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Fantastic, intense, thrilling episode. A truly gripping watch that had my eyeballs locked on the screen and me glued to my chair all the way through. This is the best episode of Shin Sekai Yori yet, imo, and it was an awesome payoff for all the buildup that came before.
Honestly, I felt that the scenes flowed very nicely throughout the entire episode. From Satoru gathering the old gang together to try to save Shun to the latest in a long line of cliffhangers, it felt like this episode didn't miss a beat.
The dialogue was great; nothing felt overly exposition-esque, but the implications were clear. This was most powerfully poignant in the conversation between Saki and her parents; Saki's mother was nearing panic over the thought of Saki getting marked for elimination, while Saki's father knew that the jig was up and that he had to be a bit more forthcoming towards Saki in order to try to calmly talk her down. You can tell that Saki's parents do love her a lot, but also that they've long-accepted the oppressive conditions that they live in and view them as insurmountable.
Saki herself is incredibly courageous, almost to the point that I'm tempted to consider her reckless. Again, the implications are clear, and so she must know the great risk she's taking in continuing to try to save Shun. I'd like for her to succeed, but the odds are heavily stacked against her.
And I agree with kuromitsu about the visuals in this episode - Lots of great artwork here.
I also agree with kuromitsu on the whole "they're not sex-crazed maniacs" thing. Yes, when Maria went into Saki's bedroom, it definitely felt like a high school girl desperately rushing to her lover for help and comfort during a crisis situation. But that's all. The most I can see is Saki giving Maria an off-screen hug and kiss to calm the poor girl, before proceeding to deal with the obviously more pressing issue here.
As for Maria feeling jealous over Saki's dedication to Shun, I honestly don't think that crossed Maria's mind the entire episode. This is a tight-knit bunch of friends, and while there might be some slight jealousy simmering below the surface (Mamoru jealous of Saki, Saki jealous of Satoru, Maria jealous of Shun), these kids have the sense to put that aside when one or more of their friends are in danger.
But yeah, again, just a thrillingly fantastic episode. I liked everything about it, including how things that were just hinted at before became crystal clear here (such as these lion-like things being used to kill off problematic children).
I have real doubts that Shun survives this, but Saki obviously survives into adulthood (given 'adult Saki narration'). What I'm most curious about is how Saki survives this. I really have to think that she's totally crossed the line here in the eyes of the people who run this place. I don't see how there's any "going back" for Saki after this episode. Are the surviving friends of the original band of five going to have to run away from the village and live as nomads? Are they going to somehow lead a revolt against the village's rulers? Both ideas are hard to imagine for me, but I also have a hard time coming up with a different possibility.
10/10 for Episode 9 of Shin Sekai Yori. Awesome anime show.
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