai Mamoru presented Senba Ryo with the mysterious scroll and an unknown spy collected four gemstones from the forbidden statues.

• The qilin explained that Takai Geki had passed a test and gave him the Beast Soul Driver, which formed a five-colored armguard before he returned to the forbidden area's entrance with Senba Gari.
• Kun and the Takai Family guards found the boys unconscious, and Old Zhi confirmed that both had only minor injuries and needed rest.
• Takai Geki and Takai Mamoru reconciled, and Geki told his father about the forbidden land, the Beast Soul Driver, and Senba Gari's spiritual power.
• Takai Mamoru arranged for Takai Geki and Senba Gari to train under Kun, while an unknown figure took the blue gemstone from the Black Tortoise statue and turned toward the Qilin statue.
• Takai Mamoru told Senba Ryo that the boys had already begun training together and showed him the mysterious scroll Takai Geki had brought back.

Takai Geki and Senba Gari trained together before the Senba family left, and Geki later recalled their friendship while speaking with Kira Tsubasa. After returning home, Geki entered the Rift Between Reality and Illusion through his Beast Soul Driver and faced the Four Spiritual Beasts and a massive brown figure.

• Takai Geki gave Senba Ryo a scroll pointing to another secret treasure, and Kun discovered that Senba Gari had already awakened his spiritual power.
• Kun put Takai Geki and Senba Gari through grueling training, strengthening their bodies and deepening their friendship.
• The Senba family departed with a wooden box of self-defense items, and Takai Geki and Senba Gari promised they would meet again.
• Takai Geki told Kira Tsubasa about Senba Gari, then returned to find Gari despondent after the girls had played with him all day.
• Takai Geki used his Beast Soul Driver and form cards to enter the Rift Between Reality and Illusion, where the Four Spiritual Beasts and a huge brown figure confronted him.

Takai Geki convinced Qilin and the Four Spirit Beasts to let him use the Beast Soul Bracelet, offering his life in exchange for power. He used its Golden Tiger form to destroy Snapping Turtle Mlortha, but the transformation drained his life force, and the chapter ended by introducing a man in Akihabara watching μ's performance footage.

• Takai Geki told Qilin and the Four Spirit Beasts he would trade his life for the power to protect those who cared about him, and Qilin agreed to let him use the Beast Soul Bracelet.
• Senba Gari woke Takai Geki and sent him to fight the returning Snapping Turtle Mlortha, which was attacking a commercial street.
• Takai Geki rode Golden Firmament to lure Snapping Turtle Mlortha away from the police and into a greenbelt.
• Takai Geki transformed into Golden Tiger and destroyed Snapping Turtle Mlortha with the Tiger Brake finisher.
• Golden Firmament checked on Takai Geki, who said the transformation had drained some of his life force but that he still had to keep using it.
• A slovenly man in an Akihabara rental apartment watched footage of μ's performing.

Senba Gari learned that Minami Kotori had been receiving threatening letters and told her to stay with Honoka, while a tengu Mlortha attacked Divine. Kotori was abducted from her home, and Divine received an incoming call after the Mlortha vanished.

• A spider belonging to human-form Naraku bit a μ's stalker, beginning to transform him as Naraku urged him to give in to his desires.
• Minami Kotori visited Senba Gari and showed him the anonymous letters and secret photographs she had found in her room.
• Senba Gari reassured Kotori and suggested she stay with Honoka Kosaka; Kotori left alone to pack while a jealous watcher followed her.
• Silver Phantom detected Mlortha, and Divine and Spirit confronted a tengu Mlortha while Silver Phantom and Golden Firmament blocked its escape.
• Kotori found a new letter accusing her of betrayal, then a winged figure appeared and abducted her from her home.
• Honoka Kosaka and Umi Sonoda found Kotori's front door ajar and her room ransacked; meanwhile, the tengu Mlortha vanished into black feathers and Silver Phantom alerted Divine to an incoming call.

After Minami Kotori disappeared, Senba Gari’s frantic search and mounting self-blame made his emotions increasingly unstable, while a mysterious figure taunted him from within his mind. Kotori remained captive in an abandoned factory, and the chapter ended with Takai Geki punching Gari and demanding to know what had happened to him.

• Umi Sonoda told Senba Gari that Minami Kotori was missing, and Gari promised to come while struggling to contain his anger.
• After a day of searching, Gari saw a blood-eyed reflection of himself taunt him about Kotori and Mlortha; he punched the glass and shouted at the μ's members to leave.
• A man imprisoned Kotori in an iron cage and, after she refused food, forced cake into her mouth and threatened her; a small gray mechanical dog appeared nearby.
• Over the next three days, Gari searched without rest as Silver Phantom and Takai Geki worried about his worsening emotional state.
• The next morning, Takai Geki stopped Gari from going out again and punched him, demanding to know what he was doing, as Honoka Kosaka and the others witnessed the confrontation.

After learning that Minami Kotori had been found, Senba Gari and Takai Geki rushed separately to rescue her from an abandoned factory. Senba Gari defeated her kidnapper, but Minami Kotori was so badly hurt and frightened that she hid from him.

• Senba Gari angrily accused Takai Geki and the others of not understanding his grief over losing his family, then stormed out.
• Shadow Dog found traces of Minami Kotori, and Takai Geki left with Golden Firmament to rescue her while Honoka Kosaka and the others stayed behind.
• Silver Phantom informed Senba Gari that Takai Geki was heading to Minami Kotori, and Senba Gari transformed into Divine and raced toward the factory.
• Takai Geki and Golden Firmament found Minami Kotori locked in a cage, but Tengu Mlortha attacked them to stop them from rescuing her.
• Senba Gari arrived in his Hurricane Soul form and destroyed Tengu Mlortha with a powerful kick.
• Golden Firmament freed Minami Kotori, but when Senba Gari approached her, she recoiled in fear and hid behind Golden Firmament.

Senba Gari rescued Minami Kotori and tried to help her recover from the trauma of her captivity, while strange changes in his eyes and visions of Mlortha alarmed him. After spending the day with Kotori, he heard her sing as they revisited their childhood swing.

• Senba Gari punched the man who had harmed Minami Kotori, asked Takai Geki to keep the incident from her memory, and brought her home.
• Minami Kotori remained dazed after bathing, while Silver Phantom examined Senba Gari and later revealed a black spot near his heart on her scan.
• Senba Gari saw his pupils turn bloodred and faint black aura drift from him, then confessed his guilt and fears to the sleeping Minami Kotori.
• Senba Gari took Minami Kotori shopping and to an amusement park, buying her a maid outfit and winning a sack of plush toys with spiritual power.
• Senba Gari pushed Minami Kotori on their childhood swing, and she began singing as they recalled their past together.

Minami Kotori remembered how Senba Gari had protected her as a child, left her, and later reunited with her as her teacher and a hero. After watching him lie unconscious and secretly listening to his heartfelt words, Kotori decided she wanted to change and finally called out to him.

• Minami Kotori recalled how Senba Gari defended her from bullies when they were children, then how she clung to him at the airport when he left.
• Kotori remembered reuniting with Gari after he became her teacher, and how his life as a hero made her fear the distance between them was growing.
• After seeing Gari battered and unconscious, Kotori became afraid he might die somewhere she could not reach him.
• Kotori secretly listened while Gari spoke his true feelings, pretending to sleep through the night.
• Kotori decided she wanted to change and finally spoke to Gari, who asked whether she had written the song herself.

After reconciling with Kotori and the μ's girls, Senba Gari dreamed of a violent red-and-blue warrior who demanded his soul. Nozomi invited Gari, Takai Geki, and their friends to meet Grandpa Zhu, who had asked to see them.

• Kotori kissed Gari and rode on his back, then reunited with the concerned μ's girls as Gari apologized for yelling at them and promised they would never go missing again.
• Eight years earlier, Grandpa Zhu showed a young Nozomi a card depicting a red-armored knight surrounded by nine goddesses and asked whether she believed in fate.
• Nozomi visited Grandpa Zhu and told him about her recent experiences, after which he asked to meet her friends, including the two boys.
• Gari dreamed of a red-and-blue warrior fighting monsters, killing a griffin, and demanding Gari's soul before Gari woke in terror.
• Nozomi invited Gari and Geki to meet Grandpa Zhu, and the group gathered outside his shabby house while teasing Honoka about being lazy.

Torch Dragon revealed that the Beast Soul Drivers and their beast souls were connected to the Mlortha, then showed the group their ancient origins and the war against Yamata no Orochi. As Torch Dragon described the hero’s betrayal by greedy humans, Senba Gari suffered a violent headache, and the chapter ended with him asking to hear what happened next.

• Torch Dragon immobilized Senba Gari and Takai Geki, then introduced himself as a Mlortha prophet and explained that the Beast Soul Drivers were connected to the Mlortha.
• Torch Dragon conjured an illusion showing a meteorite that transformed life on Earth, as humanity’s desires and the dead’s resentment gave rise to Yamata no Orochi and the Mlortha.
• Torch Dragon recounted how an armored human and allied Mlortha defeated and sealed Yamata no Orochi, after which the Mlortha withdrew from the human world.
• Torch Dragon revealed that the human hero was later hunted by his own people for his weapon, and Senba Gari was overwhelmed by dark emotions and a severe headache as he watched.
• Torch Dragon eased Senba Gari’s pain, and Senba Gari asked him to continue telling the story.

The old man revealed that the Beast Soul Drivers came from meteorite fragments and explained that Naraku had brought a controlled third Chosen One from another era. Divine and Spirit fought Naraku and the newcomer, while Divine’s battle pushed him into a dangerous rampage.

• The old man showed the girls humanity’s destruction and revealed that the Beast Soul Drivers were made from three meteorite fragments entrusted to the Mlortha.
• Naraku arrived with a dark-purple armored figure, and the Beast Soul Drivers resonated as the old man recognized the newcomer as the third Chosen One.
• The controlled Chosen One attacked, prompting Divine to confront him while Spirit engaged Naraku, who transformed and overwhelmed Spirit with his attack.
• Divine awakened his Shadow Moon Soul form and fought the Chosen One with a flexible sword that carried purple lightning.
• After being battered, Divine stopped suppressing his beastly instincts, broke into a rampage, and howled with his eyes completely blood-red.

Divine went berserk and attacked Spirit and the Chosen One until Torch Dragon knocked him unconscious. After warning Senba Gari about the cost of his power and asking him to save the Chosen One and look after Tojo, Torch Dragon gave him a tarot card that changed into an image of a bird trapped in thorns; meanwhile, Doctor Shinigami began planning to manipulate Chievil.

• Divine seized the Chosen One and brought him into Spirit and Naraku’s fight, then attacked Spirit and the Chosen One while under the influence of his berserk state.
• The Chosen One struck Divine with his soft sword, but Divine overpowered him and nearly stomped on him before Spirit tackled Divine and Naraku carried the unconscious Chosen One away.
• Torch Dragon knocked Divine unconscious before he could attack Spirit again, and Spirit recovered from the fight.
• Senba Gari woke from a nightmare, and Torch Dragon warned him that using his power changed his body and risked turning him into Mlortha.
• Torch Dragon asked Senba Gari to free the Chosen One from Hodenig’s control and take care of Tojo; the tarot card he gave Senba Gari changed into a white bird caught in blood-colored thorns.
• Doctor Shinigami examined Chievil, the third Godchosen, and planned to erase his memories and make him fight Divine and Spirit while extracting information from his memories.

Doctor Shinigami’s attempt to read the God-Chosen One’s memories awakened his sealed power, and he escaped the laboratory before a girl found him in the city. At Yuki Anju’s home, he woke with amnesia, remembered the name Kashu, and remained with her.

• Doctor Shinigami discovered that the God-Chosen One’s memories only reached back to childhood and saw fragments of his past, including Camus sealing him away.
• Dark-purple energy surged through the God-Chosen One, who transformed amid an electrical outburst and smashed through the laboratory ceiling, leaving Doctor Shinigami paralyzed.
• Yuki Anju found the unconscious God-Chosen One beside a garbage pile and brought him home.
• The God-Chosen One woke in Yuki Anju’s house and struggled to communicate with her, admitting that he could not remember his past or family.
• Yuki Anju invited him to stay while her butler searched for information, and he recalled the name Kashu.

Kashu spent time with Yuki Anju, but the Snake Eye necklace soon warned him that danger was near. When a battle between Divine, the Yin-Yang Guards, and the Lizard Mlortha erupted around their café, Kashu recognized something familiar in the armored warrior and protected Yuki Anju from falling glass.

• Kashu introduced himself to Yuki Anju, who decided to take him shopping for new clothes.
• Senba Gari and Takai Geki sparred until Silver Phantom announced that Mlortha had appeared again, prompting them to prepare for action.
• At a café, Kashu's Snake Eye necklace glowed and sent him the message, "They're here!" just before a monster battle began nearby.
• Yuki Anju pulled Kashu under a table as the Lizard Mlortha crashed into the café, and Kashu shielded her from falling glass, injuring his arm.
• Divine entered the café and attacked the Yin-Yang Guards and Lizard Mlortha; Kashu felt that Divine was familiar, while the necklace glowed more intensely.
• Divine sensed civilians hiding nearby and told Kashu and Yuki Anju to leave before the fight continued.

Divine and Spirit defeated their opponents in the cold drink shop and outside, but Kashu’s strange connection to Divine remained unexplained. Naraku and Muramasa found Kashu, revealed that an illusion had taken control of him, and ordered him to manifest his true nature.

• Divine lured the Yin-Yang Guards and Mlortha into attacking him, then defeated them with the Frost Dragon Staff and killed Mlortha.
• Spirit defeated Heavenly God Fang, forcing Tsuchimikado Kan out of his armor; Tsuchimikado Kan vowed to return for the Beast Soul Drivers and left with his servants.
• Dark clouds and purple lightning gathered as Takai Geki and Senba Gari noticed the ominous sky, while Yuki Anju questioned Kashu about his familiarity with Divine.
• Naraku and Muramasa confronted Yuki Anju and Kashu, and Naraku revealed that an illusion placed on Kashu had taken control of him.
• Kashu pushed Yuki Anju aside, approached Naraku, and summoned a Chimera-head belt before inserting the Snake Eye crystal into it.

Kashu transformed into Chievil and attacked Yuki Anju, but Divine arrived to protect her and was forced into a battle with Muramasa. Divine tried to rescue Yuki, but Muramasa pinned him down and Chievil stabbed him through the abdomen, leaving both Divine and Yuki in danger.

• Kashu transformed into Chievil under Naraku’s command, and Chievil drew Thunder Chain to kill Yuki Anju.
• Divine interrupted Chievil’s attack and confronted Naraku, while Muramasa ambushed Divine and challenged him to fight.
• Divine awakened Hurricane Soul and battled Muramasa, whose blade wounded Divine’s wing.
• Divine knocked Muramasa away and grabbed Yuki Anju in an attempt to escape, but Muramasa caught him and pinned him with his katana.
• Chievil stabbed Divine through the abdomen with Thunder Chain while Muramasa withdrew to Naraku’s side.

Divine survived Naraku’s attack, while Naraku sent Chievil to fight Divine and Spirit at a chemical plant beneath a storm of purple lightning. As the battle escalated, Yuki Anju ran toward the plant, determined to bring the real Kashu back.

• Naraku withdrew with Muramasa and Chievil after Divine’s abdominal wound mysteriously healed.
• A mysterious man awakened in a blood-red realm and noted that a third key had awakened.
• Senba Gari left μ's at home doing homework after Takai Geki called him about a dangerous plan at a chemical plant.
• Yuki Anju recognized the purple lightning near the plant and ran there, resolving to find the real Kashu.
• Chievil attacked Divine, Spirit, Silver Phantom, and Golden Firmament, overpowering Divine and Spirit in close combat.
• Chievil unleashed a lightning strike, and Divine changed into Divine Diamond and raised a stone wall to shield Spirit.

Divine, Spirit, Silver Phantom, and Golden Firmament fought Chievil until Yuki Anju and the robot Ziying intervened, helping Kashu recover his memories. Kashu later moved into the Senba home, where his attempt to cook blew up the kitchen and Ziying joined Silver Phantom in eagerly greeting a new game delivery.

• Divine and Spirit transformed into stronger forms and attacked Chievil while Silver Phantom and Golden Firmament provided covering fire.
• Yuki Anju stepped between Divine and Chievil to protect Kashu, and Ziying stopped Divine from striking her.
• Naraku ordered Chievil to kill Yuki Anju, but Ziying pressed a colorful gemstone shard to Chievil's forehead, breaking his armor and triggering memories that caused Kashu to collapse.
• Senba Gari revealed his identity to Yuki Anju and asked her to explain Kashu's past and their plans; Kashu later recognized him as his brother.
• The next day, Kashu accidentally blew up the Senba kitchen while trying to cook, and Silver Phantom and Ziying swiftly seized a newly delivered game package.

As Otonokizaka Academy welcomed a new semester and celebrated renewed enrollment, Honoka Kosaka took over as student council president and struggled with her first speech and a mountain of paperwork. Senba Gari and the former council leaders checked on her, while Yazawa Nico prepared to show Hanayo Koizumi and Rin Hoshizora the results of their special training.

• Senba Gari showed Senba Gari the expensive capsule-toy bill, and Senba Gari collapsed after hearing the kitchen was ruined and meals would be scarce; Kashu accidentally destroyed the phone meant to call an ambulance.
• Kotori Minami announced that Otonokizaka Academy would continue accepting students after enrollment exceeded expectations.
• Honoka Kosaka appeared as the new student council president and delivered an energetic address after taking over from Eli Ayase.
• Honoka Kosaka recalled forgetting her prepared speech, then faced piles of council paperwork and student requests as Umi Sonoda urged her to learn the school's affairs.
• Eli Ayase, Nozomi Tojo, and Senba Gari visited the new council, encouraged Honoka Kosaka, and Senba Gari reminded her to do her share of the work.
• On the rooftop, Yazawa Nico told Hanayo Koizumi and Rin Hoshizora she would show them the results of their special training.

Hanayo Koizumi discovered that a second Love Live! competition had been announced, prompting the μ’s members to gather and discuss their chance to compete. They decided to enter the regional preliminaries, which would determine who advanced to the larger main competition.

• Yazawa Nico tried to coach Maki Nishikino, Hanayo Koizumi, and Rin Hoshizora while filming them, but her plan to promote herself as a potential Center was exposed.
• Hanayo Koizumi saw news about the second Love Live! competition and rushed through the school searching for Honoka Kosaka before finding her relaxing with bread.
• Hanayo Koizumi showed the announcement to the club, explaining that the competition would be larger and use regional preliminaries instead of popularity rankings.
• Umi Sonoda concluded that groups would qualify for the main competition by winning their regional preliminaries.
• Yazawa Nico, Maki Nishikino, and the others agreed that they had a chance and decided to aim for Love Live!

The μ's members discussed entering Love Live! despite the prospect of facing A-RISE, but Honoka unexpectedly said they did not have to compete. When everyone pressed her to explain, she changed the subject and led them out for an evening of fun, ending at a photo studio.

• Eli Ayase pointed out that entering the regional preliminaries would mean confronting A-RISE, and the members briefly lost confidence before Umi Sonoda and Eli encouraged them to try.
• Honoka Kosaka calmly said the group did not have to enter Love Live!, startling everyone and prompting them to question what had changed.
• Honoka said singing and dancing together made her happy, then suggested taking a break and going out before the next day's practice.
• Honoka led the group through the evening streets, where she and Rin Hoshizora bought crepes and the others followed along without knowing the plan.
• Honoka and Rin posed with Eli at a photo studio, and Eli asked what photo stickers were.