These past pair of episodes for In/Spectre (I like the English name better for once) have moved our main plotline along, given some more insight into Kuro, and let us spend some more time in Saki’s apartment…which I am all about.
Episode 5 presented Kuro’s first on-screen death. Getting his arm bitten off in episode 1 was pretty intense, but this was a full-on, gruesome, no-questions death by steel beam. I’m also pretty sure Saki is a traffic cop, so to witness your ex getting killed is a bit traumatic. We’ve already seen she’s not great with supernatural regeneration (to the point where she can’t eat meat? Not sure I 100% understand the connection), so I feel a bit bad for her here. Kotoko doesn’t though.
We also finally learn the mystery animal that Kuro consumed, and boy is it something else: a Kudan. I had wondered what it was, but wow, that’s overpowered – Kuro basically has the ability to choose a future. And not die from it. Broadly speaking, I actually liked that In/Spectre chose to draw this out and not reveal it early on – it wouldn’t have helped the minor storylines, so it’s a good decision to keep some things back. D-r-a-m-a.
Obviously, faceless idol is a product of the website – everyone saw that coming a mile off. We also learn about the police investigation – calling it now, her sister is 100% the one who created the website. I love the use of the construction worker yokai – even more so, that he’s obviously died at this site in an accident. Interesting how the main case is basically a suicide (or so it appears for now); I wonder how this will tie back to the father’s murder – since it’s obviously important.
Finally, our police boy who was making moves on Saki gets steel beamed to the face. Pity, I thought he was a good guy. Looks like that’s going to raise the stakes (haha, get it) coming up.
All in all – In/Spectre, you’re doing good. Looks like I picked the right show to stick with, after all. Saki (and Kotoko) are bae.
I’m just speculating here, but Saki may have trouble with eating (certain kinds of?) meat because that was the cause of Kuro’s condition. For example, if I remember correctly, she can’t eat beef, and kudan are basically cows with a twist. So eating meat (of certain kinds) may remind her of Kuro’s condition.
Yeah that’s what I kind of thought, but then Kotoko was saying Saki didn’t know the whole story of Kuro, so how would she have known about the Kudan…? Oh well, minor plot hole ^_^
Maybe she knew about the kinds of meat he ate (kudan and mermaid flesh, leading to her aversion to beef and fish – or maybe he only mentioned the latter two, as a kind of euphemism for what actually happened) but not about the exact circumstances in which it happened (hence her not knowing the whole story)? Her aversions line up so neatly with the meat Kuro ate (kudan-beef & mermaid-fish) that it would be strange if there were no connection.
But yeah, the show never gives a straightforward answer (and although someone has recently asked the same question on the Kyokou Suiri subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/KyokouSuiri/comments/f6f3kg/why_cant_saki_eat_beef_and_fish/), no convincing explanation has been forthcoming there either), so we can only speculate…