Shin Sekai Yori - General Discussion

[Blaat]

Originally Posted by whitecloud

kekeke...the mother ????where it is implied???

about saki x shun i'm more to saki x satoru or maybe there will be a only physical one and a whole relationship one....hehehe

You see images of Saki with her mother and Maria being physically close during the entire Bonobo apes vent frustrating through sexual intimacy part.
I'm guessing the same applies to Shun and Satoshi.

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

The knowledge preservers aren't in charge of the current society, even if they set it up in the first place. That archive should have never been a target for destruction if that was the case.

Originally Posted by thundrakkon

Essentially, PK won and people died. This current story is probably with the scientific group, but we are not exactly sure what all their purpose is.

Jimmy C is right, not only did they burn the library at the same time the library said there is little record on what happened in the past 500 years even though there was plenty of record between the fall of the 'ancient civilization' and the fall of the Holy Cherry Blossom Empire. Scientists no longer exists or they're an absolute minority now.

I'm guessing that a religious society took over the scientific society no idea how the scientific society fell, maybe queerats had a slave uprising, kill of the scientists and now they're slowly replacing human beings.

[Theo]

So uh...the infodump was a bit much. I kinda wanted them to discover the slave empires true cruelty on their adventure through "show don't tell", eg. mass graves or hidden wall depictions of the emperor slaughtering people.

[Eater of All]

The monk might be doing some questionable things, but he's so badass and Sugita that I can't hate him.

So far there seems to be two possibilities for how this society came about. The first is that the scientists are indeed still in charge, and Saki's flashbacks are meant to serve as proofs of their presence. All the religion stuff is merely a front to make the people easier to control and less likely to question. We'll probably see the masterminds sooner or later.
Or it can be that the system had become so automated by a few decades after the Dark Age that the scientists have lost their science. When they can no longer understand their own devices, they think of it as magic. The rituals and rules left now are merely relics perpetuated by custom. There are no masterminds, but a society stuck in the past.

[Haak]

Quick! Everybody to Azerbaijan!

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Eater of All

The monk might be doing some questionable things, but he's so badass and Sugita that I can't hate him.

In fairness to the monk, I think he's sincerely doing what he thinks is right. He almost certainly knows that what the library said was true, but he doesn't think that these kids are ready to handle that truth (and honestly, they weren't handling it that well, as one would expect), so he's trying to get them to dismiss what they learned from it and he's attempting to seal their powers.

And given the total civilizational collapse, and the utter horrors, visited upon humanity by PKers over hundreds of years, it's not hard to see why the current society exists. Once "normal humans" gained an upper-hand, I can see why humanity would go to extreme lengths to ensure that no future PKer/Cantus-user could cause such problems again.


The Queerats are likely a species that arose from humanity due to the actions of the PKers.

[Shadow5YA]

I've always wondered: does that really seal their psychic powers, or is it just a ritual for hypnotic suggestion?

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

I've always wondered: does that really seal their psychic powers, or is it just a ritual for hypnotic suggestion?

Most likely the latter.

[CJ_Walker]

Hi, I'd like to be spoiled rotten about this series, I'm one of the rare people that actually like spoilersi fsomeone can pm them to me or guide me to where I can find them, that would be great! Of course If I didnt spend about an hour searhing on the forums here for them I probably wouldnt have made this post. . . a mod said this recently:

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

By the way, a bunch of posts are being removed from this thread. If you want to compare how various adaptations compare to the original novel, please discuss it in the novel thread, not in this anime thread, where it is not allowed.

Thing is, there is no Novel thread, I did a search a few times and came up with nothing.

Any help is appreciated. thanks!

[Kanon]

Another fantastic episode. Very informative as expected, though most of the informations we were given weren't very surprising for us, the audience. It was nice to see the kids' reactions to these revelations though. The truth was hard to handle for them, Mamoru in particular.

Spoiler for Might be spoilerish:

The bit about the bonobo explains the chart that was posted earlier in this thread, as well as the manga pages I saw. A shame the sex was apparently skipped in the anime (the flashbacks heavily implied Saki had already experience "very close skinship"). I wanted to see that Saki x Maria scene~

The monk was pretty badass. It's no wonder the scientists attempted to create a society were PK is kept under control and were PKers can't use their powers against one another, given how powerful some of them are. The way he exterminated the queerats was just... wow.

The kids are in big trouble now. I wonder what's going to happen to them. Will they be able to go back to the village and resume their lives? The monk is the only one who knows what they saw, so it might be possible if he gets killed. They have to get back their powers too, otherwise people will be suspicious.

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Another fantastic episode. Very informative as expected, though most of the informations we were given weren't very surprising for us, the audience. It was nice to see the kids' reactions to these revelations though. The truth was hard to handle for them, Mamoru in particular.

True while some of the revelations this episode weren't that huge for us what stood out the most was the reactions of the children. Especially Saki when she actually spoke out saying the queerats where not the true enemy.

Spoiler for Might be spoilerish:

The bit about the bonobo explains the chart that was posted earlier in this thread, as well as the manga pages I saw. A shame the sex was apparently skipped in the anime (the flashbacks heavily implied Saki had already experience "very close skinship"). I wanted to see that Saki x Maria scene~

You can see the extended version if can track down the manga chapters...

The kids are in big trouble now. I wonder what's going to happen to them. Will they be able to go back to the village and resume their lives? The monk is the only one who knows what they saw, so it might be possible if he gets killed. They have to get back their powers too, otherwise people will be suspicious.

If the sealing is just a hypnotic suggestion like others have theorized then it can be over ridden with the right state of mind. form the looks of it they might get some help from a talking queerat next episode.

[Grey]

Nice info. I'm glad the library said that much before being stopped. But now I wonder if the stopping point is a hint. Holding back what the syndrome is so they can say, "Surprise, Maria has the Karma Demon syndrome!" or something?

I'll laugh if the toads come back as a plot point later.

[orion]

Is it possible that the Queerrats are humans and that they look that way due to suggestion placed on the PKs? The monk became sicker after killing them.

I hope we finally get to see who that woman was in the Canthus flame and in the dust storm as those Queerrats were getting killed.

[Utsuro no Hako]

Originally Posted by Blaat

You see images of Saki with her mother and Maria being physically close during the entire Bonobo apes vent frustrating through sexual intimacy part.

Though both scenes came as the Library was saying that immature bonobos engage in mimicry, which I take to refer to the hugging and not anything overtly sexual.

The giant infordump provided surprisingly little useful info -- mostly it just confirmed what everyone had already guessed -- and actually made some of the mysteries worse (i.e., If the villagers are incapable of violence, what are they doing to the kids who get expelled? What are the two syndromes mentioned if not telekinesis? Where are the normal humans?)

The whole thing with the Library is reminiscent of the one Yusuke Kishi novel published in English:

Spoiler for The Crimson Labyrinth:

In the Crimson Labyrinth, nine people wake in a maze with no memory of how they got there. Each one has a portable game device which contains instructions -- if they want survival gear, take the path east; if they want food, go west; if they want weapons, go south; and if they want information, head north. The hero is the only person who has any interest in the northern route, although a woman decides to accompany him since she doesn't trust the people in the other groups. When they reach the first checkpoint on their path, they find a second game cartridge which contains the real instructions for escaping the maze, along with a warning -- while you might think the people who wanted weapons are the most dangerous, it's really people whose first thought is of food that you should be wary of.

So both works have a common theme about the importance of knowledge, and there does appear to be a similarity between the four factions during the dark age and the four paths in Crimson Labyrinth -- the parallel between the small group that preserved technology and the people who took the information path should be obvious, and the hunter/gatherers probably correspond to the survivalist types who sought the equipment. I'd guess that the raiders correspond to the people who went after food, while those who wanted weapons are more like the slave society.

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Utsuro no Hako

Though both scenes came as the Library was saying that immature bonobos engage in mimicry, which I take to refer to the hugging and not anything overtly sexual.

The giant infordump provided surprisingly little useful info -- mostly it just confirmed what everyone had already guessed -- and actually made some of the mysteries worse (i.e., If the villagers are incapable of violence, what are they doing to the kids who get expelled? What are the two syndromes mentioned if not telekinesis? Where are the normal humans?)

The Library out right stated that intimate sexually behavior and sexual play was indeed applied to this society as a way to release stress and anxiety. It has no reason to hold it's explanations so I take it that we have more then just simple hugging going on here.

Well as fare as we know none of the other villagers actually do the "expelling" of the children but the mysterious cat like monsters are the once who are made to take care of that.

[Grey]

Originally Posted by orion

Is it possible that the Queerrats are humans and that they look that way due to suggestion placed on the PKs? The monk became sicker after killing them.

I like that idea. The Library did say there were Hunter Gatherer tribes with no PK powers. That fits with the Queerats wonderfully. We see them briefly as human because they really are human. But because some tribes are still dangerous they use hypnosis to stop their death feedback.

[Triple_R]

Episode 4 was a good episode, but my take on it is similar to Utsuro no Hako's.

Episode 4 basically takes all the little puzzle piece-sized clues that the anime has been dropping throughout the first three episodes, and it puts them together to form a very nice, neat, and tidy puzzle. In one way, it's very good storytelling (I do like the general approach taken here). But in another way it's a bit underwhelming since everything came together so very intuitively that part of me is going "That's it?". There's not much here that's particularly eyebrow-raising.


But this episode does continue Shinsekai Yori's fine tradition of an episode ending way before I (and many other viewers I suspect) thought it was over. It's a very engrossing story that's being told here, and I'm very much looking forward to Episode 5.

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Grey

I like that idea. The Library did say there were Hunter Gatherer tribes with no PK powers. That fits with the Queerats wonderfully. We see them briefly as human because they really are human. But because some tribes are still dangerous they use hypnosis to stop their death feedback.

so your theory is the only reason they look like mole people is because the PKers make them seem that way...I like it!

[Azuma Denton]

So actually they are the descendants from scientist that wanna preserve the knowledge of the old civilization? And as the precaution measure to prevent the PK-wielders going berserk is:
- having a sexual relationship
- puts a restriction in human genes so that liver will stop working if getting to agigated


Hmm kinda interesting...
Will need to rewatch it because kinda lost in the middle of the explanation.

[orion]

Originally Posted by Utsuro no Hako

Though both scenes came as the Library was saying that immature bonobos engage in mimicry, which I take to refer to the hugging and not anything overtly sexual.

The giant infordump provided surprisingly little useful info -- mostly it just confirmed what everyone had already guessed -- and actually made some of the mysteries worse (i.e., If the villagers are incapable of violence, what are they doing to the kids who get expelled? What are the two syndromes mentioned if not telekinesis? Where are the normal humans?)

The whole thing with the Library is reminiscent of the one Yusuke Kishi novel published in English:

Spoiler for The Crimson Labyrinth:

In the Crimson Labyrinth, nine people wake in a maze with no memory of how they got there. Each one has a portable game device which contains instructions -- if they want survival gear, take the path east; if they want food, go west; if they want weapons, go south; and if they want information, head north. The hero is the only person who has any interest in the northern route, although a woman decides to accompany him since she doesn't trust the people in the other groups. When they reach the first checkpoint on their path, they find a second game cartridge which contains the real instructions for escaping the maze, along with a warning -- while you might think the people who wanted weapons are the most dangerous, it's really people whose first thought is of food that you should be wary of.

So both works have a common theme about the importance of knowledge, and there does appear to be a similarity between the four factions during the dark age and the four paths in Crimson Labyrinth -- the parallel between the small group that preserved technology and the people who took the information path should be obvious, and the hunter/gatherers probably correspond to the survivalist types who sought the equipment. I'd guess that the raiders correspond to the people who went after food, while those who wanted weapons are more like the slave society.

Hmm.. I disagree.

Spoiler:

I would have gone for the food first and then went traveled back to get the info. You can't travel too far on an empty stomach imo and the food can be used to barter for stuff.

[ninryu]

How does having sex supposed to relive tension?