Shinsekai Yori - 22

"Tokyo"

As epic as they've been, the finality of these last few episodes has made me very sad that we're only three episodes away from the end.

I think most people who follow this series have heard that it's been an utter commercial disaster in Japan; and by disaster, I'm speaking on the level of Fiend-wrought destruction... or something like that. It's really quite terrible, actually. Sales dictate art in this day and age, after all, so if there's no demand for series like these, sooner or later they will stop being produced. Over the last decade, there's been a huge decrease in this kind of intellectual material when it comes to anime, and who can blame the studios? Fanservice and comedy bring in the money, so it's only natural to gravitate toward the best financial decisions. Thus, it makes sense that writers like Dai Sato are so bothered by the state of the industry and the lack of interest heavy storytelling and content, and it makes those of us who like such works a small minority who share that opinion. That being said, I can understand that this isn't a series for everyone. It's pretty controversial in some places and incredibly dense in others, and it's also so bleak that it verges on depressing most of the time. The art budget isn't exactly huge, so the production team went for modernist visual techniques rather than focusing on the actual look of things, which only alienates those who feel that it's too strange to watch artistically. Overall, the feeling is of reading a literature novel rather than one for fun, so it's easy to see why this isn't popular amongst people looking for something easygoing. Yet it makes me sad as a viewer that Shinsekai is as under-appreciated as it is, if only because it's such an amazing piece of narrative and visual art. Still, there's nothing I can do about it other than import what I can and feel regret at seeing this endangered beast of a series go out with a bang...

...which is exactly what it seems to doing. This episode may not have had the raw and visceral power of those immediately preceeding it, but it was nevertheless running at full sprint from the get-go. I've never quite been able to understand how such a briskly paced series can feel so natural to watch, but it rarely feels forced to see so much happen in those twenty-odd minutes, and this episode is no exception. Things are quickly drawing to a climax and Saki and Satoru have been thrust to the helm of it all as humanity's last defense against Yakomaru and his budding Fiend army. With a Minoshiro in hand (a last memento from Saki's mother, the Librarian) and Kiroumaru as a guide, they head off to Tokyo, which has ironically become a wasteland by this time (read into that as you will) to find a near-mythical anti-Cantus weapon, the Psychobuster. It's quite terrifying to realize that Cantus users are so powerful that only biological terrorism remained an option for the last of the non-PK population, though the fact that Cantus users survived does bring into question just how effective the weapon really is. However, Saki and the others certainly seem to think that this is their last option, and Yakomaru is wary enough of it that he and his Fiend follow closely behind in person. Tokyo, then, forms the hellish stage for the final confrontation between these groups, and the chips are in the air for how things will conclude.

However, things aren't nearly that simple. For one thing, Saki has finally voiced concerns that several of us have already postulated: is Maria and Mamoru's child really a Fiend? Could Yakomaru have simply brainwashed or somehow physically manipulated him into overcoming his Death Feedback? We know that he doesn't kill bakenezumi by conditioning and that he's akin to a slave or attack-creature for Yakomaru, but would a Fiend really act this way? After all, Death Feedback is not a natural development for PK-users, and for many years the psychics lived without any such inhibitions, though they were an incredibly violent bunch (for instance, recall the Holy Sakura Empire). These people were bloodthirsty, but they weren't necessarily Fiends who killed completely indiscriminately either. From what I understand, Raman-Klogius is specifically defined by violence fueled by paranoia, rather than just overcoming Death Feedback. There's also an interesting little detail about the fact that the Giant Hornet colony employed drugs to overcome fear and physical pain in their battles that gets alluded to here; it's entirely possible that Yakomaru is using a similar method on the child. If that's so, then Saki and the others are forced to kill a child who has been manipulated by Yakomaru, rather than a true Fiend, which only makes things that much bleaker and more difficult to face. Then there's also the fact that Kiroumaru doesn't seem to be completely trustworthy (the smirking is pretty obvious) and that he undoubtedly has ulterior motives in helping Satoru and Saki. Whether or not that's as simple as avenging his colony or as complicated as acting the double agent is harder to guess, which just adds another dimension to this already complex series of events.

N.B.: Thanks so much to Ivan for the consistently wonderful caps; they're a huge help!