So this episode was an introduction to our new seventh Kiznaiver who looks to be a roguish shut in with a pendent for self harm. Adding a masochist to a group that shares pain is certainly a dilemma but I wonder just how they plan to make use of him in the plot. Considering that pain is now split seven way between them it’s possible he is unsatisfied with his share of the pain. My previous assumption of him being greed seems off the mark though I still think he has a secret relating to it. The characters even commented on him potentially being a conman who hurts himself to claim insurance payments. This would make sense as Noriko’s labels of new seven sins seem to only refer to the characters on a superficial level where as there secrets are more closely related to the true seven sins. I must call out the start of the episode which immediately deflated the cliffhanger of the previous episode. I found it rather distasteful to be fair as it felt like a cheap cop out. It’s sort of like that episode of Humanity has declined with has a manga creator end each chapter with a twist for the purpose of heightening excitement for the next chapter. This isn’t bad in itself as if done well it can be an effective method of storytelling. But when done poorly it can mess with your storyline as you attempt to end episodes on higher and higher cliffhangers. But then there’s this dishonest method here where you have a character make a revelation just to brush it off as a joke. I am certain that she was in fact telling the truth and just played as a joke to cover her bases though the circumstances are likely not as cold as she makes it out to be. The purpose may be to foreshadow Makis circumstances but there are plenty of ways to do that without teasing a potential conflict between her and the others.
We do learn a number of things about the Kiznaiver system in this episode such as when someone feels pain the others are informed of who it was by a holographic number displayed on their scar. Also while sudden pain is shared, residual pain is not. The end of the project looks to be the end of summer vacation and there’s likely more missions in store for the group. Lastly based on Noriko’s wording at the end of the episode this is not the first time the Kiznaver project has taken place which really gets me curious about the opening scene. My current guess is that Agatha has taken part in the Kiznaver project before and that is the reason for his sensory deprivation of pain. Actually considering his lack of emotions as well it’s possible the previous subjects shared more than pain but emotions as well. The mystery has certainly a lot of interesting aspects to it but Kiznaver is showing some issues. Namely the story is being held up by it’s highly likeable cast and their interactions as the plot is moving at a snail’s pace. We still don’t have a clear idea on just what this show will focus on and looking at these past episodes not a lot has actually happened. FIrst episode had the cast made in Kiznavers, second episode had them introduce themselves and third episode had them chase down the last member. I am not saying these episodes were not enjoyable but now that the plot has started I worry it will devolve into slice of life antics with the shared pain being more of a gimmick. Or Okada will go full Okada and have the cast throw over the top hissy fits about first world problems. What makes this show work is the parts which are distinctly trigger and in the coming episodes I would prefer to have more trigger madness over bland SOL.
~AidanAK47~
