First Impressions / Inuyashiki

「新宿の人たち」 (Shinjuku no Hito-tachi)
“Shinjuku People”

If Inuyashiki falls apart in its final two episodes, this will likely be the week which began it all. From killing cops to doing 9/11, Hiro has quickly advanced into villainous insanity, proving he not only has no serious threat (at least for now), but powers which outmatch anything in anyone’s wildest dreams. Normally I’m one content to sit back and admire the chaos in these situations, but with only two episodes left and Ichiro still largely playing second fiddle, it begs the question just what Inuyashiki’s end game really is.

For Hiro this week nothing certainly changed from prior behaviour, with the kid following his mindset through and through. He firmly believes the state of Japan has ruined the happiness he briefly found with Shion, and so the state must die, citizens and all. It’s a typical overreaction from one who cannot see the forest for the trees, not understanding that severe actions have consequences and that in some way he may be wrong. Shion’s rejection of Hiro of course best shows this, refusing to not only use the money Hiro has been sending her (somewhat explaining why the police have not tracked them down yet), but also entertain any idea of a future with the mass murderer. Hiro’s stupefaction is a textbook sociopathic response, unable to understand why his killing is wrong or why someone clearly close to him would find issue with it. So what if I slaughter? I’m just doing it because they are threatening my life! Since Hiro cannot empathize with those he sees as strangers (i.e. anyone not in his immediate circle) he cannot understand the moral reasons those originally close to him turned on and rejected him. This is an issue set to only grow more dangerous as Hiro accepts his isolation because those friends and family were the only thing largely regulating his actions. Without a grounding force to guide him (rightly or wrongly), Hiro is set to truly lose control.

While this development would typically be great from a villain standpoint, the problem starting to crop up is the lack of noticeable countermeasure. Hiro effectively has a monopoly over deus ex machina killing, capable of machine gun fire through a television while Ichiro struggles to find him through conventional radio waves. While it makes some sense how Hiro goes about his revenge (I’m suspecting concentrated, high frequency pulse waves from speakers, explaining how smartphones and TVs both can kill) and why Ichiro struggles learning what Hiro easily picked up (think how troublesome computers and complex electronics are for most seniors), from a story standpoint it’s becoming worrisome. Hiro needs a challenge, a roadblock of some sort to put him in his place, even if only temporarily. Sure it’s fun watching him down planes from the sky and execute news anchors on live television, but such things eventually grow boring without proper hero to combat them. Ichiro is the only one who can bring Hiro to a halt, and the longer this inevitable confrontation is held off, the less time Inuyashiki has to forge a decent conclusion from it. I’m far from giving up hope on Inuyashiki just yet, but with only two weeks left to conclude this tale, the warning sirens are starting to sound softly in the background.

Guess we shall just have to wait and see what next week brings.

19 Comments

  3. If Hiro kills everyone in Japan, how can the world have anime? And if all anime creators are gone, won’t Hiro disappear as well cause there won’t be anyone left to animate him? Lel 😛

    Atsu
    Reply

  4. Even if they find out his place, he can fly away on its own

    But his Mass murder killing spree… I hope he do not capture the TV Signal that comes or go oversea of Japan, in this Anime

    Worldwidedepp
    Reply

      1. Not every TV

        or, he hacks the Aliens that still around Earth. Because they could do that, this Time and Space. Like locate every Human Brain and perhaps do this attack. But did they do not out of empathy resurrect the Boy and the old men? Or is this more an “bet”, look like how the Humans use this technology.. and seems like the Boy use it for the Bad and Bloody side

        Well, with the Aliens still around Earth he can hack or override their Systems, to do this trick here. Because with Earth technology (alone to track the victims down) it is not possible

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      2. There is an possibility

        He can somehow compress and pitch up the “all around us Frequency Smog”. Like the Frequency from the Mobiles, the Radio Waves and other human made electromagnetic waves.. But this still needs an ability to locate the victims (that i still do not see it). He also just use the Waves that are already there, just compress them to deadly force

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

  6. Yeah, totally agree. We know how dangerous and unstable Hiro is,
    and have know for some time. So this episode was really a rehash
    and I didn’t see any real story development other than a weak attempt
    to draw empathy from its viewers with the baby in the plane (i.e., he’s
    so heartless as to knowingly kill an innocent baby).

    And Ichiro’s lack of any forward motion (even with his daugther –
    man, if I were her after seeing what I’ve seen, I’d be hounding him
    for an explanation – WTF!)   And all of those still using a cell phone
    after seeing, in their first person, what can happen — stupid, stupid!

    Hopefully, the last two episodes won’t be a failure to deliver since
    we’ve come so far, but I’m a little worried that it might flop.

    mac65
    Reply

    1. I’m still hopeful for a good ending, but there’s definitely a risk of a cop out or something similar. It all depends on how Ichiro’s and Hiro’s inevitable fight ends and when they finally end up confronting each other. If it’s next episode I think things should be fine, but if it’s only in the final episode, yeah, that’s a problem lol.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  8. A story of two homo sapiens, both defective, ultimately reconstructed as cyborgs.

    Amusing, amusing developments. Such passivity and apathy among the populace leads to grim and hostile entertainment that lets one’s blood lust soar. The further exponential increase in grisly death in various ways combined with ever escalating combined efforts in exacting righteous vengeance will always be very satisfying. The need for heroes is not especially necessary, however…

    We must not forget that there is that other homo sapien turned cyborg. If action is not taken swiftly given the constraints of real time, it would simply lead to an abrupt state of nothing. Sword tease I say. Off with the neck, why are you stopping midway? Given that these loathsome civilians with their pathetic attitudes are merely decorations to be plucked off their stems, such massacres will only grow ever tiresome without some heart-thumping moments of utter suspense reeking of adrenaline. Come on you old man! Put up some fight like what you did with those yakuza scum! Even watching a tiger chasing down a prisoner on death row is more entertaining at this point. Escalate the madness! Do not let my purchased ticket to the front seat go to waste! Fight goddammit, FIGHT!!!

    Nishizawa Mihashi
    Reply

  9. This week I am getting more and more curious about the screen time they have for Mari, and with so little episodes left – what’s the intention of those screen time?

    Maybe I am starting to think Mari isn’t such a bad girl actually, I mean the pass few episodes have actually make gradually become a likeable character. Its like she came out of her teenage angst and is now more of an understanding young lady?

    ornehx
    Reply

    1. She’s definitely not bad, she’s just a typical teenager (pushes parents away, concerned about appearances, etc.).

      As for her role I have no idea either, she’s either a mechanism to bring Hiro and Ichiro together (my first guess), or simply a way of humanizing Ichiro further. I’d bet on the former a lot of the time, but it’s hard envisioning how to do that now with only two episodes left. Guess we will just have to wait and see 😛

      Pancakes
      Reply

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