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Shinsekai Yori: Eclipsed's Episode Commentary&Thoughts Compilation


Eclipsed

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blog-0485193001433404623.jpgWelcome to my Shinsekai Yori Episode Commentary&Thoughts Compilation. These thoughts were posted back when Shinsekai Yori was the anime of choice for Fuwanovel's Anime Club back in February '15 and have been compiled here for everyone's convenience.

 

*Keep in mind I am no expert reviewer & analyzer or anything; I just watch and then say whatever's on my mind :D

 

*Sorry Flutterz; I was gonna edit all Squeara typos to Squealer but too lazy. Also monster rats -> queerats, and whatever other terminologies that had mutliple translations (ogre / fiend / akki) :makina:

 

Naturally, this will contain spoilers~

 

 

Spoiler

Episodes 1 & 2

 

Spoiler

Maybe I got overhyped by Down's Episode 1 rewatch comments about it being 'brilliant' and whatnot; I was more lost on what the hell was going on so I really couldn't appreciate all of the finer details he outlined xD

 

Lore is interesting, characters are likeable.

 

Random amateur theorizing so all the veteran rewatchers can laugh at me

 

Spoiler

The 'monster rats' are the people who 'disappear'

 

 

 

Episode 3

 

 

Spoiler

An episode dedicated to just the characters bonding out in the wilderness for their summer camp was all I needed to finally warm up to this show~

 

Atmosphere. This show really does excel in it. Episode 3 was meant to be lighthearted so it was littered with naturey sounds and pleasant music as the crew canoe down the rivers and gather around the crackling campfires at nightfall with crickets chirping in the background. Very pleasant.

 

~~~

And it looks like we got some romance going on :D

 

Spoiler

Saki x Shun???

 

Spoiler

Shun is such a romantic :P using his powers to still the waters so it could perfectly reflect the night sky. T'was a beautiful scene

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Episode 4

 

 

Spoiler

Info-dumpy for the first half, but it was good, necessary information that allowed me to immerse myself in this world and appreciate its lore. The various flashbacks we saw in previous episodes about the world history & psychokinesis (PK) users are explained by the colorful magic horse[library]

 

Timeline

 

Spoiler
  • The existence of people with Psychokinesis powers was discovered in 2011
  • 0.3% of the world population wielded this power
  • In Japan 'Boy A' from Episode 1's flashback misused his powers to assault 19 women, 17 of which he kills. -> This establishes why future societies 'program' new PK users to have the 'no kill other human' instinct; "Death of Shame"
  • More PK users misuse their powers to commit crimes, terrorists acts leads to global conflict & warfare that lasts five centuries (Dark Ages)
  • Northeastern Asia had 4 distinct societies during this time. 1. Slave Dynasty (PK) 2. Hunter-gatherers (non-PK) 3. Bandits (PK) 4. Pre-PK Techno
  • Out of the 19 Slave Dynasties, 1 of them, the Holy Cherry Blossom Dynasty, is revealed to be the one we saw via flashbacks with that one emperor who made his subjects clap for three days straight. The Dark Ages ends after the last of the Slave Dynasties collapses due to civil unrest & war over the emperor(s)' tyranny. World population is reduced to 2%.
  • No documentation between the end of the Dark Ages and the current present -> Our main cast of characters are left in the dark as to their origins/ancestry
  • Safe to assume that the surviving civilizations reformed the upbringing & nurturing of new PK users to prevent future misuse of powers/killing people -> Hey look, that's what Episodes 1 & 2 were all about; the pyschological rituals and education that Saki & her friends had to go through :D
  • PK users deemed too irresponsible/unworthy/dangerous are eliminated -> Explains why not everybody graduates from the Elementary school/the missing people

There was confusing shit at the end about 'Ogres' aka patients with Larman-Krogeus Syndrome who existed pre-PK and 'Karmic Demons' aka patients with Hashimoto-Applebaum Syndrome & something about the current society being made to prevent the creation of ogres and demons, but the horse gets ganked by random-monk-from-Temple-of-Purification-passerby, Rijin who claims the horse was a demon who told lies.

 

 

 

Btw, LOL at my amateur theorizing back in Episode 2

 

 

Spoiler

The way that episode had students going missing and then introducing monster rats at the end I was like "Okay maybe the students that went missing get turned into monster rats."

 

Nope. Monster rats are just monster rats. The people that went missing were likely executed for being unworthy of their PK powers

 

 

 

~~~

Anyway, Rijin criticizes the crew for not obtaining permission to venture this far out, but apparently the even worse crime they committed was 'listening to the words of a horse demon" which breaks one of the Ten Platinum Laws of their Ethics Rules and so he seals their powers (I'm interested into the mechanics of that) and then prepares to escort them to the Ethics Committee for their punishment.

 

Unfortunately, the crew gets ganked by Monster Rats along the way, and surprise surprise, Balloon Dogs do exist & Rijin dies protecting the crew from the explosion.

 

 

Spoiler

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Episode 5 - 7

 

 

Spoiler

Not much to say except. This arc was a good 'introductory' arc that gives us an idea of what shenanigans the characters may end up in in the future.

 

Random misc. comments

 

Spoiler

Monster Rats are friggen' ugly. Can't wait to see what other grotesque creatures this show can churn out ;)

 

Spoiler

Dw guys, it's totaly SFW. Just think of cow udders!

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That random sexual moment b/w Saki & Satoru when they were captured though. Cheating on Shun already, Saki? xD

 

 

Spoiler

Dw dw, nothing happens, and Saki actually has a momentary flashback about Shun later on so.. SakixShun confirmed??

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Again, I'm interested in how their abilities are sealed and unsealed. Saki was able to unseal Satoru's powers via hypnosis + remembering his mantra or so and that was pretty interesting.

 

Regarding PK powers in general, wow. Satoru completely rekt the Monster Rats while he still had mana stamina. Really shows how devastating the war in the Dark Ages must've been since PK users had free reign to use their powers against each other.

 

I also wish to see Saki kick some ass one day. Sucks her powers remained sealed for the remainder of this arc.

 

~~~

Regarding Squera, not sure how I feel about the rat. It seems he only assisted Saki x Satoru because of mutual benefits rather than him being a legit friend. Especially during that scene where he was 'captured' by enemy Monster Rats where the anime totally portrayed him to be a double agent so I was confused when he was still helping them, especially at the end when they are running from the Giant Hornets. But everything works out in the end~

 

 

Spoiler

Like the show couldn't make up its mind on whether he would backstab them or not xD but ultimately he doesn't

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~~~

That ending though.

 

"Yay everybody reunites and the Giant Hornets let us go despite being ordered to take us in (thanks to Satoru saving the general earlier I presume).

 

We'll go back home, unseal our powers, and since Rijin died, there's no way anybody will have known we were in trouble for breaking the Ethics Rule via talking to that magic horse!"

 

NOPE! Looks like shit is gonna go down in very soon. I'll be looking forward to it :D~

 

 

Spoiler

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[We]

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Episode 8

 

 

Spoiler

Wtf where's Episode 7.5?!@# I want to see what happens during the timeskip ;-;

 

Random VA comments to start off: HOLY SHIT I didn't realize that Satoru is voiced by same VA as Haruyuki from Accel World. FK ME. Luckily Satoru isn't the whiny helpless type or else I would've been irritated to death by now >.>

 

Also, Maria is voiced by Kana Hanazawa (S;G Mayuri, Angel Beats! Angel, etc...). This lady's everywhere. Can't believe it took me 8 episodes to recognize these VAs.

 

~~~

2 year time skip. Everyone's 14 now. This is so awesome. Will there be another timeskip in the future? Will we get to see everybody as adults? :D:D:D. Ahem. Outside of the basic looking older/more mature,

  • Kyaaaaa!!! Saki's hair got longer!! I thought she was pretty then- she's even more pretty now~
  • Maria looks the same;
  • Satoru's voice got deeper;
  • Shun's hair became more disheveled / he has a 'cool guy' look now (he looked so nice-guy back then).
  • Mamaro looks the same and is ... just there. As usual. The poor sod's a 3rd wheel wherever he goes xD

So much for Saki x Shun huh. Wtf happened for there to be Saki x Maria and Shun x Satoru LOL (Episode 4 already established that all PK users were raised to be a "Society of Love" which included sexual contact & relations between people regardless of gender so I didn't mind the homosexuality/feel it came out of nowhere, but aww it seems Saki still has feelings for Shun >.>)

 

Shun x Sataro

 

Spoiler

Well hot damn!!! I mean uh.. EWWW GET A ROOM YOU TWO!@#

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Saki x Maria

 

 

Spoiler

Now that's what I'm talking about. Don't feel bad for not getting Shun, Saki. This is definitely the better choice

;)

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~~~

Something's obviously up with Shun. For a moment I got annoyed by his distant shady attitude + breaking up with Satoru (he was such a nice boy 2 years ago; remember the starry river canoe moment he had with Saki? That's something only nice guys would do.)

 

I was worried that he was up to no good/doing illegal shit/will become a villain, but by the end of the episode it's hinted that he's doing the whole "I'm going to play hero and shoulder the burden all by myself to protect everybody" thing so props to him.

 

The 'burden' of course being the horse-demon-lies incident 2 years ago that the crew thought they had covered up, but apparently it took this long for it to come back and bite them in the ass.

 

 

Episode 9

 

 

Spoiler

So good ol' Shun goes missing for four days and the crew finally decide to go search for him.

 

A sacred barrier has been erected where Shun's village(?) or w/e the place they visit (very interesting how PK users have been trained to be so afraid of crossing the barrier btw xD) and Saki x Satoru discover that it's been completely deserted. Upon doing some scouting, the duo discover a rather inappropriate-looking tree which apparently has some significance though I don't know what.

 

Spoiler

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Oh I get it. That was where Shun's house was.

 

 

 

~

Later back at home, Saki inquires her parents regarding Shun to which her mom freaks out and pleads with Saki to stop prying because "she doesn't want to lose another child" which she immediately rephrases (finally) to "I don't want to lose you".

 

I felt for Saki's mom at that point ;-;. If I was Saki I might've totally just dropped everything to keep the peace for the sake of mum. But Saki being Saki will obviously continue to pry.

 

 

Spoiler

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~

Random flashback childhood Saki is soo adorable goddamn!!

 

 

Spoiler

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~

SLKFJASKLFJ FRIGGEN' MARIA!!!!!! I'M WATCHING THIS WITH HEADPHONES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHY YOU MUST SCARE ME!@#

 

 

Spoiler

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Maria reveals that she and Mamoru went to tthe off-limits courtyard at their school and that the 'storage containers' contained... the Impure Cats!@#

 

They heard one of their teacher's voices amongst the adults...

"Must take care of it before the transformation into a Karmic Demon is complete"...

"He was so talented. It's such a shame"

 

Welp I guess that means Shun's the poor sod who is turning into a Karmic Demon and therefore must be eliminated. Damn shame indeed.

 

Saki gears up, says her goodbyes to Maria and then heads out in the middle of the night to go look for Shun.

 

And guess who what she runs into!!!!

 

 

Spoiler

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THE TERRIFYING IMPURE CATS!!!!!!!1

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...

 

That's... it? LOLOLOL there was soo much hype to the Impure Cats but man this felt soo underwhelming xD

 

 

 

 

Episode 10

 

 

Spoiler

Saki has a pretty awkward battle with the Impure Cat but manages to kill it via lieing on the floor mouthing her incantations (yeah, the cat was totally overhyped. For some reason I thought they would be these invincible killing machines >.>)

 

~

Sigh... RIP Shun.

 

Info dump on Karmic Demons aka PK users with Hashimoto-Appelbaum syndrome. I was wondering when the story would focus on Ogres and K Demons

  • Their powers 'leak out' unconsciously, negatively affecting the environment and those around them like a walking nuclear radiator causing death and destruction -> Explains why Shun distanced himself from everybody.
  • That giant wasteland area that Saki x Satoru visited where they saw that one tree in previous episode was caused by Shun's condition. Also, his parents died because of him. Poor guy.

An Impure Cat pops out of nowhere but is killed by Shun + his mutated dog easily. Yeah, the cats were definitely overhyped >.>

 

Nothing Saki can do to help Shun so they shed some tears and express their regrets and confess that they love each other. Shun reaches his limit in restraining his powers and forcibly ejects Saki so he could put an end to this/magically implode on himself/commit suicide or something.

 

Spoiler

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SIGHHH. I liked Shun ;-;

 

 

 

 

Episode 11

 

 

Spoiler

The adults that were in charge of memory erasing to make everybody forget about Shun should be FIRED since obviously they did a shitty job since Saki was able to piece together that something was up

:P (She ultimately can't remember Shun's name, but at least she was able to determine that Ryou =/= Shun despite everyone's memories suggesting so)

 

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa HOLD UP!@# THERE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SIX PEOPLE PER GROUP? Saki, Satoru, Maria, Shun, Mamoru... who the fk was the sixth...?

 

Le gasp..!! REIKO!!! I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT EPISODE 1 & 2 AND HER DISAPPEARING!@# GAHHHH I FEEL BAD ;-;.

 

~

Didn't really care for any interactions the crew had with Ryou. The guy's fodder and a waste of screentime.

 

What I would like to see more of, though, is:

 

Spoiler

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Mhmmm. Don't judge :P

 

 

 

~

Mamoru. Typical whiny pathetic baby character who cracks when the crew start digging and conclude that Ryou =/= Shun based on their skewed memories.

 

You may have noticed by now but I HATE these types of characters. They are the bane of my existence. Chaos;Head's Takumi. Hated him. Accel World's Haruyuki. HATED HIM. Mamoru is no exception.

 

 

Spoiler

Oh c'mon GET A GRIP YA BIG BABY!!!

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Though later on, Maria says something to Saki that finally made me realize something about whiny characters

 

 

Spoiler

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This was an eye opener for me. Okay, not really, but like it made me think about how inconsiderate I was being. Like what if it was my friends that were being weak and in need of support? Would I just be like "OMG you're annoying, GTFO" like I am towards these characters or would I try to be considerate and supportive of them like Maria?

 

Obviously these whiny characters will never be 'my friends' just like how in VNs you are never really 'the protagonist' AKA don't really have to do the whole "put yourself in protagonist shoes to relate better' but it was a nice food for thought.

 

 

 

Saki still wishes to pursue their lost memories of Shun but agrees to not involve Mamoru in their investigations anymore.

 

Oh and YESSS, more Saki x Maria <3 <3 <3

 

 

Spoiler

Btw top left corner you can see Satoru's hair. Yup he be third wheelin' xD

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~

The head of the Ethics Committee (revealed to be Satoru's grandmother) summons Saki / Satoru / Maria. Uh oh. The resulting banter among the trio from this revelation was very much appreciated in the midst of all of this tension :P

 

 

Spoiler

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Episode 12

 

 

Spoiler

Revelations galore. This episode was another lore-heavy explanations episode that was necessary and quite interesting to listen to. But first off, as soon as I saw the title, "Weak(est) Link" I just knew Mamoru would be the focus soon >.>

  • Tomiko-sama, head of the Ethics Committee, has taken a liking to Saki/wants her to be her successor since Saki's "Personality Index" showed no drastic changes after the group learned the various truths about the world via the False Minoshiro/magic horse from Episode 4- signs that Saki would be a good leader (everybody else though apparently were traumatized/affected by the truth in one way or another).
  • The Education Committee, not Ethics Committe, are the ones tasked with filtering out students and ganking the unworthy PK users. The reason they didn't go after our characters 2 years ago was because of Tomiko-sama seeing potential in Saki.
  • Ogres and Karmic Demons. That's why all the adults act so paranoid. That's why the system exists as it is now with all of these procedures and customs being enforced so strictly. Karmic Demons as revealed by Shun in episode 10 are PK users who unconsiously leaked their power, unintentionally destroying everything around them. Ogres on the other hand are PK users who are simply mentally unstable or something and thus prone to spontaneous rampages.
  • Tomiko-sama lived through an Ogre attack in the past. One Ogre caused the death of one thousand people. That's fking insane and I can totally understand now why this society lives the way they currently do (even though I still think they are too extreme). It's even more scary thinking about how nobody was able to fight back due to everybody having the "Death of Shame" aka 'no killing people' programmed into them.
  • Everybody's basic human rights was pushed from 22 months to 17 years of age and all of the practices we see today are the result of this society's attempt to prevent future Ogre & K Demon attacks.
  • "A chain always breaks at the weakest link"

Upon hearing the story about the K Demon, Saki unconsciously tears up, obviously because of her lingering memories of her best K Demon friend, Shun. Tomiko-sama confirms that everybody's memories of Shun were altered for the sake of keeping the peace.

 

Tomiko-sama still wants Saki to be her successor and promises her that "When the time comes, you'll be allowed to regain your memories". Saki is conflicted. "I could never do what you do!"

 

Looking forward to what Saki's future holds for her ;)

 

~

Mamoru, the weakest link, disappears so Saki x Satoru x Maria head out to find him.

 

 

 

Episode 13

 

 

Spoiler

Spend 10 minutes exploring the snowfields / following Mamoru's sled tracks / finally locate him under the care of a Monster Rat Squnk we met in Episode 2. Mamoru explains he ran away because an Impure Cat was after him.

 

And why's an Impure Cat after him? I didn't really pay attention but I think it's something along the lines of back in Episode 9 when he and Maria spied on the courtyard and saw the adults + Impure Cats... aka 'You saw things you shouldn't have seen so now you die'. That or he was deemed too weak/unworthy like Reiko.

 

Misc. Episode 13 comments

  • It took me 10 minutes to realize Saki and Satoru were using their powers to ski rather than actually skiing
  • I enjoyed just watching Maria use her levitation to jump around
  • Satoru is actually pretty damn smart/good at paying attention to detail. He's the one that deduces Mamoru's sled was purposely buried, Mamoru wasn't dead because the Monster Rat dragging his body avoided hitting tree roots, etc. etc.

 

 

 

Episode 14

 

 

Spoiler

Saki and Satoru leave Mamoru and Maria behind and go back to the village (Why...). Saki is interrogated by the Education Committe (damn they're an intimidating bunch) and she finally musters up the courage to explain that Mamoru left because of the Impure Cats that the Education Committee sent after them.

 

Meanwhile we get some flashbacks which explain the (Why...) I had earlier :P. Mamoru *chose* to stay behind/plans on running, and Maria because she's so nice and considerate decides she will elope with him.

 

Spoiler

I shed a quick tear. Maria is soo damn sweet. Did I mention that I REAAALLY like her character?

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Btw does that mean no more Saki x Maria...? NOOOOOOOOOO

 

 

Spoiler

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PLS SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! ;-;

 

Btw why did these scenes have to happen in flashbacks!@# >.> Ahem..

 

 

 

~

The Education Committee play the whole "WTF is this blasphemy you speak of?" card but Tomiko-sama finally steps in and vouches for Saki. The once-scary Education Committee suddenly sound so passive. Wow, Tomiko-sama really does have HUGE influence 0.0

 

Saki has some heart to heart with Tomiko-sama; she is revealed to be 267 years old because her PK powers allow her cells to idk divide and not naturally deteriorate/something about Telomeres and that's why she has so much influence- with age comes experience, wisdom...

 

Tomiko-sama offers to protect Mamoru x Maria should Saki be able to bring those two home within 3 days otherwise the Education Committee will act on its own to execute the two elopers.

 

Saki meets up with Satoru and they begin their search for M & M. Hey look, it's Saki x Satoru vs. the world again. Looks like this is the default couple -_-

 

 

Episode 15 - 16

 

 

Spoiler

Saki x Satoru's search leads them to a chance encounter with a familiar face:

Squeara! New name Yakomaru or w/e but I'm still callin' him Squeara to spite Flutterz

 

Spoiler

 

 

But alas, despite the initial friendly re-introductions, immediately you get the shady vibe from this guy and it's subtlely revealed later as to why. So I guess all of my suspicions in the earlier episodes about not to trust this guy *are* right soo yay me xD

 

Meh, don't really care about the lore regarding the Monster Rats. Yada yada yada we're building our colony by merging with other colonies and we got our hands on old-school technology/concrete and we incapacitate our Queens because they are too paranoid blah blah blah one day we'll mount a large scale attack against you Kami-samas

 

~

They track down Squnk with the help of Squeara and his questionable methods. Squnk gives them a letter from Maria and OMFG WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Maria's letter was an official "Good-bye don't come looking for me"

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME MARIA T____________________________T

 

 

Spoiler

Btw why couldn't we have some episodes dedicated to the crew as children xD. They were so adorables!@#

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~

WTF KIND OF NIGHTMARE IS THIS SAKI?!??!

 

 

Spoiler

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EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

 

 

 

~

No leads on Maria x Mamoru. One day remains... will they be able to find them...? Saki x Satoru start talking about how they'll rebel and elope together and meet up with M & M and then Saki all of a sudden bursts into tears ;-;

 

Soo uh, Saki x Satoru confirmed?

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Episode 17

 

 

Spoiler

Whoop-dee-doo, another time skip. This time Saki's 26 years old!!! With being an adult comes work so Saki's part of the Monster Rat Department. Btw did I mention that I totally do not care about Monster Rats so pls no story focusing on them PLSS I HATE SQUEARA!!!

 

Saki's very beautiful, as usual~ But kinda weird that she's older than me now :nervous:

http://i.imgur.com/Ml7k6Ss.jpg

Spoiler

 

 

 

Satoru also grew into a fine young man. His VA actually sounds decent when he's not playing whiny baby characters >.>

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

But I had to take a moment of silence because this time skip meant that they went 12 years without seeing M & M aka they never found them ;-; (unless they'll randomly pop up in the next 20 minutes and start reminiscing about the good 'old days)

 

~

Fk. Do the creators of this show have a thing for rats or something? Why does this show feature Monster Rats so much?! I want Ogres! Karmic Demons! Anything but RATS!!!

 

Not going to go into Monster Rat lore cuz I don't give a damn (quick summary: colonies going to war with each other and having drama about who attacked who) but it's interesting how they have do paperwork to go to war with each other >.>

 

And I'll be honest, if the Monster Rats at least looked half as decent as Kiroumaru I would've liked them better. Yes, appearances matter. Besides, it's not like Squeara had a good personality to contrast with his ugliness.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

It's annoying to see Squeara silver-tongue his way through everything, but w/e.

 

~

Committee of Badasses:

 

 

Spoiler

 

~

What. The. F#@$%? The Giant Hornets led by Kiroumaru were wiped out by Robber Fly lead by Squeara?! Obviously this fking annoying rat has something up his sleeve, but I am totally disappointed in this show for having the Monster Rats be the 'grand conflict'.

 

 

Episode 18

 

 

Spoiler

Flutterz you lie! There was nothing special about episode 18!@#

 

Oh wait nvm you mean this?

http://i.imgur.com/cWeX33Z.jpg

Spoiler

KYAAAAAAAAA THEY'RE 'SHO CUTEEE!!!!!!

 

 

 

~

Denial Mode #1: At the summer festival, Saki has halluncinations of Maria. That means Maria's still alive right...?

 

The Monster Rat Department has more meetings as to how the Robber Fly Colony could devastate the all mighty Giant Hornets. Conclude based on how effortlessly it was and the lack of damaged weapons could only mean one thing: they have a PK user on their side. But how...?

 

...Maria...? Mamoru? No way..!!! Why would they possibly side with Monster Rats? Revenge on society for exiling them?! Are they gonna be the big baddies?!

 

But that theory is quickly debunked by Tomiko-sama saying that that was impossible since they have the skeletal remains of M & M returned by Squeara that were thoroughly, 100% checked and confirmed to be theirs so it is for absolute certain that those two are dead.

 

Denial Mode #2: Wait, what? Those are really M & M's bones or is Tomiko lying to cover up that they never found M & M? Or maybe Squeara's just really good at coming up with legit-looking remains..?

 

~

Yup, the fking Monster Rats are the 'grand conflict'. 0/10 this show sux trololol GOD WHY RATS.?!@# Hopefully this arc is done by Episode 20 and the remaining 5 can deal with more interesting things.. Sorry, I just don't care about the rats >.>

 

The Rats mount an assault during the Summer Festival. It feels soo weird how everybody was caught off guard and how even the elite fodders get taken down by fodder rats.

 

 

 

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/m2ZAcn6.jpg

That's cuz you were waving your fans dancing around like an idiot <_<

 

Shisei had the single most badass moment in this show so far though :D God I hope he has a worthy death

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Denial Mode #3: A flashback of Maria at the end of the episode with a 'Good bye' plastered all over it? Definitely means she's alive and that we'll get a reunite soon right?

 

 

Spoiler

BTW THIS IS A SHITTY REASON FOR LEAVING THE SAKI X MARIA SHIP, MARIA!!!!!

http://i.imgur.com/vulOmzA.jpg

 

 

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S-s-see you soon..?

 

 

 

 

Episode 19

 

 

Spoiler

Everybody disperses from the festival and groups up into 5s; Saki x Satoru group up with 3 fodder characters (I kept thinking about how much better the show would be if it was our 5 main characters in this situation instead of all of these fodder characters. Like the main 5 never actually got to go on a 'mission' together together; it's always just Saki x Satoru AKA characters weren't used to their full potential)

 

The group reach a hospital, barbecue some Monster Rats ambushing them, and then enter the hospital to search for survivors.

 

Well, well, well. Seems I spoke too soon about Monster Rats being the 'grand conflict'... The way the survivors in the hospital are freaking out about 'it'.... Looks like things are going to get really interesting!!!!

 

Spoiler

AN OGRE!!!!!!!! OMG FINALLY!!!!!!!

http://i.imgur.com/2K945sm.jpg

Contrary to the Impure Cats which I totally laughed at for being so overhyped, this time I actually *felt* scared >.>. That moment where everybody hid in the closet was 10/10 tension.

 

 

 

~

Fodder girl pulls a Maria & volunteers to stay behind with wimpy fodder lady while Saki x Satoru escape to warn the village about the Ogre. RIP.

 

 

Spoiler

You sure you don't wanna just come with us and replace Maria? JK nobody could ever replace her ;-;

http://i.imgur.com/5fNMi3t.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/L7R6uVL.jpg

 

 

 

I didn't really take time to think about 'who' the Ogre could be. I merely thought it would be a fodder Ogre that would be explained like 'due to the Monster Rat attack, this person became traumatized so severely and thus became an Ogre".

 

 

Episode 20

 

 

Spoiler

The Ogre was done right. Unlike the Impure Cats which ended up being fodder (resulting in their horror moments in the early episodes sucking ass) I actually felt tension for the Ogre scenes. Maybe it's cuz I was watching this in the middle of the night xD

 

Denial Mode #4: C'mon, is Maria alive or not?! Stop teasing me ;-;

http://i.imgur.com/qo9eGEN.jpg

Spoiler

 

 

 

~

Anyway Saki x Satoru cleverly escape the Ogre by using a mirror/reflection. A gunpowder-igniting monster thingy from the river then attacks them and Saki x Satoru are separated (I thought it was weird she didn't try looking for him after regaining her ground >.>)

 

Saki makes it back to the village and informs about Ogre. Wow seeing the 267 never-aging Tomiko-sama wrapped up in bandages made me feel bad x.x. Tomiko says that if there really is an Ogre, then all hope is lost because apparently even though she lived through an Ogre attack in the past it was just luck/a complete miracle. Dw, Saki can manage xD

 

 

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/ZGu6hnN.jpg

 

No pressure :P

 

 

 

 

Episode 21

 

 

Spoiler

Man, this episode. The one that ties everything together. Probably one of my favorites.

 

We start off with Shisei, head of the Security Committee, doing his thing killing Monster Rats. I immediately realized what his existence as fodder was for: the Ogre xD

 

Speaking of the Ogre, holy shit that reveal impacted me sooo much ;-;

http://i.imgur.com/a76a7m8.jpg

Spoiler

 

As soon as I saw that red hair I was verbally going into denial mode saying "No" multiple times. No.

http://i.imgur.com/f9Eg1qt.jpg

 

No. Noo!! NO!!!

http://i.imgur.com/B7N8Hjq.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/jCy78NT.jpg

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Like I legit had tears going down my eyes. "Maria, the Ogre?! FK ME. FK THIS SHOW. 0/10 FK EVERYTHING. WHYYYYY" was my reaction xD

 

Immediately started thinking of reasons why she would end up like this and side with the Monster Rats. Why...? Revenge against society for Mamoru dying or something...?

 

 

 

~

Shisei easily gets ganked by the Ogre and Saki x Satoru flee. They meet up with some other guy who was tasked with eliminating the Robber Fly colony earlier but failed to do so because of said Ogre.

 

And then another shocking revelation: Squeara's grand plan? Raise an army of PK users by stealing babies. Well, shit. I was disappointed earlier for the 'grand conflict' being the Monster Rats, but this plan of theirs made things 100x more interesting.

 

 

Spoiler

 

But then that made me realize something. That Ogre isn't Maria. All of those Denial Modes where I was clinging onto hope that Maria was still alive was all for naught.

 

The Rats' plan was to raise an army of Ogres, right? So how'd they get their first one? From M & M's child.

 

 

Spoiler

 

And I bawled like a freakin' baby for quite some time upon finally realizing that. Maria's DEAD. She's gone forever. The remains they mentioned before is 100% proof of that. Killed by that fking Squeara and her child raised to become the ultimate weapon in his conquest.

 

Goddam that got me depressed. Like c'mon, you guys elope specifically so you guys could continue living, not die to these rats and then have your child raised to become their weapon!!!! FK!!!!

 

Ok I gotta stop now before I tear up again.

 

Ahem

 

~

I'm surprised I was impacted by Maria's death this much (or rather, the realization/confirmation of her death). I usually just shed a tear or two for character deaths aka Shun, but man, Maria's was just soo tragic.

 

It was probably a combination of me liking her character so much and then having to go through several episodes wondering if she truly was dead or not clinging onto hope even when facts are presented and then BAM the harsh reality is confirmed. T________T

 

 

Episodes 22 - 25

 

 

Spoiler
  • What was up with the whole 'don't trust Kiroumaru' crap. That guy was loyal right up to the very end even sacrificing himself to stop Messiah. My favorite Monster Rat~
  • That trolly cliffhanger on Episode 23 -> 24 Shun = Kiroumaru hallucination of Saki's. Luckily we didn't have to wait a week just to be trolled >.>
  • A shame that they had to kill M & M's daughter / Couldn't get her to realize that she was human. That's all, folks! Maria's legacy ends with her rat-brainwashed daughter. So F#$%#ing tragic. DAMN. Maria's story is gonna leave me a bitter aftertaste for a looong while -.-
  • I didn't buy the whole Monster Rat revolting because of the Kami-samas oppressing/enslaving them and whatnot. If anything, this reason should apply to the kids because of the system with the Education Committee and Impure Cats. Monster Rats = Human was a decent reason, but I still didn't give a shit about them and was 100% happy to hear Squeara be sentenced to Infinite Hell (except when they actually show him being tortured. God that was HORRIBLE ;-; ) TL;DR I FKING HATE RATS.
  • +1 for Saki doing the right thing and putting him out of his misery later.
    Did you have fun opening all of them spoiler tags? Well guess what, the real hint is in the actual posts in the forum! Bwahahaha!
  • We learn that Saki's parents died. F@#%. I'm done.
  • The Monster Rats = Humans reveal was a 'whatevers'. A good way to tie things up, but eh, didn't really care.
     

All I cared about, was The least popular walkthrough created by 'him' contains the next hint.

http://i.imgur.com/Jo23uet.jpg

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Overall Quick Review

 

 

Spoiler

Story: 8 / 10

 

Spoiler
  • Lore & world are very rich although it can be confusing at first
  • Plot moves at decent pace although can be a bit draggy at times
  • Final arc does a good job utilizing the various lore established in the story
  • Raises some interesting questions regarding the way their society works

I hate Monster Rats and could never sympathize with them. Squeara made for an interesting antagonist but I would've preferred the main conflict to be like the 5 main characters vs. society or something instead of Monster Rats vs. Humanity. Or at least non-cantus using humans vs cantus using humans. Monster Rats even if they have human qualities/traits/personalities and DNA-wise are human are no-no. Give me HUMANS, not RATS. Yes, appearances matter.

 

 

Characters: 8 / 10

 

 

Spoiler
  • Everybody's consistent in their personalities and how they act; no exaggerated characters
  • Enjoyable to see characters mature throughout the show

Only regret is that Episode 3 is the only time you have the 5 main characters all together just having fun

...And of course half of the main characters dying midway / by Episode 16

Favorite character: Maria

 

 

Art: 7 / 10

 

 

Spoiler
  • The art can become pretty inconsistent and awkward looking at times. When you go into Episode 5 you'll immediately notice the art being a different style than the previous episodes. I heard it was because there were like different directors or something early on. It becomes much more consistent later.
  • I would've liked there to be a bit more shading done on the characters

 

 

Music: 7 / 10

 

 

Spoiler
  • Fits the mood nicely, though since this was 25 episodes long it was easy to notice the repetitiveness of certain tracks
  • ED: I always enjoyed ending episodes 1 - 17 because it meant I could listen to the first 5 seconds of the ED. Catchy beat~

 

 

Enjoyment: 10 / 10

 

 

Spoiler
  • If you start to adore the characters by Episode 3 and become interested in the world & lore by Episode 4 like I did, this show becomes very enjoyable to watch just to see how the characters develop and what shenanigans can happen in this nicely crafted world.
  • I always looked forward to the next episode and for that to happen for a 25 episode series this gets a 10 from me~

 

 

 

Random- my favorite scene (obv spoilers):

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

This scene wins in so many ways. The revelation that I was too st00pid to see coming. Saki's eyes going into pure wtf mode; I bet my eyes were doing the same xD. Even the music I felt fit the mood pretty nicely.

 

Totally doesn't have anything to do with me thinking that was Maria trololol and then realizing it was her child later on

 

 

 

~~~

Overall: 9 / 10

 

 

 

7 Comments


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Yaay, another person who likes this anime. I enjoyed watching it too. I think once I hit episode 8, I Had to keep watching. Maria was also my favorite character!

 

"

Now that's what I'm talking about. Don't feel bad for not getting Shun, Saki. This is definitely the better choice"

I totally agree  :illya:

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I found Shin Sekai Yori very interesting because it presents a compelling security dilemma: In a world where a single person can kill hundreds of thousands of innocents with a single thought, how does society respond?  Psycho Pass's solution (Psycho Pass aired the same season) is a police state, where crimes are prosecuted essentially before they are even conceived by measuring a person's temperament (their potential to commit a crime).  Shin Sekai Yori's solution is genetic manipulation and rigorous childhood brainwashing to suppress violent tendencies, with systematic elimination of deviants that these measures fail to control.

 

I find this theme fascinating because it won't be long before we as a species face a similar dilemma.  Imagine a world where nuclear devices become concealable in a suitcase and fissionable material is as easy to come by as traditional explosives.  A single deranged individual could wipe out an entire city and make it uninhabitable for years more.  As a society, how will we deal with that threat?  My bets are on the police state solution.  Expect agencies like the US National Security Agency (NSA) to grow increasingly powerful as weaponry becomes increasingly advanced, to the point that even letting a single psychopath slip through could result in unacceptable economic damage and loss of human life.  And at that point--who will watch the Watchers?

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That's the thing I love about it, it's pretty much inevitable. If not household nukes, we'll (presumably) eventually figure out how the brain works, and then all you need is an efficient scanner to know when someone is going to commit a crime. And at that point society will agree that it's okay to do something that's pretty much unimaginable right now - prosecute thought crimes, because why would you wait for someone to commit mass murder if you can stop them before they do?

Also, my rambling post about SSY if anyone cares http://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/topic/8063-the-official-fuwa-anime-club-special-music-cycle/?p=233914

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I found Shin Sekai Yori very interesting because it presents a compelling security dilemma: In a world where a single person can kill hundreds of thousands of innocents with a single thought, how does society respond?  Psycho Pass's solution (Psycho Pass aired the same season) is a police state, where crimes are prosecuted essentially before they are even conceived by measuring a person's temperament (their potential to commit a crime).  Shin Sekai Yori's solution is genetic manipulation and rigorous childhood brainwashing to suppress violent tendencies, with systematic elimination of deviants that these measures fail to control.

 

I find this theme fascinating because it won't be long before we as a species face a similar dilemma.  Imagine a world where nuclear devices become concealable in a suitcase and fissionable material is as easy to come by as traditional explosives.  A single deranged individual could wipe out an entire city and make it uninhabitable for years more.  As a society, how will we deal with that threat?  My bets are on the police state solution.  Expect agencies like the US National Security Agency (NSA) to grow increasingly powerful as weaponry becomes increasingly advanced, to the point that even letting a single psychopath slip through could result in unacceptable economic damage and loss of human life.  And at that point--who will watch the Watchers?

In the Shinsekai Yori case, I think it would be a possible solution if normal humans retained the ability to attack other humans. You could have the kishi mechanism without the aggression suppression.

 But the overall concept is a difficult one and I have little idea where to start.

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