Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Kemono Jihen
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Really liked episode 7; it was rich in backstory and emotion. It also showcased the first sympathetic adult woman in the story—all those “seductive vixen” villains (Inari, the mosquito sisters) were starting to bug me. I’m glad Shiki had a loving mom. His uncle is super suspicious—he definitely killed Shiki’s dad to get him out of the way, right? “He fell to his death in the woods”—likely story. An even wilder theory I had is that the girl could be Shiki’s mother de-aged somehow, but her being Shiki’s half sister (& cousin, ugh) is far more likely. However this ends, I hope Shiki gets closure!
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11406 |
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I think you've libeled Shiki's dad there.  His uncle clearly says that just finding out the legends might have been fact was enough for him. Which is why I agree with Agent355's take that that accidental fall was no accident.
The two main bright spots in this dark episode for me were 1) Inugami's astonishment that Uncle readily admitted what he'd done and he wasn't going to have to do whatever he'd planned to get a confession, and 2) Kabane enveloped within his fluffy soap cocoon as seen in the thumbnail.
I'm also kind of enjoying - for now - Nobimaru's total openness about being up to no good where Kabane is concerned, while being stymied in whatever that is by Kabane's being so radically outside his expectations that he's not quite sure how best to proceed. So it's all fun and games, until he puts Kabane's eye out. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4093 |
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Episode 7 is a loaded episode "What's in the shed, what's in the shed?" and it turns out to be worse than I thought it could be... just by giving me broad strokes and leaving the rest to my imagination.
Thought A is horrifying Thought B is disgusting and thought C which is A + B is horrifyingly disgusting. It's like someone looked at any RPG monster breeding mechanic and thought "Well, ok but what if they were people? And what if they weren't always people? What if they could transform? What if they HAD to transform? And what if the pairing didn't always work?" And this is only Thought B, Thought C is... clean up... of the failures. "Ugh, that girl could be both his half sister and, ugh, cousin . That is so disgusting." Yes. That is exactly what I pictured and not at all a spider monster eating her own stillborn fetuses. See, this is why you never skimp on body horror details. Either spell it out or end the story being ambiguous. |
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Helix91
 SubscriberPosts: 62 |
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This was my least favorite episode so far. It felt like a darker turn than I expected or wanted from this show. I guess I just have to adjust my expectations going forward. That said, it did get me invested in what is going to happen with Shiki and his uncle. I just would have preferred a less horrific way of getting there.
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wolf10
 Posts: 906 |
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I think it's safe to say that asking this series to not leave so much up to the imagination was perhaps tempting fate. What's scarier than spiders? How about spider-monster hybrids! That SPEAK.
I feel like I have a lot more to say about this episode overall, because it was just that good, but I don't think I'll be able to fully articulate anything else until the nightmares stop. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11406 |
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I don't think this is possible, since that would only result in kids like Shiki, not the spider-hybrids we saw. But there's still the open question of who Aya's father was. I suspect we won't get an answer to that, and that's fine by me.
I was under the impression that Aya cocooned Kumi to save her, i.e., she was already in the cocoon when Akio hid it from her. But I'm not certain I have any solid reason to think that. I burst out laughing at the image of little Shiki in the bath with his mom...or should I say Shiki's head. Something about the odd angle made me wonder if Kabane is really the only one who can pull that trick.  And the expression on his face while she was reading Nishikigumo Legend to him was too cute. It was a brief moment of sweetness, though still in service to the hideous nightmare of the kemono calling in his mother's voice.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4093 |
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OK, thought C didn't happen... so the show doubled down on thought B instead by giving us a glimpse of some of the things that Shiki's mother...Good news, the existence of the giant offspring shows us the need of the syringe, bad news would be everything else as everything else didn't necessarily need the syringe.
That's a nice way to put it because I ended on "What is Aya's father?" I've read the Dunwich Horror and Aya just takes after her mother more, almost fully. I imagine the solution would be more in the story of the Golden Web itself... not to mention the whole thing seems to be a stem cell metaphor. Aya wasn't that important but he needed Aya's mother around in case he had to make more... but not a father... Ohhhh, oh? Good news, Shiki. You have a sister-aunt. That's.... better? |
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Yuvelir
 Posts: 1581 |
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Now don't go rousing my imagination about siblings that either mostly take after the mother or almost exclusively take after the mother
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Tanteikingdomkey
 Posts: 2346 |
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Am I the only person who actually did agree with shiki about, It will a far better punishment for you to live knowing you will never get your legacy. I fully get why the kitsunes put a big fat NOPE on that punishment. But I really think it would have been a good thing for him to basically become an example of what happens when you try to do that.
There are absolutely fates worse then just being killed off like he was. and honestly I think it would have been interesting seeing a show commit to NO, you don't deserve to just die. |
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Yuvelir
Posts: 1581 |
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Oh god Aya... I can understand the personality (and wardrobe) change since she's no longer weighed down by her self-imposed burden (or uncle's tastes).
But how the cell is she so hypercompetent and world-savvy? An eight-year-old girl who has spent her whole life sheltered and secluded. On the other side, I really enjoy Kabane and Kon's interactions as they try to figure out the basics of common sense. They're just so clueless and pragmatic about everything. |
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wolf10
Posts: 906 |
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I think that's only "by comparison." She's read a lot, so it's not like she has no idea of how the world works, just no real practice. Compared to Kabane and Kon, who are barely able to function on any level. Not a fan of Aya going full Cuties on us, but at least that's being played as gross in-universe. Also not a fan of the sudden harem hijinks, and I think this entire episode is going to feel really inappropriate if next week is what I think it is. |
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Yuvelir
Posts: 1581 |
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Yeah but no amount of reading will leave you able to conduct your own business at the age of eight. And outperforming even adults who do have experience (I guess being able to sweat elixirs helps but...). I mean sure that's "anime as fudge", but it's a kind of "anime as fudge" that this particular anime hadn't touched upon yet. Aya's character has taken such a sudden turn on everything (even if we knew her only for like 10 minutes) that she's reminding me of Rem. |
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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I really liked Shiki’s family arc overall, and I’m so happy his mother is still alive; most series would have killed her off. I appreciate that the show emphasized that Shiki and Aya’s less human siblings weren’t just “freaks” that needed to be euthanized, an all too common trope that can be read as having ableist underpinnings. As Aya said in episode 9, it was not their fault that they were barely able to speak and looked strange. in episode 8, Kabane only killed the ones that attacked first, and in episode 9, their mom makes a memorial for them and mourns them. It would have been better if some could have been allowed to live peacefully in the woods, but it was nice that the story acknowledged that they weren’t just monsters just because they weren’t recognizably human.
Episode 9 gave me whiplash when it abruptly shifted from sweet family reunion and acceptance to “Kabane has 2 girlfriends and they’re *jealous*!” I have to give this show credit that I didn’t completely hate it—all the kids are young enough, and Kabane is clueless enough, that it can be played for laughs, and they managed to mostly play it for laughs while not laughing at Kon. All these kids have been through a lot, but Kon really has no support system or anyone she’s close to besides for Kabane. I hope she opens up to Inugami and his crew more (and maybe join them, eventually), but until then it’s nice that she and Kabane can talk things out and stay friends despite sitcom misunderstandings. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11406 |
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I get what you mean, and I agree with the sentiment, but in fact they're not human at all (unless good ol' uncle was playing with multi-species recombinants, which, after rethinking my last comment, I wouldn't put past him). Neither is Aya, though she can apparently make herself appear human, just as she did for the kemono in the shopping district. Maybe if they'd been spared, she could've done the same for them, but that raises different issues on the theme you're detecting about who and what needs to be "fixed." Yeah, Aya sure did a 180 in mid-episode.  ::sigh::
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SHD
Posts: 1752 |
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Whyyyy did they have to bring attention to the fact that she's only eight? Yes, yes, supernatural being, not entirely human, but come on. At least imply that in kemono years that's already a teenager or something (even if it's obviously not true, re: the other kids). orz
This mini-arc was kind of... meh? It had some nice touches, but in the end it was just so convenient how everything ended up being just fine, with the mother being alive, the uncle being two-dimensionally evil, etc. Also, I hope we won't see a lot of Aya vs Kon fighting over Kabane. I actually really like the developing romance(???) between Kon and Kabane, simply because they're both so naive, honest and straightforward, that their interactions are funny and charming instead of being the usual boring fare. But "jealous girls fighting over the main guy" is a trope I hate only a little bit less than "girls commenting on each others' boobs". |
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