This week, our episode is dedicated to clues!
Which is to say, we are primarily
concerned with the facts of Karin Nanase’s life and death, facts that
will be very important to be aware of as we attempt to unravel (or
something like that) the case of Steel Lady Nanase. We know her
impressive bust saw her scouted, but the little fame she had came
from a good break and quick wit. We also know that she had some
trouble in life, with a rumor circulating that she had been
responsible for the otherwise ruled accidental death of her father
who resented her. This caused her to go on a temporary hiatus that
lasted for the rest of her life, for reasons of being crushed by a
steel beam in an empty lot near the hotel she was staying at.
You’d be mistaken if you thought that
was all you could get out of the episode, though.
For one, there’s another mystery afoot:
just what is the situation between Iwanaga and Kurou? Iwanaga
insists they’re a couple, but in all the ‘happy photographs she tries
to show to Saki to prove it, Kurou looks absolutely miserable. He’s
also gone off the grid for the last week, much to Iwanaga’s
frustration.
Also, just what is Steel Lady Nanase?
Terada (a more reasonable, orthodox sort – though he would probably
now seem superstitious to western audiences thanks to admitting the
possible existence of ghosts) rules out logically what Iwanaga rules
out by experience: the idea that Steel Lady Nanase might be the
vengeful ghost of Karin Nanase. From Terada’s point of view, the
vengeance of an idol shunned by society on that society would not be
something so sensational and weirdly crowd-pleasing as the Steel
Lady’s appearance, which is fodder for the same tabloids who spread
sordid rumors about her in life. From Iwanaga’s point of view, the
Steel Lady doesn’t behave like a normal ghost – she seems to be
bereft of intellect and will, which would normally be an
impossibility given her powerful manifestation. So if she’s not a
normal ghost, what is she? Terada established before that he thinks
there’s a front for mundane crime. Iwanaga seems to have an idea,
but the audience isn’t let in on it just yet.
We also get some good character time.
Saki and Iwanaga’s interactions, Saki’s reaction to Iwanaga sending a
spirit messenger to ask for her help, and Iwanaga’s immense jealousy
of Saki are all well-handled. So is Karin Nanase. In the scenes we
get of her, we actually start to get a picture of who she was as a
person: brilliant and possibly cold, but willing to ‘play the game’
in order to get ahead.
However, for me (knowing and having the
manga version) the highlight of the episode is probably that we’re
treated to the full OP of the show Karin Nanase starred in, a scuzzy
late night magical girl affair, and I’d be lying if I said that the
deliberately over-the-top opening song and ‘animation’ didn’t get a
laugh out of me. It’s legitimately well-put together but at the same
time it revels so much in the tropes around anime (and presumably
Japanese late-night drama) openings that it successfully feels a
little less real than the show you’re actually watching
At the end of the episode, Kurou
appears, and locked in battle with Steel Lady Nanase to boot! There
are a lot of questions with that, including what’s going to happen
when he runs into Saki and whether his arrival here has to do with
Iwanaga or his own ‘business’ on which he disappeared. However,
In/Spectre seems to be fond of the cliffhanger ending, so we’ll have
to see about that next week.