Shinsekai Yori - 13

"Reunion"

Mamoru's never had much luck on his side, and now the sand in his hourglass is running out.

I've said before that I don't really know where Zetsuen no Tempest plans to go in its second cour, but Shinsekai is just as, if not more, challenging to figure out. I think it's clear that we are currently facing the imminent demise of Mamoru, and due to the premonition about Maria, she too may fall victim soon enough, perhaps even as a direct result of what happens to Mamoru. However, just what does that mean about where the narrative is going? Will all of these children succumb to their demons, with Saki being the last left? Will she have to take on the mantle of the head of the Ethics Committee and propagate these child-murders for the rest of her life? Will they escape and attempt to survive beyond the Holy Barrier? Will the PK societies be destroyed for the better of what remains of the planet? I really can't say at the moment, since even Mamoru may survive this yet; he has not necessarily shown any symptoms for Hashimoto-Appelbaum nor for Raman-Klogius, but has simply been marked as a target with potential for developing either. What I can say is that this has been one of the most poignant and difficult series that I've watched in recent memory. This is not an anime one should watch all at once through speed-runs; it demands time to digest what you've seen and how that affects where the story is going. It is a highly emotional and visceral experience, one that spells disaster for the future of our protagonists in one form or another.

It's a difficult thing to watch, the necessary murder of children for the purposes of self-preservation. What's worse is that the adults are merely afraid and have few means to stop fully developed cases of the Syndromes, and their methods of purging potential problem children seem to be the only thing that works. Yet it places children like Mamoru, who only show a somewhat weaker control over Cantus than the others, in a position like the one in which he found himself this week. Mamoru has never harmed a soul, but due to his teacher's judgement, he's now been stalked by the Nekodamashi and forced himself to run away, beyond the Holy Barrier even. But as luck would have it, he's been found and cared for by a friendly Bakenezumi. We as viewers can only wonder if this is a stroke of fortune or of disaster; the Bakenezumi are servants of the adults in the village after all, and their job, like the Nekodamashi, is to dispose of potentially dangerous children. However we also know that in certain cases, such as with Squealer and Kiromaru, the Bakenezumi will disobey orders, and this particular individual, Squonk, had his life saved by Saki when she was twelve. Whether or not Squonk will prove asset or liability is of secondary concern to the others, however, as they realize that their search and rescue for Mamoru isn't going to be as easy as simply bringing him home.

What we're potentially looking at is either a separation of some sort, or at a chance for escape. Even beyond the Holy Barrier, Mamoru is still a target, and clearly he and the others are in danger from the adults. He may be killed, or he may run away "into the wild" so to speak, with possible assistance from Squonk, but regardless he can never return to normal life in the village. What hangs in the balance is whether or not Saki, Maria, and Satoru will accompany him or simply assist his escape, and should he die in the process, how they (especially Maria) will react.

It seems it will be some time until we find out how this ends, because Shinsekai is taking a break this week and won't be back until after New Year's. Until then, it's going to be a slow and painful wait.