Mayoiga – 04
*Swoon*
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Things really picked up this episode! …And they also got really weird, but at least the mystery isn’t so easy that you can already guess how it’s going to end. Or at least I haven’t figured it out yet. |
There was more arguing this episode, but it was much more bearable than the last one, since people were making a lot more sense. …Okay, still insisting that whatever is out there is a bear was silly, since it’s obviously not a bear, but the arguments for staying and leaving were pretty reasonable. Finding Yottsun seems pretty important (even though the group that stayed seems to have kind of forgotten about that). On the other hand though, getting out of there also seems like a good idea, because the ‘bear’ or whatever seems dangerous. …Or at least it seems like a good idea if you’re not in the mindset that this is like a horror movie set up and that you should listen to the weird girl who has a bad feeling and says you shouldn’t try to leave.
Mitsumune seems pretty insistent on getting close to Masaki for some reason, and she seems pretty uncomfortable about it for some reason. This is probably his naivety showing through again, since he certainly didn’t take the hint that Masaki didn’t really want to talk while he was going on about his name. …Revealing the truth about his real name was also probably pretty naive, since nobody was really asking about that story either.
Obviously Mitsumune and Masaki are going to talk some episode since the promo art has them paired together all the time, but it will be interesting to find out why she doesn’t want to talk now. Another thing they haven’t really addressed was whatever Mitsumune experienced in the first episode with those visions. He hasn’t seen anything really weird since (minus the eye), so hopefully they talk about that again at some point. Masaki’s quirkiness from the first episode also seems to have disappeared, and she might have experienced something similar to Mitsumune’s vision too, since she seems to be reluctant about leaving just due to a bad feeling. Maybe she knows something like Mikage suggested, or maybe she has some kind of 6th sense or something. Mikage also suggested that Koharun is tricking them. She is one of the more suspicious characters since she led them there, but at the same time, she’s the one who’s been noticing a lot of the weird stuff in Nanakimura. Maybe she’s just an investigative person and she’s honestly trying to make sense of the situation too.
What didn’t make sense though, was the appearance of the “giant Mitsumune”, as Maimai put it. I suppose a giant person in general would be worth a reaction, but the characters seemed pretty freaked out. But with less things making sense, I guess that means that they’re trying to reveal more about the mystery surrounding Nanakimura. The survival duo were actually pretty useful this episode, but it seems that even with their special equipment and diligence when marking their path, there’s something about the area that even they can’t handle, since everyone seems pretty lost. …Even though the path they were following was straight. Maybe there’s some sort of hallucinogen surrounding the village, since the roar seemed to sound like something different to everyone who commented too. Kind of like Higurashi and what was going on in Hinamizawa. Because when things get weird, it’s easiest to blame drugs. …Though of course, that doesn’t explain how the vegetables and village are so well maintained. They didn’t seem to have issues with eating the vegetables, so those were real at least. …Probably.
The bus didn’t seem to hold any major secrets, since the characters appear to have unintentionally explored it inside and out trying to get it up the hill. Seeing how steep the slope is, it’s kind of impressive that none of them were injured during the fall in the first place. The bus driver seems to be the real one too, surprisingly. His attitude change as of late seems to be due to seeing his (kind of creepy looking) dead daughter around. Maybe this is a hallucination, or maybe Nanakimura really has something to do with the dead, since Yottsun recognized someone or something too before he disappeared. I almost thought that Jack’s appearance was connected with this too since Hyouketsu disappeared right after, but Mikage also said Jack’s name specifically, so it’s probably the real Jack.
Hyoukestu might be dead, but then again, we never saw a corpse. Even Yottsun might be alive, since they never actually found a body and never confirmed that he died when they saw him. Of course, the likelihood of Yottsun being alive seems slim, considering what they saw. Seeing how both of the characters disappeared without a body or anything, that’s kind of suspicious (more so Yottsun than Hyouketsu, since the other characters around him are kind of preoccupied), but surely they’ll go into that when more people start disappearing and if no trace of them is found.
The characters didn’t get on my nerves this episode (minus Mitsumune, but he’s kind of not at fault since he’s too naive to take social cues), but I still can’t say that there are a ton that I would like to see survive. But hey, Hyouketsu might be out of the picture now, so that’s one less character causing conflict. Mayoiga is still taking the disappearances kind of slow, but it’s apparent that something bigger is finally happening regarding the mystery. I’m still waiting for when they take out a bunch of characters at once. But for now it looks like they’re taking things slower now to build up to something, so I can wait. …Though it’s still pretty funny how most attempts at murder are pretty much forgotten. Obviously no one cares about the bus driver anymore, but I like how no one cares about Lovepon trying to kill someone the previous episode. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before everyone forgets about Jack (or maybe not, since his defining character traits seem to revolve around his past).
About Karakuri
University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I’m seriously beginning to wonder if this is really supernatural, or if actually we’re seeing some massive plot at play. All of the things that have happened so far, can be answered by someone actually physically being after them.
I’m betting that the driver’s daughter, Yottsun, even Jack, are illusions, either created by hallucinagons in the area, or by human design. My suspicions on folklore girl have risen, considering she’s the one that gave them that map and told them that it was of the area, when it could have been made specifically to make them go in circles. Also, someone can be watching their trek and spray painted another tree in their path to make them think they were going in circles. There’s lot’s of avenues this can go.
As for the last reveal of the “giant Mitsumune”, I’m not sure what that’s about at all. We’ll have to see. This episode had it in the creepy department, I’m wondering what other deaths will come next.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Yeah, I kind of like that about the series so far. Pretty much everything is ambiguous.
I think after Mikage’s accusations, maybe Koharun is too easy of an answer. …But maybe making this is to throw all of us off, and she really is part of the ones plotting everything. I didn’t even think that the 8 could be fake. Wah, I don’t even know what to think at this point…
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
Mitsumine wasn’t the only one trying to get close to a girl. Dahara (the organiser) is clearly after Koharun and seems to feel that Valkana is a serious threat to this. I hope they give some more tangible hints soon or they might drag the mystery too long.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hey, if you see an opportunity, take it. Intent will determine whether it will cost dearly or not. Look at how Yottsun ended up.
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
haha, I probably just don’t take Dahara or Mitsumune seriously.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’m happy to see Okada Mari outside her typical comfort zone, cause after Anthem of the Heart she’s proven to be more than on top of lovingly crafted teen stories. I don’t think I’m all that groovy on some of her more recent efforts. Her work on Gundam felt very much like she was punching the clock and earning a check (no harm in that by the way, you got to eat), and her forays into other mech show’s have felt awkward and unclear. I’m not sure if she’s going to take WIXOSS forward, so we have this show and Kizunaiver as her thing right now.
While Kiza is her regular teen drama style, it doesn’t forget to have fun, and fun to the max, matching itself with TRIGGER’s visual style really well.
Which leaves me scratching my head with this one. I mean, it’s pretty pointless, with the barest of backbones to show a plot. So that means we’re in a character driven show. But these character blow. And note in that “Oh they’re horrible and so watchable and I love to hate them” at least not yet.
I’m trusting the creative team. But after four episode I’m wondering when the real kick will kick in…
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I kind of see Okada’s hand in all of the ‘human’ arguing that’s going on. The character’s reactions are dumb, but they kind of seem like real things real people would care about for the most part…
But yeah, the ‘real kick’ as you put it should be interesting to see if there ever is one. I still kind of feel like the show is building up to something.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The story feels like it’s answering “this is what real people should sound like”. But man, they still need an editor!!!!!
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 83 comments
Actually it’s likely that corporate bigwigs at Sunrise changed Okada’s original plans for Gundam:
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Awesome! The story’s gaining momentum but neither us nor the characters know just what the hell is going on. In the show’s earlier episodes, I was thinking up some possibilities that might occur the longer everyone stayed in the village. One of them seems to be coming true. Which is distortion of either a person’s senses or the terrain itself. Running in tree number 8 after marking number 99, nearly going over a cliff that’s nowhere mapped out, seeing a child that died over 10 years ago. All evidence to the possibility something is getting warped.
All that not yet including wondering exactly what is making those intimidating noises. Not to mention that ominous shrine in the middle of the forest where the bus driver saw the little girl. I’ve seen enough supernatural genre to understand those are not good signs to come across.
The arguing has made a more tolerable and somewhat understandable turn now that everyone has gone from bickering about random, irrelevant matters to anxiety, self-preservation and suspicion. Things that hardly be blamed for. Indeed, there was more sense this time around.
Odds are Hyouketsu is dead now and if it’s the case, I’d say “Good riddance to bad rubbish” and Jack’s presence before is the best kind of karma. With no sight of a corpse, I’d just leave it alone and assume it got swallowed up by the earth. Yottsun, however, has got to be dead. The body Mitsumune saw floating downstream looked an awful lot like him.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
If they do go the Higurashi route with hallucinogens causing a lot of things, I wonder how they’ll play that angle…
But yeah, the thing making the sounds is weird. The shrine could just be a generic shrine though maybe. …Or maybe the villagers worshiped some weird god and that’s a reason why these things are happening. I’m still not sure if they’re going to have supernatural elements in this or not.
I’ve found that in most anime, the general rule is that people aren’t dead unless there’s proof in a corpse. Sure they saw Yottsun’s body before, but they didn’t prove he was actually dead yet. The odds aren’t in his favour given the genre and setting, but it’s weird that they couldn’t find the body after.
POWUH: 500-599 with 540 comments
I hope Jack isn’t dead :/ he was one of the people from my huge list of characters I didn’t really want to die.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I don’t think Jack is dead… He didn’t take a tumble like Hyouketsu did, and they seem to be taking the disappearances slowly. Maybe he’ll just be absent for a while and hiding in the woods so people stop being jerks to him.