This battle action series, written by Ashihara Daisuke, began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2013. It has been serialized in Jump Square since 2019. The first season of the anime (73 episodes) aired from October 2014 to April 2016, with a second season scheduled for 2020. Border is an organization that protects Earth from Neighbors (Neighbors). The protagonist, Mikumo Osamu, a member of the organization, meets Kuga Yuma, a Neighbor who has come from outside the gate. Mikumo fights the Neighbors that have invaded his school, but when he finds himself struggling, Kuga uses a "Trigger" to come to his aid. Mikumo of Border and Kuga of Neighbor, two people who should normally be enemies, end up joining forces to fight. Because conventional weapons are ineffective against Neighbors, Border uses weapons called Triggers to fight. In this article, we'll introduce these Triggers.
Special Weapon Triggers for Neighbors
Normal weapons are ineffective against Neighbors, but they are attacked by triggers that utilize trion energy. Triggers are like small chips that determine how the user's trion is manifested. A total of eight triggers can be set in the trigger holder, allowing players to switch between offensive and defensive triggers. They are divided into a main trigger for the dominant hand and a sub-trigger for the non-dominant hand, and two triggers can be used simultaneously on both hands. Border members are classified into three positions based on the fighting distance: attacker (close range), gunner (medium range), and sniper (long range). The triggers they use will vary depending on their position.
Attacker Triggers
Attacker triggers include the offensive-focused "Scorpion," the balanced "Kogetsu," and the defensive-focused "Raygust." The most popular is the balanced "Kogetsu." It offers a good balance of attack power and durability, and by using a special optional trigger, you can instantly extend your attack by consuming trion. However, its drawbacks include its inability to freely retract and retract, its weight, and its inability to change shape or length. The "Scorpion" is almost weightless and can be retracted and retracted freely. Blades can be produced from sources other than the hands, as seen in the example of Kitora, who even retracted them from her feet. While it excels at fast-paced battles, its low durability makes it unsuitable for defense. Osamu used the "Raygust" as a defensive trigger. He used the Thruster option to accelerate the Raygust and corner Kazama.
Gunner Trigger
Gunners are classified into three types: "Assault Rifle Type," "Handgun Type," which use gun-type triggers, and "Shooter Type," which fires bullets without using a gun-type trigger. There are four types of bullet triggers: the standard bullet "Asteroid," the explosive bullet "Meteora," the variable bullet "Viper," and the homing bullet "Hound." There are five types of gun-type triggers: handgun, assault rifle, shotgun, Gatling, and grenade. The gun-type trigger is fired by loading a bullet trigger into the gun-type trigger. While it can only fire two pre-set types of bullets, it is simple and easy to use, and also comes with an auxiliary function that extends the bullet's range by about 20%, allowing for stable combat. In contrast, the Shooter fights by simply firing the bullet trigger. While less stable, its unique feature is the ability to fine-tune the bullet's performance. It can fight using composite bullets that combine the main and sub triggers, which requires skill, but can be a powerful weapon if mastered.
Sniper Triggers
While Gunner triggers are separate for the gun and bullets, Sniper triggers function with the gun alone. There are three types: "Eaglet," which prioritizes range; "Ibis," which prioritizes power; and "Lightning," which prioritizes bullet speed. Since there are no triggers for bullets, all triggers are standard bullets, but options such as Red Bullets can be added. During a joint training session, Chika surprised everyone by using "Ibis" to blow a large hole in the wall. "Ibis" was introduced as a powerful weapon, but it seems they didn't anticipate that level of power (lol).
There are various types of triggers other than those for attacks.
While triggers are primarily used for attacks, there are also many optional triggers that enhance the effectiveness of the main trigger, such as "Thruster" and "Spin," as well as triggers with auxiliary functions, such as "Bagworm" that disables radar and "Chameleon" that makes you invisible. While there are many types of triggers, only eight can be set to a holder. This puts the user's sense to the test. Squad members aiming for high ranks likely constantly research which combinations work best during their daily training.
Did triggers originally belong to the Neighbors?!
When Kitora first meets Osamu and Yuma, he says, "Triggers belong to Border, so you need Border's permission to use them." Yuma, a Neighbor, must be thinking, "What are you talking about?" (lol) However, even A-rank Kitora didn't know about it, so I'm sure there are many members of Border who think the same way. Karasuma calls triggers "the technology that supports the foundation of Neighbor civilization." Those who know, know.
Tamakoma's triggers are original triggers not approved by headquarters.
Triggers supplied by Border Headquarters are standardized for large-scale operation, emphasizing sustained combat capabilities. In contrast, Tamakoma's triggers are uniquely tailored to the user's characteristics. This is an original trigger not approved by headquarters, created by Tamakoma using their own unique technology after analyzing a trigger personally brought back from the Neighborhood by Branch Chief Hayashido. This is perhaps something only Tamakoma, who believes in the philosophy of "There are good people among the Neighbors, so let's get along." Konan, Reiji, and Karasuma from Tamakoma First all use original triggers, so they don't participate in ranked matches.
What kind of weapons are the triggers used by Border? Summary
What did you think?
There are so many different types of triggers, it can be a challenge just to remember their names. Border's strength depends not only on their simple combat ability, but also on how they use their triggers.
