Summary:
Daitetsu tells Jin about the abandoned wand on the rooftop, and Jin figures it was just an everyday fight. Jin then visits the Kamimori house where the grandmother tells him that Kannagi-sama saved people who tried to hang themselves following the events of the war. Jin also learns that the five neighboring families (including the Satou, Suzuki, and Tanaka families) manage the Kannagi shrine. Unfortunately, the ancient documents were destroyed in a fire and so no one knows the name of the god enshrined there.
Jin spots Zange beating the crap out of some thugs, and asks about Nagi. Zange is confident in her own godliness, but theorizes that Nagi could be impersonating Zange’s real sister. The sacred tree is an excellent medium with great power, but it also attracts random spirits. Jin searches all around town for Nagi while Tsugumi worries about how withdrawn Jin has become. We get a short scene where a kitten mews next to a passed out Nagi, but it’s unclear if it is real. The two recurring images in this episode are Jin waiting for a phone call and Jin looking out at various construction sites.
Reaction:
This episode continued with the dark and heavy mood from last time, and it is a stark break from the rest of the season. I think the melodrama has been handled fairly well, however, and Jin’s anguish feels real. I liked how signs of Nagi were everywhere, and yet Nagi herself was nowhere to be found. I wonder if Jin saved the uniform that Nagi threw out, as it would be such a waste to have to buy another one.
Hopefully the resolution will not be something silly like Jin suddenly having faith in Nagi and thereby restoring her presence. Nagi’s note to Jin mentioned she was sorry for lying to him, but it was not clear what exactly she meant. I’m pretty sure that Nagi is indeed the goddess of the land, but her powerful persona is not able to surface very often. Nagi’s lack of self-confidence is an interesting departure from Zange’s nonchalance about her own origin.
This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1971 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Ugh, another crapisode. Even Nagi cannot be bothered to show up anymore.
I almost expected a “Nagi fades from everyone’s memories except Jin’s” gimmick, but thank god they didn’t resort to that.
Shin: It would go against what little plot (and I do mean little, as quite a bit of the backstory has only been revealed in the last two volumes) the manga has established though. Do take note though, Volume 6 is where the drama takes equal billing to the comedy.
Chris: I guess learning that, again, the drama isn’t that much an arsepull from the producers (to give SOME resolution to the season) and is based on the manga, doesn’t change your opinion noh?
I thought this episode was great. Yes it’s a slower paced, more serious ep, but it was done almost as well as the comedy in my opinion. I can’t stand the people who’re labeling this as boring – not everything has to be fast paced comedy.
To break the seriousness for a bit, I read that as “as it would be such a waste to have to use another one.”