No. 6

(This is likely to be more a series of random remarks than anything cohesive.)

Episode 8 -- The version I watched: [Doki] No. 6 - 08 (848x480 h264 AAC) [D7A72B46].mkv

Okay, so the story surrounding the founding of No. 6 turns out to be . . . not even all that interesting. Sigh. Seven episodes spent building it up, and it turns out to be just a case of bog-standard corrupt politics with faceless actors. If they don't start presenting the current No. 6 executive as people pretty soon, instead of a faceless computer-hivemind, they're really going to start dragging the story down. Hopefully, the conversation Safu overhears represents a move in that direction.

The faceless antagonists are bad enough, but with them suddenly dragging in some sort of freaky-mystical-earth-goddess-worship for no apparent reason when the story's been fairly hard science-fiction up to this point, I'm becoming very worried about the future of this series. I'm hoping that there turns out to be some non-fantastical explanation for Eriulias, but I'm not betting on it. Although . . . we still don't know whether the war that seems to have devastated most of the world was humans vs humans, or humans vs something else (and we may never find out--depends on whether it's important or just a plot device to excuse the creation of the sealed cities). Eriulias might have been mixed up in that.

Okay, gripes aside . . . It's remarkable how young this episode makes Nezumi feel, at least to me. Did no one ever point out the "taking vicious revenge makes you no better than the people who hurt you" thing to him before, or was he just too angry to listen? For that matter, what was he intending to do to No. 6 before the parasitic-bioweapon-wasps got loose and started to work the place over? Should he have "rebel without a clue" tattooed on his forehead?

At least we now have a connect-the-dots picture of his life: family slaughtered -> rescued by old scientist guy -> did something stupid that got him captured by No. 6 -> escaped again (with Shion's assistance) -> took up residence outside the wall until he stepped in to rescue Shion.

Safu . . . poor kid. They haven't said so explicitly yet, but I would bet that they're using her in an attempt to create their own Eriulias. Unless Shion and Nezumi succeed in rescuing her (and I only give them 50/50 odds), I suspect she isn't going to survive to the end of the series.

What I see as the big loose end at this point is, what did No. 6 intend to do with the parasitic wasps? They wouldn't be going to so much trouble to cover up their existence if they hadn't engineered them intentionally, so who did they expect to use them against, and why have they been keeping them under wraps almost since the founding of the city? This might tie back into the question of "who was on the other side of the war?"

Finally watched episode 8 And will try to be quick about this because I want to squeeze in episode 9 before I run to the gym.

The back story to No. 6 --> Agree, it's a little bit of a "shwang, wang, wang" moment. However, that is mildly forgivable, being that this series is MOSTLY about the characters and their relationship to one another; it's not really classic sci-fi, all about the concept and the milieu of the world, etc.

I don't mind the "earth people" (okay, let's just call them faeries or elves). When Nezumi and Sion were leaving and walking through the wasteland, and Sion started to say something, I almost expected him to be all, "So, Nezumi ... does this mean you're like a faerie or something?" ROFL I can only imagine how Nezumi would have reacted to that. But hey, Nezumi is a very beautiful boy, isn't he? These forest people must have been very faerie- or elf-like. Were they human? Is Nezumi human? Or were they just goddess-worshiping humans who happened to live in trees? What sort of assumptions is the writer playing on with us? Are we supposed to think of the forest people as hippies or maybe savages?

I'm sort of reminded of the film Avatar (which took a lot of flack because of the whole "White man swoops in to rescue the helpless natives" plot motif, but all that aside...). Are the forest people like the Navi? So Sion is a bit like Sam Worthington's character and Nezumi is Zoe Saldana's character. (I'm not accusing the author of copying Avatar since I believe the books were out way before the film was released, just noting some comparisons.) But this is post-destruction of the forest. There is no saving the forest.

Yeah Nezumi is naive. I tried to stress that time and time again in the other thread here on AF, but gosh be darned if none of them would see it from that angle. No, Nezumi was the "cool and sophisticated" one while Sion was the naive little cry baby. Here we finally see Nezumi being chastised and put in his place by the old scientist; the scientist then calls Sion forward and entrusts him with that chip of information. Sion's response throughout the entire scene was very subdued. He's incredibly mature for his age, whereas Nezumi still labors under the influence of very basic emotions like fear and revenge. He couldn't even let himself get close to Sion for the longest time out of fear. But at least there is a learning curve, because he seems to be letting himself love Sion minus that fear. The smile they shared at the end seemed to speak volumes.

Okay, on to episode 9!

Episodes 9 and 10

Have to make this quick because I'm supposed to be in bed

I watched the episodes back to back, so can't really recall what happened in which episode, so bear with me

Inukashi figures into these two episodes in interesting and subtle ways. When Sion hugged her and then remarked in surprise, "You're a...!" it makes me wonder, a... what? Is Inukashi a boy?

Two "female specific" things happened to Inukashi in these episodes; she was used as the "bait" for the No. 6 official and she was given the baby by Sion. I think this is the first time we've seen Inukashi forced into a purposefully female role. She clearly does NOT like it. She also uses the "ore" pronoun, but that could just be because she's a street kid/tomboy type. But these two scenes + Sion's unfinished sentence seem connected in some way.

Nezumi still sees the world in black and white. Even as he's fearing that Sion, who sees "shades of gray" (to use a cliche term), is becoming more "black and white" ... that in itself (Sion is like THIS or Sion is becoming THAT) is a black and white world view. Nezumi still cannot grasp how Sion sees the world. Sion immediately regrets killing the guard, but then he must be the one who runs and comforts Nezumi. Again and again, Sion shows himself to be the more emotionally mature of the two.

There was a none-too-subtle power shift in their dynamic once they escaped into the main building. Sion immediately took charge (which obviously took Nezumi aback), and in the next running scene, Sion is shown to be leading. Nezumi continues to be shocked and confused throughout this entire ordeal. He's very uncomfortable with seeing Sion in charge because he's not very good at perceiving subtleties in a person; Sion is either an innocent or he isn't in his eyes.

I think, of course, it's also very evident that Nezumi believes Sion is in love with Safu, and this is breaking his heart. He seems to realize with that "I have fallen" line towards the end that he's in love with Sion and hence he's let his guard down, been made vulnerable, is at the mercy of, etc. Nezumi is just the type to sacrifice himself for the boy he loves so that the boy he loves can be with the girl he loves.

Oh silly, silly Nezumi.

Nezumi is a cynic, and he's used that cynicism to keep from maturing emotionally or forming any kind of significant bond with another human being. I think the problem with the posters in the other thread is that they're young enough to mistake his forcefulness for maturity, when it's really due to lack of perspective and forced callousness. I can understand him being frightened of change, though--I mean, the first big change in his life involved losing his family and home, and the second one would have been getting picked up by No. 6 and thrown in prison . . . Unfortunately, he does seem to have taken that fear to the point where it's difficult for him to learn or mature. If Sion hadn't managed to get under his skin, I think he would have lived a very lonely life.

Sion, as you say, starts the series as a more emotionally mature person, but ignorant of the larger world around him. Unlike Nezumi, though, he isn't afraid of learning. I think part of the reason that he's able to take the lead in ep. 10 is that he's back in a place where he knows the rules, while the world outside No. 6 is a place that he's still exploring and learning about (and which he may unconsciously think of as Nezumi's domain)--he also took the lead during the first episode, when he concealed Nezumi from the people trying to haul him back to detention. In addition to that, Sion has learned from Nezumi how to act forceful when he needs to.

I can definitely see Nezumi doing something stupid and self-sacrificing to let Sion be with Safu . . . but at the same time, I think Sion really does love Nezumi more, judging from his behaviour when he shot that guard. We'll have to see what happens (but I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the three--Nezumi, Safu, or Sion--is going to end up dead before the end of the series, potentially rendering the point moot.)

I think the thing that bothered me about the whole forest people/Eriulias element was that it was suddenly dropped in there without much in the way of foreshadowing. If they'd slipped something about it into the first 2-3 episodes it would have bothered me a lot less; as it was, it set up a sort of cognitive dissonance.

Inukashi has to be a girl, just based on the artwork (narrow waist + wide hips, and we see a hint of cleavage at least once), but I agree that she really hates and despises the feminine role. Sion might have taken her tough act at face value, though, and thought she was a boy. The whole thing with the baby is hilarious, but I don't think Sion inflicted it on her because he thought that, as a girl, she was suited to taking care of kids--the dog was handy, he saw a way to get the baby out of the strike zone, and I don't think he thought much about what would happen afterwards.

(Can't speak to the Avatar comparisons because I haven't seen it, and probably never will.)

I think you're right about the younger members; well, you can't blame them as it's hard to see yourself (or someone the same age as you, like yourself) from a different perspective. But I think when I read manga or see anime or read books about characters my age that I do understand them fairly well, so maybe it is a maturity thing? Or maybe ten years from now I will look back on myself and realize how very little I understand objectively

You're right about Sion taking the lead because he's in a more familiar environment. I suppose part of it was because Safu had started "calling to him" (cue poor Nezumi's jealousy), but it was also definitely because they were in the crisp clean environs of No. 6 again. Interesting that Sion kills his first person here and not outside, eh?

I do think Sion loves Nezumi more; in fact, I think he loves Nezumi in a romantic way, and Safu is just a friend. I don't think it's an either/or decision for him. He's in love with Nezumi and Safu is his friend, so of course he has to bust her out. I think for awhile there he was confused about his feelings regarding Safu because she seemed to care for him ("I want your sperm" LOLOL) and he maybe thought it was RIGHT for him to care for her back, but, he just doesn't. I think he's made it pretty clear that it's Nezumi he's fallen for. Heck even Safu can see that!

I'm speculating about the ending ... get the feeling it will be sad. Nezumi will die and Safu/Eruylius will somehow force/guilt Sion into being with her. I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN. It's too cliche to have the boy/boy romance end unhappily. We need a narrative where two boys end up happily ever after together. Sigh.

True, the forest people thing did come out of nowhere. It could be a result of trying to squeeze a novel into a short anime series.

Oh no, I do NOT think Sion was purposefully forcing "mother-ness" onto Inukashi; he was just getting the baby to safety. But I just find it odd how these two female-specific scenes occurred in such rapid succession, and that coupled with Sion's unfinished line ... well, who knows. It would really make zero sense to reveal Inukashi as male this late in the series.

Well, maybe you have to understand from the inside what it means to be (at least somewhat) mature before you can evaluate characters for the same quality.

In a way, I'm not sure it's surprising at all that Sion killed for the first time inside of No. 6. It's sort of the endpoint of the superficial utopia/actual dystopia thread weaving through the series. Sion has seen all there is of No. 6's dark side now--will he still want to rescue it? (The answer is inevitably going to be "yes", but I think it would lack force if he'd just spent the past couple of episodes researching wasp cures outside the walls.)

I remember just about doing a spit-take at the "I want your sperm" scene ("Did she really just say what I think she said? . . . I don't believe this.") I think that may be when Safu figured out that there was someone out there who was more important to Sion than her, too--when he broke off their good-bye to go chasing after a mecha-rat. On the other hand, if Sion had never met Nezumi, he probably would have hooked up with Safu, and then spent the rest of his life wondering why things didn't feel quite right.

I can think of other unpretty ending possibilities--Sion sacrificing himself to save Safu and causing character transformation in Nezumi that would cause Nezumi to do . . . something earth-people/Eriulias related that ends up saving the city, frex, which would neatly defuse the love triangle and tie up the main plot. But, yeah, I'd like to see them live happily ever after too.

Episode the Last: Aw, they actually *did* get together. Maybe there's hope for the anime industry yet.

I knew there couldn't be more than a couple more episodes--No. 6 was airing in a Noitamina slot, which meant it was unlikely to go beyond one season--but I wasn't quite expecting them to pack so much into the last half-hour given that there were a couple of very leisurely episodes in the middle (I guess the pacing needed a bit of work). I wasn't expecting quite so many gratuitous explosions, either. I wonder how many people got squished by falling wall chunks . . .

So Eriulias is a giant . . . bug. I wonder what that says about the Forest People--why were they worshipping such a thing? (Yeah, I know, crazy supernatural powers and all that, but why call it a god and not a devil?)

I guess I was about 50% right in terms of speculations--I was dead to rights about what No. 6 wanted with Safu, and she did end up effectively dead, but I assumed that the wasps belonged to No. 6 and not Eriulias. Oh, well, if I could predict all the plot twists perfectly, there would be no point in watching the show, right?

Sion is a sadist, waking poor Nezumi up in the middle of surgery. We do see the true difference in his feelings for Nezumi as versus Safu at last, in that he lets Nezumi drag him away from the girl. (And he never did kiss Safu. ) I was surprised at first that he snapped so thoroughly on the way out of the building, but upon reflection, it's a natural progression from him having shot that guy the last time.

Anyway, it looks like Shion is now a daddy--I wonder how Nezumi is going to deal with *that* one (snicker).

Overall, not bad, but I think they could have done with one more episode to keep the end from feeling so rushed, and I'm still a bit annoyed at the faceless villain thing. It feels like there's a pretty large subplot there that they should have developed, but that they didn't touch because of time constraints.