Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) Discussion Thread

[Buckeye]

新世界より

An anime adaption from the highly-acclaimed novel by Yusuke Kishi about five children from Japan far in the future who see that this world is dying a slow death.

Airs Tuesday, October 2

Animation Studio: A-1 Pictures

ANN Entry (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=14089)
Official Website (http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/shinsekaiyori/)
Crunchyroll (http://www.crunchyroll.com/shin-sekai-yori-from-the-new-world)

In the future Japan has become a fractured country, and small towns now exist. The rulers of this world have the cursed power of Telekinesis. When an incident occurs, 5 children come to realize the world is not as it seems, and learn the bloody history behind this world. These 5 children unite and help the world as it falls into a downward spiral of chaos.

Note
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[HitokiriShadow]

These character designs look familiar. I have some vague ideas of where I might have seen them, but I can't remember the titles of the shows I'm thinking of. -_-;

Um, well, pretty damn good first episode. Not much more to say than that at the moment.

Annoyingly, I thought I was spoiled on something that happened in this episode but it looks like its something from a later episode. Though there are things tipping me off about it anyway. Still, very irritating.

[ookamigirl]

Hmm... this is an unusual, but so far interesting.
Saki awakens into adulthood and is transferred to a new school where she meets up with her friends.
Seems like all of the kids are telekinetic.
Saki was the only one who actually questioned what happened to the other kids.
Reiko wasn't doing well at all. At this rate ...
Saki wasn't taking her friends' horror stories for granted though.
It's probably 'cause she was close to one herself.
The adults are hiding some ugly truth...
Looks like it's the survival of the fittest only.

[Fencedude]

Well that was certainly interesting.

Been spoiled on some stuff, but whatever.

Also ;_;, Reiko.

[strangefour]

-Is this an Akira prequel? Does paranoia nurture him? What is going on! And why is it so loud?
-This show started a thousand years too la-- err early.
-Um maybe the subs are wrong. This sure looks like a thousand years earlier.
-Narrative structure is breaking down. Can I have some chronology please?
-Cantus? Can't us? Cat bus?
-That camera pan between two kids did not make any damn sense.
-Giant insects. Pouch cows... wait pouches like kangaroos or as drawn by Rob Liefeld?
-So this is like The Villiage only with psychics.
-Damn kids these days and their psychic painting! Why back in my day we used real paint and it took days of hard work and years of practice! Rassa-frassum.
-Poor little clumsy adorable Reiko. Hang in there Reiko.
-Now I want a giant kitten.
-Reiko. :cry:
-Ending song why are you trying to give me a headache?

What did I just watch? Visually it felt like a sequel/prequel/time-loop of Noein. But the story was... there was no story. Some girl. Psychic powers. School. The only character I was starting to feel attached to is killed off screen. Or turned into a giant psychic cat. None of the adults displayed any telekinetic abilities. So are the adults raising these psychic mutant children as weapons? I guess Saki's parents seemed worried about losing their child, after losing unnumbered previous children. But that could just be fear of being punished for having faulty mutants.

Losing cute little Reiko is a bad foot to start on. When the other foot is this confused muddled future past lying conspiracy world of telekinetic murder children.

[HitokiriShadow]

What did I just watch? Visually it felt like a sequel/prequel/time-loop of Noein.

Ah! That's it! That's the title of one of the shows I was thinking of. The character designs (at least for the main girl) seem really familiar but I can't quite place them. I thought Noein might have been one, but I couldn't remember the actual title.

[FUNiOP]

Well I'm two for two for surprises this season. That was not nearly as good as I was hoping for. It's obviously very much setup, so I'll hold out some hope that there will be satisfying payoff. The way the tension builds throughout it is a pretty good indicator that's the effect they're banking on. The setting looks potentially pretty fascinating, but I'm not sure if what we're going to be exploring will be the most interesting method they could use to display it. Also, Googling it, I found some... surprisingly explicit pictures of the source material, and not in the way I was expecting. Hmm... not sure where this show will go.

[stardf29]

A whole lot of setup. Decently intriguing, though also unnerving.

I figured Reiko would either be the first to snap and attempt harm on the others, or the first to be offed in some way. Looks like my latter prediction was correct.

No idea how much I actually like it, but it will get a provisionary second episode.

[Buckeye]

Lots of setting up in this episode, about priests, blessings, spirits, and other Shinto stuff. This show certainly uses a style of animation that fits the mood for the show perfectly, and seeing all these characters struggling the way they are is just something to behold. And then the show ends with Reiko disappearing for being psychologically incompetent. It's mostly centered around Saki, but there is enough of the other main characters as well. Let's see what the next episode brings.

[Ingraman]

This was the first new show that I sampled, and it looks pretty interesting. Beyond having seen the title mentioned here and there, I went into it completely blind, with no idea of who produced or voiced it, or what it was about. As others here have said: poor Reiko. ;_;

[HitokiriShadow]

That last line was very ominous...

Interesting that they all barely even remember Reiko and basically don't even notice the one guy that went missing here. They quickly dropped the subject of Saki being the last person from her class despite there still being others behind her as well. It seems there's something that's inhibiting their ability to remember or mentally address certain subjects.

Also, maaaaaan that King of Delight was a bastard. If that was his inauguration, I shudder to think of what life must have been like under him for the rest of his rule.

[Fencedude]

Man this show is fucked up.

It creeps me out severely.

[something]

Episode 1:

- Death!
- Dunno what's going on but it's pretty awesome.

- Meeting the cast in prsent day. I wonder which of these cute girls dies first? Don't let it be HanaKana's...
- Evil cows.
- Feeling like Reika will be the first to go, but maybe that's too obvious?
- Saki is gonna get eaten by a demon cat. ;_;
- Oh. Well, bye Reiko!

Damn (positive) that was rather fantastic.
Damn (negative), CR is on a fucking delaycast. They get a pretty anemic Fall lineup and hen one of the good shows they do have is delayed enough to come out on a Monday and miss my weekend viewing window. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. UTW it is, then.

[something]

Episode 2:

- Five hundred years later than what?
- "The first hundred people to stop clapping will be sacrifices." Haha wow.

- Nobody seems too worried that Reika disappeared. I guess time has passed.
- Lots of time spent on that game. Doesn't end until after the midpoint. Still, it was pretty neat.
- Cheaty kid got eaten by the demon cat. =D

- Helping rat people. Sooo will that help her down the line or bite her in the ass?
- Oh dur the narrator woman is an older Saki. Hadn't paid enough attention to her before. Well, guess that means she lives.
- She also addresses that it was easy to forget about the missing children.
- Well jeeze that was an incredibly foreboding thing to say about Maria.

More "normal" than episode one, but you have to figure that would happen.most eps will be. There's still a very strong tension in the background though.

[HitokiriShadow]

Episode 2:

- Five hundred years later than what?

Our present day, when that psychic massacre in episode 1 happened. I'm pretty sure, anyway.

[ookamigirl]

The karma demon story was interesting.
Their rock pushing game was kinda fun to watch.
The power of the mind is a scary thing.
The broken pusher incident rattled them a bit.
Saving the Queerat was a nice gesture.

[bear]

So we've had one who's Cantus ability was weak and one who was too full of himself. Both gone.

Interesting that the teacher declared it a draw. Didn't want to identify that one of the kids was on the chopping block I guess.

Someone had mentioned "The Village" and the teachers keep stressing the idea of sacrifice and the danger of not emotionally being part of the group. I'm beginning to think that those with the Cantus ability who might become dangerous are "offed" and possibly (I hope) those without it are exiled to the outside world instead of being "offed". That's assuming there are some normals on the outside.

As far as the Queerrat... No good deed goes unpunished.

[FUNiOP]

This episode didn't give me any more of an idea of how this would develop in this aspect, but from pictures I've seen of the manga, it seems to turn into yuri hentai ... Not sure if that's just the manga, which is another adaptation, and not the novel. If so, it may not end up happening to the anime. I really can't see it happening from these two episodes.

[ookamigirl]

This episode was mostly relaxing.
Enjoying the camping trip.
Although kids camping alone is kinda reckless.
They sure were having fun exploring.
The weird creature-like walking library was interesting.
Wonder what kinds of mysterious things they'll learn from it.

[Fencedude]

Wait. Why is the library a transparent creature that can hypnotize you?

This show is soooo weird.

[Ingraman]

Wait. Why is the library a transparent creature that can hypnotize you?
Maybe this critter and Index need to swap series? ^^;

That was a little weird. Animal abuse! ^_^

[HitokiriShadow]

Well, things sure got interesting there at the end. Looks like the plot will finally start moving next time. Not that I mind the show taking its time to set things up.

And I really love this ED. Might have to buy it.

[FUNiOP]

Some shiny Pokemon appears. It uses Hypnosis. I should probably go back to playing White 2 now. Interesting stuff happening, though. Real plot soon? Probably!

[Ingraman]

And I really love this ED. Might have to buy it.
I want to buy it, but I'm not having much luck finding the CD. It's either not out yet, or I'm doing a terrible job searching for it. Probably the latter. Or is it one of those things that'll be packed in with the BD (& DVD?) release? CDJapan says BD 1 comes with an OST w/ep1 OP, but that doesn't help with this...

[HitokiriShadow]

And I really love this ED. Might have to buy it.
I want to buy it, but I'm not having much luck finding the CD. It's either not out yet, or I'm doing a terrible job searching for it. Probably the latter. Or is it one of those things that'll be packed in with the BD (& DVD?) release? CDJapan says BD 1 comes with an OST w/ep1 OP, but that doesn't help with this...

I haven't actually looked for it yet, so I have no idea what's going on with it.

[ookamigirl]

Finally an episode that explains a whole bunch of useful things.
Guess all the new info was a bit much for the kids to handle.
Their artificial society is everything except perfect and peaceful.
Looks like they just got a chance to see that for themselves.
The whole queerats situation didn't help very much either.
So much trouble in such a short time, but finally!

[HitokiriShadow]

So humans killing humans a new concept for them. They were utterly shocked by the idea of it. And Saki was clearly being affected by the biological restraint they were talking about. But why? Was she getting murderous impulses for some reason? To make Shun stop (she was looking in his direction)? She also clearly has a history with it.

We also learned something very interesting about sexual intimacy in this society. I hope they go somewhere with this! Saki flashed back to two things. One was Maria hugging her playfully from behind, which we saw in episode 1. The one was.... her mother? Just hugging her? I wasn't sure who that was and if was something we actually saw in a previous episode. I assume its just her mother hugging her from sometime in episode 1.

Anyway, things sure started moving along and getting exciting in the second half. We had three episodes of set-up and a bunch of exposition and explanation in the first half of this episode, so now actual plot movement is finally kicking in.

[something]

Episode 3:

- I should probably be paying more attention to these flashback (or flashforward relative to the first scene but back relative to the main storyline) scenes.
- Crap I've forgotten everyone's names. Time to look them up... okay, Shun. Shun suggests investigating all the weird supernatural creatures people talk about. Great, you're going to get at least two of these kids killed.
- They can't even fathom the concept of their power not working on something. Oh that is soooo going to bite them in the ass.
- Go figure the goofball kid is the most reasonable one in the group. He seems to be the only one who thinks all this is a bad idea.

- But now in an effort to look tough he's leading the way.
- Maria's braids are adorable.
- They meet a demon minoshiro. And Saki gets cocky. This can't end well!
- Saki... don't bully creepy glowing creatures. Didn't your parents teach you anything?
- Also, it's a library. Sure why not?

Man this show is weird... and very interesting.

Man I really need to import this ED. Guess I'll wait a few eps and see if I like the show enough first. But so far, realllllllly promising. I'm trying to remember the last show that had this sort of "cute kids in a really creepy setting" vibe. Narutaru?

[something]

Episode 4:

- "The document confirmation requirement has been waived." Hahaha. But man these kids are kinda twisted.
- Fuuuck this is good. Just look at how absolutely shocked these kids are at the idea that one human could kill another. This (seemingly) peaceful little society is about to experience some very traumatic shocks.
- Also, explanations! This ties together all the pre-ep flashbacks, and explains the missing children. Nicely done for an obvious infodump.
- Death feedback. Lovely!
- And infodump is interrupted at a critical moment by The Man.
- Oh the rat people. They're totally one of the groups of humans that were supposedly destroyed. The non-PK hunter-gatherers, no doubt.

And that ending. =D

Damnit this show is good.

[something]

We also learned something very interesting about sexual intimacy in this society. I hope they go somewhere with this! Saki flashed back to two things. One was Maria hugging her playfully from behind, which we saw in episode 1. The one was.... her mother? Just hugging her? I wasn't sure who that was and if was something we actually saw in a previous episode. I assume its just her mother hugging her from sometime in episode 1.
Latter was about 5:20 into ep 1, where her mom hugging her after Saki's Cantus powers woke.

And I'd be more excited if Saki weren't obviously hot for Shun, and he for her. In a show like this, yuri is just going to mean death. =/ I hate tragedy yuri so I'd rather it not even go there.

[something]

I want to buy it, but I'm not having much luck finding the CD. It's either not out yet, or I'm doing a terrible job searching for it. Probably the latter. Or is it one of those things that'll be packed in with the BD (& DVD?) release? CDJapan says BD 1 comes with an OST w/ep1 OP, but that doesn't help with this...I haven't actually looked for it yet, so I have no idea what's going on with it.
Yeah I can't find much on it. Just that it's called 割れたリンゴ (Wareta Ringo) and is sung by Taneda Risa, Saki's seiyuu. Nothing on the official website mentions it. The Music section of the official site is still under construction. Amazon brings up nothing. Blargh. Hopefully it gets listed soon.

[Buckeye]

First, a bit of history. Next a psychic golf game where psychic powers are used to push a ball into the hole. Things were going well for group 1 until a cheater ruins everything by stopping the pusher in its tracks. And he's outta here, just like Reiko was. Then some sort of mutant rat falls into the river, and Saki saves him with her power, which is against the rules.

After the first episode drops a lot of stuff on you, the second episode focuses more on the five kids who are destined to save the world from destruction, or something like that. Not exactly the most exciting stuff, but it works well that this episode was all about the children and their lives at school rather than all the other stuff going on.

[FUNiOP]

Very intense world history lesson there. Murder is a new concept that greatly disturbs the children, because modern humanity is genetically modified to find the concept almost unbelievable to everyone, and even if they do end up going through with it, they die themselves. I guess that's one way to sustain humanity's existence. There are clearly some major issues with some of the characters involving this. Also, some stuff about sexual history. I was wondering when that was going to start coming up.

[Buckeye]

One more flash of history, and this time it is a conquest from a long time ago. Back to the present, the kids are going on a camping trip, and canoeing down the river, and going stargazing at night. Next day, they continue their trip to catch some spirit called the Minoshiro. Except that it is not the real one. Thanks to Saki's special glasses that she uses because of her sensitivity to light, she is able to pluck away at its defense system.

Really nice episode there, and at the very least no students disappear in this episode, instead focusing on the five children as a group doing a summer vacation assignment. The whole trip is great, and the episode ends with the encounter with that spirit, setting the stage up for big things to happen when the next episode comes.

[HitokiriShadow]

o_0 That queen scene....

I was a little annoyed at how Saki took a largely passive role in this episode, but it was nice to see her take a more active role in her sexual encounter with Satoru, and didn't become the typical blushing virgin who becomes barely capable of stringing words together once a situation becomes sexual.

[ookamigirl]

Their problems just continue to accumulate.
Lots of running and hiding.
Didn't think those rat creatures could talk.
That rat queen was really weird.
So a legit colony is having problems with a rogue one.
Those kid just ended up in the middle of it all.

[Fencedude]

HEY THERE INFODUMP.

Still, pretty interesting. Would like to explore further the idea of Saki and Maria...relieving stress.

[Fencedude]

We've secretly replaced episode 5 of Shin Sekai Yori with a random episode of Casshern Sins! Will anyone notice?

YES I FUCKING NOTICED.

[something]

Episode 5:

- Oh right. I was very confused at first and thought I'd missed a scene, then I remembred the previous episode ended with the balloon dog thing.
- Bleh the art took a major downgrade in this episode. I was okay with the Casshern Sins style... in Casshern Sins. There are few things I hate more than animation directors changing character design styles in the middle of a show, so this is reallllllllly distracting. Major major major major pet peeve. I find the awkward camera angles distracting too. Bleh, I hope this is a one episode thing only.

- So anyway, about that sex talk. Will they go through with it?
- Nope.
- Ewww, queerat queen is icky.

Bleh. The style can sorta work, but not as episode 5 of a show that already had its own style for four episodes. And definitely not when done in the incredibly half-assed manner we saw here. Slow movement, bad camera angles, very poor sense of flow and space and just about everything.

Very disappointing. Pretty much a lost episode. I hope things are back to normal next week.

[Damius]

Well, that was a really interesting first episode. I'll definitely watch more. Poor Reiko ;_;

[HitokiriShadow]

I want to buy it, but I'm not having much luck finding the CD. It's either not out yet, or I'm doing a terrible job searching for it. Probably the latter. Or is it one of those things that'll be packed in with the BD (& DVD?) release? CDJapan says BD 1 comes with an OST w/ep1 OP, but that doesn't help with this...I haven't actually looked for it yet, so I have no idea what's going on with it.
Yeah I can't find much on it. Just that it's called 割れたリンゴ (Wareta Ringo) and is sung by Taneda Risa, Saki's seiyuu. Nothing on the official website mentions it. The Music section of the official site is still under construction. Amazon brings up nothing. Blargh. Hopefully it gets listed soon.

Only thing I've found is that the first volume (www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B009FT7T92) lists the TV version as being part of the soundtrack CD. More interestingly, it lists 割れたリンゴ (Wareta Ringo/Broken Apple) as the OP, not the ED:

・オリジナルサウンドトラックCD1
(第1部OPテーマ曲、主題歌「割れたリンゴ」(TV edit) 歌:渡辺早季(CV:種田梨沙)を収録)

Unless I'm misreading this and that OP isn't being used the way we use it for OP/ED, that sure looks like its saying that its the OP.

[something]

・オリジナルサウンドトラックCD1
(第1部OPテーマ曲、主題歌「割れたリンゴ」(TV edit) 歌:渡辺早季(CV:種田梨沙)を収録)
Unless I'm misreading this and that OP isn't being used the way we use it for OP/ED, that sure looks like its saying that its the OP.
Could be meant as two separate songs, separated by the comma. The first could be that other theme that started episode one off (with the electric guitqrs and chanting-type singing). The second, is the "主題歌" theme song. A 歌 is only listed for the second because the first isn't normal singing... or something. Such is my guess anyway.

I just hope it's not bundled with the BDs. I really like this show, but by no means is it a lock for import and I won't import a BD just for the song. And definitely not if it's just a 90 second version.

[HitokiriShadow]

Could be meant as two separate songs, separated by the comma. The first could be that other theme that started episode one off (with the electric guitqrs and chanting-type singing). The second, is the "主題歌" theme song. A 歌 is only listed for the second because the first isn't normal singing... or something. Such is my guess anyway.

I was reading that as comma separating a description (i.e. "This is my car, a '95 Ford). But of course, Japanese probably doesn't use commas that way since they're not a normal part of Japanese. Such are the potential dangers of checking these things at 3 a.m. But I guess the single CV listing was also pointing to it only being one song in my eyes. Well, whatever, you're probably right in your reading of it.

I just hope it's not bundled with the BDs. I really like this show, but by no means is it a lock for import and I won't import a BD just for the song. And definitely not if it's just a 90 second version.That could still go either way, as its not unusual for the TV version of things to be included in OSTs. But the fact that there doesn't seem to be any indication anywhere of a CD release suggests it being bundled with the BD is likely. Which would suck, because while the show is damn good (I'd consider it about my 3rd favorite of the season), odds of me importing it are very low.

[something]

That could still go either way, as its not unusual for the TV version of things to be included in OSTs. But the fact that there doesn't seem to be any indication anywhere of a CD release suggests it being bundled with the BD is likely. Which would suck, because while the show is damn good (I'd consider it about my 3rd favorite of the season), odds of me importing it are very low.
It's been climbing up my rankings, for sure, although I was disappointed with the visuals this past ep and hope it was a one-off thing.

My top 4 are totally locked in at this point, but 4 would be a somewhat slow import season for me, so I'll do at least 5, maybe 6... which I guess gives Shinsekai much better odds than I was thinking. I had a few shows between it and the definite imports last time but it's pretty close.

On the other hand it's two cour and I've already got one other a two cour show locked in. That might give one of the shoujo adaptations the edge instead.

[FUNiOP]

Starting to get very sexual. I wonder if the manga (and maybe the novel?) actually went there at this point, or if this is just the first step. I kind of can't imagine this anime getting to the level of what I've seen. Then again, it has switched tones quite a few times alright, so maybe it wouldn't be all that different. Speaking of which, this episode had loads of visual changes. Well at least it keeps me surprised.

[stardf29]

I was a little annoyed at how Saki took a largely passive role in this episode, but it was nice to see her take a more active role in her sexual encounter with Satoru, and didn't become the typical blushing virgin who becomes barely capable of stringing words together once a situation becomes sexual.

Considering they've all been genetically programmed to engage in sexual contact in times of stress (heck, all those other camping groups out there are probably holding full-blown orgies at this point), it would be contradictory if she was the whole "blushing virgin" type. It seems she only stopped out of some sense of personal dignity after receiving that info dump.

It does seem like a Saki/Shun/Satoru love triangle might come into play, though.

And uh, yeah, not digging the art style.

[ookamigirl]

Trapped in a cave. Things aren't looking good.
Satoru really went all out when his powers returned.
It was nice they were helping those rat creatures.
Those enemies were rather good and pretty cunning.
Using powers all the time is taking its toll on Satoru.

[HitokiriShadow]

Naked Shun rising out of the ground made me laugh. Then it got weird.

Then most of the rest of the episode is Satoru having a power trip. And it sure looks like the rat guy is catching on to Saki's inability to use her Cantus. If something happens to Satoru (which is pretty much guaranteed to happen next time), she's in trouble.

[bear]

Naked Shun rising out of the ground made me laugh. Then it got weird.

Then most of the rest of the episode is Satoru having a power trip. And it sure looks like the rat guy is catching on to Saki's inability to use her Cantus. If something happens to Satoru (which is pretty much guaranteed to happen next time), she's in trouble.

Satoru is starting to become megalomanic. This will not end well.

I'm not sure why she didn't have Satoru do the same to her. Didn't want to admit she found out his mantra?

[Ingraman]

I'm not sure why she didn't have Satoru do the same to her. Didn't want to admit she found out his mantra?
How can he do the same to her, when he doesn't know her mantra? I don't think it's a matter of making up any old word/phrase/whatever for a new one. She knew his, and gave it back to him... Maybe there are other methods, but it doesn't seem like that way will work with just Satoru.

[Damius]

- Well, that is some way to make people applause for a long time…
- No one seems to care about the fact that Reiko disappeared.
- Well, the referee or whoever he is believes that the same accident can happen to round in a row?
- Well… the guy who cheated in group 2 disappeared… Ok, so they found out. A high price to pay.
- So she said no ones really care about people disappearing so that explains it.
- Ok… the thing she said about Maria was just too… cruel.

[HitokiriShadow]

I'm not sure why she didn't have Satoru do the same to her. Didn't want to admit she found out his mantra?
How can he do the same to her, when he doesn't know her mantra? I don't think it's a matter of making up any old word/phrase/whatever for a new one. She knew his, and gave it back to him... Maybe there are other methods, but it doesn't seem like that way will work with just Satoru.

She can just tell him the mantra, but I think there's another issue. I think it also had to do with the state of mind he was in. He was clearly not lucid when she did that. I don't think she can just have him to that to her when she's completely conscious.

[something]

Episode 6:

- Horray, the art is back to normal!
- WELCOME TO THE NAKED BOY JELLO DOG RAINBOW DIMENSION, SAKI.

- Satoru gets his powers back as Saki re-creates the power granting ceremony. I suppose there's some logic in that, but, um, it happened kind of suddenly.
- Too bad it couldn't be Saki that got her powers back. I would think she's a bit more level-headed than Satoru. Though maybe it'd be ill advised to trust Saki either. She got pretty violent with that gelatinous library thing.
- Jeeze, are the powers always this strong? He can just fling multiple trees around at will?

Well, Satoru isn't long for this world. The anti-killing mechanism is getting to him. And now there's a few thousand of the critters left to kill...

Something felt pretty off about this episode in terms of pacing and all, though it was still pretty good.

[HitokiriShadow]

Something felt pretty off about this episode in terms of pacing and all, though it was still pretty good.

Probably because about 70% of it was Satoru going to town with his psychic powers. Which would be pretty normal in a lot of shows about people with battle-applicable psychic powers but seems out of place for this show. Perhaps precisely because it was so conventional.

[Ingraman]

Episode 6:
\Well, Satoru isn't long for this world. The anti-killing mechanism is getting to him. And now there's a few thousand of the critters left to kill...
He's hardly seeing the critters he's killing off, so I don't think he's suffering from the built-in anti-killing mental effects. I think that he's just exhausted from all of that power usage. No guarantees, though. ^^;

[something]

He's hardly seeing the critters he's killing off, so I don't think he's suffering from the built-in anti-killing mental effects. I think that he's just exhausted from all of that power usage. No guarantees, though. ^^;
Did they state that you have to physically see the body of the individual you're killing for it to have an effect? That would seem like a pretty blatant loophole to overlook if that were the case.

[Ingraman]

Did they state that you have to physically see the body of the individual you're killing for it to have an effect?
Not that I specifically recall, but I interpreted the comment to mean it was seeing the human(oid) shape that causes the negative feedback. If you can't see the shape... I'm not really sure how it all works. I like the series, but my optimism for its overall quality has dropped a bit. I'll definitely keep watching, but my interest in reading a book that I can't read is growing (and buying the series is less likely). ^^;

[FUNiOP]

Naked Shun. What have you been thinking about, Saki?

[HitokiriShadow]

How the hell did we get to the point that Saki needs to have all this stuff explained to her by Satoru? And she has those irritating screaming reactions to the things he said. Repeatedly. It's one of those things that always bugs me (because its really hard for me to see people actually reacting like that) but its worse here because its part of an annoying series of issues with Saki since the plot kicked into gear. This does not seem like the Saki I watched for the first 4 episodes.

Anyway, glad this little rat war storyline is over. I liked how things ended with Kiroumarou though.

[ookamigirl]

Lots of action this time as well.
Satoru was giving it his all, but it was exhausting.
They were lucky Kiroumaru's forced put an end to that rouge tribe.
Satoru if definitely the smarter one of the two.
It's kinda obvious that they'll never be able to fully return home without any consequences after all they now know.
The whole adventure was pretty intense and dangerous.

[something]

Episode 7:

- Liking the feel of this episode a lot better so far. And we meet the most human-like queerat yet, in Kuroumaru. Meanwhile, Squealer continues to be shifty as hell.
- Satoru starts to put all the pieces together. They can't trust the rats or the humans anymore.
- Hey everyone is reunited. I kept expecting Squealer to stab Satoru in the bck at any moment. But... not yet? I still don't trust him.
- ...Oh. Well that went better than expected. Kiroumaru helped them out. But but but... I still dont trust them! Or anyone in this show.
- Have I ever mentioned I'm not a big fan of narration coming from a n older protagonist? Something about it just annoys me.

Good episode, though. I definitely liked this better than 5-6.

And oh hey time skip coming up it looks like.

[Damius]

This is definitely a weird show and a good one.

[Buckeye]

Lots of history being revealed by the Minoshiro, and it looks like the PK powers led to a chain of events bring the world so much destruction. And just when the most critical part was about to be outed, a monk shows up, saying that it's all a lie. The children are now powerless as punishment and they are attacked by queerats.

These children now know something they shouldn't know, and they realize how much trouble they are in as a result. That was quite an intense infodump episode here, but how this show moves forward will be interesting to see. For now, this show is on hold for me, mostly due to lack of time, but I am planning to resume watching this show sometime after the simulcast season.

[FUNiOP]

Everyone's back together. Saki and Satoru got some really good development, but it's good to see the rest as well. Unfortunately, it's out of the frying pan into the fire. And things may be taking a major turn soon? Interesting...

[Damius]

- They sure were shocked to know that human can kill human…
- Well, we finally got some answers. Thanks to the infodump.

This episode ended being quite good.

[Damius]

Maybe if I say that this episode doesn't exist, it would be better that way.

[Damius]

- The art is back to what it should be.
- Satoru gets his powers back…and they sure want to make sure we know…
- They sure are a lot of them down there…

I need to watch next episode right now.

[Damius]

- Satoru is explaining everything to Saki now…
- Saki is crying in the light.
- And just like this, everyone is reunited.
- Thanks to the help of Kiroumaru… he would be kill if it is reveal he help them.

[HitokiriShadow]

Aaaaargh. We get Saki snuggling with Maria but she spends that time thinking about Shun and was already ogling him before that. Christ, how obnoxious.

[ookamigirl]

So they're back in school.
Saki's still hopeless when it comes to controlling her powers.
Shun & Satoru BL part was unexpected to say the least.
Saki & Maria yuri part was surprising too.
Guess no one is in a normal relationship.
Things took an even weirder turn when Shun dumped Satori.
Shisei's little surprise visit was interesting.
So their punishment for things that happened 2 years ago is just pending.

[something]

Episode 8:

- Two years in the future, everyone is gay! Except Saki obviously still loves Shu because ANIME. Oh well, if Saki and Maria were a serious couple, I'm absolutely certain this show would find a way to kill Maria as painfully as possible, so it's probably for the best that this won't last.
- Eargh, the art is pretty bad. They obviously haven't gotten used to the new designs yet. I hope they settle into it by next week.

- lol Shun nipple.
- Damnit Saki, let Shun make out with Satoru. You have a perfectly nice sexy Maria to have sex with. Sigh.
- Other boy (the one with no personality who has done nothing do far) is all by himself. Poor other boy. He'll just have to make out with his paintings.
- At least we get a very very nice yuri scene, even if it won't last. Seems legit, though. Or, within the context of what the jello dog library said. Letting their puberty hormones loose by pairing them off. So I guess Saki is for all intents and purposes bi at the moment.

- Saki's hair is really pretty. Just throwing that out there.
- Shun and Satoru break up. Yeah these new relationships aren't going to last long.
- Heh, Maria just floating around the classroom amuses me.
- Hahahaha, I don't think it was your levitation that masked guy was impressed by, Maria. Not with the angle he had anyway.

Shun is going to be "rehabilitated". No doubt we'll be seeing him again though.

Now excuse me while I go rewatch that Saki/Maria scene.

[Eteal]

Episode 8:

- Two years in the future, everyone is gay! Except Saki obviously still loves Shu because ANIME. Oh well, if Saki and Maria were a serious couple, I'm absolutely certain this show would find a way to kill Maria as painfully as possible, so it's probably for the best that this won't last.
- Eargh, the art is pretty bad. They obviously haven't gotten used to the new designs yet. I hope they settle into it by next week.

- lol Shun nipple.
- Damnit Saki, let Shun make out with Satoru. You have a perfectly nice sexy Maria to have sex with. Sigh.
- Other boy (the one with no personality who has done nothing do far) is all by himself. Poor other boy. He'll just have to make out with his paintings.
- At least we get a very very nice yuri scene, even if it won't last. Seems legit, though. Or, within the context of what the jello dog library said. Letting their puberty hormones loose by pairing them off. So I guess Saki is for all intents and purposes bi at the moment.

- Saki's hair is really pretty. Just throwing that out there.
- Shun and Satoru break up. Yeah these new relationships aren't going to last long.
- Heh, Maria just floating around the classroom amuses me.
- Hahahaha, I don't think it was your levitation that masked guy was impressed by, Maria. Not with the angle he had anyway.

Shun is going to be "rehabilitated". No doubt we'll be seeing him again though.

Now excuse me while I go rewatch that Saki/Maria scene.

1. Because anime? This is based on a novel though
2. They're not gay they're bi, they're just not allowed to have heterosexual relationships till 18

[FUNiOP]

Well this series certainly makes sure not to neglect any kind of relationship. I guess that's cool. I don't know if any of them will lead to anything other than the eventual heterosexual relationship between Saki and Shun. There's definitely plenty of experimentation going on, though. That has to be the only constant in this series. And I swear they have to change the art style an average of at least one time per episode at this point. There's some very pretty stuff, but I wish they could just settle on one, preferably one that looked good. A-1 must have a good enough budget, right? Even if they are making like 500 shows this season.

[Damius]

Saki why...why??? Why do you need to think about Shun while a yuri scene with you and Maria...

[ookamigirl]

Shun missing...
Everyone was worried and determined to find him.
The trip outside to the forbidden zone was interesting.
Lots of weird things and inconsistencies.
Looks like Shun ended up just like all the other kids who went missing before.
Saki had a sister who ended up just like all the others.
Very interesting episode.

[FUNiOP]

Well shit, that sure got intense. Obviously saving Shun has to still be possible, so I'm curious to see how everything will unfold. Not sure how long that part will last, though. This is the one show that I can never predict, and I'd guess there's a pretty good chance of that staying true for the entire two-cour run. Definitely some interesting stuff in here. Almost forgot about that mention of Saki's unknown sibling from the first episode.

[ookamigirl]

Saki finally found Shun.
It was a pretty weird encounter.
Lots of new info this time.
So they are the threat to to outside world and not the other way around.
Shun's dog was rather unique.
So Shun's going out of control... it really was sad...

[FUNiOP]

Well Saki and Shun were reunited, but it was very trippy, and there was plenty of exposition, including many shocking revelations. Also, crazy dog. And the encounter with Shun does not end exactly as hoped. Hmm... well, I'm curious for the future as always.

[ookamigirl]

It seems like the others had their memories tampered with.
Seems like Saki is the only one that remembers.
So they planted Ryou instead of Shun.
Now even the others figured it out as well.
The ethics committee paying them a visit is not good.

[Ingraman]

Seems like Saki is the only one that remembers.
And she doesn't quite remember all of it.

So they planted Ryou instead of Shun.I wonder just how much he's been programmed into his new position, how much of the original Ryou is there, and what was he doing previously.

Now even the others figured it out as well.Mamoru doesn't seem to be taking it well.

The ethics committee paying them a visit is not good.After finding out who they're taking the trio to see, I'm incredibly excited. It's been far too long since I last heard Sakakibara Yoshiko's voice. When I heard Asahina Tomiko bid Saki and escort to enter, my heart just leapt. ^^; I crossed my fingers, borrowed the Japanese characters for SSYori and Sakakibara Yoshiko, and went Googling. Sakakibara's page on the Japanese Wikipedia site (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A6%8A%E5%8E%9F%E8%89%AF%E5%AD%90) had Shin Sekai Yori listed. Even if she doesn't appear in more than the next episode, I'm so happy! It's been far too long (yeah, I know, if I were watching Hellsing Ultimate, I could quench some of my thirst for her voice). ^^;;;

Do I now have to start thinking about adding this series to my purchases? <sigh>

[something]

Episode 9:

Oh damn, that got good, especially in the second half. Badass Saki goes all spec ops. It'll be nice to see her do something on her own again, since there hasn't been much of that. Well, assuming she doesn't need to be immediately saved at the start of episode 10.

[something]

Episode 10:

Damnit why did they let Yamauchi Shigeyasu anywhere near this again? Fuck him. I hate inconsistent direction and art like this. This episode does not feel anything at all like the previous episode and knowing this could just happen again in five episodes completely kills my morivation to keep watching.

This episode was just totally devoid of any real human emotion. The hyper-abstract visuals remove any feeling of giving-a-fuck for me. I mean, Saki was unusually sexy in this episode, but when she doesn't even feel like the same person because she looks so damn different, that does nothing for me. At all.

Get Yamauchi the fuck away from this show right now.

[something]

Episode 11:

- With Shun dead[?], Ryou is a stand-in as the higher-ups try, I guess, to overwrite her memories. But this time it's not working.
- I just wonder if Ryou wa sput up to playing the part, or if his memories were messed with too.
- The students need to form pairs, so Saki pairs off with Satoru, Maria with Mamoru.
- And then they start back up with the detective work. But Mamoru is not cut out for it, to say the least...
- Some rational words from Maria calm Saki down, but Saki still can't give up trying to learn the truth. She does agree to keep Mamoru out of it though. And then more Maria x Saki kissing. ♥ Nice to see they still have an intimate physical relationship, and this time Saki isn't thinking of someone else in her place.

Well that was an awkwardly abrupt ending.

But a very good episode, like episode 9. The art was better than 9 as well (and goes without saying far better than 10) so I really wish the rest of the episodes could be similar to this one.

[dsmith]

Damnit why did they let Yamauchi Shigeyasu anywhere near this again? Fuck him. I hate inconsistent direction and art like this. This episode does not feel anything at all like the previous episode and knowing this could just happen again in five episodes completely kills my morivation to keep watching.

It's always strange seeing such different viewpoints on the art of the show.

I barely noticed the change in art style in episode 5, and would have missed it completely if not for all the complaining I read from others. On the other hand, I did notice for episode 10, and thought it was beautiful; while it's not appropriate for most of the show, it definitely felt right for those bits of the story.

On the other hand, the direction (focus points, the way the characters moved, etc) did feel a bit weird; all loose and jangly, sort of, and a bit too much focus on butt/crotch/boob shots, which can get a bit annoying. I can understand the need for some sort of movement focus during a 'talky' episode, but it still feels like it could have been approached a bit differently.

[something]

It's always strange seeing such different viewpoints on the art of the show.

I barely noticed the change in art style in episode 5, and would have missed it completely if not for all the complaining I read from others. On the other hand, I did notice for episode 10, and thought it was beautiful; while it's not appropriate for most of the show, it definitely felt right for those bits of the story.

On the other hand, the direction (focus points, the way the characters moved, etc) did feel a bit weird; all loose and jangly, sort of, and a bit too much focus on butt/crotch/boob shots, which can get a bit annoying. I can understand the need for some sort of movement focus during a 'talky' episode, but it still feels like it could have been approached a bit differently.

Inconsistency is the more infuriating thing about it. Even if I really liked the new art style, I would still hate the fact that it was so inconsistent with the rest of the show.

Purely in terms of art the style can sometimes work (Saki really looked hot, if nothing else), but only if it's in its own show - not creeping into another show at random points.

However the direction style is, just, ugh. This director ruined action scenes in Yumekui Merry in the same way (and even apologized for it afterward, admitting it did not work). The way he handles movement is the biggest problem. There's this attempt to portray fluidity of motion and gesture that fails when one shot doesn't link up well to the next. Actions happen either too fast or too slow, the camera angles are highly questionable, and the entire thing reeks of trying to be unique rather than trying to convey the mood and meaning of a scene in an effective manner.

All of debatable merit on its own, but outright irritating when thrown into something else. It reminds me of the way Yamashita Shingo singlehandedly destroyed critical episodes of Birdy and DenYuuDen by inflicting a "unique" style where it did not belong. I simply cannot tolerate that kind of thing. (Speaking of him, he does the ED animation for Shinsekai and one of the "characters tell a story that's given stylized animation" bits. It's okay for an ED but I certainly would not want to see an epsiode animated that way.)

It's not like this show has the best production values in general (plenty of derpface off model shit all around regardless of which style is used) but that just makes inconsistencies all the worse.

[FUNiOP]

Shun just becomes another replaced memory to the rest of the group, with his spot filled by a boy named Ryou. Shun is unique enough for the rest to have their doubts, though, and they determine that Ryou could not have been the one in their group for all the events in the past, and they also start to learn more about the other disposed-of member of the group from episode 1, as well as about Saki's sister. Interesting stuff. Still have no idea what to make of this show. :/

[Ingraman]

I'm feeling lazy, so I'll just mostly cut'n'paste. ^^;

Well, people in at least one of the forums that I read were right: Asahina Tomiko is recruiting Saki, and not just to the committee that she's in charge of, but to take her place at the head of the committee! Their conversation also included the phrase "the weakest link" and flags immediately went up in my mind for Mamoru. ;_; He's been so quiet lately, distancing himself from the other three and their actions/investigating. I do wonder that if Mamoru breaks (Did he? Will we find out next episode?), and becomes a threat to their community, will the actions that follow be what leads to Maria becoming the danger that was previously mentioned by narrator-Saki?.

Learning about how much the committee has been aware of, as far as the actions taken by the SSS&MM group, how the ruling bodies have disposed of the threats to their towns (and the losses in the process), and the fact that kids lack any rights until they're 17 (although with all of the mind mangling that's gone on, it's not a complete surprise) was pretty interesting. I wonder if Saki will tell her parents about the job offer. I wonder what the response would be. Relief? Pride? Probably a bit of both. Anxiety? ^^

Lots of exposition, but I didn't mind it now, or when the minoshiro was doing the Q&A.

Poor not-Shun. They're just misleading him and running away.

[ookamigirl]

So they knew everything about what happened right from the start.
The story about Karma demons was interesting.
This episode came with lots of new info as well.
Mamoru's disappearance doesn't look good.
He's probably gonna end up like Shun..

[Damius]

I sure like this episode. Especially Saki in it. That was her episode.

[Damius]

I didn't like this episode at all... After last episode, it was quite a deception... I didn't like the direction it took and that art shift didn't work at all for me.

[Damius]

And that was quite a good episode. The art was one of the best of all the episodes. Can I ask for no more art shift until the end of the show...even if there still a full cour...

[ookamigirl]

Following trails in the snow..
All that's left of Mamoru were his sled.
Luckily a queerat saved him.
So he ran 'cause they wanted to kill him too.
Damn, they seem to be offing kids a lot lately.
Things are getting more complicated.
Not much is know and the mystery continues.

[FUNiOP]

Damn, this group gets more fucked every week. Looks like at least one more member won't be returning with them, possibly even more than that. At least death is escaped. For now. :(

[something]

Episode 12:

Well, Mamoru was the obvious concern as soon as "weakest link" came on screen. Bleh, I give at least 70% odds he ends up killing Maria in the process of becoming a Karma Demon (or worse, Fiend).

I'd love to see Saki take on Tomiko's role. Normally I'd expect a show to end with some miraculous turn of events eliminating the source of Karma Demons and Fiends, but this show might take it in a less happy direction. Having Saki head up the Ethics Committee would be a good way of avoiding a perfect resolution while not being too depressing.

[something]

Episode 13:

That cute Maria hopping. <3

I guess they're holding off on whatever will happen to Mamoru. Another good episode, though the preview implies something that I'm not happy about.

[Damius]

- Asahina wants to recruit Saki to be head of the committee and that’s because of her Personality Index is pretty high.
- And it looks like they knew everything…
- Well, when they spoke about the “weakest link” I thought of Mamoru…

[Damius]

- They were able to find him. I did like the part where they were looking for him.
- And, the whole episode was good.

I skipped the preview…

[Ingraman]

Episode 12:

I give at least 70% odds he ends up killing Maria in the process of becoming a Karma Demon (or worse, Fiend).
With the early line from Narrator-Saki that you were referencing back in your ep. 2 post (see below), I have my doubts...

I'd love to see Saki take on Tomiko's role. [...] Having Saki head up the Ethics Committee would be a good way of avoiding a perfect resolution while not being too depressing.Asahina Tomiko's voiced by my favorite seiyuu. I'll listen to whatever she has to say, and agree with it. ;p

Episode 2:

- Well jeeze that was an incredibly foreboding thing to say about Maria

[ookamigirl]

Saki came back home.
That Educational Committee jumped her immediately.
Lots of dialogue this time.
This anime is getting more and more confusing.
I don't get the point of all that.
Pursuing kids, putting pressure on them, even killing them is just over the top.
Their society is truly a twisted one, based on secrets and violence under cover of peace.
Tomiko made some nice explanations. That made up for the first part of the episode.
She seems like a good person. Guess time makes a difference to people's personalities.

[bear]

I don't get the point of all that.
Pursuing kids, putting pressure on them, even killing them is just over the top.
Their society is truly a twisted one, based on secrets and violence under cover of peace.


Your looking at their reality through the narrow viewpoint of your own. They live in a horrific world where one person losing control can destroy an entire town (and has) in the blink of an eye with no easy way to stop them. They are doing the best they can to prevent that the only way they can. What would you have them do? Let the Fiends and Karma Demons run wild? How would you solve their terrible dilemma? Let a few live so they can kill many? They've already pointed out that banishment hasn't worked in the past either. They can't be reasoned with. They can't be controlled. They can't be isolated. They can't be banished. Their power can't be removed. I'm not being sarcastic. Do you have an answer? I can't think of one.

[Ingraman]

Pop quiz time with the Education Committee!!

Good cop, bad cop?

Asahina Tomiko comes to save the day, and then she and Saki go have tea next to some kitties (ones that might, "perhaps", have been there to nibble on Saki, no less). Aa! Sakakibara-sama!

She's how old?!? O_O She must have eaten the missing children to have lived so long. ;p

Mamoru and Maria have moved on, and Saki/Satoru have only three days...

[something]

Episode 14:

- Satoru and Saki go back, Maria stays with Mamoru.
- Aww, Saki and Maria has one last steamy lesbian romp before parting. I fear it'll be their last.
- Ugh, inquisitor lady is a bitch. They ask Saki to tell the truth, so she does, and they get all uppity. Saki is pretty awesome in how she's handling all this though.
- And yay Tomiko.
- Hah, she makes the committee her bitch.

- Japan is down to 50-60k people? That puts the death of a few hundred in a new perspective.
- Tomiko is rather well aged for a 267 year old.
- Off to bring Maria and Mamoru back. Except for one small problem...

Very good episode. Once again, I really really like Tomiko and I'm totally on her side in all this. I don't want Shinsekai Yori to have a storybook ending where everything is happy. I don't want Shun to come back, I don't care if Mamoru survives, I don't need Saki to become an invincible heroine who makes everything perfect and doesn't have to compromise.

(I do want Maria to live though...)

I was worried about next episode because it's a multiple of five, and that's when the bad man comes to do bad things, but thankfully it looks like it might be a normal episode.

[FUNiOP]

It's so great to see Saki stand her ground so strongly in the face of this oppressive system. Tomiko's entrance and contributions were definitely very appreciated as well. I hope Maria and Mamoru will survive, but living happily ever after doesn't seem like a very likely possibility, and it's getting close to what looks like their time to go.

[ookamigirl]

So they managed to make their way to Robber Fly colony.
Along the way the found out some things there weren't pleasant.
Looks like the colony life is far from being simple.
Those two set out to find their friends but ended up finding other problems.
Their little search brought yet another colony war. This time with the Goat Months.
Squealer seems to be using those two to get more power.
Maria and Mamoru seemed to have left by their own will.

[Ingraman]

Squealer seems to be using those two to get more power.
He's done it before successfully, and he's doing it again.

The news that he gave, about the combining of several of the colonies, what's happened to their queens, and what they've learned from a "book", is concerning. With their numbers, they definitely pose a threat to the human villages, which might find it hard to defend themselves with their self-imposed power limitations.

I wonder what's coming up, both with Maria/Mamoru and when Saki/Satoru return to their village and give their report (if that actually happens, anyway).

[Nikopol]

So the queerrats were having a nice revolution, dethroning their ruling nobles (just short of beheading them) and installing a democracy. They read about it in a "book".

Iirc, most books about the past have been disposed of. So where did squealer get the book from? My guess: a False Minoshiro. Which is potentially very dangerous, as he could also learn about the humans not actually being gods, but just "normal" people with a few powers. Normal people without a standing army.

I keep loving this show. It has such a nice, almost constant atmosphere of dread, like this whole world is only one small step away from breaking apart. I just hope, they can find a strong ending for it all. And as it's been said before, this ending probably shouldn't be a (true) happy end with Saki solving all the problems and they lived happily ever after and such.

[FUNiOP]

So instead of finding Maria and Mamoru, Saki and Satoru come across the Monster Rats attempting to presumably rise up and take over humanity's spot on the totem pole. That makes for a good issue for the time being. Not unlike past events in this series, our protagonists are stuck in a situation in which the other players are hiding their true intentions and pose a serious threat. Fortunately, the humans are realizing what's going on pretty quickly, so hopefully they'll be able to get out of this without any lasting problems. At the very least, their relationship with the rats is not looking like it will be stable in the future, and that's one ally group that has been good to have on board.

[ookamigirl]

Flashbacks and memories of childhood days.
Thoughts about society and life.
Still searching for Maria and Mamoru.
Satoru and Saki were restless in their search.
They disappeared without a trace..

[Eteal]

Saki and Satoru had sex! :beatingheart:

[Nikopol]

What a great and emotional episode this was. When Saki was reading that letter (for what feels like half of the episode no less), i had chills down my spine several times. A great way to probably end this arc, with another time jump being on the horizon.

[Ingraman]

The letter and song recounting Saki and Maria's past were both wonderful and greatly saddening. ;_;

Saki and Satoru had sex! :beatingheart:
Cuddling, at least.

With another time jump coming, I dread finding out what the bakenezumi (probably more like Squera/Squeeler/Yakomaru/whatever) have been up to. In just two years, they made huge leaps. What next? Construction techniques? Lobotomization techniques? Warfighting techniques? Blackmail techniques?

<shiver>

[something]

Episode 15:

- It's not overly egregious right now, but once again, it seems like Saki loses a measure of her perceptiveness and competence when she's in a scene alongside Satoru. She's shown how strong she is when he's not around, but when he's in a scene she is no longer the one to notice danger (other than noticing he queerat watching them) or make decisions and so forth. It can eb subtle (and sometimes not) but it doesn't jive with how Tomiko describes her.

- Squealer again. Still don't trust him!
- The rats are forming a new society - one that looks more technologically advanced than humanity. Revolution impending.
- Again, Satoru voices suspicious about the rats while Saki just sits there looking completely shocked and asking him for more information. Come on Saki, you can figure this out.
- At least she connects the dots to how a human could be manipulated similarly to the queen. Perhaps as a power source with their ability or something. Which, of course, introduces another possible horrific death (or worse than death) for Maria! -_-

- Didn't take Squealer's people long to become the oppressors.
- The princess is in another castle.

[something]

Episode 16:

- A farewell letter to her lover. ;_;
- And uh suddenly a Maria insert song. It's cute so that's okay but it just reinforces my expectation that she's not long for this world.
- Wow how much paper did that letter use? Anyway, sadness. Maybe we'll see her again, but I wonder if it's for the best that we don't. Poor poor Saki. ;_;

- Heh, could they make Squealer any shadier?
- You've got some screwed up dreams, Saki.
- As if Maria dying didn't seem likely enough, whatshisname (lol even I've forgotten) just outright says she'll die.

As for next episode... oh, huh. So we're doing that.

[FUNiOP]

Whoa, that was kinda like... a standard opening. That was surprising. But a sudden Hanazawa song is perfectly fine by me.

Saki and Satoru again. Like a few years ago, except they won't get that happy reunion. And now that it's been made extremely clear what will happen, I can't even look forward to the possibility of a reunion with Maria.

And next time... another one? And much bigger this time. Very interesting.

[bored@lazy]

Flashbacks and memories of childhood days.
Thoughts about society and life.
Still searching for Maria and Mamoru.
Satoru and Saki were restless in their search.
They disappeared without a trace..

Is that an attempt at a poem? :P

Anyways fantastic episode, the letter reading was fantastically done. I really like how they didn't just use mostly recycled footage of the Saki and Maria hanging out, but actually showed them growing up together.

[ookamigirl]

Saki grew up and so did Satoru.
Looks like a lot of time passed since the previous episode.
I'm interested to see where this is heading.
So far they're dealing with the queerats.
Seems like the colonies evolved to the point of power struggles and politics.

[Damius]

- Saki and Maria saying goodbye to each other…
- It must have been a really tough experience for Saki to have to tell the truth, only the truth. She dealt with it pretty well.
- Great, Tomiko is awesome!
- What? Tomiko is 267 year old…

Well, this episode was a really good one.

[Damius]

I was worried about next episode because it's a multiple of five, and that's when the bad man comes to do bad things, but thankfully it looks like it might be a normal episode.

Now that you mention this, I worry about the fact that this show is 25 episodes...

[something]

Episode 17:

- Saki, age 26! She looks great - loving the really long hair.
- She does not seem glad to see Satoru though. What happened in these.... what, 10 years?
- Saki is now in charge of overseeing other queerat colonies. They have to fill out a form in order to go to war with each other. :sd:
- "We fell out over something petty a while ago." Oh. Well, that's vague. But those sorts of things happen.

- Saki and a coworker watching the a queerat war as if it's a local high school baseball game was kinda... weird but awesome. :sd:

Then a Maria ED for no reason. Well, it'll probably have a reason next time, but this episode had nothing to do with her.

[FUNiOP]

And while we obviously don't get that OP (and unsurprisingly, no new OP either), there's a new ED that does follow up on that one-time OP pretty well. Seems pretty strange to start it now, since this must be the first episode without Maria in it at all (certainly the first in which she's not a factor whatsoever), but obviously it means she's going to be important in the coming arc.

I can't imagine there will be any further time progressions, certainly not of this length. It's already unusual to have protagonists this old, especially with as young as they started. Very interesting, though. I'm actually pretty surprised at how (relatively) complacent things have remained in all this time, considering how constantly hectic they've been. It looks like the next episode will be shifting the focus back to bad shit going on all around the protagonists, though.

[ookamigirl]

The festival part was nice.
Saki was reminiscing...
Seems like queerats are learning and evolving.
They could become very problematic.
Especially if they're using forbidden knowledge.
Looks like some human was using Cantus and helping them win that fight.
Things took an unexpected turn.
Didn't think queerats would attack the village so soon.

[Damius]

- Saki should have noticed it before falling…
- Squealer is back…
- Oh…and it’s time for revolution.
- Satoru is noticing something is wrong… Saki should notice the same, without having to ask questions…
- He doesn’t know where Maria is, but he knows she is far away…
- A letter…

[something]

Episode 18:

- Saki misses Maria. ;_;
- Queerats going undercover at the festival...?
- Back to the Queerats getting some kind of cantus ability. Either developing it themselves or having a human working for them.
- But about Maria and Mamoru... there are a lot of different ways this could be going.
- Eradication of the Robber Fly colony authorized. No doubt Yakomaru found out. The festival is going to become a bloodbath.
- Or the sake is poisoned...?
- Yep. And of course Satoru figures it all out and Saki is once again reduxced to wide-eyed shock and gasping and generally being incapable of deducing anything by herself when Saotru is around. What the hell Shinsekai Yori. Seriously. This is why I would not be importing you even if the episode 5 and 10 animation issues never happened.
- In the end, a clever sneak attack by the Queerats, but not nearly enough to take down the top cantus users. Massacre ensues.

Maria at the end. Where is she? You know Maria, having children isn't the only thing that matters in life. But it sounds like she's just trying to rationalize losing Saki, not thinking that's a legitimate reason for not being with her. Because it's obvious she loves Saki more than anyone - and Saki loves her more than anyone. And canon yuri feelings are so fucking rare in anime that I'll take whatever I can get, though of course it's found within a tragic relationship. Sigh.

[Nikopol]

A fittingly dark episode. Sh!t got real, as the "lower life forms" decided they will no longer be slaves and expendable like cattle. From their point of view, the queerats are fighting for their freedom from oppression. Of course the "gods" beg to differ, but the playing field is quite leveled by now, it might be too late.

The show hasn't disappointed me yet, i'm hoping for a really strong endgame.

[FUNiOP]

Whoa, was that some Imaishi animation? Or at least one of those Gainax (or former Gainax, probably) guys.

And so Maria's new role in the story becomes... well, not exactly clear, but definitely prevalent. Very interesting to see where this heads.

Also, the "Hello" and "Goodbye" were very interesting choices. I thought they worked really well.

[ookamigirl]

Queerats vs humans.
Yakomaru must be behind some of it.
He was suspicious right from the start.
Well, their rebellion is not a surprise.
It was bound to happen sometime.
That demon was kinda surprising though.
Especially since they always killed all potential demons.

[Damius]

Maria reading the letter to Saki was so emotional... ;_; She was reading while we have scenes of Maria and Saki past. So sad... ;_;

[something]

Episode 19:

- "Eh?" "Wha?" "Huh?" "What should we do?" ::gasp:: ::wide-eyed confusion:: ::befuddled noises:: Welcome to all of Saki's dialogue for the last who knows how many episodes!
- Man the two other guys on this boat are annoying. One is a coward, the other is a hotheaded idiot. At least one of them won't be long for this world.
- And down goes hotheaded idiot.
- Oh my god! Critical thinking from Saki! With Satoru in the same room! Finally! I'm sure this won't last though.
- Down goes the coward.

The character assassination happening to Saki is ruining this show for me. Which is doubly annoying because outside of that, this show's plot is doing incredibly well. The emergence of a Fiend/Karma Demon (whichever it was) is interesting, especially if it's being controlled by the queerats somehow. They refer to it as male, so it's not Maria at least. But I still expect terrible things to happen to her! I'm really not looking forward to Maria sacrificing her life to save Saki, and Saki just ending up with Satoru, which is almost certainly how this is going to go.

[FUNiOP]

And finally, the greatest threat that has been teased for much of the series emerges, coming right after our protagonists. How will they manage to get out of this one? Not that being a protagonist seems to make survival as likely in this show as in most, but it's seemed for a while like at least these two would make it to the end. At the very least Saki has to. Perhaps this is the time for Maria to make her grand reappearance.

[bored@lazy]

I thought that was great, and I don't have any issues with the way either Saki or Sotoru acted either. Anyway, my bet it's Mamoru who's become the 'Demon'.

[Damius]

So, Saki is 26 now. I really like how she looks. There is a form for everything even war! We have a Maria ED? Hmm... next episode maybe.

[Damius]

- Maria where are you… Saki is thinking about the days she was with you…
- And even at 26 years old, Saki can’t find out anything when she is with Satoru……….
- Saki… you really thought that was fireworks…
- “I loved you, Saki, but I couldn’t leave Mamoru.” No…. Maria… NO!

[Damius]

Ouch... lot of horror in this episode... I don't like where it is going with Saki... and where it could go later on.

[ookamigirl]

Satoru and Saki making their escape.
Looks like the canals are not safe anymore.
That demon laid traps for them everywhere.
Queerats proved to be a dangerous bunch.
I was surprised queerats turned out to be so smart.
Things are looking very bad.

[something]

Episode 20:

- After a bit more "hur dur what?" from Saki, she really starts to get proactive for the first time in a long time this episode. She proposes the plan to escape the Fiend, which is nice to see. More of this, please? She's supposed to be the heroine.
- Maria, I miss you. ;_;
- Wow the whole sequence with the gunpowder mutant was really good. I'm especially happy Saki is at least temporarily separated from Satoru, because now the story pretty much has to let her do things on her own, and not just ask him to explain every single thing to her. At least I hope so.
- She runs into someone... who almost kills her thinking she's a queerat. :sd:
- Tomiko. ;_; I like her a lot, but it doesn't seem like she's long for this world.
- And Saki has officially taken over Tomiko's job.

Things should get prettttttttty crazy from here on out, not that they aren't already.

[FUNiOP]

Not the level of suspense of last week, but still very exciting, and things are setting up to become even more exciting very soon.

I like seeing the main characters interact with each other, but we've had enough Saki/Satoru for a while, so following Saki alone for now feels a little refreshing.

I was worried that Tomiko would die in this episode, but considering the shape she's in and her dialogue at the end, I don't see her lasting much longer.

[Damius]

- I don’t want to believe that Maria is dead either…
- It was Saki who found the way to escape and that even if she was with Satoru… That’s good.
- The stress level is higher since that explosion. Which makes this really good.
- Saki almost got killed by another human… she doesn’t look like a monster rat…
- That village is completely destroyed…
- Tomiko… I’m not sure “this is nothing” like you pretend…
- And Tomiko “passe le flambeau” at Saki.

[ookamigirl]

This anime has become really dark.
OMG! Maria is the fiend.
I suspected it had to be one of those kids.
Shisei seemed like the hero they needed.
Yakomaru truly is a genius.
Using human children against humans, brilliant.
Future is looking pretty bad.

[FUNiOP]

So Yakomaru is having the Monster Rats steal human infants to raise into fiends, the first being the child of Maria and Mamoru, and the result is seen by Saki and Satoru. Wow, that's some brutal shit. How much more can this story destroy the lives of all its characters? I think an ending in which at least a few main characters are alive and have some hope for the future is about the best anyone can expect at this point.

[ookamigirl]

This anime got really dark and disturbing.
Kiroumaru is truly a good and loyal one.
He was always different from the others.
Yakomaru on the other hand was bad right from the start.
The submarine trip was pretty exciting.
Searching for Psychobuster in the desert and under it.
Yakomaru and the fiend are chasing them.
They don't have much of a choice but to push forward and hope they find it.

[something]

Episode 21:

- Danketsu~ Danketsu~ I suppose iDOLM@STER isn't the most appropriate mental association to be making right now.
- Well great. So this is what happened to Maria. Damn you Shinsekai Yori.
- And she's the queerats' pet, which means they probably did all sorts of horrific things to brainwash her and break her down.
- Though this fiend looks a bit younger than I'd expect Maria to look. Then again she's been hiding in her cloak.
- Queerats stealin' babies.
- Okay that's why the fiend looked too young to to Maria. It's her child. Lovely. Also I think the eyes were the wrong color?

[something]

Episode 22:

- lol Psychobuster.
- Kiroumaru. I'd like to trust him, but yeah, Shinsekai Yori...
- And we're off to Tokyo! It's seen better days.
- The miracle weapon is... anthrax.
- "Ewwww bugs! I can't do it!" Satoru saaaaaave me from the icky bugs! -_-

I swear, if you completely removed Saki from the show in this current time period, it would make no damned difference. I'm serious, tell me one fucking way in which it would change things at all. Satoru does absolutely everything for her, explains everything, pushes her to do the hard things, constantly has to reassure her, corrects all her incorrect conclusions, etc etc etc.

Saki is helpless and clueless as a rock when he's around. Everything is "DOU SHIOU DOU SHIOU SAVE MEEEE" and it just keeps fucking happening. I cannot describe how much this pisses me off. Leader of Kamisu 66th? Hell I'm surprised she can even dress herself. Does Satoru need to do that for her too? Does she forget which half of her body pants go on? What good is the power of her cantus if she's so mentally handicapped?

Arrrrrgh. I'm going to finish this because the story is so incredibly fascinating and I absolutely must know how it ends. But I want to strangle the author over how Saki is being written. It's a damn travesty, and one or two important scenes at the end (presumably she'll do something "heroic" to save the world or some shit) aren't going to change how fundamentally badly written her character has become.

It's almost bad enough that I'm considering renaming her Asuna Mk. II (...but only almost, nothing can be quite that bad).

[FUNiOP]

Anthrax, huh? Was not expecting that.

And we enter Tokyo. Eh... not the worst Tokyo I've seen in anime.

Still pretty gripping and fascinating, but there were also some stupid moments, specifically with Saki's character.

[Nikopol]

Kiroumaru and his smirks..... He's just got to be in cahoots with "Squealer". For the greater good and the domination of the queerats. Or not. Because: Shinsekai Yori.

And yeah, Saki is pretty much a damsel in distress. Considering her village has been wiped out, most of her friends and probably her parents have been murdered, she's facing her whole society being on the brink of breaking down, it's quite understandable. And her tendency for weakness has been brought up in the show several times as a character trait, so i don't mind her not being a strong heroine even under pressure and "when it counts". She'll still have to deal with the "fiend" (probably).

By now, SSY is my favorite show of the currently running season.

Also i don't know if this has been brought up, but there might be plans to officially translate the novels into English:

http://vertical-inc.tumblr.com/post/42116170457/any-chances-of-seeing-a-from-the-new-world-translation
http://vertical-inc.tumblr.com/post/44106397978/for-the-ssy-likes-isnt-400-likes-enough-thats

[something]

Kiroumaru and his smirks..... He's just got to be in cahoots with "Squealer". For the greater good and the domination of the queerats. Or not. Because: Shinsekai Yori.
My current guess is that his disdain for Squealer is genuine, but his loyalty to the humans is not. In other words, he's scheming to sacrifice Saki and Satoru and whatshisname to kill Squealer. And if he grabs control of an ascendent queerat civilization, well, all the better.

And yeah, Saki is pretty much a damsel in distress. Considering her village has been wiped out, most of her friends and probably her parents have been murdered, she's facing her whole society being on the brink of breaking down, it's quite understandable.
It's really not understandable to me because pretty much everything applies to Satoru as well and it has only made him more competent and useful (compare to when he was a child), not less. A deliberate decision has been made on the part of the author - or the adaptation, but it's so overwhelming that it has to come out of the source material - to ruthlessly neuter Saki's analytical/intellectual capabilities. All while telling us how important she is. She might as well be the drugged and paralyzed queen queerat we saw earlier for all she's been able to contribute in the past half cour or so. Being able to use her cantus alongside Satoru doesn't by itself make her an interesting character, much less a strong one.

She's not supposed to be Evangelion's Ikari Shinji. His behavior, trying on the patience as some may find it, was a consistent and intentional trait that served a purpose. What's happening to Saki is just nonsensical.

And her tendency for weakness has been brought up in the show several times as a character trait, so i don't mind her not being a strong heroine even under pressure and "when it counts". She'll still have to deal with the "fiend" (probably).
The description has been more subtle than that, even if the show has utterly failed to depict it in her actions. It wasn't just that she could be weak, it was that she was an individual capable of overcoming her intrinsic weakness. She could, despite her fears and emotional turmoil and the horrors of what she's seen, do what needed to be done. This is ostensibly why Tomiko chose her for the highest leadership position in their community.

Earlier arcs stumbled occasionally regarding Saki, but overall the depiction was somewhat balanced. Think back to what Maria said during an earlier time period, when she was chiding Saki about getting (the even weaker) Mamoru involved in their investigations into the mysterious boy. Saki was still capable of empathy, of fear, and hesitation, but she was still strong and smart and capable enough for me to sort of buy the trust that the adults were placing in her, and the expectations they had of her future growth. Enough so that her friends had trouble keeping up with her.

That's all been shot completely to hell in the current arc. The "ewwww poop!" scene took it to a point where it might as well be parodying itself, but it started long before that, long before she learned her parents may be dead. Pulling some heroics out of its narrative ass in the last few episodes, if it even bothers, won't make up for it.

I alluded to SAO before, and I still think that with that one glaring exception (Asuna, obviously) this is the most offensive, most egregious act of character assassination in any anime in recent memory. The only difference is that while I had no qualms about eventually dropping SAO, Shinsekai Yori is doing this to me in the middle of one of the best written plots in years. Storywise, this show is a high end 9. But I'm currently giving it a generous 6 due to its truly abysmal characterization.

It just drives me insane. Write Saki well and I'd have a tough time not importing this. Write Saki the way she has been, and I have to grit my teeth to get through the final episodes, since I really want to see how everything else ends.

[Damius]

So, queerats are stealing babies... one of them was Maria's child... That's horrible...

[ookamigirl]

Those caves sure were full of all kinds of creatures.
The only problem was that those creatures are very deadly.
Looks like not only the caves pose a threat.
At least they managed to get their submarine and use it in the caves.
They got closer to their goal, but with a price...
Wonder if Shun was real or just a hallucination?

[Damius]

- So anthrax is the secret weapon.

And Saki is still the same around Satoru... I lost hope since a long time but it's still really frustrating to see it again and again.

[nakimushi]

Episode 22:

I swear, if you completely removed Saki from the show in this current time period, it would make no damned difference. I'm serious, tell me one fucking way in which it would change things at all. Satoru does absolutely everything for her, explains everything, pushes her to do the hard things, constantly has to reassure her, corrects all her incorrect conclusions, etc etc etc.

Saki is helpless and clueless as a rock when he's around. Everything is "DOU SHIOU DOU SHIOU SAVE MEEEE" and it just keeps fucking happening. I cannot describe how much this pisses me off. Leader of Kamisu 66th? Hell I'm surprised she can even dress herself. Does Satoru need to do that for her too? Does she forget which half of her body pants go on? What good is the power of her cantus if she's so mentally handicapped?




Considering this story is a first person narrative told by Saki about how this tragic disaster happened, I personally think she would be more likely to emphasize her own weaknesses and shortcomings (along with all the other things that went wrong), then for her to brag about the things she did right when everything has pretty much fallen apart.

That she keeps telling about her own failings and weaknesses is also consistent with the fact that although people keep telling her she is strong, Saki never believed it at that time.

I also think that her describing how much she continually relied on Satoru, does not bode well for his long term survivability. It very much seems like a guilty confession to me - for surviving when he did not.

[bear]

I also think that her describing how much she continually relied on Satoru, does not bode well for his long term survivability. It very much seems like a guilty confession to me - for surviving when he did not.

After Inui raised his own death flag, I figured that none of the main characters but Saki are going to get out of this alive.

[something]

Considering this story is a first person narrative told by Saki about how this tragic disaster happened, I personally think she would be more likely to emphasize her own weaknesses and shortcomings (along with all the other things that went wrong), then for her to brag about the things she did right when everything has pretty much fallen apart.
Her narration pops in maybe once or twice an episode, and generally tells us little or less, besides tossing in a few "...but little did we know, things were going to get worse!" tension-builders. It doesn't have any impact on what's happening on screen and how I evaluate it.

I also think that her describing how much she continually relied on Satoru, does not bode well for his long term survivability. It very much seems like a guilty confession to me - for surviving when he did not.
I suppose one upside of the character writing being so bad is that I don't care if Saki and/or Satoru live or die. With Tomiko presumably dead, the only character I really care about right now is Maria, though I don't have high hopes for her future quality of life. If she's even still alive at all.

This is one of those rare shows where plot is having to carry me through all on its own, which is usually not a good thing.

[nakimushi]

Considering this story is a first person narrative told by Saki about how this tragic disaster happened, I personally think she would be more likely to emphasize her own weaknesses and shortcomings (along with all the other things that went wrong), then for her to brag about the things she did right when everything has pretty much fallen apart.
Her narration pops in maybe once or twice an episode, and generally tells us little or less, besides tossing in a few "...but little did we know, things were going to get worse!" tension-builders. It doesn't have any impact on what's happening on screen and how I evaluate it.

Just because there isn't a continuous voice-over narration, does make it any less the first person narrative. Except for the historical background flashbacks in the first few episodes, every scene in the show has been witnessed by or told to Saki. It is clearly her story.

Obviously, I was not suggesting that you should like the show or aspects of it because of that, or any other reason. Trying to convince someone else that he/she should like a show, is pointless.


With Tomiko presumably dead, the only character I really care about right now is Maria, though I don't have high hopes for her future quality of life. If she's even still alive at all.



Maria and Mamoru have already been confirmed as dead by Tomiko. Once he had what he wanted, there would be no way Squera would have jeopardized his plans by letting them live.

I cannot see the only other option, of Maria escaping and leaving her baby behind, as being at all possible. The only way Squera, could have separated their child from them is by killing Maria (and Mamoru).

[something]

Just because there isn't a continuous voice-over narration, does make it any less the first person narrative. Except for the historical background flashbacks in the first few episodes, every scene in the show has been witnessed by or told to Saki. It is clearly her story.
I still don't think this matters. I have to assume you're implying one or both of two things:
1. That the events we see have been modified from "reality" to make Saki look worse than she "actually" was, because of Saki's own self-esteem issues. That only works when the story is going for some kind of limited-perspective misdirection gimmick, whereas this show has been very straightforward narrative. It hasn't even limited itself to Saki's point of view - there have been quite a few scenes where she was not present. So there's just no reason why this would happen, and it's not consistent throughout the show - if it were I would not have gotten this far.

2. Or you simply mean that I can't say "removing Saki would change nothing" because "it's her story". Sounds like a cop-out - if you took the small number of voiceovers we've gotten from future Saki and gave them instead to a Generic Narrator the show would be exactly the same and Saki would still be contributing nothing of value to the current period of the story.

Maria and Mamoru have already been confirmed as dead by Tomiko.
While I don't expect they'll survive regardless, I wouldn't put a lot of faith in the information the humans had at the time. They based it on Squealer's "evidence" and one of the main themes of the show is that the humans have systematically and tragically underestimated his ability to make them look like fools.

[FUNiOP]

Wow, yeah, Saki is pretty damn worthless. Even without Satoru there. She's on her own now, which seems like it could help with that, but then Shun shows up, so things will probably stay largely the same.

That sequence at the end was fantastic, though.

[nakimushi]

Just because there isn't a continuous voice-over narration, does make it any less the first person narrative. Except for the historical background flashbacks in the first few episodes, every scene in the show has been witnessed by or told to Saki. It is clearly her story.
I still don't think this matters. I have to assume you're implying one or both of two things:
1. That the events we see have been modified from "reality" to make Saki look worse than she "actually" was, because of Saki's own self-esteem issues. That only works when the story is going for some kind of limited-perspective misdirection gimmick, whereas this show has been very straightforward narrative. It hasn't even limited itself to Saki's point of view - there have been quite a few scenes where she was not present. So there's just no reason why this would happen, and it's not consistent throughout the show - if it were I would not have gotten this far.

2. Or you simply mean that I can't say "removing Saki would change nothing" because "it's her story". Sounds like a cop-out - if you took the small number of voiceovers we've gotten from future Saki and gave them instead to a Generic Narrator the show would be exactly the same and Saki would still be contributing nothing of value to the current period of the story.

Definitely not #2, but not exactly #1 either.

I do not think Saki is intentionally making herself out worse than she really is, however, who she really is, IMO is not who you seem to think she should be. I cannot agree with your previous claim of "character assassination" in Saki's case.

You cite Asuna from SAO, and in Asuna, we saw an apparently heroic, strong and capable female character degraded into a damsel in distress and tentacle victim, whose entire reason for being was reduced to just be someone to rescued by Kirito. That was character assassination.

Saki's situation is far different. Although she was competent, capable, even outspoken, within the safe confines and familiar circumstances of the village, she has never demonstrated anything close to heroism.

Saki, has basically only used her power really forcefully three times that I can remember. First, when she saved the bake-nezumi from drowning. Second, when she threatened the false minoshiro, and finally when she killed the cat who was trying to kill her.

In the first case, she acted because no one else in her group would. In the second, she was the only one not paralyzed by the false minoshiro's light. In the last instance she was alone.

In all three cases, she only used her power aggressively when she could not rely on anyone else.

Although her power was obviously sealed when she and Satoru were trying to escape from the hostile tribe of bake-nezumi, did you get the impression that if it had not been sealed that she would have confronted the situation as strongly as Satoru did? I certainly did not. I really think we would have seen her at most act in just a supporting role, and largely continue to rely on him until his power ran out and she had no choice but to take more forceful action herself.

The one thing that did make her take action, although not really with her power, was her concern for her friends. First when Shun went missing, and then later when Maria and Mamoru ran away. In both circumstances she defied authority and convention. Even still, the situations although potentially dangerous to her, were not really on the same level as what she is facing now. However, she did take the risk for the sake of her friends.

That pretty much leads in to why Tomiko chose Saki as her successor. Tomiko guided the village with her intelligence, she did not rule it with her power. As she mentioned, Saki's group was raised without the standard mind control because they knew the needed someone who could think for themselves to lead what essentially was a herd of humans. Saki was to replace the heart and brain of the herd, to ensure that it survived after Tomiko could no longer guide it.

Tomiko's back-story in a way foreshadows Saki's path. Tomiko was just a nurse who happened to survive the ogre, only because the doctor had sacrificed himself to kill him. She did not start out strong. In her own words, she essentially just outlived everyone, and became strong and wise in the many years that took. Tomiko saw long term potential in Saki, and did not expect her to become a leader overnight, and definitely would not have expected her to be able to take charge in the current chaos.

For Saki to turn into an capable leader or even a effective fighter in this situation IMO would have been completely out of character for her - she was just not ready.

To me, Saki has the same nature she has had throughout the show - she did not suddenly change and become weak. Considering the regulated life she was used to, I am not at all surprised that she was frightened and disgusted by the monstrous things she saw in the caves of former Tokyo. For her not to be affected by them would have been odd.

What Saki actually ends up doing obviously remains to be seen, but so far I think her story has stayed true to her character.


Maria and Mamoru have already been confirmed as dead by Tomiko.While I don't expect they'll survive regardless, I wouldn't put a lot of faith in the information the humans had at the time. They based it on Squealer's "evidence" and one of the main themes of the show is that the humans have systematically and tragically underestimated his ability to make them look like fools.

Well, I was basing my belief in Tomiko's assertion because she said that they had DNA evidence. Not just bones that possibly could have not been from Maria and Mamoru.

For a society as terrified as this village was of people with power getting out of their control, I would think their examination of any evidence would be extremely thorough. Considering Tomiko regularly modified her own chromosomes, I would also expect her to be careful to look for any possible forgery accomplished by the use of power.

I do not see how Squera could have provided such convincing evidence on his own. I also think it was in his best interest to provide the actual genuine articles and not forgeries.

He could not hope to raise the baby to be his personal WMD if either Maria or Mamoru remained alive, and providing the village with actual proof of their death would keep them from continuing to snoop around and possibly uncovering his plan.

Now if he had a troup of red headed toddlers to command, I could then imagine the horrible thought of Maria and Mamoru being given the same treatment that Squeera gave the bake-nezumi queens, but with just a single child, that seems less likely to me.

However it is likely that there will be more information revealed about the child, that will confirm what actually happened.


The one question I am interested in finding out, is how was the child trained to use her power? It would seem difficult for Squera and the bake-nezumi to accomplish on their own.

[nakimushi]

Well, I was definitely not expecting Shun to show up.

However, I'm not necessarily convinced that he is actually real either.

[something]

In all three cases, the only reason she used her power was that she could not rely on anyone else.
Acting when you're on your own or the only one willing or able to take action is a lot harder than acting when you've got solid back-up. But she didn't just use force, she was driven to defy authority and put herself in danger to do what she thought was right.

Although her power was obviously sealed when she and Satoru were trying to escape from the hostile tribe of bake-nezumi, did you get the impression that if it had not been sealed that she would have confronted the situation as strongly as Satoru did. I certainly did not. I really think we would have seen her continue to rely on him until his power ran out and she had no choice but to take action.
If they both had their power, you mean, then it depends what Saki we're talking about. Younger Saki? Yes she would have managed it, as she managed so many other situations. Current Saki? No, but that's the very source of my criticism.

In any case, this is focusing too much on her capacity to exert violent force. If anything, blowing things up with her Cantus is the one thing she's been good for this arc. It's also the thing that I feel is least important about her character. What has ruined Saki is her sudden inability to assess a situation or think for herself, even on the most obvious of issues, which I see as a major departure from earlier depictions of her. Younger Saki was not perfect, she wasn't omnipotent, and certainly got scared and needed help. Yet there was some balance there, balance which has since been thrown out the window. It's not just one or two scenes I didn't like, it's this oppressively pervasive, never-ending march of humiliations that add up to something deeply infuriating. I don't need a badass hero, but I'm certainly not at all okay with this. Damsel in distress is a role Saki wears very, very poorly (and one this author, or at least the adaptation team, are downright terrible at writing).

[nakimushi]

What has ruined Saki is her sudden inability to assess a situation or think for herself, even on the most obvious of issues, which I see as a major departure from earlier depictions of her. Younger Saki was not perfect, she wasn't omnipotent, and certainly got scared and needed help. Yet there was some balance there, balance which has since been thrown out the window. It's not just one or two scenes I didn't like, it's this oppressively pervasive, never-ending march of humiliations that add up to something deeply infuriating. I don't need a badass hero, but I'm certainly not at all okay with this. Damsel in distress is a role Saki wears very, very poorly (and one this author, or at least the adaptation team, are downright terrible at writing).

I think you are giving far too much credit to the younger Saki and far too little consideration of the extreme difference in circumstances, between Saki's younger and adult selves.

Saki's journey into adulthood was one of loss. She lost all but one of her close friends. Shun's disappearance was erased from her mind, but somehow, she still felt the loss. However, she had to live with the full memory of her inability to keep from losing her best friend Maria.

The story moved right after that to 12 years later, so it is difficult to say how long it took for Saki to deal with that loss, but I think it is safe to say it affected her deeply. When we first meet Saki as an adult, she does not seem to have formed any new close attachments that could replace what she had with Maria. Also, she seems to have had a period of estrangement with Satoru for some unmentioned reason.

Aside from losing the support from her friends that she had as a child, the present crisis Saki is living through now, is absolutely horrific. Almost everyone she knows has been brutally murdered, many of them in front of her eyes. She also watched many of them be murdered by what appears to be the child of her best friend.

Real people who have experienced similar horrors have been traumatized for years if not for life. Yes, there are some amazing individuals who manage to overcome those experiences as they are happening to them, but they are the exception not the rule.

Later in this crisis, Saki loses her mentor, and after being anxiously worried about whether or not her parents survived, she learns that she not only just missed them but that now they are almost certainly dead. She has no time to mourn them because her dead parents task her to take a journey to hell on earth, to retrieve an inhuman weapon, in order to kill her best friend's child.

After all this, it isn't at all surprising to me, that she has become hesitant, anxious and unsure.

If young Saki were to go through these same circumstances, you would get Adult Saki - they are are the same person, only their age and circumstances differ.

[something]

stuff
Sure hasn't stopped Satoru from immediately knowing what to do in almost every situation! I'm not arguing that horrible shit isn't going down. But to simplify it for time, you're just saying that "One possible or even likely reaction to these events is 'x'" and I'm saying "It didn't have to be 'x' but since it is, there are ways to do 'x' that aren't this monumentally stupid and lazy." Watching a reasonably complex protagonist become a mindless sack of potatoes (okay that's not fair... I apologize to potatoes) lugged around by another character I was never particularly interested in, while my favorite character is either dead or missing for good or otherwise incapacitated, defecates on what should be an engaging plot.

If you think the way Saki is now is not only justified/reasonable in the abstract (which it could be if written with immense care), but more to the point presented effectively as character depiction/development then we're just in different worlds right now and that's likely all that needs to be said. I'm considering this among the worst character writing I've seen in years from a show with a serious plot.

[nakimushi]

Sure hasn't stopped Satoru from immediately knowing what to do in almost every situation!

Satoru has always had one clearly defined objective in all the dangerous situations he and Saki have faced (both as children and as adults): protect Saki at any cost, including the sacrifice of his own life.

Satoru does not hesitate, because he does not think or worry about anything else, and that is also why as a character he is not that interesting.


I'm not arguing that horrible shit isn't going down. But to simplify it for time, you're just saying that "One possible or even likely reaction to these events is 'x'" and I'm saying "It didn't have to be 'x' but since it is, there are ways to do 'x' that aren't this monumentally stupid and lazy." Watching a reasonably complex protagonist become a mindless sack of potatoes ... lugged around by another character I was never particularly interested in,

As you said, we will not agree on this, because I think it is exactly because Saki is a complex character that she has reacted the way she has. She has not become mindless: her entire world has been brutally torn apart and the shock of it has clearly overwhelmed her because she has tried and failed to make some sense of the extremely tragic situation.

Saki has always been a thoughtful character with very strong feelings, and faced with the horror of what has happened and what she must do, she has become overwhelmed by her thoughts and feelings, and as a result, has become unsure and hesitant. I think that was presented well and clearly, but in your opinion it was not - so we disagree.

I find a characterization more realistic and interesting when a character actually struggles to come to terms with a horrendous loss, instead of just being able to quickly compartmentalize it and move on.

[ookamigirl]

Saki was clearly hallucinating Shun. It was kinda sad too.
She also had her doubts about the fiend.
Her way of thinking was rather interesting.
It could be possible that the fiend never knew it was human.
The only problem is that getting close to it is extremely dangerous..
Looks like Saki was right about it, but the mirror thing kinda backfired.
Using Psychobuster was a good choice at the time.
Kiroumaru finally told the truth.

[bear]

Using Psychobuster was a good choice at the time.
Kiroumaru finally told the truth.
Damn it Saki, that was a stupid move. Enough people have died already and you lost the best chance of taking out the Fiend.

Kiroumaru has not turned out to be as traitorous as he appeared to be, but he makes a good case for what he was doing in Tokyo in the past.

[FUNiOP]

Saki is really being stupid. I want to be pissed at Satoru for keeping her from contributing anything, but she'd clearly just cause more problems if she had more control. So Satoru still pisses me off, but it's just unfortunate character writing all around.

At least we get to learn Kiroumaru's true intentions. It seemed pretty likely that he wasn't entirely on the humans' side but he wasn't another Yakomaru-level traitor either, so what we learned about him here sounds about right.

[nakimushi]

Damn it Saki, that was a stupid move. Enough people have died already and you lost the best chance of taking out the Fiend.



If Satoru ends up dying anyway, and the (possible) Ogre goes on to kill even more people then I will agree with you.

However, we still only know the short term results of Saki's decision there: she saved Satoru's life by stopping the psychobuster.

It is interesting though, the village Saki comes from almost never hesitated in having children killed if they were even slightly perceived as becoming dangerous.

Here Saki, is not only supposing that the girl is not just not an Ogre, but that she is actually worth saving despite everything she has done, which is diametrically opposed to her village's system.

However, it was that very same system of eliminating weak or potentially dangerous children, that actually led to Maria and Mamoru's daughter falling into the hands of Squeera after all.

If you think about it, this society where people do not kill each other, was only maintained by continually killing a large number of children. With that in mind, is such a society really worth saving? That's not even considering the way that that society treats other sentient (albeit ugly) beings like the bakenezumi as Kiroumaru explained.

[ookamigirl]

Using Kiroumaru as bait for the fiend to kill triggered a death feedback and solved everything.
Interesting how her wrong "wiring" was the end of her..
Yakomaru finally got what he deserved, but the punishment was horrible.
Well, at least the humans learned that queerats didn't like being slaves.
Looks like Yakomaru told the truth when he sad "We are humans!"
The harsh truth finally came out... I was kinda expecting something like this.
Nice final episode with all the explanations.

[Nikopol]

So Shinsekai Yori has come to an end. And what has been suspected earlier on, the dominant species in this world has many elements of fascism embetted deeply into the structures of its society, as was most clearly and visually demonstrated by the horrible show trial of Squealer and his inhuman sentence (basically endless torture). Others elements are for example

- a cruel oppression of "lesser" humanoid lifeforms (the queerats are indeed mostly used like slaves, genocide as ultimate punishment is accepted and not even questioned by Saki herself)
- a ruling totalitarian government of elites with absolute authority and no clear rules of succession or control
- selective breeding by use of euthanasia (notice for example, how the "weak" are removed as a byproduct)
- obscuring history to cover up the way how this society was installed (books and records being destroyed or made inaccessible,forbidden)

You could say, all these elements would be needed to keep the "fiends" in check, as death feedback in the PK users prevents them from defending against fiends. Well actually, you'd just need to be on good terms with the queerat society (or actually: fully integrate them with equal rights) and they'd provide an excellent army to deal with any fiend.

In the end, the world of Shinsekai Yori is a dystopia. There is hope, that the "great queerat war" might be the start of a change toward a less totalitarian society and it is with great pleasure to see, that Saki has not succeeded to the throne (as the former queen decreed at the end of her 200 years [iirc] rule), but she might help to change the society in small steps.

I've enjoyed this show very much and each week i've been looking forward to the next episode. With this great finale, i can say it has been my favorite show of both the fall 2012/winter 2013 seasons and will probably be one of my favorite shows of all time.

I'm already in the process of importing it and very much looking forward to complete all the volumes in the coming months.

[FUNiOP]

Alright, I've had my issues with this series throughout its run, but this was a really strong ending. It did a great job of bringing together all the themes that had been explored and wrapping things up in a way that fits the story. The last main characters left get to find some level of happiness that could've been taken away from them, but they also have to live with a heavy burden, knowing that the world they had been living in and defending was truly on the side of evil, and that none of the sins of either side can ever be taken back.