[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by monir

And judging from how most of the post expressed their take on the episode, I'd say those reactions are more appropriate and called for than the ones who are trying to understand Haru. And that's you too Relentless. Just say it with me, "I've seen better."

I think it is a bit a lot convenient for you to declare your own point of view as the "more appropriate reaction", and then to "call me out" about it. I think you are assuming a lot when you propose that the ostensibly-similar reactions of others are rooted in the same logic that you are employing. I'm not convinced that most people gave their initial reaction much thought at all.

Now, to your point. In my view, the only reason this third arc can happen is because of the way Haru gained his powers in the first arc, which is no less of a "because the plot requires" than what we saw here.

Cyan Pile arc:
- Haru is on the verge of defeat; all hope is lost
- He vows to keep on fighting because it's the only thing he can do
- He conveniently gains his wings at the moment of his greatest need
- He uses his wings to win the fight

Dusk Taker arc:
- Haru is being harassed and things look bad, but he fundamentally believes he can win in the Accelerated World because of his wings, and will show his opponent a thing a two
- He makes a tactical error and allows Dusk Taker to use his special ability
- He loses the wings right when he thought things were going in his favour
- He is devastated and can't find the will to keep fighting

So I suppose you could say "in the first arc, when he was down in the dirt, he still found the will to fight, so why not here?" But I think it's precisely because time has passed and he remembers that, before he had his wings, he was hopeless. (He only won that fight after he got his wings; to that point he was losing soundly.) It's different to find inner strength when you have nothing than it is to remember that when you just lost the symbol and manifestation of that very power/strength. So this is why it's important for Haru to go back to having nothing again. It's a story of appreciating what you have, and him understanding that his wings were never really the source of his power (or why he really won that first fight) in the first place. If it weren't for the exact way the first arc developed, the development here wouldn't make any sense.

So I don't think that this is a step backwards for his character development, but rather something that builds progressively on what we've already seen. It does very much "take into account all advances made previously on [his] character". Of course, as I said, I certainly concede that him needed to lose that fight was no less contrived than him needing to win the fight with Cyan Pile. And if you want to make an argument, as some did, that Dusk Taker's bullying is flimsy and seemingly easy-to-defeat, I can certainly entertain that (I said something similar in the previous week's thread). But I think it is perfectly reasonable -- and yes more appropriate -- for people to see how the overall plot development builds on the previous arcs than to claim that it's a regression of character. Whether I've "seen better" is totally irrelevant to that argument.