RDG: Red Data Girl - 4

"First Roommate"

Things just keep getting more complicated for Izumiko and Miyuki.

More than ever before, it's becoming clear just how much material this series intends to cram into its twelve episode run. While the pacing has been moderate for the past three episodes, things really feel like they're rushing by this week, and that's not necessarily a good thing. It certainly hurts character development a bit more than I'd like, especially when three new characters are introduced all at once. Thankfully, however, the damage isn't fatal. RDG is still the same series it's been since the beginning; it's just that we don't quite yet know what that means.

The mystery continues to grow as we learn more about Izumiko and Miyuki's situation. The school they're now attending in Tokyo doesn't seem to be as innocent as it looks, and Izumiko's new roommate, Souda Mayura (Yonezawa Madoka) is as intriguing as Izumiko herself. On the outside she seems to be a nice and easygoing girl, and her twin brother Souda Manatsu (Ishikawa Kaito once again; he's a newcomer to keep an eye on) looks like a normal, though rather genki, student, but they mention something interesting about themselves: they're not twins, they're a set of triplets, one of which died young. Mayura also mentions that her brother was transferred to the school without taking exams for her sake, something that Miyuki mentioned last week was an exceedingly rare practice.

While Mayura herself claims to have "received training" similar to Miyuki's, the reason is yet unknown, and it's possible that she's not telling the entire truth. What does seem to be clear, however, is that both she and Manatsu have gotten close to Izumiko and Miyuki on purpose, and that there's some hidden agenda beneath their actions. Even more interestingly, when Mayura is injured badly, Manatsu admonishes her for getting too serious about "the game" behind the school. For now that could mean anything, but it does seem to imply that the academy is more than just a place to train monks and educate privileged children.

The appearance of our third character, and the antagonist, only supports this idea. Takayanagi Ichijou (Nojima Hirofumi), the student council president, is certainly up to something foul and proves himself capable of open hostility. He uses something like a shikigami to corner Izumiko and figure out what she is, but more worryingly, he's behind a rather horrible trap which Mayura insists is a death curse, and which gravely injures her and Miyuki. There's also the fact that he looks eerily like Wataya-kun, which is too deliberate to be a mere similarity. Whatever his motives are, it's unlikely that Izumiko is his real target; though he mentions that she's spirit vessel, he doesn't seem to be aware of the nature of her possessor, nor does he seem to care beyond basic curiosity. Something else is driving his actions, though what, I couldn't say.

As to our protagonists, things seem to have gone back to the way they were. Miyuki is still not all that thrilled about having to protect Izumiko, but he does take his job seriously and looks out for her despite his gruff exterior. His development comes not in his words, but his actions, and as much as he might begrudge Izumiko or his circumstances, he's still always there when she needs him. Which is why Izumiko seems to be becoming more aware of him, and her desire to change continues to manifest itself in little ways. Whereas before it was her hair, this time her glasses are what she chooses to leave behind, and that change unfortunately brings unwanted attention her way. That being the case, while the characters in RDG don't develop in leaps and bounds, I do appreciate the ability of the series to throw in little details like this and make them mean something. However, it does worry me that yet another character is on her way next week (is this the spiritual form of the third triplet, perhaps?) and that there are hundreds more questions than answers. It may have been wiser to adapt this in at least two cours after all.

N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for the wonderful screencaps!