Viral Hit episode 10: The Comedy Crew, exposed

Viral Hit episode 10 was released on June 13, 2024, in Japan, and everywhere else on Crunchyroll on June 12. The episode focused on the new opponents and Hobin's strategy and motivation for dealing with them. Like the last couple of times when the villains were in the spotlight, it's not an easy task to accomplish.

The Comedy Crew are larger than them, are multiple people rather than just one opponent, and Hobin's crew has to be clever because their opponents have a lot more clout than they do. The goal isn't just to beat them up on camera, it's to expose them on camera.

Hobin also needs to learn how to contend with multiple opponents at once. Viral Hit episode 10 hits on that and plenty more, including Bomi's state after the cliffhanger that episode 9 left off on.

Viral Hit episode 10: Hobin trains to fight The Comedy Crew

The Comedy Crew's real personalities

Viral Hit episode 10: The Comedy Crew's true personalities (Image via Okuruto Noboru Inc.)

First seen in Viral Hit episode 9, The Comedy Crew consists of five people whose content is mainly ambush comedy. They ambush people with pranking, get a laugh out of it and their victim, and have well over 700k subscribers. Their subscriber count makes Hobin want to start pranking people for money.

Snapper and Gaeul both dissuade him from that concept, hypothesizing that pranking people without preparation or a script can be extremely dangerous. The fact that The Comedy Crew are also extremely two-faced, showing highly polite personas for the camera while hiding their nasty personalities, is extremely typical at this point. It reminds viewers of Pakgo's act in prior episodes.

Bomi's condition spurs Hobin into action

Viral Hit episode 10: Bomi's condition, Hobin's resolve (Image via Okuruto Noboru Inc.)

Viral Hit episode 10 showcases what happened to Bomi following the cliffhanger in episode 9. She wasn't struck by the oncoming car. She got hospitalized by landing wrong on her right leg when she fell as a result of the Comedy Crew's snake-throwing ambush prank.

While Bomi was shaken up by the car nearly running her over, she was infuriated by the fact that The Comedy Crew filmed it and laughed at her being hurt. This makes both Hobin and Munseong mad. Hobin fully dedicates himself to crushing the Comedy Crew after that.

The Comedy Crew's staged content

Both Gaeul and Snapper pointed out something wrong with the Comedy Crew's footage and halfway through Viral Hit episode 10, it becomes clear — The Comedy Crew were staging their content. They also make around 2 million yen per month. But Hobin's crew would need convincing evidence and a damning confession or else they'd bounce back like Pakgo did.

Fortunately, help arrives from an unexpected source — Rumi, the beauty tips Newtuber now sitting comfortably at 120k subscribers. At first, it seemed like all she's in it for is the clout and money because she suggests they start pranking people for money. But a sharp rebuke from Hobin and a conversation changes her tune.

The Comedy Crew, exposed

Viral Hit episode 10: Exposing The Comedy Crew (Image via Okuruto Noboru Inc.)

Viral Hit episode 10 reveals Hobin's plan comes into effect when Rumi meets with The Comedy Crew to film a video about spilling coffee on an upperclassman's shirt. Once that pleasantness is accomplished, the mood turns sour. The Comedy Club has collectively decided that Viral Hit must've staged their fights and is seeking to ruin them via manipulative editing and trolling.

When Rumi explains that she's not comfortable with that, The Comedy Club's leader Hyeonseok tries to blackmail her by showing her being recorded saying viewers are idiots. In turn, Rumi reveals that she had been filming their interaction the whole time and was playing them for fools. Rumi says point blank she'll never collab with The Comedy Crew again, never stage anything, and that Viral Hit has a brighter future.

Hobin's intimidation failure

Viral Hit episode 10: Hobin's intimidation fail (Image via Okuruto Noboru Inc.)

Samdak's next lesson is how to battle multiple opponents. After a small bit of trolling, where Samdak says the feat is impossible for amateurs, he gives good advice on bluffing and intimidation. Hobin follows this advice by wearing insoles to look taller, deepening his voice, and projecting an intimidating aura.

The only problem is, as per usual with Hobin's luck, one of Hobin's shoes falls off as he's succeeding in intimidating the Comedy Crew. As Hobin freezes up and the comments begin laughing, the preview for the next episode begins. Hobin will need to fight off three people without aid from Samdak's lessons.

Final thoughts and next episode preview

Viral Hit episode 11 preview (Image via Okuruto Noboru Inc.)

Viral Hit episode 10 details the first time Viral Hit is forced to go up against a rival channel. This isn't like taking on Pakgo or fighting Taehun, it's direct competition trying to discredit and destroy their channel. The preview for episode 11 seems to capitalize on what the prior two set up — Hobin has to fend off three people and Bomi is cornered by her stalker.

These last couple of episodes have done much for the world-building and started to expand the characters more. Hobin isn't the only character, several characters are becoming staples like Gaeul, Bomi, Kim, and Snapper. Rumi is also recurring and gets some growth, despite only being in Newtubing for the views and subscribers. It was nice to see Rumi helping Hobin after her antics in episode 1 and attempting to use him for subscribers in episode 3.

The next episode will be a crucible for Hobin, having to stand on his own without any prior instruction immediately beforehand. Likewise, the looming threat of Mangi Hwang spells problems for Bomi and Hobin shortly. It might prove too much for Hobin alone, which is why it's good he has friends to aid him.