Scarlet Nexus – 08

「病院の真相」 (Byōin no Shinsō)
“The Hospital’s Secrets”

What Hospital Secrets, the hospital had no secrets. Where the secrets that this hospital specializes in converting humans into others. Well, it’s not exactly confident, the characters have been mumbling about this since like episode 5 or so. Why else would they be exploring an abandoned-looking hospital in the middle of nowhere, if they didn’t want to exploit the secrets the government has veiled right under their eyes.

This episode was weird, from the way Nagi is able to control his brainwashed – well um brain. To how Naomi just talks to Kasane over something they called Brain Talk (AKA Brain Dance from CP2077). But that conversation was quickly derailed as Naomi reverts back to her primitive state controlled by this Other body. But Karen appears out of nowhere and injects something into Naomi to keep her under control! (OMG!) Meanwhile, Yuito and the cast have to fight a bunch of others as they escape from the hospital.

And Nagi is taken away once more into the lab to have more experiments made on him, some of which apparently hurt him. But presumably, the doctors in this hospital want to run experiments on humans so that they can achieve better psionic powers through artificial means. This places in question the integrity of the whole thing. Are the powers artificially manipulated into people, or how exactly does one go about obtaining psionic powers in the first place. Yuito had something similar, where he didn’t have any powers but wanted to join the OSF anyway, and I’m guessing through training he was able to get his powers. But all of that could be thrown out the window, once we know the full extent of the truth revolving around psionics.

This episode however was spent mostly dilly-dallying on the situation, the truth has been elongated at this point so much, it’s almost laughable. And plot points that are supposed to be big reveal moments just don’t hit the mark as they should. Why was Nagi chosen to be experimented on in the first place? Why not Yuito? He seems like the more capable man. Instead, they want us to feel sorry for the second – comic relief – man of the show. Who has been locked up for so many episodes, it’s hard to feel anything for him anymore. His absence has played a pivotal role in Yuito’s development as both a character and a second officer in command, though. Having your childhood friend be taken away and made into a test lab rat is sure to be traumatic. But at times it feels like Scarlet Nexus just has too many eggs in one basket. Deciding on one plotline and running the course with is best. Scarlet Nexus suffers from a sort of identity crisis. Having the mystery of the Other’s play out in the background, while it focuses on the saving grace of Yuito’s and Nagi’s relationship. Is just painful to watch, the prolonged story might work for a 30+ hour game where things are slowly revealed to you, and you might have more patience. But here answers have to hit hard and become important plot points that leave the audience wanting more and shocked to their very core. Two things I don’t personally think Scarlet Nexus achieved with its adaptation.

I have already said many things in a blind sea of red, but once again I find myself at a loss, why exactly did I choose to pick up this anime for coverage? Maybe it’s because of its SciFi undertones with a little bit of 1984 trickled in. It’s a dystopian futuristic setting, or maybe it’s because of the psionic powers. Whichever the case, at this point, it’s even beyond me.

I’m certainly counting down the weeks till the finale of Scarlet Nexus, only 5 more to go. Not with high anticipation though.

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