Short Synopsis: Two dead bodies are found at a love hotel.
Highlights: SEARCH MY BODY
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,75/10
OMG!
Now THIS is what I’m talking about! THIS is exactly why I like this series so much!
Himitsu’s multi-episode arcs have always known exactly how to use their time, rather than dragging on endlessly, they’re focused and try to tell a story that would be impossible to tell in only one episode. Some focus on complex stories, like the one with the biological weapon, others focused on politics, like the case with the murderous girl who killed her family, and others were downright shocking, like the one about the bald mass murderer that caused Maki to shoot Suzuki.
This arc seems to go for both the shock and the complex story. It starts out simple enough, when two dead bodies are found at a love hotel. It seems that one of them committed suicide, but his girlfriend also turns out to have been pregnant. Then however, a high-placed person of a hospital comes to claim the body. Amachi resists, but fails. Only a few days later, her BRAINS pop up in a container, with the note “SEARCH MY BODY”. I think that this is the first time were any main character had his/her HEAD SLICED OPEN like this…
If I had to guess, then the doctor wanted to prevent Amachi from finding out too much, but that doesn’t explain at all why she left Amachi’s brain right in front of Daiku, nor the “Search my body”-note. Also, what was the significance of those numbers that were written on the babies’ feet, in the memory of the guy who committed suicide?
In any case, this episode was just awesome, as it also provided for a lot of new insights into the characters. The characters in this series are already excellent, and this series is still fleshing them out, which only is a good thing. I really wonder whether Amachi is able to return, because Maki did say that her body may still be alive. Who knows, perhaps in this age, there’s some sort of technique that can separate people from their brains without killing them? Still, we have to wait for that until the next episode, I guess.
There’s also one thing I noticed, while looking at the list of episode titles: the final two episodes of this series are going to be standalone stories! In a way, it’s very much possible for the next episode to contain the dramatic climax for this series, only for it to finish with two shorter stories. I personally LOVE these kinds of endings: they’re so much better and less predictable than the “the bad guy dies”-endings. A lot my favourite endings are actually episodic, rather than those with a continuous storyline. Series as The Third, Night Head Genesis, and in a way Bokura no too, they all finished with an episodic final episode or final two episodes, and their endings have become some of the most memorable endings for me. In a way, it does make sense, because it’s much harder to plan everything right in a final episode if you’re going with a continuous storyline, and it’s very easy to rush things, or just finish things with a predictable blow. Some endings of series that I did love, despite their continuous storylines: Haibane Renmei, Crystal Blaze and Revolutionary Girl Utena.
I can’t wait for the raws to come up on the web so I can see this. I read about the Amachi thing and have been expecting it, a bit nervously. It was AWESOME in the manga (which I read on line) although quite different from what you described. I really want to prevail upon you to send me some spoilers about the last three episodes. I saw them but have NO idea what was happening. So please take pity on me and tell me the basic plots of this terrific series.
And thanks for blogging it. That is soooo helpful since fansubs have disappeared!
My memory’s a bit fuzzy about episode 21, and from what I can recall of episode 22, it was about a young guy who had comitted suicide, but before he did he planted a fire works show for a girl he liked, but was never going to get.
This episode was basically what I described above: someone took Amachi’s brains and delivered them to Daiku’s office with the note “Search my body”.
I also have a question, as someone who hasn’t read the manga. Have the creators of the anime inserted many original stories, or are nearly all the stories taken directly from the manga? I keep wondering this.
Alright! This part happened earlier in the manga, but keeping the good ones for the last few episodes is a nice strategy of the anime creators xD
Oh I’m curious on what the last two episodes be like *_*
Oh shet, I wish subs will hurry ;_; I really prefer watching this subbed. This is more enjoyable if I watch it subbed so that I can understand what exactly is going on x_x
Most of the stories are made up by Madhouse, but some are from the manga (but the story lines are changed a lot). I’ve always thought they would do Maki’s backstory as the climax, but Amachi’s would work too.