RDG: Red Data Girl - 7

"Getting Lost for the First Time"

Things are only getting stranger.

Though we're only five episodes from the end now, I still couldn't tell you with certainty just what Red Data Girl is about. We all know it's about the supernatural, but it's not nearly as easy to explain where the story is headed or what it hopes to tell us every week. Instead we seem to get an ever increasing web of events surrounding our main pair, but we're never quite given answers to any of them either. The subplot surrounding Izumiko's goddess is as shrouded in mystery as ever, and this week it's the Souda siblings who take the spotlight regardless, and they're not nearly as simple-minded as they first seemed. In fact, things have taken a rather dark turn (not uncommon to the series, but still shocking when it happens) and the characters are finally starting to show that they're more than just names to a face.

Mayura's sudden attack on Miyuki doesn't particularly make her stand out in a good light, but it does a lot to really show what kind of people she and her siblings are. Clearly she's not above going to certain lengths to get what she wants (and the fact that she's okay with having a fanclub named after her act as her support says books about her personality), but I'm sure that if it weren't for Manatsu's sudden crisis, Izumiko and Miyuki would have had much more to say to her about her methods. As it is, when Manatsu leaves to tend to his sick horse, Tabi, Masumi takes his place at camp, and this leads to a series of revelations about the triplets. For one thing, Masumi and Manatsu balance off like a pair; when one is sad, the other is made joyful regardless of the circumstances. Mayura also explains that in order for Masumi to exist as a visible spirit, she and Manatsu must be of "one mind" and this avoid arguments too often. However, this leads to some interesting dynamics, where it seems as though Mayura is jealous or resentful of the brothers' connection. After all, there is no such balance for herself in this relationship, and on top of that, it seems as though Masumi is more concerned for Manatsu than for his sister.

Interesting as this is, the really bizarre stuff happens on Manatsu's side. Tabi worsens overnight and dies by the time Izumiko and Miyuki go see him, but this is no accident. In order to save his horse pain, Manatsu is the one who injects the poison and stops its heart, and it's clear that this action and loss have really affected him more powerfully than his cold words want to admit. As he tells his visitors, "humans have the power to choose when to end things", and suddenly it seems as if he's no longer talking about Tabi. In fact, this has everything to do with his sister, who he cryptically explains cannot stay with Manatsu and Masumi forever, though she's of yet unaware of this fact. When she arrives to see what's happened, things only get weirder as he claims he'll just disappear for the sake of staying with her and summons Tabi's spirit before riding away. I'm not sure what he means when he says that he can't stay with Mayura forever, but perhaps he hopes to become a spirit like Masumi, bound to the living sibling for the rest of her life. Whatever the case, my curiosity is only further piqued, and it's no coincidence that this series continues to be beautifully compelling without feeling rushed, despite the huge amount of material it crams into every episode.

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