From back to the future to back to the past and not a moment too soon. Satoru’s plan is something I find a little strange as despite his efforts to save Hinazuki’s it making it easier for her to get killed. Taking Hinazuki away from her mother is a good call, leaving Hinazuki alone in an abandoned location is not the right call. It’s a little bit of pity that Satoru was stopped before pushing Hinazuki’s mom down the stairs, even if Kenya made a good call in stopping him. That fall could very likely kill her and as satisfying as that would be, it wouldn’t put Satoru in the best position. This time around it’s nice to see the little details as this is Satoru’s third third going through all this and he’s a bit more in control. One really interesting detail is that when the surprise party happened, the reaction from Satoru was more forced than his initial reaction the first time. When looking at his eyes you could tell he was expecting it.
Satoru’s plan this time around was far from perfect and I believe his first mistake was trusting Kenya. Due to my suspicions of the teacher I never quite trusted Kenya, especially with his unusual level of maturity. Also he was eagerly forward to help Satoru this time around and while he did talk with Satoru many times after Hinazukas disappearance last time, I feel like Kenya is aware that this isn’t the first time they have been through this. Personally I believe Satoru has a perfect allie around who would prove to be far more trustworthy and useful than Kenya. That of course is Sachiko, Satoru’s mom. If Satoru sat down and explained everything to her I am sure Sachiko would believe him. She’s had his back before when facing off against Hinazuki’s mother so I have full confidence that she would be behind him if he said it was for Hinazuki. However it is possible that our mystery visitor at the end of the episode is Sachiko. She was aware of Satoru leaving in the middle of the night and she does have a tendency to follow him if she’s worried about him.
I hope so as to see Hinazuki die a second time would be heartbreaking. Over the years I may have found myself distancing my feelings for characters if I was under the slightest suspicion that they would be killed off but Hinazuki holds that factor that makes her endearing. He definitely gives you the feeling of wanting to protect her and I am aware that’s generally a moe character thing but Hinazuki does not hold the traits that often make moe characters very irritating. I would say I good example of this would be the female characters in a Jun Maeda work. Often to make the tragic twist hit all the harder, he makes his female characters as innocent as possible. As a result the girls in his works don’t really act like teenage girls, they act like kindergarteners. Hinazuki is at the age where it would be justifiable to make her act like a Jun Maeda heroine but she holds a much higher level of maturity and intelligence. She doesn’t try to act cute, she’s just loveable the way she is.
Do you think we’ve seen the killer already? Atm I think it could be the teacher, or the mature friend [though they as well could be red herrings].
Also it might be a story trope, but if a character has a special ability which isn’t to say others could not have it as well.
If Kenya’s the killer, did he turn evil because he’s fascinated by the time travel ability Satoru has? Or is he also able to jump into the past? I’ve always been wondering if there’s an evil counterpart to Satoru.
I’d also like to know if any of Satoru’s old friends will show up in the present timeline. I guess if his imprisonment goes public, old friends might appear.