Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge - 7

"Coins of the Scale"

Scary little sisters are scary, even without the Killing Goods.

If Dansai ever took a breather episode, then I suppose that this episode is it. There's certainly not a whole lot going on in terms of plot this week, but that doesn't necessarily mean that nothing happened either. This definitely falls under the characterization category, and despite not featuring much action compared to last week's insane showdown, it tells us quite a lot about the people involved in this bizarre little tale. Iwai and Kiri aside, there's mountains of information here on characters like Kashiko and the Byouinzaka sisters, and as always the series spins its threads with silk both eerily beautiful and disturbing.

The focus of the episode really goes to the eldest Byouinzaka sister; though we've seen a lot of Yamane, Houko hasn't been nearly as in focus as the time she brutally yanked Iwai's hair at the beginning of the series; we've gotten the impression that she's tough and no-nonsense, and that she must love her sister quite a lot to be her Instead after Yamane killed their parents, but not much else since. Though that's still true, we're now more privy than ever to her inner thoughts and motivations. Sisterly affection or not, Yamane definitely scares and repels Houko more than she'd like to admit, and watching Iwai and Kiri be as lovey-dovey and unaffected as ever regardless of the status of their relationship really pulls at her guilt strings. Being an Author is tough, but being an Instead is no walk in the park either.

Then there's Kashiko, the friend hopelessly pining for Kiri in silence while he grows ever closer to Iwai. Though her relationship with him seemed innocent and normal by anime standards, it seems we have some of that dark Dansai quality coming through in their interactions as well. Their meeting was anything but a cliche osananajimi stereotype; Kiri's Author fetish seems to have come through so strongly when he first saw her hair that he all but pushed her to the wall in a scene viscerally reminiscent of rape. In fact, Kashiko seems to have been very much afraid of the whole thing, but she later describes the effect as that of the "Suspension Bridge", the effect where one becomes more sexually aroused/attracted after experiencing a frightening event (such as crossing a very high bridge). It's characterization the way Dansai does it, and I still feel that for all the creepiness and sensuality, the depictions of fetishes remain as beautiful as ever. However, we seem to be back in for plot next week as Iwai and Kiri are invited to a party by Gossip, one that could potentially throw them into greater danger than they've yet faced.

N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for the caps!