Shin Sekai Yori Episode 5

A Sweltering Night on the Run

It’s fun to see a show you like drawn in different ways. The new character designs and attention to background detail are nice; however, the animation is nowhere near the quality of the previous episodes, causing the characters to look a little off. Still, I can’t help but appreciate the show’s range of artwork. As long as it doesn’t change too often, it won’t hinder my enjoyment.

So the monk goes down with the blowdog, leaving the children defenseless against the queerats. In their decision to make a run for it, Saki and Satoru get separated from the others and are eventually captured. A very surprising scene here is when Satoru makes a sexual move towards her. Referring back to what the minoshiro said, people will turn to physical intimacy when stress builds up between them. It seems that Satoru doesn’t have it together like we might have thought. Saki is actually willing to give herself to him with that in mind. They don’t get very far, however, as they find an opportunity to escape captivity. A strange voice calls out to them to follow.

Next thing they know, they’re inside of a queerat’s nest with a queerat who can speak their language. Unlike the others, he is very polite. He goes on to explain that his colony is at war with another one, and he introduces them to the grotesque boob monster that is their queen. I…don’t really understand why the queen almost eats him, but thanks to Saki’s intervention, he survives. Then he makes a request for the children to help them win this war. Enemy queerats invade the colony, causing them to run for their lives once more.

I really enjoyed this episode for the adventure and sprinkle of surprises. I certainly wasn’t expecting Saki and Satoru to act so close, considering how much they used to argue. I wonder what became of the others and how they will get their powers back…

Shin Sekai Yori Episode 4

Bloodstained History

The truth hurts, as these children learn something that shatters the peaceful image of their world forever. The minoshiro connects what we’ve seen in the flashbacks, starting with the awakening of PK, in much greater detail. Some of the concepts are completely new to me, but are nonetheless fascinating for a sci-fi fan.

Interestingly, the capability of a human being to kill another human being is completely foreign to Saki’s generation. The minoshiro goes on and on about the brutality of PK users—the massacres, assassinations, and rape, which causes these poor kids to break down. So how is it that the killings stopped? We already know that their education system plays a big role in keeping them obedient, and the bad apples are confirmed to be removed from society, but there’s a whole other level to it. It turns out that Saki’s people are descendants of scientists who programmed a genetic restriction in themselves called “Death Feedback.” If one of them should try to kill a fellow human, then there will be horrible physical consequences. Saki has a flashback of experiencing this pain when she went through the ritual. I assume she wanted to kill the priest to trigger such a reaction.

The info-dump session ends abruptly when the minoshiro becomes engulfed in flames, and a strange image of a woman holding her baby appears. In the next instant, an angry monk shows up, strips them of their powers, and leads them toward the temple. Needless to say, the kids are quite terrified at this point, but their nightmare is far from over. They are soon met with an army of giant queerats that try to attack them. Then the monk unleashes a whirlwind that takes the shape of a naked woman yielding a scythe. Woah. And even after all of that, they’ve still got a freaky blowdog to deal with…

Once again, Saki is very interesting to observe here. Sometimes it seems like she has a violent nature sleeping inside of her, as she was surprisingly aggressive towards the minoshiro and might have wanted to kill the priest. But then again, she went against the rules to save a queerat, and in this episode, yells at the monk to stop his attack. How conflicting…

Shin Sekai Yori has reached a major turning point in the story now that the children’s innocence is gone. Although this episode answers a lot of questions, it raises more interesting ones, especially about the demons. Where it will go for another 21 episodes, I have no clue. But I sure do expect more terrific animation, creativity, and mind-blowing episodes like this one!