The Newcomer; Toaru Anbu no ITEM – Episode 3 Review

⚠️ Mild‑to‑moderate spoilers – covers all major scenes before the ending credits

 

Picking‑up directly after the events of Episode 2, where Saiai Kinuhata was newly brought into ITEM’s circle, the team quickly runs into an unexpected, heavy‑hitting financial crisis. Their mysterious, still‑unidentified handler confirms that payment for their previous job was successfully transferred, yet an unknown outside party has fully frozen their shared bank account. Without access to digital funds, the group faces real worries about being able to pay their hideout rent; their only short‑term solution is to collect enough physical cash to open a brand‑new bank account and receive future mission earnings.

 

Chobi just witnessing something "big".. It's Mugino :p

Right amid this tense period, Hanano Chōbi arrives as a potential new member. Unlike Mugino Shizuri, Frenda, and Takitsubo Rikō ‑‑ who are long‑used to Academy City’s cruel dark‑side pressures ‑‑ Hanano comes across as visibly nervous and shy, still unhardened to their dangerous work rhythm. She steps into the room just as the team learns about their frozen funds, and immediately gets caught in Mugino’s explosive frustration. The handler clarifies that ITEM themselves had previously requested extra manpower, so Hanano stays under a binding 30‑day trial period; the team cannot send her away before that window ends.

 

Choose your player.. A tomboy tank or a shy chameleon girl

With three established core members already in place, the two newcomers ‑‑ Saiai Kinuhata and Hanano Chōbi ‑‑ are set as rivals competing for the fourth permanent main‑team position, while the other will serve as a dedicated support member. Their skill sets create a clear contrast: Saiai is a powerful defensive esper built to shield allies during front‑line clashes, while Hanano’s specialty is disguise and stealth, making her suited to spy‑work and behind‑the‑scenes intelligence gathering. Many viewers raise a lingering timeline question: since this is an origin‑focused arc, why is Hanano entirely absent from Episode 1? A common fan theory suggests she will not secure a permanent core spot, explaining her later disappearance and cementing Saiai as ITEM’s official fourth member.

 

Why catch a bullet if u can stop it mid air? 

It is important to remember ITEM are not heroic protagonists: they operate as anti‑heroes often leaning toward villainous choices, driven mostly by profit and survival rather than justice. Officially, they have been hired by an insurance company to disrupt the illegal underground esper colosseum ‑‑ the rigged death‑fight ring built on fraudulent life‑insurance payouts. The mission briefing takes place inside a private, theater‑style auditorium open only to the five present members of ITEM. The arena operators run a cynical profit scheme: every participating esper holds a large‑sum life‑insurance policy, and organizers secretly decide match winners ahead of time. Whenever a fighter dies in combat, the people behind the ring collect massive insurance payouts.

 

Ah Micro transaction inside the game

After the briefing ends, the group holds a further discussion reviewing mission logistics and targets ahead of Mugino’s proposed kidnapping plan. During this conversation, someone brings up the mysterious Level 6 operator — described as the natural enemy of Academy City’s dark‑side factions. The team acknowledges that even Mugino might not be capable of defeating this individual; unlike groups such as ITEM who operate hidden within the shadows, this figure acts as a public‑minded protector of the city. The brief mention plants early foreshadowing: because ITEM makes a living taking morally‑grey, high‑risk contracts, it feels only a matter of time before their paths cross with this powerful guardian. The conversation hangs over the room as an unspoken warning of future danger, even as they focus on their immediate money‑making scheme. The team also revisits role assignments for the two trial candidates: Mugino quickly assigns Hanano to a pure‑support position, a decision that makes Hanano feel prematurely rejected before she can properly demonstrate her abilities. Takitsubo Rikō points out that Mugino’s choice may hide a quiet protective impulse: Hanano has almost no real‑world combat experience, and putting her on the front‑lines of the brutal colosseum would very likely get her killed. On the other side, Saiai shares her relaxed perspective: she says she does not mind staying as just a helper, and feels no strong urge to claim a core‑team slot. For her, joining ITEM is mainly about getting guaranteed free housing and regular meals.

I.. I didn't pay for this... 

Then comes Mugino’s bold, unplanned turn: instead of sticking to the original contract to shut down the tournament for their insurance‑company employer, she proposes going further — kidnapping their own payer to force a far larger ransom from the company’s secure‑fund reserves. It is a wildly out‑of‑the‑box, risky gambit that fits ITEM’s morally‑flexible identity perfectly. Shortly afterward the episode shifts into its first major action sequence: the kidnapping operation finally begins. Just as they close in on their target, the panicked director calls for his personal guard: a horned‑and‑tailed esper whose form is woven from liquid silver. Her name remains unrevealed in this episode, yet her unique powers are put on full display right away, starting with a deadly downpour of sharp silver shards falling from the sky. This marks the first time ITEM faces an esper wielding abilities that carry an almost magical‑like flair. Mugino unleashes her Meltdowner beam to strike the mysterious guard, only for her to soar safely away from the explosion. As the fight builds toward the pre‑credits climax, the horned esper gathers scattered silver from the earlier rain, shaping it into obedient silver‑doll soldiers. She echoes Frenda’s earlier boast while turning it back against the team: she acknowledges that alone she would not be enough to handle every member of ITEM, yet she taunts that the tables may now have turned — because she can create many more silver dolls to serve as her minions. The tense stand‑off lingers as the pre‑credits sequence draws near its close, leaving the full outcome of the battle, the ransom plan, and the trial standing of Hanano and Saiai hanging in suspense.

Yeah right.. Say that to the soldiers that she calmly slaughtered

Full Episode Summary

Episode 3 succeeds at balancing quiet character‑building with sudden, high‑stakes action while reinforcing ITEM’s morally‑unbound identity. Beyond the flashy silver‑esper fight, its strongest threads are the unresolved 30‑day trial arc, the lingering timeline mystery around Hanano’s future, and the subtle foreshadowing of the Level 6 city‑protector. By choosing to betray their client for greater profit, Mugino pulls the team deeper into Academy City’s dangerous underworld; the newly‑introduced horned guardian shows there are unexpected, powerful espers ready to stand against them. With no clear victor established before the credits, the episode leaves plenty of open questions to explore in the next instalment.