Shin Sekai Yori - Episode 7 Discussion / Poll

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Dark Wing

I thought we talked about this in one of the previous episode threads?

I wasn't here for the last few episodes, in fact I just watched them all in one sitting.

Originally Posted by Dark Wing

It's not that anyone didn't know or cared they were all to afraid to talk about it publicly. Think back to when Saki and her mother in their garden.

Older Saki's narration says in ep 2 that at that time they were all pretty indifferent about Reiko's and that boy's disappearance. First I thought it was some sort of manipulation because how do you not care when a friend of yours randomly disappears and you never hear from them again, ever? (don't these kids ever visit one another?) and Saki started putting things together which made her uneasy, re: the garden scene with her mom. But the way Satoru said it in this ep, it was like "wow, remember how kids kept disappearing! isn't that weird!" and Saki's reaction was pretty much the same. So...

[Dark Wing]

Well the way I understood it Saki did find that it was strange thats why she brought it up to her friends in episode one but none of them wanted to give her any response.

This tells me that they know something isn't right about all this however they can't do anything about it.

[Malkuth]

@Grey: The kids erroneously thought Kiromaru was going to hand them over to the adults, ignoring the fact that it would mean that he would also get punished, as he explained later in the episode... which in turn doesn't make all that sense, since according to the anime the monster rats are not supposed to make contact with kids unable to use psychokinesis... I guess there must have been another reason, which was again skipped in the anime.

@Kuromitsu/DarkWing: Saki brought the matter twice before the field trip, first time Shun changed the subject, while the rest of the gang fell into awkward silence, while the second time Satoru started teasing her. So yeah the kids knew about it, but for one they could do nothing about it, as well as they didn't really care, except for Saki, since she thought that she was close to becoming a casualty herself.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Dark Wing

Well the way I understood it Saki did find that it was strange thats why she brought it up to her friends in episode one but none of them wanted to give her any response.

This tells me that they know something isn't right about all this however they can't do anything about it.

I think it was that prior to the librarian, they couldn't afford to focus on it. Kids left all the time. It's not like the village was doing anything overtly sinister and the educational system was focused on the importance of social order.

The last lines in this episode kind of reveal that. The kids think they've "outwitted" the adults, but they overestimated themselves instead. The adults aren't stupid, obviously.

[Grey]

The bit with the larva and the flashback reminds me of the Slave Empires. Wonder when we'll get our next history dump. Find out where the Bakenezumi came from and what happened to those four factions.

Originally Posted by Malkuth

@Grey: The kids erroneously thought Kiromaru was going to hand them over to the adults, ignoring the fact that it would mean that he would also get punished, as he explained later in the episode...

Satoru thought he'd get orders to kill them. Because of what the Library said and the disappearing kids. They still have good reason to fear the village after suddenly going missing.

And the impression I got was that Kiroumaru would be punished for helping them instead of killing them over handing them to the adults. That's why he wanted it to be a secret that he helped tow their canoes.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Malkuth

@Grey: The kids erroneously thought Kiromaru was going to hand them over to the adults, ignoring the fact that it would mean that he would also get punished, as he explained later in the episode...

Wait, wait - the kids thought that Kiroumaru was going to kill them at the orders of the village elders (since a human can't kill another human it must be the bakenezumi who do the actual killing). Kiroumaru ends up helping them, most likely out of gratitude for Satoru saving his life, but asks them not to tell anyone because he would be executed for it. Which means he most likely does have some sort of orders in place, either specifically regarding Saki, Satoru & Co, or just general orders regarding children on his territory.

Originally Posted by Malkuth

which in turn doesn't make all that sense, since according to the anime the monster rats are not supposed to make contact with kids unable to use psychokinesis... I guess there must have been another reason, which was again skipped in the anime.

TBH I don't remember the part about bakenezumi and kids who can't use their powers, but Satoru can use his powers, and as far as the bakenezumi are concerned Saki may be able to use them as well.

Originally Posted by Dark Wing

Well the way I understood it Saki did find that it was strange thats why she brought it up to her friends in episode one but none of them wanted to give her any response.

This tells me that they know something isn't right about all this however they can't do anything about it.

But even in ep 1 Saki was speaking about it as if it was just a rumor, people never graduating but vanishing instead. Didn't she notice children disappearing from her class? She even says in the same ep that she wasn't the last one to graduate, and that's when everyone is giving her a look.

ETA: I rewatched the scene and it's Shun who tells her it's just a rumor. Saki has been concerned about the whole thing since she saw the nekodamashi, but the others are like "lol just stupid rumors." Maybe Saki is special because she was too close to "disappearing" herself, and overhearing her parents, but the others... Still, it's weird that she never really noticed other kids disappearing from around her.

Originally Posted by Solace

I think it was that prior to the librarian, they couldn't afford to focus on it. Kids left all the time. It's not like the village was doing anything overtly sinister and the educational system was focused on the importance of social order.

It's still pretty weird, though. It's not like someone can just disappear from a community without anyone wondering where they'd gone. Reiko was their friend, how come they never wondered why she was out of school for so long? You'd think someone like Saki would want to visit her or something to see how she's doing.

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Wait, wait - the kids thought that Kiroumaru was going to kill them at the orders of the village elders (since a human can't kill another human it must be the bakenezumi who do the actual killing). Kiroumaru ends up helping them, most likely out of gratitude for Satoru saving his life, but asks them not to tell anyone because he would be executed for it. Which means he most likely does have some sort of orders in place, either specifically for Saki, Satoru & Co, or just general orders regarding children on his territory.

From what I understood, Kiromaru couldn't have any orders for these kids, because that would also mean that the adults knew that he had violated the code, and that the monk was not the only adult that knew what they were up to... well, the second one is possible but unlikely.

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

TBH I don't remember the part about bakenezumi and kids who can't use their powers, but Satoru can use his powers, and as far as the bakenezumi are concerned Saki may be able to use them as well.

It was in a flashback of Saki with her father during the 2nd episode.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Malkuth

From what I understood, Kiromaru couldn't have any orders for these kids, because that would also mean that the adults knew that he had violated the code, and that the monk was not the only adult that knew what they were up to... well, the second one is possible but unlikely.

Oh, but the adults most probably knew. Re: the last line in ep 7.

Originally Posted by Malkuth

It was in a flashback of Saki with her father during the 2nd episode.

Oh yeah, I remember now. Still, as far as the bakenezumi were concerned, Satoru could use his power, and thus "worthy" of the bakenezumi's awe. Squealer sensed that something was off with Saki, but as for Satoru, once he got his powers back there was no doubt.

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Oh, but the adults most probably knew. Re: the last line in ep 7.

I think that they will find out, instead of already knowing... as with all narrative that Saki has done, she should be referring to events yet to come. I even doubt that the problem will be from what they have done, but from how they behave now that they know so much.

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Oh, but the adults most probably knew. Re: the last line in ep 7.

They don't know because Kiromaru obviously didn't tell them the whole story. That's why Saki and the others can go back to the village without worry.

[Kirarakim]

I agree with everyone that the transition of them being worried about Kiroumaru to him helping him was really awkwardly done.

That being said I really liked Kiroumaru...maybe I just have a thing for noble beasts.

I also really loved the foreboding last line of this episode. Hopefully they will get better with the scene transitions and not rush everything because I still think this is a fantastic story so far.

[HandofFate]

Kiroumaru was a bro.
The whole "he's gonna kill us" "oh nevermind he helped us" was kind of trolly. And vague as well.

Not sure if he had orders to kill them, or if he wasn't suppose to interact with kids or what.

Glad this whole war thing between the beasts is over, I started getting tired of it.

lol @ the other 3 kids not getting into any trouble at all. bet they were having fun all this time.

Still not sure if Squealer was just as he said, a lowly cowardly worm, or if he was trying to stab them in the back or misleading them the whole time. He seemed to realize that Saki couldn't use her powers at the least. Also, I think he went back and told Kiroumaru where the Saki and Satarou went despite Saki telling him that they were running from Kiroumaru. It all worked out in the end, but still.

I think its weird that they think they can return to the village just fine. I mean, maybe I need to clear up what this whole event was suppose to be. It was just a camping trip? And they disappeared and came back?

Seems Saki reminds the only one able to use hypnosis out of the bunch, despite everyone knowing the method.

[Unknown Soldier]

How long is the original novel? And where are we in the novel's story, relative to how many episodes we have left? It really feels like they were plowing through content as quickly as possible this episode. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out exactly how much time they have to devote to the story in each episode, since the novel is of finite length and they know how many episodes they have to work with.

After the infodumping in episode 4, they have really been light on the exposition since, which is making the events more confusing. And the way characters seem to arbitrarily change their motives, such as in the case of Squealey, only makes it harder to follow the narrative.

[neshru]

Originally Posted by -Sho-

That was a rushed episode but well..

I'm of the opposite opinion. I think they should have combined the last two episodes. Saki and Satoru's adventure out in the open wasn't particularly interesting, didn't bring much to the plot and dragged on for too long.

That's actually my biggest gripe with the series right now. While some episodes are great and keep me coming back for more, some other feel incredibly fillerish. I think the flow of the show would have been much better if they had combined episode 2 with 3 and episode 6 with 7.

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by neshru

I'm of the opposite opinion. I think they should have combined the last two episodes. Saki and Satoru's adventure out in the open wasn't particularly interesting, didn't bring much to the plot and dragged on for too long.

That's actually my biggest gripe with the series right now. While some episodes are great and keep me coming back for more, some other feel incredibly fillerish. I think the flow of the show would have been much better if they had combined episode 2 with 3 and episode 6 with 7.

They skipped the two most interesting sentences

[DragoonKain3]

I dunno, I can't understand Squealer. One moment he's helping the duo, THEN runs away, THEN backstabs them, THEN helps them run away from Mr. Noble Samurai rat, THEN most probably told Mr. Noble Samurai Rat where they are after they parted. Like, what the hell Squealer? Are you as what your name suggest? O_o

And what were the other 3 children doing in the mean time? They weren't looking for the enemy and waging war, so shouldn't they have been first at the canoes? Weird coincidence they met up at the roadway towards the canoes. Which reminds me, at least show us the initial conversation between Mr. Samurai and the group. Like I know we can infer a lot, but I'd rather them cut out the "don't tell anyone I helped you" scene if it meant they can explictily show the conversation on why he helped them, as that's more important IMO.

Finally, wow @ Shun. I know Maria has been told by narrator to be the one commiting the mass murders, but could Shun be the true final boss in the end? Like he's too competent for his own good, and if he is the final boss, I can't wait for the drama that stems from Saki trying to stop him. Oh the conflict!


But I must say, I like Saki's new look in the preview. Sure, Maria still is more 'mai waifu' material (partly due to HanaKana ), but she's like 10x cuter with longer hair thats for sure. <3

[Malkuth]

From Saki's narration we know that:

Maria will become a mass murderer of some unidentified species
Satoru will be possessed by a demon
Adults are more clever than 12YOs
and that the 5 kids are naive

derp for the later two

The A-1 staff needs to read/watch more shoujo and josei manga/anime-adaption, if they ever want to make some kind of justice to this novel, because up until now the original material is the only thing that keeps the anime interesting (lack of character development, continuity errors, very bad direction, etc.), as an adaption it is at best mediocre (ep.5+)... better handled by another production committee.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

I dunno, I can't understand Squealer. One moment he's helping the duo, THEN runs away, THEN backstabs them, THEN helps them run away from Mr. Noble Samurai rat, THEN most probably told Mr. Noble Samurai Rat where they are after they parted. Like, what the hell Squealer? Are you as what your name suggest? O_o

I think some people thought that Squealer had bad intentions towards Satoru and Saki (or at least Saki). In other words, that he felt some sort of malice towards them and/or wanted to backstab them.

No, I think Squealer is sincere about him viewing them as gods. However, I also think he was sincere in the self-depreciating comments he made about himself when confronted by Saki over the backstabing incident.

Squealer is like the typical slimy coward that will do and say whatever he thinks will save his skin... but he's not a particularly malicious or sadistic being. To the extent that he can help "his gods" while still saving his own skin, he'll do it. But if he has to sell them out to save his own skin, he'll do that too.

[jeroz]

notice how Squealer starts to have second thoughts the moment he realise that Saki can't use Cantus. If he know that the gods can't save him, he will just ditch them, the worst kind of coward. His self-deprecating speech is quite infuriating because it just seems like he wants to avoid responsibility.

I dunno if it's me thinking too much, but I feel like there are some politic undertone in this show

[kuromitsu]

So, I managed to, ahem, procure the novel, obviously I haven't read it yet (and probably won't after the anime is over and/or if I can get it in a format that's more comfortable to read), but I skimmed it and from what I can see, the anime is doing well so far. The only thing that I noticed while skimming that haven't been made perfectly clear in the show so far can be handled later on, when it fits the anime's way of storytelling better. Basically, things will become interesting after the timeskip, but so far it's all good.

From what I can see there's no reason whatsoever for people to be negative and call the anime a bad adaptation that cuts everything that makes the story good. Because it's not and so far it doesn't.

(Also, a modest proposal: how about judging the show on its own terms instead of constantly comparing it to something that majority of people here haven't even read, including some of the people doing the comparing, and will never read unless it gets translated? It's not like an adaptation can be ever 100% faithful, anyway. If I want 100% faithfulness I'll just read the source material.)