Run and fight and run
As you know, it is a coup
Wait, Kasane what?
So, from last episode we reinforce Karen’s cryptic nonsense as the coup kicks off, and don’t get any answer as to his secret true motive. We don’t follow up on what I’m sure is Old Ronin Yuito, or even see him. We don’t really solve anything. We don’t introduce much in the way of new elements. We mostly just run, fight, and rehash the same information. It really is the video game portion of this video game anime, grinding through random encounters while the plot doesn’t really progress. And as to that, the fighting isn’t quite as tragic as last episode’s… but it’s not really good either.
Essentially, the entire episode is progressing through the Other-swarmed streets of the city with no sense of direction, theoretically headed towards where Yuito’s father, the council chairman, is to be evacuated in order to protect him. We hear from multiple forces that this is what needs to be done, that his status is unknown, and that the brain internet is down. Karen makes a big speech over the telecom (once he captures it, presumably) about his coup for people to live free rather than safe, but we already know that his surface motivation is bullcrap, so we don’t care. Eventually Yuito does make it to the shelter where his dad’s guards have already been slaughtered, and catches up with his dad moments after the Other that manifested to attack Dad was slain… finding the scene as dad slumped over against the wall with Kasane standing there, bloody knife in hand. Kasane comes at Yuito with the knife, and that’s the episode.
Really. That’s the meat of it.
So, I know it means pretty much this entire writeup is focusing on the last minute of screen time but… what’s up with Kasane now? We caught up with her after the whole Red Strings thing with Yuito and she was outside the city proper, safe(ish), sane, and with allies. Either something big happened, which we should have been and better be let in on… or there’s more timey wimey nonsense going on, which we had also better be let in on because right now we have only the vaguest of ideas that time abnormalities are in place.
I guess you can just file that with all the other things that have been brought up in extremely vague terms and/or we’re just supposed to accept that we’ll actually get answers for. Like the Red Strings. Or Karen’s motivation. Or Yuito’s mother. Or the fate of Nagi. I’d be more patient with it if the material we did get wasn’t so sparse, cold, and useless, but when the episode has maybe five minutes of actual content (a fight or two, the stuff at the shelter, and one of the check ins each with Team Yuito and Team Big Brother Under Siege) I’m rather starved for something to have worth.
I will say, I’m still willing to consider the game, and would be interested in it, but I’m betting (or at least hoping) that it’s the superior form of the story.