Episode 10 –
Phew, Another is starting to get really good. The tension in the atmosphere is getting quite intense, all while the series meticulously reveals little details and hints that edges us ever closer to figuring out who the extra student is. The writing has really improved a lot since the beginnings of the series, and the results are speaking for themselves. The character interactions between Misaki, Sakakibara, and Akazawa are also starting to gain much more significance, while the cliffhanger at the end throws the series into a frantic, foreboding atmosphere.
The main details to take note of are Akazawa’s dream of meeting Sakakibara months prior to his transfer, the death of Misaki Mei’s twin sister, Misaki’s ability to “see those close to death”, and the out-of-place mentioning that Sakakibara’s mother and aunt looked strangely similar. The most interesting deduction from these details is that the curse may have started far earlier than previously thought, where the death of Mei’s twin sister could have been part of the curse. On top of that, the implied meeting between Sakakibara and Akazawa eighteen months prior to his transfer to town seems to rule out the two as the extra student.
What’s puzzling here is that Misaki chose to not mention who the “dead” extra student is, even though she claims to have known who it was since earlier on in the school year. That’s some rather important information to withhold, but the fact that she didn’t mention it till now may have some relevance to the story. Considering the recent revelation that the “dead” extra student must be killed to stop the curse, perhaps it’s that she had no reason to reveal the culprit until now. There also seems to be some importance to Mei’s statement that Sakakibara’s mother and aunt look similar, but it’s not fully revealed as of now.
What is most intriguing about this series is not exactly the mystery itself, but the effects that the mystery is inducing on the main cast. There’s a slow but steady breakdown of rationality and order, where the repeated deaths are starting to manifest in fear and panic amongst the cast. Teshigawara’s frantic pounding on the door towards the end of the episode was quite startling, and it seems that in next week’s episode things will get even more frantic. With only two episodes left til the end of this series, I’m very much looking forward to seeing how everything wraps up.
Overall Enjoyment: 4.1/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 