(L) ID: Invaded

[Dextro]

Honestly that was a rather satisfying ending: the bad guy got put out of commission, the crisis was averted and status quo was returned. It didn't clear up every question but it closed the main story in a decently satisfying way. And to top it off I felt like the episode itself was handled brilliantly. We got some great dialog between Kaeru and the detective, great pacing, great soundtrack and an overall great package. Honestly one of the best shows I've seen in a while and kind of wish we get some sort of sequel even if I'm not that hopeful.

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for final thoughts:

8/10

It wasn't bad... The idea is interesting.
But... It was just good. Not amazing. Not surprising. Just solid.
Except maybe the final boss and the stuff surrounding him. That was pretty lame. The identity of John Walker was obvious and he was just evil because he was. They had a short supernatural battle and he gets trapped forever, the end.

Also, I guess another problem is that outside of the couple of main characters, the other characters weren't... really existent. Just performing their roles as sub-characters, with an existence of a mob character.
To be honest, even the main characters didn't really stand out much. Maybe solid... but nothing outside of that.

So, I guess it did an okay job. Slightly better than an average anime, but still not enough.

[Wandering Soul]

That was a solid ending. Some questions were left unanswered, but everything else was wrapped up in a satisfying manner. That's better than trying some overly ambitious ending and falling flat.

I was hoping they would find some way to save Kiki, but I guess they'll leave saving Kiki to either a possible sequel or your imagination.

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

I know it's a popular trope in media, but a defibrillator does not shock someone with a flatline and no pulse back to life. It does the exact opposite - it short circuits someone with an out of control heartrate in hopes that their body will reset them back to the proper rhythm.

If they wanted to get Momoki's heart beating again, then that's what atropine and ephinephrine injections are for.

Yeah, that bugged me.

[Arya]

Solid ending, and yeah, safe. It feels like they may get back for a second season if they want. Even if the ending didn't blow me away, so to speak, I really liked this show, definitely one of the best shows I've seen lately (even if I've seen very few).

So who killed Narihisago's daughter in the end?

[Anh_Minh]

I liked the show, but I'm afraid a second season would ruin it.

[Jan-Poo]

Originally Posted by Arya

So who killed Narihisago's daughter in the end?

99% the challenger did it. I don't think the Chief lied when he said that he never killed anyone directly, as for why the Challenger didn't know what Narihisago was talking about when he mentioned his daughter, well in that world he still had to kill Muku and he had never seen her. Yeah he also said that he wouldn't attack someone that wasn't strong, but at the very time he said that, Kiki was in his special ring all beaten up, so I don't think we can really believe him. Plus there's a chance that in the real world he changed his mind at one point and decided that weak opponents were fine too.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I liked the show, but I'm afraid a second season would ruin it.

Probably, however the kind of ending they chose seem to indicate that they probably hope the anime will be successful enough to allow them to create a sequel. After all it ends in a way that practically everything continues as it was in the beginning just without the chief and with an additional "brilliant detective".

Honestly the fact that Momoki just keeps using Kiki as a tool to find criminals doesn't really gives the impression that he's doing his best to save her. And as someone pointed out, if there's a material that can somehow shield a person from her influence then you should be able to use the same material to cover a whole room. Living in a cell isn't the best but at least as a temporary measure would allow Kiki to live normally without experiencing death a thousand times a day.

But well, the story had to leave an open path for a sequel.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

Honestly the fact that Momoki just keeps using Kiki as a tool to find criminals doesn't really gives the impression that he's doing his best to save her. And as someone pointed out, if there's a material that can somehow shield a person from her influence then you should be able to use the same material to cover a whole room. Living in a cell isn't the best but at least as a temporary measure would allow Kiki to live normally without experiencing death a thousand times a day.

But well, the story had to leave an open path for a sequel.

That "material" isn't effective enough. Momoki fainted several times just trying to get to her even with that suit on.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

99% the challenger did it. I don't think the Chief lied when he said that he never killed anyone directly, as for why the Challenger didn't know what Narihisago was talking about when he mentioned his daughter, well in that world he still had to kill Muku and he had never seen her. Yeah he also said that he wouldn't attack someone that wasn't strong, but at the very time he said that, Kiki was in his special ring all beaten up, so I don't think we can really believe him. Plus there's a chance that in the real world he changed his mind at one point and decided that weak opponents were fine too.

Maybe it was Hayaseura that made The Challenger target Muku, by planting the idea in his subconscious or whatever.

[BBOvenGuy]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

I guess another problem is that outside of the couple of main characters, the other characters weren't... really existent. Just performing their roles as sub-characters, with an existence of a mob character.
To be honest, even the main characters didn't really stand out much. Maybe solid... but nothing outside of that.

The one noteworthy bit of character development was summed up by a tweet I read:

I don't know what's more ironic. The fact that #IDINVADED managed to make a more compelling relationship than most romance stories, or the fact that this relationship is between a serial killer and a police officer whose head he literally drilled into

I'm in no way a Fukuda-Hondomachi shipper (and you might be amazed to know how many of those there are), but I have to admit they did a nice job putting together a very unorthodox (but non-romantic) relationship between them.

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

I'm in no way a Fukuda-Hondomachi shipper (and you might be amazed to know how many of those there are), but I have to admit they did a nice job putting together a very unorthodox (but non-romantic) relationship between them.

Their relationship is nice, but this is one of the last anime out there that would motivate me to think of any of the characters in romantic relationships.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Their relationship is nice, but this is one of the last anime out there that would motivate me to think of any of the characters in romantic relationships.

There's Momoki x Togo.

The guy she silenced may have a crush on her, too.

And after last ep there's probably some Momoki x Kiki (Momokiki, if you will) shippers out there.

[Arya]

Well, if I had to nitpick the momoki x kiki moments did felt like they were pushing this ship (a bit out of nowhere).
About Fukuda-Hondomachi I liked Fukuda and the relationship with Hondomachi, Hondomachi herself didn't work for me.

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

99% the challenger did it. I don't think the Chief lied when he said that he never killed anyone directly, as for why the Challenger didn't know what Narihisago was talking about when he mentioned his daughter, well in that world he still had to kill Muku and he had never seen her. Yeah he also said that he wouldn't attack someone that wasn't strong, but at the very time he said that, Kiki was in his special ring all beaten up, so I don't think we can really believe him. Plus there's a chance that in the real world he changed his mind at one point and decided that weak opponents were fine too.

thanks, I couldn't recollect all the facts, but with a constant feeling of vagueness. And in the end they left it as vague as they could

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Arya

Well, if I had to nitpick the momoki x kiki moments did felt like they were pushing this ship (a bit out of nowhere).

I thought her new appearance had a "she's all grown up" element that was rather out of place. I mean, she looked real healthy for someone who'd just spent years in a tank.

[Cloudedmind]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I thought her new appearance had a "she's all grown up" element that was rather out of place. I mean, she looked real healthy for someone who'd just spent years in a tank.

Swimming is good exercise.

[4th Dimension]

Also to those that noted this is open ended, there is a manga that seems to continue the story (given Hondoumachi is there and the new guy breifly glimpsed there at the end and Sakaido doing Sakaido things). 2 chapters so far are up on MD.

[Arya]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I thought her new appearance had a "she's all grown up" element that was rather out of place. I mean, she looked real healthy for someone who'd just spent years in a tank.

Yeah, different aspects of that sequence felt, let's call them, odd. Their relationship felt more intimate than expected (not completely out of the blue, you could have guessed, but surely the whole thing was left off-screen for the 99% of it). The gun "dance" follows up.
She being more healthy than, again, expected considering the tank (that probably is more comfortable than be bedridden) but considering also the state the last time we saw her.
It's like they skipped Kiki plotline and then decided to show it in the last episode.

[Applehell]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

The one noteworthy bit of character development was summed up by a tweet I read:



I'm in no way a Fukuda-Hondomachi shipper (and you might be amazed to know how many of those there are), but I have to admit they did a nice job putting together a very unorthodox (but non-romantic) relationship between them.

I perosnally didn't find Fukuda all that interesting of a character and I think actually ended up liking Narihisago and Hondomachi's budding relationship more despite how brief it was. I guess I juts can't look pass him being a little more than a smug serial killer since the show didn't give you much work with him.

Last two episodes were fun and helped dulled predictable nature of the main culprit behind the serial killers but just going all out with his villainy. The ending is definitely "life goes on" kinda of deal while leaving in some hope for Kiki. At least the new management will treat her better than old one did.

[Jan-Poo]

Does anyone understand exactly what happened with Kiki and the Challenger in the real world?

In the well inside the well Narihisago killed the Challenger right at the time he was killing Kiki, but in the real world he killed the Challenger much later. So in the real world there shouldn't have been anyone to stop the Challenger from finishing Kiki.

Well we can imagine that John Walker stopped it since he was observing the challenger and he certainly didn't want Kiki to die. But the exact dynamic is unclear to me.

[Kakkou]

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

Does anyone understand exactly what happened with Kiki and the Challenger in the real world?

In the well inside the well Narihisago killed the Challenger right at the time he was killing Kiki, but in the real world he killed the Challenger much later. So in the real world there shouldn't have been anyone to stop the Challenger from finishing Kiki.

Well we can imagine that John Walker stopped it since he was observing the challenger and he certainly didn't want Kiki to die. But the exact dynamic is unclear to me.

He was training Kiki to put up a fight instead of being a motionless punching bag, so it's safe to presume by the time Narihisago filled him with lead she was still not at the level where he could satisfyingly kill her.

[Mad Pierrot]

Started marathoning this series. Really interesting so far like a mix between Inception and Minority Report.