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Summary:
Akira and Saki arrive at the dock near his alleged home and find the area largely void of life, save for some homeless people and a handful of cars on the road. The address leads them to a large commercial building that’s been locked up, but Akira knows to use one of his keys to open it. Inside is a warehouse area, and the two are initially scared by a shadow, however it turns out to be just a dog. The dog, which is sporting a pair of wings, seems to know Akira and leads the two further into the building that is actually a shopping mall. Akira doesn’t know why he lived in a place like this, and while he’s looking around, he recognizes the center area of the mall to be the same place that was in the photo of all of the naked guys. The dog eventually leads Akira and Saki to a room above the cinema complex, and Saki thinks that Akira was the manager there. The view from this room allows them to see the smoke from the spot where the missile hit. Akira then asks Saki about her favorite movies and offers to show her one, so she mentions a French one with a dolphin and diver because it’s a movie liked by someone she’s always liked.
Using Juiz’s help, Akira gets the movie set up in the theater, but in the process, he notices the police boat nearby that Kondou arrived in earlier. Kondou is at this moment walking around the center of the shopping mall, and the refugee-camp-like conditions remind him of the disappearance of all those NEETs, causing him to suspect that Akira is responsible. He makes his way into the theater and runs into Akira in the projection room after the movie has already started. Akira has been expecting him since there are security cameras everywhere, and he asks Kondou about Selecao since he’s missing most of his memory. Kondou, however, is here for Akira’s cell phone and all of the money in it, and he beats up Akira to get it. He explains that they both started out with 10 billion yen, but he feels that it’s impossible to save a rotten country like this with only that much. Knowing that he’s powerless, Akira tells Kondou that Saki has nothing to do with all this, and fortunately Kondou isn’t willing to use money to kill her.
As he leaves, Kondou informs Akira that when the balance reaches zero on their Noblesse phone, someone called the Supporter will come to kill the phone’s owner. Unbeknownst to Kondou, Akira had stolen his police badge during their struggle, but Akira’s too exhausted now to do anything other than fall unconscious. Saki meanwhile finishes watching the movie by herself, and she decides to leave because she thinks that Akira doesn’t want to be with her. She leaves a note calling him an idiot with the dog, and it’s that dog that wakes Akira up later. After reading the note, Akira decides to get in touch with Kondou about the badge, so he rides out on his motorcycle. By this point, Kondou is in his car in a parking garage elsewhere in town, and he is messaging someone about having obtained enough money to play around with for the rest of his life. Unfortunately for him, he discovers that he can’t use Akira’s phone, and he learns from Juiz that it’s because each phone has fingerprint authentication. Kondou then gets a call from Akira who had written down his own number earlier and is now calling from a phone booth. When Kondou finds out that Akira has his badge, he directs Akira to his location.
While waiting, Kondou is approached by his wife Misae who had gotten the message about obtaining money that he had intended for his mistress. She then pulls out a knife and stabs him in the gut. Not knowing what happened, Akira passes by her as he approaches Kondou’s location, and he finds the detective bleeding to death on the ground. Akira offers to call an ambulance, but Kondou knows that this is the end for him. All that Kondou can tell Akira about what’s going on is that there are 10 people other than them who have the same cell phones. These Selecao are forced to participate in a game, and Kondou thinks that Akira’s phone can also access their records. He suggests that Akira use this information to find them and ask them about himself, but he warns that the others might not want to meet a dangerous Selecao like Akira. Kondou reveals how he suspects that Akira gathered 20,000 NEETs at ground zero of the missile strike to try to kill them, but he also realizes something about the Supporter. Although Akira doesn’t understand, Kondou gives him back his cell phone and urges him to disappear. As Akira runs off and police sirens get louder, Kondou comments on how even he was for justice in the beginning.
Preview
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Okay, that was a surprise – I expected Kondou to stick around for much longer than he did. I’m not sure I like how he gets killed off so suddenly by a character we’ll probably never see again, but the Supporter stuff and the idea that they’ll get killed if they run out of money is certainly interesting. It adds more danger and mystery to a series already full of it. The whole NEET thing was interesting as well because it wasn’t something I really paid attention to last episode, but now that they’ve explained it a little, all the clues from last week (Akira’s purchase log, the police radio broadcast that Kondou heard) are starting to make sense. I suspect what Akira was trying to do by killing all those NEETs and how it relates to saving Japan will probably remain a mystery for a while – that is, unless it turns out to be just the obvious idea that Japan would be better off without those kinds of people.
As for Saki, she didn’t play a very big role this episode, and the only thing noteworthy is the person she mentioned that she’s always liked. If I had to guess, I’d say it was her sister’s husband, but who it really is remains a mystery just like so many other things in this series. I don’t understand though why Saki left instead of looking for Akira after the movie was over. I’m sure that dog would have led her to him. The only answer I could come up with is that it’s convenient for the story for her not to be around him for a while. Speaking of which, that dog is very cute, especially with those wings, and it reminded me of Ein from Cowboy Bebop. Maybe there’s some hidden meaning behind those wings. In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. There may not be previews in the episode itself, but the official site does have a few sentences about and some images from the next episode (which I’ve included above), and it seems that Saki will return home while Akira goes to see a Selecao doctor.
Finally the romance aspect takes a back seat, loving this series!
My kind of series. Oh and…shanked much?
the blood on his wrist is gonna erase saki’s number 🙁
Well if its a terrorist then I wouldn’t put it past Akira to actually get rid of NEETS for the extreme reason of “Japan would be better off without those kinds of people.” after all do have ideas that lean more onto the extreme that it could never be accommodated well into the system. Well that was an interesting exposition regarding Akira, and thank god they didn’t use juiz.
All I can say is that I still want more, but at least this week was less of a cliffhanger. There are a few ominously lingering mysteries bothering me too, but I’ll have to wait to find out just like everyone else~
wow this is too good of a series to miss out on
I like it!
I love how they tell so little in each episode; it’s killing me, but I like it!
Maybe just killing the leeching NEETs is the idea, but then he had a change of heart [remorse]
Cue for Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” quote about the abuse of greatness.
Is it wierd to already want a real verson of the phone although its only on episode 3?
Even though i just got my self a touch HD!
You have to remember that Saki is very insecure. She doesn’t know how Akira feels about her, so of course she would interpret the movie-thing the way she did. If she was more confident she would have had the courage to face Akira but her fear of rejection was too great.
liking the op to this more and more each week, hope we get to see SakixAkira interact more they seem to have good chemistry
Shux, more questions that needed to be answered.
I guess the idea is that the Supporter (a) realized Kondou had stolen a phone, (b) decided he wasn’t messiah material anymore, (c) forwarded Kondou’s message to his wife, knowing (this is the weak part) that she would probably take him out? I’m pretty sure that this is what Kondou believes, anyway.
Cute dog…
/fangirlswoons
If you take the title literally, the “Supporter” was his wife. It makes sense from an aspect that someone close to the person killing them out of jealousy/rage/etc cleans up better than “shot in alley by mysterious perpetrator” from a police standpoint.
Which probably means that eventually Saki will be put into a position to kill Akira (assuming he reaches 0 by the end of the series).
Also, we just have Kondou’s suspicion about why Akira brought all the neets together into a virtual mall of all places. It could have just as easily been an effort to acclimatize them to being out in society.
Only problem with that theory of the “supporter” is just a little hole with Kondou which is that he never reached 0 so he wasn’t supposed to be killed just yet, but it is possible that he was killed perhaps for violating the rules (perhaps stealing the phone is a violation) or maybe that he was planning to run away. Well I guess the rules may become clearer in the future, though I think those rules should’ve been clear but it maybe running away that was more of his violation. Still its an interesting theory you put up Dave ^^
JUIZ buy me a Lamborghini!!!
According to the HP, the Supporter is one of the Selecao who has the duty to observe the others and dispose of them if they “stray the path” but no one knows who of them is it, so Saki won’t get to kill Akira as “his Supporter.” And well, if his wife was no Selecao (which would be a bit too much of a coincidence) then she can’t be the Supporter.
Argh! It’s the third episode, nothing makes sense still, worms are wiggling out happily from their proverbial cans and I love this series! Thanks for blogging =)
Out of curiosity, didn’t Akira move all the neets into his mall, saving them from being blown up by the missile (which killed no people, apparently?)
It seems like he saved them, as they would never leave their to-be-blown-up homes otherwise…
I don’t get how he is related to killing them, though I see ow he is related to the disappearance.
@wingzerozxt: I also want one of these things. Mad awesome. You know that someone will make these if the series is a big hit in Japan…then import…
@Machi: Actually, he had run out of money on the phone, at which point he attempted to use Akira’s and found out about the biometric identification. Whoops
OP Reveals All! The segment when you see all the Selecao badges in the OP (~45 seconds in), you see IV, V and X fade out; this obviously infers that IV, V and X will be disposed of, therefore I knew IV would be killed sooner rather than later. I also assume those connections between the number badges are when they cross paths.
Not surprised that Saki assumed that Akira didn’t want to see the movie as opposed to being in a battle or such.
really NICE police Boat 😛
Like Alyu, I am not so sure he actually killed his captives. They were supposed to have been killed in an explosion, and the only explosion we know of is the missile attack in which no-one was killed. Maybe he had the rep of wanting to kill them because he kept them so close to ground zero, and they’re actually alive and well. The detective might be mistaken.
The interesting aspect about this episode is the supposed massacre of indigents in an attempt to “fix” Japan. This is especially relevant given the current political mood in Japan. The federal government is offering some amount of cash for immigrants from Latin American (specifically Brazil and Peru) to return to their original countries and to promise to never return. Also, their children will not be allowed to return to Japan either. This is Japan’s way of dealing with a depressed labor market within this global recession, and to some, it is quiet sad. The foreign minister was quoted as saying something along the lines of, “Japan will never be America. We will never be an integrated society.” With attitudes and programs such as this, he will get his wish.
Interesting episode and the fact this is some sort of “game” really adds depth to the overall mystery and plot. Did Kondo actually run out of money, or did he realize that he ran low and needed more funds from Akira’s device in order to change Japan?
I’m guessing he was running extremely low and wanted to replenish his cash before it hit zero. That or he truly did run out of cash, which is why his wife came to kill him. I’m not sure. I just wouldn’t think Kondou would be stupid enough to forward the mail he sent to the wrong girl… if he’s indeed cheating on his wife. Not like it matters much as it is, though. He’s dead. RIP Kondou — we hardly knew ye.
As far as the romance goes, it stinks that Saki is out of the picture for an episode or two. I really like her being around, but now I guess we see some of what her home life is like. I too think it may have been her sister’s husband.. or at least I hope it is. D: She did mention how much she liked him and what not, but I dunno. I’m sure Akira thought she meant another guy, but then again, do we even know if Akira likes her? It’s too early to tell.
Either way, I can’t wait for the next episode. D:
Well that was kinda of a slow episode, but still good though. I liked how they threw in that Dawn of the Dead reference when they entered the abandoned mall. The little tour guide dog was a nice little touch. Though i was a little surprised that Saki left with out trying to find Akira. I was kinda expecting Saki trying to wake Akira up, asking what happened. Buy alas we got her leaving with out trying to figure out why.
I’m kinda curious how there going to pace this out. If what info about this series is correct, its only 12 episodes and this is episode 3. So are they gonna go into the Selecao thing and what it in tales or are they gonna focus on the Akira and Saki?
So it looks like Akira was a ax-crazy wackjob before he lost his memories. Interesting! Can’t wait for next ep (and I’m so buying this on dvd).
If they can fit in all the Selecao thing AND Akira/Saki, I think this might be my favorite anime this season. ^^
http://heysayanime.kokidokom.net
Hmmm, what could I do with 20k NEETs? >_>
i cant wait until next week!
i luv this show ^_^
Thank u for blogging!
I had not anticipated Kondou dying so early on. I appreciate his death, though, as it shows that the series isn’t afraid of killing people off. More to come! o_O I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of these Selecao; and as Kondou has shown, despite being tied together by this project, they seem rather independent amongst themselves and not at all trusting or bound to each other.
fantastic series so far, the groundwork is being built very nicely
Is it just me, or is Saki herself considered as a NEET?
She just graduated and failed to get her job.
Any ideas if this might prove to be a critical element?
From words Messiah reminds me to Jesus and his 12 Apostles (11 not include Judah)
King = Jesus
The 11 selecao = 11 Apostles
Judas maybe means to Present Akira? (The former Akira is killed?)
I suspect Saki is Akira’s Supporter. Mark my words. Yes. You heard it here first.
really enjoying it
Definitely deserves the best of 2009.
waaa…. this guy is MORITA MORITA-SEMPAIIIII
https://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2026.jpg
The dog reminds me of Koromaru from P3… probably just the wings though. Someone get him a SEES armband, quick!
anyone else think that these two look like morita and yamada from hachimitsu to clover?
esp here! ^^lolz
https://randomc.net/image/Eden%20of%20the%20East/Eden%20of%20the%20East%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
How did the cop use all that money anyway? And how much do you think it took to kidnap 20,000 people?
Hmmm…. Akira is soo Moritaish.
That other guy looks like the uncle from Hachimitsu.
Saki sort of reminds me of Yamada, though I think she looks kind of different. Maybe its the hair that makes her different or the face…
i got a question for you all? the cellphone cant be used by others right but how did saki use the phone(see episode two while saki and akira riding in the boat passing the ground zero picture)