Short Synopsis: Akihiko goes to the box maker to confront him with the things he’s done.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10 (Awesome)
Wow… just wow. This episode was simply awesome, and it shows that the creators know exactly what they’re doing with this series. The two episodes of straight talking may have been a bit weird, but of course they were an excellent means of building up, and now that we’re finally getting to see the fruits of all this, I can safely say that this is one awesome series. I definitely can put this in my top three series that have aired in the past autumn season.
This time, I don’t even care to find out what exactly was said. The non-verbal communication, along with the few key scenes that I did understand were enough to make a huge impact, although I do suspect that I’m going to have to pay a lot of attention in the next number of episodes, when it’s explained why Kubo has done all the things he did.
So in the end, the role of the box maker and his cult was that they were involved in the whole case by Kubo Shunko: at one point, he a bloodstained box ended up on their doorstep, which turned out to contain the finger of one of Kubo’s victims. Later in the episode, the police actually finds out Kubo’s hideout, and Yoriko’s body, chopped up into pieces and stuffed into boxes. He manages to escape, though, but I’m glad that apart from our four main characters, there are lots more people searching for Yoriko and Kanako, trying to find Kubo Shunko.
The big question now still remains: what the heck happened to Kanako? Kubo Shunko’s box murders was a very good side-plot of the series, but the central matter of the series has yet to be touched on, and yet we know that the two mysteries are connected somehow, as it seems that Kubo knows about Kanako, and Kanako herself has many more mysteries than simply her death and disappearance.
In any case, it’s episodes like this one that really remind me why I’ve decided to go with raws, even though my Japanese is far from perfect. The entire episode was packed with emotion, but a lot of that emotion was found in the non-verbal communication between the characters. The phrase “a picture says more than a thousand words” really fits in with this series. Every single shot seemed to contain a very powerful emotion, and that’s exactly what sets this series apart from other series that involve lots of talking, and seen to get lost in their own exposition.
One mystery remains,what happened to Kanako.
Really I though she was dismembered and stuffed into boxes like we saw her scene in ep4,but it seems there’s more to it,I think Kubo is hiding Kanako alive and left her to make her his final masterpiece or something,or to be able to be with her forever whatever that means,well we don’t know how serial killer mind works(well maybe her arm and legs got cut off so he could transport her easier in some big box).
Well I don’t know if it’s possible but maybe Kanako is Kubo and Yoko daughter,that would explain this whole murder case,maybe Kubo was killing daughters of families involved in box cult(like Yoriko’s mother) to make vengeance for that Yuko family as heads of Box cult throw him away as a father and didn’t let him to see his daughter.
He got insane in the meantime and we have results of almost perfect planned mass killing crime.
But I may be wrong,but I don’t remember that anything was mentioned about Kanako father.
As for train scene in ep1 I think that maybe Kanako wanted to commit suicide due she saw her body is aging(pimple with her beliefs was rather a start of her body death),for my understanding if a person would drop under the train she would be killed instantly,and it seems Kanako got only hit by a slowing train she didn’t fall directly under it,that’s why I’m thinking that maybe Kubo tried to save her and he managed to grasp her a little so she wouldn’t be killed then,which Yoriko interpreted in different way.
Here’s what i think. You may be on too something with kanako being the daughter of kubo and yoko, but from what i gather is the reason they cast him away was because kubo and yoko are brother and sister and there was incest involved. Which may also be the reason why that it was kubo and yoko’s mother who was trying to strangle kanako and telling her to die, because she was born out of incest. So the story that the lawyer Masuoka told to Enokizu about kanako’s father dying in the war was also farce. Although im still not sure where the whole psychic and praying to boxes to read the contents comes into play as of yet. Also i think instead of kanako commting suicide it was yoriko who had pushed kanako because she though she was decaying and she tryed to kill her so that she would be her next life. After all she had no problem with dying when kanako was trying to strangle her. Kubo saw her do it and tryed to save her. I also think that yoko and kubo are working together with mimasaka and kanako was never taken from the hospital, she is still there…somewhere.
One minor correction – the box contain’s Kubo’s fingers. Kubo is the box maker/Onbako-sama’s son, and manipulated his terrified father into starting the cult.
An amazing episode! My jaw dropped with the plot-twist at the end episode 10! 😀