From the New World

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 13: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Well, I'm glad he's okay (for now)... but yikes, no wonder he ran-- he's got the Trickster Cat(s) after him! Obviously he can't go back to the village(s) now, so this should be interesting.

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Episode 14: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Good grief. Remember when I commented a few episodes back that the leaders of that society have no shame in violating people on every possible level? Amazingly, they just keep on finding ways to do so even worse. So now, on top of all the other junk, it turns out that almost all of the kids (well, actually *all*, except for Saki's group) were basically *directly* mind-controlled as well?! Not quite sure how that society can possibly get any more messed-up at this point, but somehow I'm guessing it will...

That aside , the thing about the age was a nice little twist-- I wasn't expecting it, at least. Also, *really* did not expect telomeres to ever be brought up in an anime, LOL (and, I have to say, the little discussion about them was actually quite accurate).

Also, that ending + the next-ep. preview-- looks like trouble ahead...

[blkmage]

They don't have any shame doing any of this because the axioms in this world are so fundamentally different from ours. There is a huge difference between our society and the societies in our history and the society portrayed in the show. Whether people have fundamental rights is a question for secure and prospering societies, not for societies that are fighting for survival.

It's easy to say that this society is terrible compared to our own and it is. But this society is facing some huge challenges that we could never conceive of. And it's why this show is so fascinating, because the fundamental premise is so completely different that we can't just apply our own standards when analyzing it. It's the same as something like Kaiba, where the society is operates completely differently from ours because the assumptions that those people have internalized are impossible in our context.

[MangaRocks!]

^ Yeah, I just keep mentioning it because I'm kinda amazed at how they manage to keep on finding ways to make it even worse, LOL. But that was well said, and I completely agree.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Yeah, it's definitely important to remember that this isn't just your lolevil like in Psycho-Pass, considering that before these things were implemented Japan was reduced from a first-world nation to a collection of small villages. Satoru's grandmother gives the example about the guy who killed a thousand people, but that is possibly nothing compared to what happened before considering the collapse of modern civilization because of the Power.

[blkmage]

The problem with Psycho-Pass, in comparison, is that the society that it portrays isn't far enough removed from our society that it is really obviously bad. I don't think it goes far enough in thinking through the consequences of how something like Sybil would change the way we think and build a world that corresponds to those consequences. Whereas in this, we're so far removed that there's no danger of the author falling back on anything that resembles our society.

Anyway this week is about constitutional monarchy or something (not really).

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 15: Wow. That's... pretty horrible. "Too much like humans," indeed...

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Episode 16:

Not sure if finally an OP, or just an insert song...

Anyway, yes indeed, Maria-- it's definitely not sane. Excellent points made there-- and excellent episode all-around, actually.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I realize this discussion is from last week, but what does everyone think about the implications of what the Monster Rats did to their queens? I've been pondering the issue myself and I have yet to draw any conclusion.

[blkmage]

Biologically, who knows? But their progression as a society seems to mirror our own, what with the growing complexity of the society running up against ineffective leadership. They seem to be headed towards industrialization, which is about the point at which Western societies started moving away from absolute monarchic rule either by deposing them (the US, France) or neutering them (the UK).

[Vii]

I miss Shun. (╥_╥)

[Mouse2010]

Finally got caught up with episode 16. The whole time we've been watching this, my husband has kept saying that he doesn't know what direction the show is going in. Up until now, I had to agree with him. I didn't have any idea what might happen next most of the time, and I couldn't really figure out what kind of plot this was. I think now I have a theory. I'm going to guess that ultimately the series is about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The process by which Saki comes to adopt some (probably not all) of the violent rules of her society as she sees what happens when they're broken. Maria's going to become an Ogre at some point, and after that, Saki will better understand why the adults are so scared of the children. She may not agree with everything the Education Committee and Ethics Committee do, but when she becomes the leader of their colony, she'll probably continue at least some of those practices that seem so horrific to us. Also, I think that the Monster Rats are going to rebel against the humans once they realize that the humans are not actually gods. I'm not sure how that will fit into the Saki plot.

Of course, I could be entirely wrong. It'll be fun to see!

[blkmage]

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: It seems really obvious to me that Squealer already knows humans aren't gods and has already been orchestrating the queerats to position them to rise up against the humans for some time now.

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 17:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Wow, that's quite the timeskip. And the submitting forms to go to war and watching over the battles and all that was pretty interesting.

Also, yeah, I have to agree with blkmage there that it's totally obvious they're going to try to overthrow the humans soon.

[Vii]

Well that was intense. Took me a while to realize that golden-eyed-mask-guy had four pupils.

Also, that preview for next episode...could it be Shun or Mamoru?! 0_0

[blkmage]

I'm not sure, but I've always hoped that Shun would show up again even though it looked like he blew up or something. He was an interesting character (much more than Mamoru and Maria) and I think it'd be a shame if he really did get taken out of the story that early.

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 18:

You know, something that this show does excellently is tension/suspense. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The back-and-forth intercutting of the earlier meeting + the festival built that tension very well, especially with that skeleton reveal-- I'm not quite sure what to believe about that just yet, but Tomiko definitely did not seem like she was lying; and while it would probably be pretty darn easy to fake a specific skeleton/teeth pattern/etc. with Power, I don't think it's possible to fake DNA... Also, holy crap: extrapolating from what Maria 'said' at the end, she and Mamoru had a kid-- and since I can't imagine either Mamoru or Maria themselves ever engaging in violence, then that kid must have been the one who's helping Squealer in his war plans. (Hence that creepy "Hello" screen? And, actually, now that I've put that together, I can totally believe that Squealer killed Mamoru and Maria after they had the kid. Crap...! )

Also, whoa, double-eyes-man's Power was incredible.

I have a feeling this is going to get pretty intense...

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 19:

Wow, this episode was tense! And what a cliffhanger to leave it on... *shiver*

[Vii]

Whooo, that was creepy.

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 20:

Man, this tension! SPOILER: Highlight text to read: And wow, I seriously do not know how anyone in the village is going to get out of this one-- between the rats, the gunpowder-fish, the Ogre, and the Death Of Shame (yep, I figured that particular manipulation was going to come back to bite them at some point), this is looking pretty grim...

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Is the implication that Satoru was killed in the explosion? It totally didn't feel like a death and Saki threw him with her Power but immediately after the explosion Saki goes "I have to survive" and appears unconcerned for Satoru and doesn't make an effort to find him or anything.

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 21:

Holy crap, I knew it-- SPOILER: Highlight text to read: he *did* kill Maria and Mamoru and raise their kid as an Ogre! And, even worse, he just stole a whole bunch more...!

[blkmage]

Well, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I'm not entirely sure if Maria and/or Mamoru are dead or not. Knowing this show, they could still be alive but in a disturbing state.

[MangaRocks!]

^ Definitely true (and yeah, actually I kinda don't want to think about that )-- however, like I mentioned a few ep.'s back, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: while I'm sure faking a skeleton is easy for someone with Power-- actual DNA...? That seems more certain.

[Mouse2010]

I'd gotten behind on this, and finally got caught up. Wow. Okay, so, some crazy hypotheses here . . .

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: There was that flashback of Maria telling Saki "I'll protect you." I want that to be important in the end. My husband thinks that Saki is the one who will have to defeat the Ogre. If so, I'm wondering if her past connection to Maria is somehow going to help her. How? That I don't know.

Also, is it possible that this Ogre is not actually an Ogre in the traditional sense? If it is acting violently because of orders from the Monster Rats, is that the same thing as being psychotic, or whatever the case is with the normal Ogres? Maybe there will be a way of containing it or controlling it because of its unusual background . . . maybe it would obey orders from a Monster Rat that was loyal to humans, for instance.

My earlier prediction is that this show as going to be about Saki coming to terms with and accepting the harsh rules of her society. Now I'm not so sure about that. We keep getting reminders about how awful her society really is. Maybe she will end up changing things. I just don't know. In any case, it's going to be tough waiting for the next episode to come out!

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Welp, I guess Satoru isn't dead, so yay!

Also, I was watching this documentary thing about Africa and I discovered that naked mole rats, which are very similar in appearance to the Monster Rats, also have the same structure with a queen rather than typical mammal reproduction. This does make me curious about what kind of state the rest of the world is in and how the mole rats came over to Japan before becoming the Monster Rats.

[blkmage]

I really can't see any way for this to end well when SPOILER: Highlight text to read: biological weapons are thrown into the mix.

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 22:

Man, that music gives me goosebumps every time. And yeah, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the biological weapon thing does not sound like a good idea...

[Mouse2010]

Episode 22: I was really glad to see Saki asking some of the same questions I've been wondering with regard to the ogre. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Maybe the child ISN'T an ogre. Maybe he (is it a he? I can't remember if we even know!) is just killing people because of how he/she has been trained by the Monster Rats. If that were the case, I can imagine some more optimistic endings possible.

[MangaRocks!]

Episode 23:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Those were some bizarre creatures (as usual )... but I wasn't expecting them to have to deal with the Vashta Nerada, too, LOL. (Doctor Who reference. ) Anyway, yikes on the massive water-centipede things... *shudder*

As for the little revelation in the plot: Whoa-- if the kid's not an Ogre, then how can he kill humans with no adverse effect to himself? Was it indeed just because of the hypnotism/mind control they're given in the society as kids? I might have missed something along the way, but I thought the Death Of Shame effect was because of both the mind-control *and* their genetic manipulations...? I mean, wasn't the whole point about the Ogres that the sequence of genes in them that made a barrier {the Death Of Shame} had mutated by chance and thus been broken...? EDIT: NVM, I just saw someone comment on MAL that the Death Of Shame might still be there, but just inverted-- like, the gene sequence is still intact, but the Rats just 'set' it (via the hypnotism) to occur only if the kid would try to kill a Rat (just like {most} humans can't kill other humans without activating it, but can kill Rats en masse with no problem). I didn't really think about that before, but it actually makes a heck of a lot of sense, especially when the stolen babies are taken into consideration-- I mean, the Ogre mutation (or whatever) seems so rare that it'd be weird to think that more than one of the stolen kids could be an Ogre, no less all of them. So, yeah, wow...

Also: Actually felt a bit sad about Inui meeting his end...

And finally: Whoa, Saki's memory finally returned as well-- and what an ending to the episode!