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「死神」 (Shinigami)
“Grim Reaper”
I knew it! For once I called something right and it was the importance of Satoru’s reporter-friend from way back when. No one of unimportance would have such a close-up here so I knew he would come back (either good or bad). In this case, it’s a good thing and he’s the contact point for both Satoru and his mom. Satoru’s mom was a wise lady to solve the case all by herself, but that might be because she was already suspicious of Kayo’s death. For someone that has no personal matter in the case (other than her son’s involvement) Sachiko is a sharp thinker and I have huge respect for her. Sachiko, along with Airi are great examples of strong female characters that just steal the spotlight in anime. They actually exemplify what they stand for and rather than sitting around thinking of doing something, they get up and do it. In this case, Sachiko takes matters into her own hands to investigate – and even though it leads to her death, hopefully Satoru will take what his mother has left behind and run with it. I hope Sawada (Ohkawa Tooru) runs with it and helps Satoru find out who the true murderer is.
While I think Sawada will be a great companion for Satoru, I think he’ll need more help than that. I find it ironic (and maybe the author purposely designed it that way) but the murderer has been known (at least by Sawada and Sachiko) to pin murders on other people for serial kidnapping and murderer young children. And here you have Satoru, being listed as suspect #1 for his own mother’s murder (whom was also killed by this same murderer) falling into the same repeated pattern. So it’s pretty conclusive to say that all these individuals (Yuuki for example) did not commit these crimes that they’re being framed for. And hiding in plain sight is the murderer, just smirking to himself. Who is he? And how doe he rise to power so quickly? Being an authoritative figure obviously makes it easier for him to influence people of power (the police force for example)… but it also gives him privy to information and investigation tips that others might not know. It makes it easier for him to cover his trackers. Unfortunately for Satoru, that also means that his chances of getting out of this one will be hard. He has a lot of circumstantial evidence against him so we’ll see if he can get a good lawyer or go back in time again.
Into the actual case itself, there’s a lot of clues and hints that were laid out because of the time skip. Sawada told Satoru a lot of what the police actually investigated and what they gave as circumstantial evidence during the case trial. I feel that it’s really unfair sometimes to pin people down due to stories that the police fabricate because that’s what fits the evidence at the time and they don’t know any better. Also because they (probably) personally really believe it and they’re under media pressure to do something about a serial killer/kidnapper. An example would be Satoru’s friend, Hiromi who was in fact a boy, but was murdererd because a) the killer didn’t know Hiromi was a male or the more likely b) to throw everyone off his pattern and track. The fact that this killer is going around targeting specific young girls and then sabotaging other people while still doing it to this day – isn’t information that the police (or Satoru) would’ve had at the time. As a result, I really don’t think Satoru or Sawada should be blaming themselves for something that couldn’t have been done without seeing these repeated cases. In hindsight, it’s easier to see patterns when you have more data points so the fact that the murderer is going out repeating things will make it more traceable for Satoru and Sawada now. Satoru is putting a lot of pressure on himself to solve these cases, but he’s matured a lot in the past 2 episodes with Airi on his side. Plus I love how he’s more resourceful now and putting the pieces together.
Airi was a great side story this episode, with the focus on her and her family as well as her involvement with Satoru. I will say again – I really like her and I hope she doesn’t become a victim just because she’s a nice person (and trusting person). Although Takahashi was the primary suspect in my mind as a fire-starter (and he got to the scene of the crime very quickly), somehow the impression he gave off while rescuing Airi was more like serious concern for her well-being. As someone that probably has a crush on Airi, I can’t see Takahashi wanting to literally harm her in any way so perhaps he’s just an innocent bystander that happens to be acquainted with the wrong people (*cough Nishizono). On another note, Airi’s mother seems like a really caring and gentle mom and I can see why Airi was so torn between her mom and dad growing up. You have a mother that’s willing to pretend to be you to trick the cops, and then you have a father that you believe is innocent and still can’t reconcile with your mom. That’s a tight spot to be in, especially with family involved. Now that she’s grown up, Airi has taken a lot of these lessons to heart growing up and I can see why she is the way she is; particularly towards Satoru. Her character doesn’t appear to be any more involved than it already has been, so I take back my theory of Airi being related to the murderer… but her relationship with Satoru doesn’t make it easier either of them. The murderer only has more leverage against you when he knows that you have friends.
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Wooo… I knew the reporter was going to make a comeback 😉 No one has such a closeup without being named. A ton of info this episode about Kayo’s death but also about the murderer. AND you see his face! Kinda..I thought Airi was more involved but now I just think she’s serves as a rock for Satoru. He’s grown up a lot in just these 2 eps.
living this show so far. but this can’t be a one cour show right it seems there is still so much to tell
sorry loving this show I meant loving, annoying touch screens
Oh, great series. It is slowly progressing with so many mysteries to solve. Good thing it will be able to expand on them and keep on with the character development during its full two cours. /s
Sorry to disappoint you, but this series is only 1-cour.
Off topic question : cherrie do you blog for sankakucomplex too? because this is a third week they post article about Boku Dake at almost at same time as you post it here, both websites have same delay, like almost 2 days after air time etc.
I hope not; I would fall off my chair if Cherrie turns out to be Rift from Sankaku…
Partly annoyed that we’ve been given direct looks at the murderer’s face, and I still don’t know who it is. Obviously people change over time, and it’s been 18 years since the previous incidents, but if Mr. Councilman is any of the people we’ve seen in the past, I’m not sure which person it is.
Well, the reporter was an adult in the past, and clearly looks old now. The councilman, however, looks… eh, 30-ish, same as Satoru, so would imply that it’s a younger person, or even one of the kids. Maybe. Satoru’s mom never really aged, so it’s not a guarantee. Plus, the boot prints outside the shed were adult-sized.
One point in particular stood out to me this episode: Satoru’s testimony was dismissed, back in the original investigation, but the other (unnamed) child’s testimony was considered very important. It’s a bit of a throwaway line, but it makes me wonder if someone else might have a ‘power’, like Satoru’s time rewind. Like the ability to make people believe what you say?
And there’s always the possibility of two people working together. Or the Death story applying to the murderer more than Satoru.
That point you mentioned as being one that stood out to you is also one that jumped out at me. Admittedly, it just made me utterly pissed on Satoru’s behalf, but that’s an interesting idea, that someone else may have a power. However Show Spoiler ▼
. Even so, one has to wonder why it is his testimony got ignored while the other child’s got acknowledged. As far as I can remember that was never really explained and well…rather than it being throwaway, I kind of feel it’s important.
This was the best episode so far for me. The insight gained, Airi’s story’s conclusion (hopefully, cause it’ll be devastating if anything happens to her), and the surprise at the end (I literally started jumping around at that end).
I said last episode that Satoru’s Revival power seems to be amplified by his bonds with his loved ones, and had Airi died and he saw her dead, which would send him back in time, that would’ve been proven true. This episode threw a wrench at that theory, as merely the sight of the real murderer was enough to trigger it (that blue butterfly at the end is undeniable). It would seem that a certain event, object, or person that would send Satoru’s mind into a shock is what triggers the ability upon sighting. At least, that’s the part of Revival that is responsible for the giant time leaps.
The villain is such an infuriatingly cunning manipulator. He is very meticulous in his framing skill, has a lot of connections who are none the wiser about who he really is (like that idiot Takahashi and also Yuuki’s father), and now on top of all that, is a city councilmen, with a lot of resources for him to exploit. In other wards, he’s untouchable. Especially now in Satoru’s condition. That’s why I insisted that the present is absolutely the worst battle ground for Satoru to fight him. Now in the past again, not only is Satoru in the clear (or is he?) so he has a lot of freedom to roam around investigating while not being paid much attention because he’s a kid (with more advantage this time because of the evidence he gathered in the present), but the killer shouldn’t be in possession of the power he has in the present, so the playing ground should be more even now. Only this time, Satoru must absolutely not screw it up. I don’t know what would send him into a shock to send back in time again, but he can’t control his power, so there is always the possibility that he might not be able to do it again.
Now for the villain. If I were Satoru and I went back to 1988 all over again, the first thing I would do is go up to Yuuki and ask him who presented those magazines to him, because that’s most likely the real killer. He knew a lot about Yuuki through his connection with his father, including his shy and too kind personality, and then he exploited that personality when he gave him those magazines and then used their warehouse to finish off Kayo, and also murdered Hiromi and planted his pictures at his residence, which, coupled with those magazines, would make Yuuki fall for it all. Speaking of Kayo, I knew for certain that her parents killed her in this time line, which made it really confusing why the killer would even bother to finish her the way he did. I’m guessing he has a thing for young girls, and once he targets one, he never lets go. However, we didn’t even get to personally know the other young girl victim from the other school, nor do we know the circumstances of the young girl he attempted to take in the present (the one he let go of when Sachiko saw him), so there is no telling why he really targets them. In other wards, we’re still lacking motive, but maybe that’ll show up later on. I don’t know what to think of the motive, but the fact that his victims are always young girls is some Criminal Minds kind of perversion.
The killer is the main villain, but he’s not the only villain here. Kayo would also die by her parents’ hands, so it’s not enough for Satoru to just stop the killer. Satoru needs to do a lot more than just that to save her. He needs to find a way to make the police arrest the parents, perhaps catching them in the act. Hopefully with his new insight, he’ll figure out a way. Is it too much to be asking for a happy ending here? ;_;
My understanding of the story about the “magazines” given to Yuuki is that he makes up the “gift” story out of embarassment in front of Satoru and knowing it wasn’t proper to allow a younger boy to see that stuff. That was Yuuki’s porn stash and of a type expected and normal for a young man.
Later, after Yuuki was being investigated, someone planted different porn (gay/pedo apparently) in Yuuki’s room to make it appear he would have an interest in a boy.
As an adult, when Satoru learns from the reporter’s file about the gay/pedo porn being found in Yuuki’s room he flashes back to the scene and recalls that the porn he saw was vanilla hetero (hence, his thought “there was nothing like that there!) Satoru realizes evidence had been deliberately planted adding to the weight of how the murderer gets other people blamed.
We don’t have a reason to believe Yuuki has seen the murderer.
Good point there, but that doesn’t rule out that Yuuki saw his face. It could be anyone who used to come over to their bento shop and was good friends with his father, and because Yuuki worked closely with his father for most of the working hours (unlike Satoru who goes off to deliver pizzas), there is a chance that he saw his face. He just didn’t think anything of it because he and his father were good friends. With this, all Satoru has to do is ask him for the names of frequent visitors who seem to be good friends with his father and then somehow narrow the list of suspects he acquired from the present.
One problem for Satoru is: In the past, even Satoru maange to know who the culprit that Kill Kayo Hiromi and Aya in advance, he won’t be able to do much because “the culprit” hasn’t commited any crime yet – therefore he is “innocence” by that time.
Just one step at a time. Just figuring out the culprit for now will be a huge accomplishment.
…Please save everyone. 🙁
Time can be rewritten!
If i learned something watching Steins;Gate, is that if you mess with time, it will never end like you want to :/
its obviously the teacher. Think about it the murderer is someone who has constant access to the children and is someone who people would suspect the least. He knows that outcasts are easy targets so he carefully frames them to get away.
Yeah I thought it was pretty clear at this point, they’re not exactly making it subtle. The biggest surprise would be if it’s NOT him.
That shot of Satoru in the burning building looking dead into the camera gave me chills.
And I don’t hate Takahashi. It’s suspiciously serendipitous that he was right there to help Satoru and Airi, but whatever. He’s not a hero, he’s kind of a dick, but he helped Satoru this time – even if it was just to score points with Airi, it counts.
Loving that reporter, too. ‘Because she wouldn’t raise a child that would kill her.’ Man, what a great line, said so calmly, like fact. You can really feel his respect for that woman.
Looks like another jump into the past is coming next week (I believe that’s what the Blue butterfly signifies) Hopefully Satoru can use what he now knows to fudge events more favorably.
Did they make the reporter’s eyes red on purpose to make us think he was the possible murderer? So do we all think he’s a good guy or bad guy?
https://randomc.net/image/Boku%20Dake%20ga%20Inai%20Machi/Boku%20Dake%20ga%20Inai%20Machi%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
Yeah, that confused me too. I believe Sawada to be a genuinely good guy, so that small detail was just bizarre.
But still somehow I wouldn’t be surprised if he did ended up being suspected as the murderer at least.
reporter guy has facial hair, actual culprit doesnt
https://randomc.net/image/Boku%20Dake%20ga%20Inai%20Machi/Boku%20Dake%20ga%20Inai%20Machi%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
It’s just animation style, this is the scene in the manga http://i.imgur.com/40klU9K.png
not a spoiler don’t worry.
Am I the only one who has trouble putting the pieces together in this show? I love it and all but the episode presented too much information that even Concrete Revolutio’s densest ones blushed.
Not just you; I’ve given up and am just along for the ride. There’s too many tiny bits of possibilities which get floated and never explored. Random mentions of random possible suspects we know nothing about. We haven’t gotten a real look at any of the possible murderers other than the teacher. We never see any musing about possible motives, means, etc… so I’ve concluded this story is just meant to be watched and not figured out.
But throwing around random guesswork on randomc after an episode is half the fun of this show!
Ok let’s start piecing some facts we already know! Assuming the guy in the first few episodes is the culprit, he looks younger than the councilman and drives a blue car. But the councilman nishizono seems old and drives a black car! either one has to be the killer OR both are the killers, there’s more than one killer is what I’m thinking…
Is it me or do the character models look different from the first episode? I think its the less rounded face and smaller neck.
https://randomc.net/image/Boku%20Dake%20ga%20Inai%20Machi/Boku%20Dake%20ga%20Inai%20Machi%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Boku%20Dake%20ga%20Inai%20Machi/Boku%20Dake%20ga%20Inai%20Machi%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2028.jpg
He get stressed out from all the event thats why he is thinner than the previus episode
yea that’s what i was going to say, artists probably tried to make it realistic and show how a horrible situation can reflect on a person’s health.
Actually the animation staff has been completely replaced between ep.5 and ep.6, including the animation director and the storyboard artist. So might it be that a different staff cannot keep up with original character design? I also noticed that the characters look much edgier and closer to the manga now. Not sure that it is a good thing – I kind of got used to the more polished and round look of the previous episodes.
I’m not sure why the change happened but since the number of animators’ names in the ending credits are almost cut to half now I would bet on budget constraint.
I feel silly for asking this as I’m sure the answer is super obvious, but.. Was the final scene an indication of another Revival about to take place or was the black & white thing just for dramatic effect?
On the bright side of things, Airi should be out of danger now that Satoru’s arrested. I doubt the killer would be stupid enough to go after her while Satoru is behind bars. Maybe (hopefully) she can pull off some impressive detective work and figure something out.
Yup, I think the blue butterfly, maybe in addition to the black and white, symbolised another Revival about to happen
Oh, and.. I realize the manager helped Satoru out a great deal during the fire by aiding him with Airi and letting him escape but.. His “tegara wa ore no mon da”-line made me want him to get punched in the face again (heck, I even replayed the face-punch scene from last ep). Maybe I’m a bit too harsh on him..
Well… the guy has an obvious crush and is playing all his cards… in a somewhat stupid and unchivalrous way.
He still saved Airi’s life (Satoru couldn’t have carried her out himself) and told Satoru to run out the back.
He’s welcome to a little assholishness.
Just had to add, I damn love the OP now.
Asian Kung-Fu Generation – Re: Re:
Kimi wo matta, boku wa matta…