OverviewWhen Otonoshin Koito was fourteen years old, he had a chance encounter with Lieutenant Tsurumi. When he was sixteen years old, he was kidnapped by men who spoke Russian, and only Lieutenant Tsurumi could save him…Our Take We once again get another “filler” story of sorts this time, with a shared backstory on Tsurumi and Koito as it delves into how Koito became so devoted to Tsurumi. It’s nice seeing Tsurumi more before his brutal-looking head injury, we did in some flashbacks here and there in past episodes, but they’re always welcome. As he was a good dude working his way up in the Japanese army. Tsurumi running into a young Koito is a crazy coincidence and just so happens to be the guy who’s able to save Koito from the kidnappers. There’s also some implied suspicion that Tsurumi may have orchestrated the kidnapping to earn the trust of the Koito family. since Koito’s father is a high-ranking naval general and the son that would make him so damn loyal to Tsurumi. It’s an interesting theory that seems plausible. And this entire flashback started due to the phrase Ogata said in Season 3’s finale to Koito that stuck with him during his kidnapping, the Russian word for spoiled rich kid/pampered brat called “Barchonok”. Overall, while this was a great flashback story, it demonstrates why Tsurumi has been able to garner such a strong following over the years. And further emphasized how manipulative and charismatic he is towards his 7th Division troops even before his brain injury, and also explains why Koito behaves like such a giddy fanboy for him too. While Season 3 had entire episodes devoted to Ogata’s past, it helped the audience get into the twisted thought process of a sociopath and rewarded the audience with some level of payoff in Season 3’s finale. Now it makes me wonder if Koito’s flashbacks will have a great payoff in later episodes…