Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 8 – Analysis + Important Details

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This was a very interesting episode for its big reveals and for its use of using Yaomay to advance the plot.

At the start of this episode, Gwen rehashes much of what he had said in the previous episode again since Yaomay refused to believe his words that to certain people Reiko doesn’t exist and that she can’t exist outside of Kowloon. He notes that people he knows for a fact are living elsewhere have second versions in Kowloon and that the second versions of them disappear when the original enters Kowloon, leading him to come to the conclusion that the original and a second version cannot coexist at the same time although based on my theory about this illusory Kowloon being a construct of Kudo’s mind, I don’t believe that this is actually the case given what we see with the male confirmed to be Xiaohei in this episode, which I’ll get into later. Gwen also told in this same scene that Kudo cares for her although he’s not sure whether it’s the same as what he felt for Kujirai B.

Then there’s back-and-forth scenes between Kudo and Reiko and Gwen alone that touch upon how when you can physically touch something that shouldn’t exist the feeling of creepiness you should get eventually numbs, leading to you developing an attachment to it, which is him referring to both himself and others, in particular, Kudo, getting attached to Reiko, who is enjoying lunch with Kudo and notes to herself that the broth is tasty since she had just learned today that she’s an anomalous existence in the world who most people can’t see, which triggered feelings of insecurity. I happen to feel the same way. If I could physically feel someone who shouldn’t, and it wasn’t me hallucinating things due to schizophrenia, I would probably get attached in time too even if most others could never interact with that person.

We then get another flashback to when Kujirai B was alive, and she apparently had amazing luck even without Kudo around with her always winning at mahjong. Kudo found out at the time that she was taking pills for insomnia after a prescription slipped from her arm and that she had been doing so for a very long time, taking them after Kudo fell asleep whenever he spent the night over. Kudo then said he’ll show her a great time every night so that she can fall asleep even without pills, and when she indicated that she’s already enjoying herself on her own, he said that he’ll make things even better, which led to her making another point about her strong luck, which may have been her attempt to keep her distance from Kudo since she had been considering suicide due to the news about Kowloon getting demolished soon. She may have been considering sparing Kudo from extra grief.

By subtly hinting that she doesn’t need him to have a good time, she perhaps hoped Kudo would back away from her so that he wouldn’t be crushed after she died. As we know from previous episodes, Kujirai B said that she shouldn’t wish for anything more due to how good life is for her now, and it shows she had completely attached herself to living in Kowloon and was very vulnerable to a stressor like Kowloon being demolished. That’s why she said her story would neither continue nor end in Episode 6, ’cause she had intended to kill herself as I had speculated with Episode 6.

Then we get a scene with Miyuki and Papa Hebinuma, and when Miyuki suggests that Papa Hebinuma go out for a walk since it’s a nice day out, he replies, “Close the curtains, Haoran.” before Miyuki replies that he is Miyuki, and his father just says that that’s what he said. We then get a shot of the painting with Papa Hebinuma’s young son who had died, and that’s certainly who Haoran is. Miyuki then gets a call from Yulong, who reveals that Kujirai B died of an overdose, and Miyuki says that she wouldn’t have died from the pills Dr. Wong prescribed unless she took tens of thousands of them, but he can understand why Dr. Wong felt responsible nonetheless. Yulong then notes that all records of the pill that caused Kujirai B’s death was erased, and that’s when Miyuki said that he has a strange connection to Kujirai B since he believes the pill was made by the Hebinuma Group. Yulong then revealed that Papa Hebinuma had made Miyuki’s first job the successful demolition of the Second Kowloon Walled City, which had been done to erase all records of Miyuki’s birth and “you-know-what”, whatever that is.

We then see the male who resembles Xiaohei plug a machine into the computer interface that Yulong uses for his investigations and found absolutely no data ’cause Yulong doesn’t leave any traces of what he does. He then enters Kowloon and spies on the young girl Xiaohei before taking off his helmet ’cause of how hot it is in this version of Kowloon. He then gets a call from his master, who happens to be Papa Hebinuma, answering that he’s Xiaohei and that he’s now doing an investigation into Kowloon and will report back on his findings with Papa Hebinuma saying to not underestimate him as just being an old man. I’ll get into why this is relevant later.

We then get back to Kudo and Reiko, who is questioning her existence and looking sad. When Kudo points out that the most of the debris from the explosion at Hai Sing Tower had been cleared, he notes that Reiko has been awfully quiet. She asks him whether he remembers what he told her, that she shouldn’t go anywhere, and when she turns the question back onto him, saying she doesn’t know where she should go, he embraces her and confirms that he’ll always be here, even if this world is empty he thinks to himself.

Yaomay then gets a dose of reality when she finds out her bank account has no money with Gwen confirming to her that money earned in Kowloon disappears since it doesn’t exist. Nevertheless, he lets her borrow a large amount of money from him, saying his former job, which may have been the brief stint he had investigating Kowloon for Miyuki, paid outrageously well. Yaomay then gets shut down time after time again until she meets the original version of one of the elderly folks Kujirai B and Kudo used to play mahjong with, and when she talks about how Kowloon still exists, he thinks she’s into those online urban legends his grandkid is into that talk about the illusion of the Second Kowloon Walled City. He says there were a lot of rumours about it in the first place about how it was demolished as a cover-up by the Hebinuma Group, and when Yaomay pressed him for more info, he said that you never know who might be listening, so if she wants to know, she’ll have to ask those on the Internet.

Yaomay then goes to an Internet cafe and enters a chatroom with Yulong on the other end of it, who realizes that it’s her. They both want to prove the existence of the illusory Kowloon, but to do so they must find out why it exists. Yulong asks her if she has noticed anything strange, and after a lot of questions and answers, Yaomay realizes that it’s always midsummer in Kowloon since she had found Kowloon in March when it was cold out. They then exchange contact info after Yaomay explains she doesn’t know anything else, and he shares something he supposedly knows about a cover-up being involved in the demolition of Kowloon, which Yaomay intends to learn more about when she returns.

I love that Yaomay, who has the least connections with Kowloon compared to the rest of the cast, is advancing the plot as ecargmura at ArumJournal indicated. It’s boring when the protagonist does everything, which is why I hate most isekai power fantasies, since they’re just shallow wish-fulfilment and nothing more. I’m not against the protagonist being the most competent person in a story, but you have to give useful and fulfilling roles to side characters to make your story more interesting to make it go beyond a reader self-inserting into the protagonist, imagining that he/she/they are just as successful and smart as the protagonist, which is why I’m happy with Kowloon Generic Romance’s mangaka for giving the story’s side characters such a prominent role.

How this is relevant is that this shows that Papa Hebinuma is further along in his investigation than Miyuki and Yulong since the male Xiaohei had already indicated that it’s always hot in Kowloon with him saying his helmet isn’t right for “this Kowloon”, showing that he already knew it was always summer in Kowloon. Papa Hebinuma, seems to be conducting his own investigation into Kowloon by using that male Xiaohei, who was first seen in Hong Kong with Yulong in Episode 6 when he was described as a new assistant, which suggests that this male Xiaohei could be the original since he entered from outside of Kowloon.

If we accept that this current Kowloon is a product of Kudo’s existence and quite possibly a construct of Kudo’s mind or subconscious like I propose it is, then perhaps why two versions of Xiaohei can exist at the same time is that the male Xiaohei is the real Xiaohei and the young girl Xiaohei is simply who Kudo always perceived Xiaohei as being, meaning he misgendered Xiaohei all this time, and Xiaohei’s actually a male. Since the young girl Xiaohei would not be not a true stand-in for the apparent real Xiaohei since Kudo may have never knew Xiaohei’s gender, that would be how a real version and a fake version can exist at the same time as girl Xiaohei doesn’t represent the real Xiaohei. One way to test whether this theory is true would be to reveal to Kudo that Xiaohei has actually been a guy all this time. If the young girl Xiaohei disappears, it’d show that Kudo is central to the existence of this current Kowloon. Papa Hebinuma may have already figured out that the mystery around why there can be two versions of Xiaohei is crucial to understanding why this Kowloon exists.

I personally believe this Kowloon exists ’cause Kudo was crushed by Kujirai B’s death, and for some reason, it manifested partially or entirely as a construct of his mind or subconscious in an effort to get him to move on from Kujirai B. That’s why I speculated in my write-up of Episodes 3 and 4 that the question Kudo asked to Kujirai B in Episode 2 could hint at the ending of the story in the story. “Wouldn’t it be painful to be in love, knowing it’d be gone someday?” could end up being THE central question to the story since it’s clear he’s still reeling from Kujirai B’s death and given him placing a huge emphasis on nostalgia. I believe the most important lesson Kudo must learn is that the joy and connection of love, even if temporary, outweigh the absence of such experiences and heartbreak. I believe that the last few episodes will likely have Kudo realizing the truth of this unnatural world and choosing to fall for Reiko despite her differences from Kujirai B, fully knowing that it won’t last due to the world in Kowloon Generic Romance not being real. My hunch is that this work is meant to be a serious lesson about how it’s okay to fall in love even if that love isn’t permanent ’cause love is very much worth it as there’s nothing more beautiful in the world.

At the end of the episode, Yaomay texts Reiko about wanting to see her and that Gwen is with her when Reiko was in bed with Kudo, and obviously Kudo and Reiko rushed to intimacy when they don’t really know each other that well, meaning they acted out of pure passion in the moment. It’s not like with Kudo’s previous relationship with Kujirai B in which he was in love. I do think it will get to a point where Kudo genuinely loves her though, if only for the final episode. It’s certainly an interesting point at which to end the episode. I did catch that it’s now July 1st with it being July 23rd in the first episode, meaning time resets before it becomes August 31 but I completely forgot to point that out in my blog post. My theory is that this the timeframe leading up to Kujirai B’s death is important, and Kowloon, if it’s a construct of Kudo’s mind, is trying to make Kudo get closure over losing her, and thus, it is giving him time to fall for Reiko before realizing that she’ll be gone, which will give him the chance to say goodbye to her, which he couldn’t do for Kujirai B.

Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 7 – Analysis + Important Details

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This episode had a very interesting reveal at the end, which backs up my theory on the current Kowloon being a special manifestation of Kowloon based on feng shui.

Before I cover the events of Episode 7, there’s something I need to go over about the previous episode. ecargmura at ArumJournal pointed out that the janitor Yulong greeted had his hair drawn and coloured exactly the same way as Xiaohei, and I’ve reached a conclusion that given Kudo’s connection to Kowloon, it may be based partially on how he saw things from back then before Kowloon was destroyed, so maybe the older male Xiaohei is who Xiaohei actually is in the present day, and Kudo just misgendered Xiaohei all this time without realizing it, which is why there’s a younger girl Xiaohei coexisting as the same time as the male Xiaohei. It wouldn’t be that they’re clones but that the young female Xiaohei is who Kudo always saw Xiaohei as being, which is how a fake and a real version can exist at the same time.

It opened with a flashback of Kudo sharing with Gwen that he wants to propose to Kujirai B since Kowloon is being demolished soon to make it as special for her as possible. Gwen asked him whether he really knew her, which made Kudo doubt for a moment whether he should propose to her, but Gwen clarified he didn’t want to put a damper on his plans.

Back in the present, Kudo catches sight of Gwen close to the site of the explosion, and they meet up in a secluded area with both of them confirming that they’re the real versions of themselves. Gwen also shared that he’s staying around ’cause there’s someone precious to him, and Kudo throws the question Gwen asked him in the past back at him about whether he really knows that person, leading to Gwen saying he’s getting a better sense of what that person is like now, prompting Kudo to say that Gwen is sticking around to make sure he doesn’t end like him, probably in the sense that Kudo lost his fiancée and became jaded. Gwen also shared that he intends to take Kudo away as well, but Kudo has no intention of leaving Kowloon, and the shot of the sunflowers shows that he’s still haunted by Kujirai B’s death and intends to live and die in Kowloon.

We then have Miyuki on a call with Yulong saying he intends to reach Dr. Wong’s clinic, and he doesn’t know whether the second fake version of Dr. Wrong will be there. Miyuki hangs up when Yulong says that he has a bad habit of keeping things to himself with him not sharing with Gwen that he grew up in Kowloon, showing that Kudo was right to throw the question Gwen asked him right back at him since Gwen thought that Miyuki was also an outsider to Kowloon. As Miyuki continues walking, he then feels unwell, attributing it not to heatstroke but to him being too conscious of this special manifestation of Kowloon.

We then get a flashback of Gwen meeting Miyuki for the first time at a bar after the Hebinuma Group demolished the Second Kowloon Walled City, which Miyuki wasn’t happy about, which is why he wanted a drink. Gwen almost immediately hit on him and asked him to accompany him to a better place. As they’re walking outside, Miyuki lays into Gwen, saying that his spiel back at the bar about him being a jack-of-all-trades living hand-to-mouth is insincere and an act meant to avoid people getting jealous about his excellence and that it’s no way to live, which gets Gwen flustered to the point that he admits that he’s kind of broke right now but doesn’t want to lose Miyuki, and that’s why he wants to treat him for a drink for now. Miyuki kissed Gwen during this interaction, revealing his snake tongue, saying that he’s not as well-bred as he thought he is. When they’re in bed together, Gwen reveals he doesn’t care about whether Miyuki is a man or woman, and even though he wouldn’t have initially hit on Miyuki if he had revealed himself to be a woman, he now believes he’d love him even if Miyuki presented as a woman, which takes Miyuki by surprise given he had never met anyone who wasn’t interested in what sex he is. He, much like Reiko and Yaomay are, just want to live his life as his absolute self. We know his father wants him to live one way, but he has his own ideas of how he should live his life.

Back to the present, Miyuki wakes up in Club Flower Garden, a burlesque club run by a Ms. Rose. He asks her whether she knows of a half-Japanese woman named Sihan, who may or may not be his mom, and Ms. Rose answers no. Miyuki then suddenly felt unwell again, maybe ’cause he was conscious about how fake this Kowloon is, and Ms. Rose suggests that he sees Dr. Wong. The lights then go out ’cause of the collapse/explosion from yesterday, and it turns out Reiko had come to investigate since they had a work order here. She then spots Miyuki, and when she mentions his name, Ms. Rose says that you’re not supposed to reveal the names of people you recognize in places like this. Miyuki and Reiko then both indicate they had some business with each other.

Back at Hebinuma Pharmaceutical, Reiko asks Miyuki about Zirconians, which she reveals she heard about from someone who saw something online and that his company was involved. He asks about her memories, and she reasons that she never had them to begin with since she’s a different person, but she nonetheless indicated her desire to be her absolute self, which got a reaction from Miyuki since he feels the same way. She believes there are things only she can choose, and she will become her absolute self, not someone else, leading to Miyuki asking who compares her with someone else, to which she responded Kudo. He then thinks that living with someone who has the same face as somebody you loved is exactly the revenge he has planned for his father, but Kudo accepts the current situation and chooses to be here, which he cannot understand at all. After Reiko notes that she has friends who accept her as her, Miyuki puts it out there that what’s bothering her is that Kudo hasn’t acknowledged, which she believes needs to happen for her to be her absolute self. He then answers that she is neither a Zirconian nor a clone, so they don’t know what to call her, and he comes up with the term “Generic” to describe her based on his knowledge of generic substitutions of brand-name substances.

Yulong then finds Kujirai B’s file at Dr. Wong’s clinic in Hong Kong, and when Dr. Wong catches him in the act saying he wouldn’t cooperate with them, Yulong says that he wanted to use Kujirai B as a reference for the Zirconian project since the current Kowloon has replicated many dead people. Kujirai B apparently had insomnia died from suicide.

We then got a shot of Kudo watching for it to turn 14:00 or 2:00 PM, pulling out his “faat” mahjong good luck trinket, and in mahjong, the 14th tile is crucial to complete a winning hand, and Kudo saying he wishes it was a scam was probably him cursing his good luck that he was able to find the tricket in the rubble of the mess of Sai Hing Tower since it makes him remember Kujirai B that much more even though it’s painful for him given she was the one to say that his name sounded like ‘faat’, which is a sign of good luck in Kowloon.

Reiko then revealed to Yaomay that she intends to move out of her apartment unit with her moving out allowing her to proudly say that she is herself and that she shouldn’t shoulder the burden of Kujirai B’s life. When Yaomay suggests that she throw out everything, Reiko says Kudo should be the one to decide what happens to that apartment unit. At night, Kudo knocks on Reiko’s door and says at midnight that it’ll be the anniversary of Kujirai B’s death. Yaomay is pissed that Reiko changed her mind ’cause of Kudo, but she admits that the anniversary of Kujirai B’s death is a huge thing, and so she’s happy when Reiko says that she wants patterned curtains. Yaomay then says that there’s a fabric store in Hong Kong she has really wanted to go to, and they make plans to do.

Back to Gwen, Miyuki apparently told him not to eat Kowloon’s food, perhaps due to fear that he’d get stuck in Kowloon or something, which gets him the idea to order some fresh food from outside of Kowloon. Just as Reiko is about to step outside of Kowloon for her shopping trip with Yaomay, Gwen stops her saying that she cannot leave Kowloon or she’ll disappear, which is backed up by how the guy who delivered the pizza he had ordered being unable to see him. Consistent with what we saw in Episode 5 with the guy who drove Gwen to Kowloon saying that there was nothing there, the man with the pizza could not see the re-creation of Kowloon or Reiko, and Yaomay herself looked up at the sky when Gwen stopped Reiko and said that something feels wrong, showing that she may have felt Kowloon not wanting Reiko to leave. Gwen then reveals that Kowloon was demolished three years ago, but Yaomay reacts in disbelief while Reiko believes everything Gwen has told them since she’s a logical person.

I believe at this point that my theory about the current Kowloon being a special manifestation of Kowloon based on feng shui could very well be on the right track. While Yulong believed that people need to resonate with something to see this Kowloon, I think it’s moreso the case that the current Kowloon has a laundry list of people, real people or second versions of them, from Kudo’s time in Kowloon living out their lives with their yin and yang counterparts. It makes sense that Reiko can’t be seen by those who can’t see Kowloon if we accept that feng shui exists in this story even though we can’t prove that it exists in real life.

Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 6 – Analysis + Important Details

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This episode begins to reveal the inner workings of the Kowloon we see. From the words of the characters themselves, they believe Kowloon’s existence may be based on feng shui, and I’ll reveal my cursory research on feng shui and how I believe it applies to Kowloon.

The episodes starts with Hebinuma Miyuki meeting with his father, who voices his disapproval for not acting like a Hebinuma with his outburst on TV. His father asked for an update on the Generic Terra project and the Zirconian project, and Miyuki replies that they’re still gathering information, which prompts his father to say he knows that Miyuki has already acquired vessels for orthodox clones in the event that the project fails, threatening retaliation since he’s not just a lonely old man. His father also says he has a new pet dog, as in Gwen, and I’m guessing he doesn’t approve of the relationship.

When Miyuki has returned, he looks sullen and tired, and he and Gwen have sex, after which we see Miyuki reach out high with his hand, showing that a life with Gwen is not what he has in mind, and that he wants to work towards his desired future with his own two hands.

The morning after, the maids alert Gwen to how Miyuki has made preparations for Gwen to leave with a suitcase full of his belongings and a large bag. Gwen then confronts Miyuki and with Miyuki being aloof, Gwen asks him whether he really intends to live for revenge, and Miyuki says that he alone will decide what he lives for. Gwen then tells Miyuki to choose him and says he’ll go wherever he goes, prompting Miyuki to say he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere, probably since Miyuki intends to stay in Kowloon forever. Gwen then kisses Miyuki forcefully to the point of biting him until he bleeds, putting it out there that pain helps him remember, like the other pains carved into his body, such as the tattoos. He then declares that he loves Miyuki before leaving.

In a flashback with Kujirai B, Kudo wonders whether Kujirai B likes goldfish and whether she used to have one since she’s always staring at them, and she replies that she can never have a pet ’cause then she’d never be free to go anywhere. Thus, the subtext is that Kudo wants the current Reiko to have a pet goldfish so that she won’t spend too much time away from work and home, to keep her in a box. Whereas Yaomay wants Reiko to be more free and her own person, Kudo wants to hold her back and keep her from changing. Kudo then got Kujirai B the second volume of The Landing Case Files, and she has no interest in reading it as the first volume was good, and she doesn’t want her good memories of the first volume to be ruined if the continuation isn’t as good. She said that right now it’s in the perfect spot, and she won’t wish for anything more, which contrasts with the current Reiko very nicely since she said in the previous episode that life is about wanting more. Kujirai B was adamant about her world not changing, much like the current Kudo is, and Kudo at the time pushed back on that saying he never regrets things even when he loses.

Gwen then puts it out there that Kowloon is set to be demolished. Kudo says he’ll go back to Japan or work in Hong Kong depending what the higher-ups say. Gwen says he’s a drifter, so he’ll live hand-to-mouth in Hong Kong. Before they ask Kujirai B what she’s going to do, Kudo says he has an apartment he has to find for Xiaohei since she wanted a new apartment in Kowloon, but now, that’s out of the question due to Kowloon being demolished. This shows my speculation from Episode 3 that what flashed into Reiko’s mind that Xiaohei supposedly said was either one of Kudo’s memories or an implied continuation of one of Kudo’s memories from when he was younger was the right thing to think about at the time. When Gwen asked Reiko whether she really isn’t going to read the book, she said that her story will neither end nor continue, which is chilling, as one way for her story to not end but not continue would be to commit suicide since her story would never continue if that happened while it also wouldn’t end due to its effect on others close to her.

Gwen as a delivery worker then came with a package for Yaomay’s workplace, and Yaomay is smitten and finds him so hot, managing to get his full name by being very forceful when asking for his name. She then remembers what Reiko told her about the server at the Goldfish Teahouse and connects the dots. She then managed to arrange a meeting between her and Reiko with Gwen. At a cafe, Reiko then mentions he knew Kujirai B, and he confirms that and shoots her down when she calls herself a clone as there was also a second version of him that no longer exists, and he explains he doesn’t know what’s exactly happening. When she brought up that Kujirai B’s dead, Gwen was surprised that she came to that conclusion, and she revealed that Kudo said that he killed her, which he confirmed is false since they had just gotten engaged. Yaomay then asks him how Kujirai B died, and Gwen tries to scare Reiko by saying that finding out the cause of Kujirai B’s death could lead to her dying the same way considering she has feelings for Kudo just like Kujirai B did. Reiko then enthusiastically and forcefully says she doesn’t love Kudo ’cause Kujirai B did and that she genuinely loves him, much to his surprise, leading to Yaomay saying that they’re their absolute selves, which Gwen actually responds well to that Reiko looks like herself rather than a copy of someone else, probably based on her demeanor and confidence, and Reiko was very happy to hear that with her smiling after she left the cafe.

Gwen then notes to himself he had never seen someone as eye-catching as Yaomay when he was in Kowloon, and when he asks her when she first came to Kowloon and whether she knew about Kowloon beforehand, she says she came six months back and that she did know about it beforehand. He then told her that this city is a lot more dangerous than she thinks and asked her whether she feels okay. Yaomay replied that she didn’t always look like this and that a while back she reverted back to her former appearance and that it wasn’t a hallucination, which he confirms he believes since there was a second version of him. When he asked her how she fixed it, she says that it was thanks to Reko-pon that she believes in her absolute self, which is to believe in yourself and choosing what your heart desires. She says that people tend to tell small lies to themselves, and that if you do that for too long that you end up as a fake self, but if you start doing what is true to yourself again that you’ll become your absolute self again. This caused Gwen to think back to Miyuki’s words and thought it might’ve been the same sort of thing for him. Yaomay then asks Gwen to see whether Kudo is real ’cause there’s something off about him, and Gwen thinks to himself that of course Kudo is real, as who else could’ve done something so cruel, and we’re not sure what he means by that.

Then back to the realty firm, Kudo is watching one of Miyuki’s TV commercials on Generic Terra, and Miyuki says that for immortality, concrete memories matter more than a lasting body. He says that if you lose your memories due to an accident or sickness, you can be restored to yourself by syncing to the memories in Generic Terra. His sales pitch was preserving precious memories for yourself or someone you know. Reiko then ate his cup ramen, and Kudo gets in a tizzy with how he was saving those for when he works late with Reiko apologizing since she hadn’t eaten lunch today. Kudo notes somewhat unhappily that she seems to be enjoying herself lately, leading to him saying her crow’s feet have gotten worse, and Reiko proudly states that wrinkles are the proof of what kind of life a person has had so far, so she considers it proof of her existence. She says eating good food with friends, enjoying herself, and feeling happy about things people say to her are proof of her existence with her resoundingly saying that she has become herself. Then she thought about Kudo, who lost his fiancé and also longs for nostalgia while despising change, being forced to work with her, a stranger who looks like his fiancé, and wonders that his days look like from his point of view, showing Reiko is a deeply understanding person.

Miyuki then walks in for his appointment with Dr. Wong asking whether he can get pregnant, and Dr. Wong says that he has both male and female genitalia but neither of them have reproductive function. Then he asks whether he can become a vessel, to which Dr. Wong asks whether he means using in vitro fertilization to transfer an embryo to his uterus, which he also notes is impossible as it wouldn’t develop. Dr. Wong then asks Miyuki whether it has to do with the Generic Terra project, and Miyuki asks whether he’s against the project. They’re then interrupted by Yulong, and Miyuki informs him that Dr. Wong is against the Generic Terra project. Yulong says the project can be used for treatment, but Dr. Wong says that’s not its true purpose, and Dr. Wong is about to mention something regarding Miyuki’s intentions before Miyuki says that he’s out of time since he’s hoping to speak with Yulong. Dr. Wong’s parting words are that it’s not commendable to live for revenge.

Yulong and Miyuki then meet somewhere in Hong Kong, and Yulong mentions that Miyuki’s dad wants to resurrect his dead son and believes that’s possible with Generic Terra’s memory back-up function, but Miyuki has no intention in helping him do that. Miyuki says that he’ll restore his son without any memories with his looks, voice, and warmth being just as they used to be, only his son wouldn’t have any of his memories, and that would be his revenge by getting his dad’s hopes up only to kick him down hard. Yulong indicates that place as in Kowloon has dead people living there just like they used to be, which happens to be exactly what they’re trying to create, the Zirconians. Miyuki indicates that it’s not just the dead as it’s as if the Second Kowloon Walled City was replicated and that they need to know how that works to move forward. It’s note that some can see the restored Kowloon while others can’t with him being frustrated that he can’t see Kowloon while Miyuki can’t. Yulong speculates that there must be a condition for why some can see it, and others can’t with the length of residency not being it since Gwen lived in Kowloon for a shorter period of time than Miyuki did, but Miyuki can still see it. Miyuki says that Gwen lived in Kowloon up until it was destroyed and that the current re-creation of Kowloon is not like how it was at the time of its destruction.

Yulong then notes that Yaomay, a celebrity is living in Kowloon, despite not having lived there before, which broadens the criteria of who can be there to them, which means they’ll have to broaden their thinking too. He says Hong Kong as a place attracts incredibly strong energies with Kowloon’s share of it being massive, so if you make something like Generic Terra right above Hong Kong, it’s natural that things be affected somehow, leading to Miyuki saying that they’re talking feng shui now and that anti-Generic Terra people talking about how it’ll disturb the climate doesn’t mean anything as feng shui is a superstition. Yulong says that feng shui at heart is very scientific with it influencing, environmental engineering, geography, architecture, and astronomy, all of which help people better navigate their lives, which is what feng shui is. His hypothesis is that Generic Terra disturbed the flow of cosmic energy, which resonated with something and materialized a re-creation of the Second Kowloon, and only those who resonated with it can see it. When Miyuki asks what on Earth he would be resonating with, Yulong says that human beings can’t help but see what they want to see and that his pitch for Generic Terra exploits that too with him saying it’s whatever they want it to be and hope the masses feel positively about it. When Miyuki asks whether Kowloon is the same ’cause he wants to see it, Yulong shuts it down since he can’t see it despite yearning for it so hard, and they then conclude that Kowloon isn’t the common denominator. Miyuki then gets ready to leave with Yulong saying that there’s only so much he can come up with due to the lack of information, and Miyuki says that he’ll look into it. As they’re leaving the building, Yulong then shares that the person in a mask is a new assistant he hired, who’s an interesting one who wears all sort of outfits. Yulong then says that he’s counting on Miyuki to get him more information on Kowloon and to keep his eye out for anything unnatural as stuff like that will give them a clearer picture on how this Kowloon works.

And then the last part of the episode comes down to Kudo and Reiko doing shopping with her suggesting maybe she should get a taste of genuine Chinese cuisine at its source since a lot of meals in Kowloon are Chinese-style, and Kudo says that she can find world cuisine right here. And when he points to all the different versions of cup ramen, Reiko angrily says that they can all be found in Japan and says that she’ll find some detergent since they ran out of it. Kudo then finds her reading a magazine on travelling, and she’s thinking of visiting different places and potentially moving away from Kowloon, and the reason for these thoughts is that the only thing fake in Kudo’s life is herself. She says that it might be better for her to not be around him since if he hangs around someone with the same as her he’ll never be able to move on. Kudo then puts his arm on her shoulder and says to not go anywhere and stay with him forever. Then an explosion happens, and he tells Reiko to go back to the office while he checks it out.

I had a cursory look at feng shui concepts since I felt with it being mentioned in Episode 6 that it was necessary to understand the story. Qi is believed to be a vital energy that flows through every living being, and feng shui is big on promoting balance in all things. What stood out to me is that a fundamental element of feng shui is polarity as in the interplay between yin and yang. Copying something I got from a Google search, if qi is what toggles people’s internal balance, the polarity of yin and yang is the fulcrum against which it is placed. The complementary aspects and interdependence between opposites is argued to be important as one cannot exist without the other.

How this may factor into Kowloon Generic Romance is that Kudo is a guy who’s very set in the past and is adamant about keeping things the same whereas Reiko is a forward-thinking person who has no past. Reiko also exudes warmth, positivity, and a clear idea of what she wants (Kudo) whereas Kudo is moreso cold, negative, and denies what he actually wants (Reiko). This dynamic is also seen with Miyuki and Guen in that Miyuki wants to live for revenge ’cause he’s stuck in the past whereas Guen wants to live for the future and is a more warm person in contrast to Miyuki’s colder, less caring nature and decision to cut off Guen ’cause he cares about him. Whereas Reiko has no past and has some desire to know more about Kujirai B, Yaomay fears her past and runs from it, showing a similar dynamic between opposites.

Thus, I believe Episode 6 shows that to exist in this re-creation of Kowloon that you need someone to oppose you thematically in some way. The reason Yulong can’t enter this re-creation of Kowloon is that he doesn’t have someone who is his counterpart. Xiaohei probably has a counterpart in someone who hates working and merely works so that he/she can make ends meet while also disliking Kowloon whereas Xiaohei really enjoys working and loves Kowloon. This would explain why the Branch Manager of the reality firm indicated that the population of the current Kowloon is constant, and it’s ’cause this version of Kowloon, whatever it is, keeps it that way to maintain a semblance of balance. Maybe Xiaohei’s counterpart would be the Branch Manager of the Kowloon branch of the realty firm Kudo and Reiko work at who always clocks out right on time and doesn’t love Kowloon based on how he said the Second Kowloon is an uncomfortable place to live in Episode 1. I believe that the common denominator, as Miyuki indicated, is not Kowloon, but Kudo himself, and that’s why the world was so pointed in its direction to force Kudo to come to terms with the current Reiko not being Kujirai B, how Kudo appeared to have some control of the world in Episode 4, and why Kowloon shakes when he is in turmoil ’cause the world itself is dependent on its connection to him. I believe Kowloon is moreso based on feng shui than a real sci-fi concept.

Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 5 – Analysis + Important Details

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This episode supports that the world of Kowloon Generic Romance is a dream world that involves Kudo. There was also some pretty interesting content that I don’t know what to think of, which I’ll get into later.

Firstly, it seems Kudo was faking Reiko out when he said he killed Kujirai B given he asked her what she’d do if he told her that, and she asked him what is he talking about, sounding incredulous about that. Kudo then laughed it off saying it’s true that she no longer exists in the world. It’s at this point I believe Kudo’s irreverence towards Reiko might be ’cause he’s trying to stop her from getting closer to him, and that’s why he tried to scare her like that. Reiko, understanding him well, says that she’s sure he doesn’t want to forget her, noting that she didn’t mean to speak for him, and I feel Kudo’s face at that moment showed his sadness and why he didn’t know how to react to Reiko understanding him so well, which is why he suggested that they go home.

Of course Yaomay is convinced that Kudo killed Kujirai B, saying that the face one normally shows isn’t necessarily who they really are with Kowloon being filled with people who have secrets. She feels that him mentioning it feels like a culprit returning to the scene of a crime, but I believe he just meant to scare Reiko a bit with a joke but was at a loss when Reiko appeared to understand him so well, and that seems to be how Reiko perceived that event as well.

After Reiko left Yaomay’s apartment, she thinks that the face Kudo made at that moment is something she has seen before when she showed up to work with clip-on earrings. She says she knows it’s not something to be happy about, but she wants to know things about Kudo that not even Kujirai B knew, even if they’re unpleasant.

At home, Reiko seemed to have trouble sleeping and got up to check out Kujirai B’s books and found one that interested her. She then read it until Yaomay sent her a text, and when she was in the midst of putting it back, she saw something that caught her eye, a ring that she believes was Kujirai B’s wedding ring, but given this world is likely fake, it’s probably not her actual ring. Then there was a brief earthquake. After possibly multiple days with it being impossible to determine how many days have passed, Reiko and Kudo both show up to work with dark circles under their eyes. Kudo has been struggling to go to sleep recently, and Reiko stayed up late last night to read a mystery book. She then asked Kudo if he knows any bookstores in Japan that carry Japanese books as the book she read has two volumes, but she only finished the first volume.

They met up at a bookstore Xiaohei also works at, and Reiko found that there’s a huge error in this copy she picked up since after a certain point, it’s just all question marks, making it unreadable. I don’t know what to make of this, and I don’t believe viewers are meant to know yet. Kudo said that he had read it before and nearly spoiled her before she said that she’d decide whether it’s interesting or not. Yaomay is of course not happy that Kudo is trying to control what Reiko wants, and he backs off. Reiko then says that she wants to buy something while she’s here and buys a book about travelling, and Kudo, thinking back to how Kujirai B had no interests outside of Kowloon, of course tries to talk Reiko out of it saying it’s an old edition of the book, and Yaomay forces him to back off once again.

At a bar, Yaomay kicks up a fuss about her reading one of Kujirai B’s books, and Reiko says she can’t unread what she previously read and wants to know what happens next, leading to Yaomay saying Reiko’s kind to Kujirai B, her love rival, and Reiko just says that she wanted to know what kind of person she was, which makes sense given how she looks identical to her. Who wouldn’t want to know more about the person you look identical to if you had the chance? Reiko says she want to learn more about herself, Kujirai B, and Kudo, and when Yaomay remarks that that’s greedy, Reiko asks if Yaomay’s any different since life is about wanting more, and that gives clarity to why she became interested in a book on travelling.

As Original Gwen and the maids see Dr. Hebinuma off as he’s headed to his variety show, the maids say Dr. Hebinuma has soft facial expressions these days and has become friendly ever since Gwen arrived. On the variety show, a woman is wondering whether cosmetic surgery will improve her look, and Dr. Hebinuma explains what they can do for her, and when that woman also wants her mouth to be pointed upwards, he explains that one’s heart can fix a smile more than plastic surgery will. Sean, the other personality next to Dr. Hebinuma, says that what he just said was all platitudes given he was blessed to be given everything he now has, which leads to Dr. Hebinuma giving Sean a kick, saying that being given things isn’t the same as being blessed as some things you’re given can lead to other things being taken away. They then go to a commercial break, and we see the reactions of Original Gwen and the maids, and then Kudo, Reiko, and Yaomay with Yaomay understanding what Dr. Hebinuma meant as when you’re given something you can lose yourself as living the life someone prepared for you means you’re giving up the life you could have otherwise had. Reiko believes Yaomay is talking about her and Kujirai B, but it seems more personal. One of the staff members at this establishment give them tickets to a screening of “The Butterfly Dream”, an old film with a huge national star, and Yaomay clearly recognizes the lead actress, and she rejects going to it with Reiko.

After watching the film, when Reiko is out with Yaomay again, she says that Yangli, the lead actress, was absolutely fabulous. After Yaomay picked out fabric with a particular pattern, Reiko mentions that there was a pattern like that in the movie with many costumes she would’ve liked, and Yaomay responds while clearly being upset that what she’s holding now is what she likes. Yaomay then indignantly throws out there whether Reiko even has time to be watching movies given she’s trying to learn about Kujirai B. Just the other day, she was worried that Kujirai B’s presence would be erased from the world and asks her whether she’s worried that she might be the one who gets erased and that she has been scared all this time. Yaomay says that Reiko can be so carefree ’cause she has never had a past and says that Reiko can never understand her before leaving the shop.

Yaomay then rushes back to her apartment, thinking she thought she left her past behind, but they’re coming for her. She then thinks back to her youth when her mother wanted to live vicariously through her daughter by controlling what she wore and having her look as much like herself when she was young as possible. Yaomay thought to herself that she loved the other earrings more than what her mom chose for her when the photoshoot was ongoing, but she stuck with it since her mom must know best. She thought to herself that her sense of self is being taken away.

Reiko then thinks that everyone has a present ’cause they have a past, and when she passes by a store, she thinks back to Yaomay saying that she’ll be the one who decides who is and isn’t her, that there are those who see genuine sparkle in a fake, and that when you’re given something that other things are taken away. Reiko only knows the present, so she doesn’t know how it feels to suffer from or long for the past and thinks about what she can give to her best friend.

When Reiko is having lunch with Kudo, she asks him whether he remembers what Yaomay said about having your sense of self taken, and he responded that he did. Reiko wondered if someone was scared of having something taken would giving that person something be a bother, and Kudo says it depends on what the gift is. Kudo then tells her to talk to Yaomay after Reiko feels wishy-washy due to not having experienced some of the things Yaomay has, which is nice of him considering how Yaomay treats him a lot of the time.

With some egg tarts in hand, Reiko visits Yaomay, who doesn’t want to see her ’cause the confident self she projects is not her real self, and she’s constantly worrying about what her parents think, not even being able to share what she actually likes with them. Reiko says that she understands and that Yaomay was probably trying to have her fake persona become the person she wanted to be with her not considering something like that fake. Since she doesn’t have a past, she doesn’t understand what it means to have an old self but that she understands very well the desire for an ideal self and that she saw genuine sparkle in fakes. She pressed Yaomao on whether that was also a lie, leading to Yaomay rushing out saying she’ll be her absolute self too, calling back to when Reiko said she would be okay with all of her decisions if she was sure that they were her decisions. At an earring store, Reiko has Yaomay pick out what she likes, which closely resembles what she picked out for herself in the past, and after Yaomay leaves to try them on, Reiko points to Kudo as being what she herself likes.

Dr. Hebinuma then gets a call from his father asking him what happened during that commercial.

Back to the flashback with Kujirai B at the Golfish Teahouse, she rates the place highly, which Kudo is ecstatic about, and then he brings out watermelon for her, which is apparently something he does for everyone, not just Reiko, and that’s when Kudo learned of her quirk of smoking and eating watermelons at the same time. She asks whether he himself has a quirk, and he responds isn’t that sort of thing someone close to you points out, leading to her saying she’ll find one and point it out to her, which gets a reaction from him since he longs to be close to her. When he first heard he was being transferred to Kowloon, he cursed his fate, but he’s finding he’s liking everything here, leading to Gwen saying he’s fallen in love with Kowloon. He then wakes up, and him being in turmoil coincides perfectly with the onset of an earthquake, which Xiaohei says there have been a lot of lately.

We then see Gwen arrive at Kowloon, and we don’t know from which point in time this is happening, whether we’re seeing Original Gwen arrive at Kowloon, or whether this is a completely different Gwen, and the kicker is that Kowloon has already been destroyed. With this recent episode depicting Kowloon having been destroyed and an earthquake’s onset coinciding with Kudo’s turmoil, it’s clear Kudo’s turmoil causes the world itself to shake, demonstrating the connection between his mind and the world’s existence and that this is indeed a dream world that involves Kudo in some way.

It’s not Kudo’s lingering feelings for Kujirai B that ’cause the world to shake but his refusal to let go conflicting with the knowledge that she’s dead that he’s trying to suppress. That’s why the earthquakes started after Reiko said Gwen told her that Kujirai B no longer exists in the world, ’cause he was trying hard to deny it, which was why he was feeding Kujirai B’s words back to Reiko and shit ’cause he hoped he could bring her back through that and why he put his hand over his face in distress in Episode 4. The world also pointedly made the case to viewers and Kudo in Episode 3 that Reiko is not Kujirai B with the sunflower shit, possibly ’cause it is trying to get him to address his issues properly instead of being in denial.

People that come to Kowloon erase the previous version there, and when those people leave, a new version emerges, as shown by how Kudo got a message on his computer in Episode 4 about there already being an existing item at “Sai On Tower” right after a Mr. Chan entered and then left, showing that Kowloon must always have a baseline number of people as the Branch Manager indicated in Episode 1 and that the computer was likely asking Kudo whether to replace the previous Mr. Chan from before the one that came from outside Kowloon entered Kowloon in Episode 4, showing Kudo has some level of control over the world.

The mystery continues to deepen with this episode, but some things, such as Kudo’s direct connection to the world, is becoming increasingly apparent, which is a good thing since the show at this point shouldn’t only be raising questions.

Kowloon Generic Romance Episodes 3 and 4 – Analysis + Series Ending Speculation

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Kowloon Generic Romance continues to be a very intriguing show. There is a lot of content to go through every episode, everything which appears to serve the story in some way. I’ll start off with my series ending speculation first. It is not unusual for me to speculate on the secrets of a story with a strong mystery aspect. I made a series ending prediction for Re:Zero after Episode 24 of Season 1 and expanded my prediction after Season 2 and successfully predicted a far in the future secret (I was told by someone who read the light novel) in Kumo Desu ga, Nanika? after Episode 17 of the only season the anime got.

It’s clear based on how the current Reiko is still 32 whereas Kudo has aged and is her senior even though they’re in what is supposedly “The Second Kowloon”, which came straight through the Branch Manager of the realty firm’s mouth, that the world in Kowloon Generic Romance is unnatural. With that out of the way, I can talk about what I really want to delve into.

I am a very detailed-oriented person, and from what I’ve seen from the first four episodes of Kowloon Generic Romance, Kudo has an extreme fixation on Kujirai B to the point of the spectre of her has an all-powerful hold on him even though she most likely no longer exists based on these first few episodes. He might even regret falling for her on some level ’cause her death was so painful for him or for another reason that has yet to be determined (given how he claims to hate the current Reiko after Episode 3 hammered to viewers and to Kudo especially that the current Reiko isn’t Kujirai B), which is why he is so fixated on things never changing. Thus, I get a sense that Kudo’s question to Kujirai B in Episode 2, “Wouldn’t it be painful to be in love, knowing it’d be gone someday?” could end up being really important or even THE central question to the story since it’s clear he’s still reeling from what was probably Kujirai B’s death and given him placing a huge emphasis on nostalgia.

I believe the most important lesson Kudo must learn is that the joy and connection of love, even if temporary, outweigh the absence of such experiences and heartbreak. I believe that the last few episodes will likely have Kudo realizing the truth of this unnatural world and choosing to fall for Reiko despite her differences from Kujirai B, fully knowing that it won’t last due to the world in Kowloon Generic Romance not being real. My hunch is that this work is meant to be a serious lesson about how it’s okay to fall in love even if that love isn’t permanent ’cause love is very much worth it.

I expect an ending where Kudo can magically be with the current Reiko pure fantasy and not likely to happen unless the mangaka is actually a poor writer, but from what I’ve seen of the first three episodes, she is very talented.

Episode 3 starts with a flashback of Kudo helping out an elderly man fix up animal pens, which was a favour Kujirai B requested of Kudo. That man notably said that it must be rough for Kudo to have a senior coworker who works you so hard, and there is somewhat of a callback to that later in the episode, which I will get into. After they left the area, Kujirai B notes that Kudo is getting along with the older members of community through mahjong and that he’s the one who’s well-loved by his elders, and given the elderly man highlighted Kujirai B being a senior coworker and what we know of her age, she was most likely referring to herself as well, which would her continuing the flirting she did with him in Episode 2 when she was playing mahjong wherein she associated her great luck to Kudo being around. He then gets dizzy ’cause of heatstroke, which is similar to what the current Reiko experienced in Episode 1 when she worked on repainting the walls of a vacant apartment unit, no doubt to show a parallel between them.

Kujirai B then takes Kudo to her apartment, which is close by, and he gets bashful about going inside, probably ’cause he has a huge crush on her, and she probably not only knows how he feels but also wants him inside personally since a lot of women are better on picking up social cues than men and given her flirting with him these last two episodes. Inside, he stares at her taking in the feeling of a breeze, and after washing up his face, he takes in her personal likes regarding where she places items and loves that she keeps a glass of water in the fridge, no doubt things he will never forget. He also remarks that there no plushies or anything, and this would probably be something never again brought up in most series, but I believe Kudo probably knew someone who had a lot of plushies when he was younger since it seems he’s used to thinking of an apartment of a woman having plushies.

As he stares at her from behind once again, Kujirai B asks Kudo how he’s finding Kowloon after having been here for a week, and he says that it’s an interesting place and that sense of nostalgia for things he’s never experienced or seen before is something he’s been getting a lot, most likely ’cause he feels like she is the one for him. When he wonders what nostalgia is, highlighting that she compared it to being the same as in love, she responds that she has also never lived in a place like this and that nostalgia isn’t just about memories and experiences but a feeling of elation as if you’ve known something all along. In her opinion, nostalgia’s a feeling of wanting to lock something up in your heart, and that’s why she considers it the same as being in love. That’s actually the feeling I got when I first met a certain girl in elementary school during our open house in the fourth grade. I felt so excited meeting her that I decided to attend the open house events at that school when I was in fifth and sixth grade, but it was not that open houses are inherently fun but that that girl was why I found the moment fun.

Back to the present, Reiko puts on new lipstick and thought about getting her goldfish a new vase since its current space is cramped. At work, she greets Kudo when he arrives only to find that Dr. Hebinuma and an associate of his had also snuck up on Kudo. Kudo was very pissed as Dr. Hebinuma’s entire attention was on Reiko even though he was apparently there due to him having found another location he wants to open a clinic at, and he even forcibly kissed Reiko, asking her why she doesn’t choose him instead of a man who didn’t even notice her new lipstick, which led to Kudo flying into a rage with the Branch Manager holding him back from following Dr. Hebinuma as he was on his way out. Reiko also noted that his Dr. Hebinuma lips tasted like apple, and I wonder whether this is to tie the snake man to worms and consequently apples, continuing the association of Dr. Hebinuma with snakes and snakelike things or whether the apple taste is meant to be future foreshadowing.

Then later Kudo offers to help carry a larger vase that caught Reiko’s eye at an elderly man’s shop to her apartment, leading to Reiko saying she’ll get a broom as well, which led to the elderly man saying that it must be rough to have a junior coworker who works you so hard, which is the inverse of what happened before when Kujirai B had Kudo working hard when she was his senior, and Kudo noticeably remembered that interaction from the past with Kujirai B based on his reaction. It’s at this point that I’m beginning to doubt that this is a simulation as no normal simulation would set up so many parallel and contrasting situations for Kudo to remember. Kudo obviously notes what’s similar about Reiko with how she told him to leave the inner door open, that there are slippers he can use along with how she loves the breeze from outside just like Kujirai B, as well as how she keeps her toothpaste and toothbrush at the sink, which got a smile out of him since it’s Kujirai B he loves, but when he saw that the current Reiko didn’t keep a glass of water in her fridge, that her kettle had a more feminine design, and that she had a plushie, that killed the mood for him since he was reminded that the current Reiko isn’t Kujirai B. After leaving, Kudo then touched the number 8 outside, which was the unit number for Reiko’s apartment, and it’s clear he is mourning Kujirai B since he didn’t use to do that and touching this number is his attempt at burning his memories of her into his mind. Reiko wishes that he’ll come to her apartment again since she fancies him, but I wish she wasn’t in love with such a jerk since he was upset with her naming her goldfish “Success” judging by his reaction.

At work, Kudo says her gifting him a sunflower is harassment, and she replies that it’s a thank you for carrying Success’s fish tank, and she tells him he’ll need to water it every two days after he says he can’t let it die on him. Xiaohei then waltzes in and asks Reiko whether she has found nice apartments for her since she needs more space for her clothing, none of which she’ll throw out since she bought them all with her hard-earned money. When Kudo offers the sunflower Reiko gave him to Xiaohei, Xiaohei asks him whether he’s in love with her since a sunflower in the language of flowers means “I only have eyes for you”. Of note is that in the flashback at the start of the episode, Kujirai B had a vase of roses on the same surface as her make-up while in the present with Reiko, she has a sunflower in a smaller vase. This is meant to show the difference in what Kudo feels for Kujirai B compared to the current Reiko since red roses in the language of flowers stand for passion, desire, and romance while we learned what a sunflower means with this episode. While I believe Kudo will fall for the current Reiko near the end of the story after he makes an attempt to get over his issues, I believe these two scenes are meant to highlight the very different relationship Kudo has with the current Reiko compared to Kujirai B if it wasn’t obvious by how hard the end of this episode got this point across.

After it is implied that Xiaohei shot down all of the apartments Reiko suggested for her, Reiko asks Xiaohei whether she’d be okay with living in downtown Hong Kong, and then Reiko has a flashback in her mind about Xiaohei saying that she doesn’t want to leave Kowloon and that that’s how she felt back then as well, and when Reiko came back to the reality of that world and tried to continue the conversation from back then, Xiaohei showed no realization of having said whatever it is Reiko thought she said. This shows that Xiaohei likely thought about how she didn’t want to leave Kowloon after the plans to destroy it were confirmed in the real world and that someone, probably Kudo since he was the junior coworker back then, had attempted to help her find an apartment in the past, asking that very same question.

Kudo then has Reiko and Xiaohei meet him at an apartment unit he thinks will be much more to Xiaohei’s liking, and Xiaohei loves it despite it being cramped ’cause it has a lot of storage, and the access to the roof made her love it even more. Kudo then tells Reiko that the rooms she proposed are all good options for a renter who isn’t Xiaohei, which I feel could be something Kujirai B directly told him back when he was a newer employee. Xiaohei then has Reiko and Kudo come over to where she was as she spotted a cluster of sunflowers. And as Reiko wonders whose gaze did Kudo find when he looked through the sunflowers, we see that it’s clearly Kujirai B. This world is clearly forcing Kudo to come to terms with him having loved Kujirai B and how the current Reiko is not her, and this very pointed direction the world is pushing Kudo towards makes it increasingly unlikely to be a simulation in my opinion.

After a masked man met Reiko when she was buying watermelon juice, it turns out that that man is actually Dr. Hebinuma’s lover, and he met Reiko to confirm that she existed even though something was off about her in his eyes. He also went to Gwen’s workplace and found out that the Gwen we saw in Episode 1 worked there up until two weeks ago. Apparently, Dr. Hebinuma is adopted, and the real son of the previous owner died in an accident with the father’s wife. Over the phone, Dr. Hebinuma has someone investigating Reiko. On the phone earlier in the episode, there was a Yulong he connected with, and I don’t know if this is that same person. We also learn that Dr. Hebinuma has full-body snake tattoos, fitting of his name.

Meanwhile, Kudo is looking for Gwen, and asked a man working for a company that did business with the Goldfish Teahouse whether he knows anything about what happened to Gwen, which led to the man suggesting that he ask his neighbour, and Kudo wasn’t happy with that answer as he couldn’t reach Gwen’s apartment, prompting him to ask if there has been a land adjustment, which the man scoffed at after hearing Kudo utter that. When Kudo goes out looking again, there’s a dead end in the path to where Gwen’s apartment should be, which is very interesting, and I have a theory for this too later after I get through the rest of the content of this episode.

The man in the mask then visited Reiko as she was still on the rooftop of the apartment building Xiaohei had moved into, saying her existence is an insult to a dear friend’s memory since she’s living her life while not being her since Kujirai B no longer exists in this world. She sulked as night approached, and it seems in a couple of days she found that the sunflower she gifted to Kudo had died due to him not watering it, telling her quite rudely that he dislikes her.

This led to days of her not sleeping to the point she was having trouble seeing and wondering about her place in the world. On the rooftop when they’re trying to incinerate the trash for confidentiality purposes, Reiko obviously can’t see well, leading to Kudo suggesting that she wear her glasses, which she refused to do. She then straight up asks him whether she isn’t the Reiko he knows, and the wind starts blowing harshly, as if the world didn’t want her to bring that up. She says a lot of her life might belong to that of someone else, but there are things that are proof of her own existence such as that fish tank she picked out, her love for lemon chicken, and her being in love with Kudo. Kudo, sometimes being a huge dick as like now, says that her love for him is an illusion, and Reiko pointedly shares how she yearns for his acknowledgement and crave his touch before passing out.

At the start of Episode 4, there’s a flashback with Kujirai B and a younger Kudo celebrating his addition to the team even though it’s two months late, and the Branch Manager conveniently can’t attend, or it’s actually like more likely that she wants to be alone with him. She treats him to shelled shrimp, and she has a lot to drink. Kudo mentions during their date that there’s apparently a plan to demolish Kowloon with her dismissing it as that had already happened before in 1994, making this the Second Kowloon Walled City, a re-creation of the original Kowloon. When Kudo wonders why it was remade since it wouldn’t hurt if it were gone, she says that somewhere deep down everyone wants to go back to those times and feel the nostalgia, so that’s why it can’t be erased even if you want it to be, although she qualifies that last part after a pause with “Maybe”. After they head into an alley, Kujirai B suggests that he take her to his go-to spot since she clearly wants more from this date, and like a gentleman, far from what we see in how he treats the current Reiko, he says that she has had too much to drink. The bra strap on her left side then falls over to her arm, and he points it out, leading her to grab his tie and pull him for a kiss, which is obvious what she has been craving for the whole time, especially since she noted that Kudo is the type to be well-liked by his elders with her being an older woman. This leads to the start of an implied passionate make-out scene.

Back in Kowloon Generic Romance’s world, Reiko wakes up after lying in a bed that’s not her own, and Kudo reveals she’s been out cold since yesterday. He then offers to reveal the truth about Kujirai B to her, and her inner self tells her not to do it, leading to her refusing the offer. He then says he’ll go in for work and tells her to get more rest with him promising to explain the situation to the Branch Manager. When she panics about her apartment key, Kudo shows her a spare key to her apartment, asking her if she really doesn’t want to know why he has that, which she confirms. He also notes that he left the spare key to this unit on the table and instructs her to use it to lock up when she leaves, leaving the key in the mailbox when she’s done with it.

Out in town as Dr. Hebinuma and the Masked Gwen are investigating things, Masked Gwen doesn’t want Dr. Hebinuma bumping into the server Gwen since if the fake Reiko loves Kudo then the server Gwen will also love Dr. Hebinuma. Dr. Hebinuma just brushes it off saying he’d get more samples for data if he runs into server Gwen. When they’ve arrived at the Goldfish Teahouse, Masked Gwen notes that the exterior is the same as back then and checks the alleyway where a shelter for stray cats he had made is not present, not even a trace of it. He says something is definitely up with Kowloon and pointed to some Hebinuma Pharmaceutical products that were being sold as new at a shop, but Dr. Hebinuma dismissed that as being due to the logistical quirks due to the peculiarities of Kowloon. Masked Gwen also notes that Kowloon feels shabbier now compared to when he lived here. He also brought up that Reiko has the same beauty mark where Kujirai B did, which Dr. Hebinuma found tantalizing as a clone don’t gestate like the original, leading to beauty marks either not being in the same spot or not existing at all in a clone since things like beauty marks and fingerprints are formed due to external processes. He astutely notes that Kudo must be despairing due to the current Reiko’s resemblance to Kujirai B despite not being her.

At Reiko’s place, Reiko and Yaomay are celebrating Yaomay’s new job as a seamstress that Xiaohei got for her. Reiko then shares that she and Kujirai B are different people and that Kujirai B has already passed away. She shares that Kudo seemed to know that, and when Yaomay asks why she didn’t ask him for confirmation, Reiko says she feels she’d disappear if she did, and I’m inclined to agree since either her inner self or the world itself told her not to find out more. She then tells Yaomay she wants to be her absolute self in that if she’s sure it’s a decision she fully wanted to make herself then even if she regretted that decision it wouldn’t be a mistake since absolute refers to trusting herself and seeing things though. Even if just for a second, she wants to be able to say she is herself and no one else.

Then Yaomay brought up the mystery regarding her looking identical to someone from the past and having no memories. Reiko says she doesn’t remember when she started living here, but she remembers where everything is. It’s as if she had been created to match the life of Kujirai B, prompting Yaomay to wonder if Reiko is a clone. Yaomay saw a post online about Generic Terra project involving clone research, only they didn’t call them clones but Zirconians, which prompted Reiko to wonder if the name comes from zirconia, a synthetic gemstone. Yaomay notes that her earrings today are also made of zirconia. This leads to Reiko thinking she was created to be a fake from the beginning and wonders if it’s too much to ask to be the real thing. Then Yaomay had Reiko join her on top of her bed showing her the beauty of zirconia. Even though it’s not a real diamond, Yaomay loves it. Perhaps she feels an affinity for it due to her being a result of plastic surgery, but it encourages her that even a fake can sparkle so brilliantly. She says there are a lot of people in the world who say a fake is nothing but a fake, but there are people like her who see genuine sparkle in a fake and wanted Reiko not to forget that since she was feeling down.

At work, Kudo punches in late, and Reiko tells him she’ll be going for lunch with Yaomay again. Kudo then hides after finishing lunch when he hears Reiko’s voice. Yaomay then indicated they were planning a party on the rooftop of Xiaohei’s apartment and also suggested to Reiko that she move out of her apartment unit. She suggests she throw away all her old stuff and buy new stuff, much like she did for herself. Reiko wants to keep the unit as is for Kujirai B’s sake, and when Yaomay asks why since Kujirai B no longer exists, Reiko insists that’s exactly why she wants to keep it as she feels that unit is a fragment of her, and if it goes away she feels like her presence itself will be completely erased from the world. Reiko understands how scary that is given the feeling she gets about what would happen if she were to learn the truth about Kujirai B.

Outside on his smoke break, Kudo asks Reiko if the new place she ate at was any good when she also comes out, and she told him about Xiaohei’s housewarming party, inviting him to go to it. When he asks who’s going with them, he lost interest when he heard Yaomay would be there, but he gave them a lot of money to spend for the party. Reiko then remembers she has a showing she needs to go to, and closes the door behind her, but she stops and feels the door as she longs for Kudo’s touch. It feels like Kudo also senses Reiko, but due to his feelings for Kujirai B, he finds himself unable to touch the door. At work, Yaomay thinks back to Reiko saying that she’s not moving and not throwing anything away, and she says quietly, but then it’s like your life is being bound by Kujirai B, and this may even be the truth in more than one way. On the rooftop at work, Kudo is singing a song about a girl being alive and breathing, which is probably his hope for Kujirai B being alive through Reiko.

At the housewarming party, Kudo turns up after all, apparently ’cause Xiaohei forced him to show up. Yaomay then shows how much she hates Kudo by serving a dish with mostly lemon and very little chicken. She then brings up that she found a nice place for Reiko to live in, and Reiko reaffirms that she’s not moving, which upsets Yaomay, who then angrily asks Kudo what he thinks after explaining her reasoning for Reiko moving, and he replies that if Reiko hates that apartment unit and wants to move out then she should go for it with Reiko replying immediately that she doesn’t hate it.

After having finished the party, they split into two teams with Kudo and Reiko throwing out the trash before going for a smoke. Unfortunately, Reiko doesn’t have any cigarettes, but Kudo is smoking his last one and can’t lend her one. Reiko then brings up that Dr. Hebinuma mentioned wanting to open another clinic, and she wonders what happened with that. When she mentioned his visit last time, Kudo brought up that Dr. Hebinuma kissed her that day, and then did a fake wall slam on the ledge of the rooftop and pretended he was about to kiss her before blowing smoke into her face, saying that she leaves herself too open. He then brings up that the moon shines ’cause it reflects sunlight, so he asks Reiko what light does Generic Terra reflect to shine, and she answers that Generic Terra looks like it’s shining ’cause they have high hopes for it, and that’s why it looks so appealing and shines so brightly. Afterwards, Kudo is wandering around making up songs like earlier and scoffs at the idea of him having high hopes. He then notes there’s something definitely wrong about Kowloon this summer.

The next day, Kudo dominates at mahjong, and Reiko talks about going to lunch with Kudo for once since Yaomay is off, and she notes that there’s no Mr. Chan today with one of the men saying that he’s absent without notice. At Dr. Hebinuma’s main clinic, we find out that Dr. Hebinuma had invited Mr. Chan for a non-descript health check-up. Dr. Hebinuma then gets a call from an associate that has found another Mr. Chan from outside of Kowloon and plans to bring him into Kowloon, and after he has done that, the Mr. Chan that was him Dr. Hebinuma disappears, showing only one version of someone can exist in Kowloon at any given time. Back at the realty firm, Kudo got a notification on his computer that there’s an existing item named “Sai On Tower” at this location which asked him whether he wanted to replace it, and I’m guessing this could be where Mr. Chan works given he just disappeared. Dr. Hebinuma then notes that they’re contacting the Japan branch of Wong Loi Realty about Kudo and asks Masked Gwen what was the cause of death for Kujirai B, and he said that he prefers not to talk about it with both him and Kudo saying it must’ve been a mistake. He gave an answer to Dr. Hebinuma off screen, which led to the snake responding he understands why he would believe it to be incomprehensible and why he’s angry at the second Reiko. Flashing back to Kudo and Reiko, Reiko is concerned about Mr. Chan given he lives alone, and Kudo randomly throws it out there that Reiko may have thought he just dropped dead. He then says in a disturbing fashion that people die so easily and asks her how much she knows, and Reiko says that Gwen told her that Kujirai B no longer exists in the world, which prompted Kudo to put his hand on his face as if the reality of that is so painful for him, and then his expression changes, leading to him saying that he killed her.

After thinking about it, Episodes 3 and 4 somewhat reduced the likelihood of the world being a simulation, which is what I thought the world in Kowloon Romance was after Episode 2. I believe the random recalling/flashback in Reiko’s mind of Xiaohei saying that she doesn’t want to leave Kowloon and that that’s what she thought back then as well is actually not one of Reiko’s memories since the story has established that Reiko doesn’t have any of Kujirai B’s memories by Reiko herself and Dr. Hebinuma.

Thus, it’s possible that what flashed into Reiko’s mind is either one of Kudo’s memories or a construct of a plausible thing Xiaohei would say as an implied continuation of one of Kudo’s memories from when he was Kujirai B’s junior coworker and failed to find a suitable apartment for Xiaohei back in the real world. This show often draws parallels/contrasts between the past and present, so it wouldn’t surprise me if later down the road there is a flashback to Kujirai B teaching Kudo the very lesson he taught Reiko in Episode 3.

I believe whether the world is a dream world induced from experimentation or something else that involves Kudo the world in Kowloon Generic Romance is formed in part from Kudo’s mind, which is the why the world hammered so hard into viewers’ and Kudo’s minds in Episode 3 that the current Reiko is not Kujirai B ’cause the world was forcibly trying to make that point to him with the sunflowers and shit, which led to him saying he dislikes her. No normal simulation would be this pointed in its direction. This would also explain why his feelings on Generic Terra can be positive depending on his mood as shown in Episode 2 when he seemed happy about Generic Terra shining brightly.

This would also explain how there can be more than one version of the same person with one version disappearing as soon as the second version enters Kowloon and why Reiko believes she will disappear if she learns the truth as the world probably partially exists ’cause Kudo doesn’t want to let of his nostalgia from before Kujirai B died and partially to teach Kudo a lesson with Reiko being part of the lesson, that it’s okay to fall in love knowing that it won’t last since love is worth it and change is a part of life.

This is backed by how in Episode 4 pointedly had Kujirai B say in a flashback/dream that people will always want to go back to the nostalgia, which is why you can’t erase Kowloon, and this could tie into the Branch Manager of the realty firm mentioning in Episode 1 that the Second Kowloon is an uncomfortable place to live, yet the population always stays the same, and whatever the true nature of Kowloon Generic Romance’s unnatural world is it could have to do with nostalgia itself, which I speculate to possibly be Kudo’s nostalgia for the past given we can have multiple version of the same person with a Gwen that remembered that Kujirai B died and one that didn’t know of Kujirai B dying and why the world is so Reiko-centric given we know Kujirai B was Kudo’s former lover. The reason the Second Kowloon Walled City always has the same number of people is possibly ’cause it contains all the people Kudo knew during a specific period of time there, and the world is molded by that preference.

I suspect that from these events that the Second Kowloon Walled City has actually been destroyed in the real world, and Kudo just doesn’t want to let go of his memories and nostalgia, and that the Generic Terra project is his way of rationalizing how Reiko can continue to exist despite having died. This could explain how there is a Gwen and Mr. Chan who came from outside of Kowloon ’cause they actually left Kowloon at some point in the real world. This would mean Generic Terra is just a red herring and isn’t real with it mainly being used as an avenue of telling the mangaka’s story and by forcing Kudo to acknowledge that change is inevitable, and it’s how you adjust to it that matters.

That notification Kudo got on “Sai On Tower” on his computer might have been due to the world changing due to Mr. Chan suddenly being replaced by yet another Mr. Chan if Kowloon must always have the same population as the Branch Manager of the realty firm, and that was the way the world could determine whether Kudo approves of a change or not. Masked Gwen, who I will call Original Gwen from now on, noted that Kowloon feels shabbier than when he lived there, which shows that this Kowloon is fabricated given how he apparently existed in a more up-to-date Kowloon when he lived there. It would also explain why the shelter for cats he built is gone since that was from a more up-to-date Kowloon. These different versions of people, or Zirconians as they call it, could be an attempt from the world to force Kudo to embrace change, much like I believe this current Reiko exists to teach Kudo a lesson. Yaomay being upset about the current Reiko being bound by Kujirai B is noteworthy, but Reiko’s instincts are probably on the mark, and she would most likely disappear if she lost all her connections to Kujirai B if her purpose is to help Kudo move on from Kujirai B. And the dead end which obstructed Gwen’s apartment might be ’cause Kudo didn’t want to come to grips with the reality of Kujirai B being dead as shown by his hand on his face reaction at the end of Episode 4, and the dead end was meant to delay him grappling with the issue.

Kowloon Generic Romance Episodes 1-2 – Analysis and Important Details

Posted on | by anicritic | 4 Comments on Kowloon Generic Romance Episodes 1-2 – Analysis and Important Details

People who have been following my coverage of Re:Zero Season 3 and Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Season 2 know that I love a story with a strong mystery element, not just a story that happens to have mysteries like in those episodic mystery anime, so I guess it’s not a surprise that I’d pick up Kowloon Generic Romance given it’s the mystery heavyweight of the season that had a brilliant premiere with excellent character writing, a great setting (in Kowloon Walled City), and an interesting premise.

The episode starts with Reiko waking up and getting out of bed, and I like her character design already. It’s a neat decision to anime the dust as sparkly particles, and as she puts on her glasses, her vision notably doesn’t seem to improve at all, which is backed up by her reaction. As she’s preparing breakfast, a TV commercial advertises Hebinuma Pharmaceutical’s new eyedrops that clear your vision up quickly, and it’s obvious that’s of interest to her. She apparently really loves watermelons and smoking while eating those watermelons. Afterwards, she saves some watermelon for later and dresses in a Chinese-style outfit that would be typical of Hong Kong at the time. After we see her leave her apartment, we see a lot of Traditional Chinese characters on the shops and the mailboxes, showing that it’s definitely Hong Kong since China uses Simplified Chinese. The only other place it could be would be Taiwan, but we know for a fact that the setting is Hong Kong with people in Hong Kong speaking Cantonese while those in Taiwan speaking Mandarin. A short girl, or possibly a woman since she’s opening up a shop, enthusiastically greets Reiko, and Reiko merely waves at her, possibly ’cause she’s short on time. Then she passes by a storefront with some TVs out front that tell about Generic Terra apparently being capable of backing up all the memories of all human beings, making eternal youth and even immortality a reality, a government-funded project that’s drawing attention from even foreign nations, calling it the dream of humanity, and I know it means “dream” since I have exposure to someone who knows Japanese who indicated that “roman” can mean “romance” but more often means “dream” in the sense of something generally seen as impossible. The TV personalities remark about the Generic Terra project continuing with a focus on safety, which isn’t a surprise since it needs to be safely developed for there to be public buy-in. They also talk about the mascot of Generic Terra, Gene Tera, that is really popular, probably to woo people into thinking the project is totally safe since it has a cute mascot. Rumour has it the project is run by Hebinuma Pharmaceutical, the same company with the eyedrops that were advertised. Reiko than walked forward and stopped for a moment ’cause she had trouble seeing, showing there will be more to this plotline. Interestingly, they pan to a mysterious object in the sky.

Reiko then arrives at Wong Loi Realty Company, her place of work, where her boss tells her to clock in soon since she’s later than usual or else she’ll be late like her colleague, which is no surprise given she has checked her vision twice so far and also seemed to be in a hurry when she merely waved at her friend. Said colleague, Kudo, pushes her time card out of the way and clocks in just in the nick of time, which is inconsiderate of him to do. After handing Kudo a work order, Reiko pesters him until he agrees to buy her lunch, and I like a woman who knows her worth, so I’m glad she didn’t accept being treated poorly by him. Their boss then speaks to Kudo as if they’re continuing a conversation they had before in that the Second Kowloon isn’t really a comfortable place to live, yet the number of residents doesn’t decline, suggesting that they perhaps have nowhere else to go. Kudo then replies that he loves Kowloon as is though while Reiko is having vision problems again. This is very interesting ’cause the demolition of Kowloon Walled City had concluded in 1994. There was no Second Kowloon on Earth, and it seems this is a difference in this setting compared to our lived reality.

Reiko then took Kudo to a new Hawaiian cafe, and Kudo just brushes it off and forces Reiko to go to their usual lunch spot. Just as he’s about to dig in, Reiko glares at him, saying she wanted to eat at the other place, and Kudo just dismisses her, asking her if she doesn’t feel the rightness in the plump boiled dumpling in golden broth, and as if in cue, Reiko has vision problems yet again. She then uses Hebinuma Pharmaceutical’s eye drops, which exasperates Kudo as he doesn’t trust the new owner, the son of the previous owner and director of Hebinuma Beauty Centre. He then says that all you need for eye strain is to massage some pressure points. After he indicates his intent to press them, Reiko says he’ll just use brute strength and even though they’re both hominids, she doesn’t want to be lumped in with a gorilla like him, which is music to my ears as I prefer a strong woman who knows how she wants to be treated. The arrival of their next dish then diffuses the tension, and Reiko then mentions that Unit 205 in Sai Joeng Tower has had no tenant for six months now. Kudo replies that it gets the afternoon sun on full blast with no air conditioning, so only a weirdo would like to live there considering the interior’s pretty old as well. He threw it out there that if the walls were painted fresh it might look better. Reiko then throws out there that he fixed the door of an apartment on Naam Caang Street, and Kudo says that everything is old in Kowloon and that the landlords would be unhappy if they called the maintenance guy over every single flaw. He then earnestly showed that he wants the tenants to be comfortable, which is showing off his good side considering how he’s usually being inconsiderate of Reiko. Reiko then asks if he wants to go for tea since they still have time, highlighting only if he wants to, showing she fancies him to an extent, and he tells her to see an optometrist since she has the wrong prescription.

Reiko is apparently pretty impressionable judging by the animators showing her eyes being visibly affected indicating that she took Kudo’s words to heart, and after a trip to the optometrist, her boss is shocked that she now has twenty-twenty vision and says that she looks better without glasses, urging Kudo to chime in, and he replies that he prefers her with glasses. Up on the rooftop, Kudo says that they’ll be punished for building things like that object in the sky that was shown earlier. Reiko asks if he’s against Generic Terra, and he’s deadset against it as they’re basically creating a fake Earth with their tax money. After asking for a light, Reiko wonders how long the place she wanted to eat at will stay open as new stores close down really quickly in Kowloon. Kudo remarks that Kowloon is meant to be a nostalgic place and that a flickering streetlight, a mold back alley, and noisy neighbours are all meant to make you feel nostalgia with that feeling of nostalgia being the same as being in love. He says it’s the same as for everyone here, this nostalgia Kowloon, and that’s why Kowloon shouldn’t change as they don’t need anything new. Reiko replies that she doesn’t feel nostalgia with this place but that she does feel a sense of nostalgia with him, which Kudo reacts strongly to, leading to him getting really close to her in a sensual moment and pointing out her crow’s feet.

The next day, Reiko arrives with a pair of fake glasses, leading to Kudo teasing her about hiding her crow’s feet, saying she’s fighting a losing battle as a thirty-two-year-old, which is again, quite inconsiderate. She then notices that one the cuffs of his shirt is dirty, and he says it’s a quirk of his to touch the number eight, and he can’t help touching the eights he sees on walls as he gets around Kowloon. At night, Kudo then asks how much work Reiko still has, and she thinks she’ll keep going a bit longer, but then he turns off the lights and ropes her into having dinner with him. Kudo takes Reiko on a tour to show her what makes Kowloon Kowloon. They look like they’re having fun, and then after Reiko says that she can’t eat any more, Kudo brings her to the Goldfish Teahouse. The waiter recognizes him and says it’s been a long time with Reiko wondering if Kudo’s a regular here, which is again her showing some interest in him like when she asked him if he wanted to go for tea earlier in the episode. The waiter then brought them the two iced coffees they asked for while also giving Reiko some watermelon on the house, saying that they’re delicious this year. When Kudo brings up what she said earlier about not being able to eat more, Reiko merely replies what watermelons are mostly water, so they’re practically a drink, which he reacts well to, and she thinks she felt something nostalgic again. She then tells him it tastes good to smoke after eating some watermelon. Kudo then says he remembered someone who said that exact thing, and he says he likes a quirk like that as finding familiar quirks can make you happy as it helps you remember the person with that quirk. As they leave, the waiter says he’s happy that Kudo brought his girlfriend again, and before she can correct him, Kudo tells her to hurry up. When they’re headed back, Reiko innocently puts it out there that he needs to correct him as it’d be awkward if he goes back there with his real girlfriend, and he just dismisses her concern. Reiko then notices the strange object in the sky again with some eerie music playing, and Kudo has a bag of water with a goldfish in it, calling it a souvenir from today, suggesting that she keep it at her place. Back at her apartment, Reiko is visibly bothered by Kudo’s remark about it helping him remember the person with that quirk.

After a shot of the object in the sky, we hear an announcement that a photochemical smog warning as been issued as well as a heat and humidity advisory, and we see on Reiko’s agenda is the wall repainting Kudo had suggested could make a difference. The announcement indicates that people should refrain from outdoor activities and be cautious of indoor heat stroke. Reiko works VERY hard to paint the walls and very nearly passed out before Kudo caught her with his arm in a scene with a lot of sexual tension what she was wearing and her feverish state. Reiko answers Kudo after he asked her that the reason she had an urge to repaint the walls of this apartment was that she wants the tenant to be comfortable, and this really gets a happy reaction out of him since she was recalling something he said to her. As she watches him complete the rest of the repainting, she notes that she is without a doubt in love with him, which is no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention.

After they finished the repainting, Reiko searches for the teahouse that they had gone to together but to no avail. She then arrives back to her workplace to find Kudo sleeping. When he doesn’t respond to her calls to him to wake up, she thinks of their boss and starts calling him Kudo-kun since he uses the kun honorific for the both of them. Kudo actually visibly reacts to this and wakes up, and while half-asleep, he pulls her in for a kiss, or a make-out session to be more accurate, and when she starts attempting to pull away a few times, he gets the picture that Reiko is not who he thought she was and apologizes, indicating he mistook her for someone else. At 5 PM, Kudo asks Reiko what she had for lunch, indicating he skipped lunch, and he says he’ll have what she had for dinner, suggesting that she clock out as if nothing had happened between them. Reiko is hung over it, but the same doesn’t go for him, which makes her feel silly. Some of his files then slipped out of his drawer, leading to her spotting a photo of Kudo with someone else, and her heart races as she musters up the courage to pick it out of the drawer as she wants to know who it is that has the same quirk as her, and as a huge shock, she sees that it’s someone who looks exactly like her. While depressed, she finally comes across the Goldfish Teahouse again and asks for an iced coffee, thinking she couldn’t find the place when she was actually looking for it. She then takes the photo out, and the waiter remarks that they sure had fun that day. When Reiko questions if she knows the photo, he says that it’s a photo he took right there at the teahouse to celebrate her engagement with Kudo. Reiko indicated she didn’t understand what he said, and then it flashed back to the teahouse in disarray and heavily damaged, which appears to be the objective past before this current Second Kowloon existed.

The episode ends with Reiko thinking who in the world was it that Kudo kissed, and that was a brilliant episode with excellent character writing. I liked the contrast between Reiko wanting to try new things while Kudo was in it for the nostalgia and actively avoiding change. Sometimes tells me by the end of the story that Kudo will have to acknowledge that change isn’t bad. I also loved that Reiko didn’t put up with being treated poorly as there are a lot of poorly written romance stories where the female characters are just props meant to satisfy the main character, which is often seen in isekai harem stories, and I’m satisfied with her being depicted as a strong woman. I’m really interested in seeing where the story goes with Reiko not having memories of being engaged to Kudo.

At the start of Episode 2, Reiko is still looking depressed and thinking back to the waiter talking about the photo being a celebration of her engagement to Kudo. Reiko then gets a call from Xaiohei, whose voice matches that of the short girl/woman who greeted her in the first episode. With a really noisy sound in the background, Xaiohei says that her neighbour has been really noise at night and that she can’t take it, leading to Reiko confirm that Xiaohei’s still at Naam Caang Street, saying she’ll look into it, and the significance of this isn’t lost to me as Kudo spoke as if he lived at an apartment on Naam Caang Street when Reiko previously brought it up with Kudo fixing a door there being her inspiration for repainting a unit at her apartment.

Reiko, after arriving to the door of the unit in question, rings the buzzer, and a whole bunch of plushies of the Generic Terra mascot, Gene Tera, rush out as a blonde woman we eventually learn to be Yaomay slowly works her way out to greet Reiko, shocking her in the process. After inviting Reiko in and having her take a seat, Yaomay says she has to make fifty more plushies of the mascot before taking note of Reiko not looking well. Reiko notes how out of place it is to discuss this with someone she just met, but she pulls out the photo of her engagement and reveals that the woman in the photo is not her, much to Yaomay’s surprise, since she and Kudo don’t have that sort of relationship, and that they never actually took the photo together. Reiko then reveals that she has no memories of her past, not just of the day that photo was taken, something she didn’t even notice until today, having never thought about it before this point since Kudo never once mentioned it, leading to Yaomay revealing that there are other people without a past and that she’s one of them, so she believes Reiko since she straight up told her at the beginning that it wasn’t her. Yaomay apparently had cosmetic surgery done on her entire body to throw away her entire past so that only she could decide who is and isn’t her, showing why Reiko should trust that she believes her story. Yaomay then shares a tart with her, which is the first thing she ate after her plastic surgery, calling it a birthday cake for her new self. She is happy to serve the tart to Reiko since today was the day of Reiko discovering herself.

Back at the realty firm, Kudo sees that Reiko had taken the photo, prompting him to think back to the past. He introduced himself as Kudo Hajime and that he has been transferred from the Japanese branch to the Kowloon branch as of today. Then it shows Hajime look at someone who looks very much like the current Reiko, who I will be referring to as Kujirai B from now. Hajime zoned in on Kujirai B’s hips and slowly moved his gaze upwards toward her face, which shows how attractive she is to him. Kujirai B then remarked that he’s thirty while she’s thirty-two, which should be impossible in the present if Kowloon was rebuilt as the Second Kowloon since the current Reiko is also thirty-two, so there’s something up with this world. Kujirai B refers to him as Kudo-kun, unlike the current Reiko, after she introduces herself, and this is very important as it gives clarity to what happened in the previous episode. If you recall from the first episode, Hajime was sleeping on a couch and wasn’t responding to the current Reiko when she called him Kudo-san, but after she switched to Kudo-kun, he jolted awake while still half asleep and pulled her in for a kiss, showing that he and Kujirai B were definitely lovers in the past, and that was definitely real.

As they were talking together as Kujirai B shows Hajime the city, she says that Kudo Hajime is a good name and shared with him that eight is considered a lucky number in Kowloon as well, so I found on Quora that “Hajime” can mean the number 8 depending on the Kanji used, which I thought was important to know since most anime are written in mind for a Japanese audience. She indicates the reason is the number eight associated with wealth in Cantonese based on its pronunciation. After a game in which she beats a bunch of men at mahjong, she openly flirts with Hajime when one of those men threw out that luck favours her too much, saying it might be ’cause of Hajime’s name. What a way to seduce the new guy at work. At the Tintin eatery, which Hajime always took the current Reiko to lunch at, Kujirai B indicates that mahjong is a trick to doing well here since it allows her to hear the concerns of residents. She also indicates that learning the shortcuts around the city is important and that if he eats lunch with her it’ll always be at this place. She repeats what we heard Hajime say to the current Reiko when he took out to lunch in the first episode, showing he is feeding Kujirai B’s words back to her. On a rooftop, Kujirai B then hands him a watermelon smoothie, which he enjoys to his surprise. After he stares at her while she’s drinking the watermelon smoothie ’cause he can’t keep his eyes off her, she asks him what’s the matter, and he decides to light up and smoke as well just as she is doing. He then asks asks her there are any other hints in navigating Kowloon, and she says that to be in love is one such tip, which gets a reaction out of him as he wasn’t expecting that answer at all. Kujirai B then repeats all the words Hajime fed to the current Reiko when they were on the rooftop of their workplace, showing that the reason he did so is that he hopes deep down that Kujirai B will come back to him. Hajime then throws out there that he heard the place is going to be demolished, which she dismisses as something they’ve been saying for years with no intention of following up on that, and him asking her if it would be painful to be in love, knowing it would be gone someday, and strikingly, there is no strange object in the sky in the flashback.

Afterwards, Yaomay and Reiko meet up at a restaurant with Yaomay saying it’s been a while even though they last saw each other yesterday, which shows that something is either off with Yaomay’s perception of time or that there’s more than meets the eye regarding her. Shows such as Re:Zero, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, and Kowloon Generic Romance tend to have many important details that you might think are throwaway lines that end up being important later down the road. Reiko has a taste of the lemon chicken, and she’s very pleased with Yaomay being glad that she’s feeling better. As they continue eating, Reiko then says she wants to know the truth after all, and Yaomay says she might as well ask Hajime as it’s not as if she’s in love with him, but Reiko’s reaction says it all. Reiko then says that the fact that he hasn’t said anything about it probably means he wants to hide it. Yaomay then comes up with the hypothesis that the woman in the photo is Kujirai B and that the simplest explanation is that Kujirai B has amnesia and that Reiko is her, and that’s why Hajime is not saying anything ’cause he’s hoping for her memory to come back. This makes Reiko think about who she is in Hajime’s eyes.

Back at work, probably the next day, Hajime says that he’s hungry and asks whether they should stop and grab a bite, and Reiko says she knows a good place with lemon chicken that opened the other day, and of course he just dismisses that and says they should go their usual spot. Reiko then says that she sometimes feels a sense of nostalgia with him, asking him whether he feels the same way about her, and he replies that he does. She then takes off her glasses and asks him to look at her in earnest, and he casually says that she’s not pierced, and we know that Kujirai B was. He also mentions that her crow’s feet are pretty obvious. He then says something quite rude and urges for them to go eat those dumplings he learned to love which must have beauty benefits, and to no one’s surprise, Reiko dismisses him since she doesn’t take shitty behaviour like that like the women in many other bad harem or romance shows do. After Hajime leaves, she then puts the photo back in the drawer and gives Kujirai B a flick before closing the drawer, showing she hopes Hajime would see her instead of Kujirai B.

Back at home, there’s a TV commercial on Hebinuma General Medical Centre, a beauty and health facility that opened just the other day with it offering free health check-ups starting today, and obviously Reiko and Yaomay both show up, as does Xaiohei. Yaomay wants to see Dr. Hebinuma, who is apparently so popular that it’s nearly impossible to book consultations with him. Xaiohei has heard of Yaomay from Reiko, so she knows she was the source of the ghost noises, and she seems to not be upset anymore. They go through a number of tests, and the last one is the barium swallow test. Normally, I would take no interest in a random mention of a particular test, but this appears to be one of those series in which Chekhov’s gun applies, so I’m assuming this is an important detail. Then an employee talking about them offering free cosmetic surgery consults catches Reiko’s eyes since she’s self-conscious about her crow’s feet, and she and Yaomay each get an appointment.

Hajime then looks for Gwen, which is the name of the waiter from Episode 1, at the Goldfish Teahouse only to learn that he had suddenly quit with the new waiter having no idea why since he started working there today. Later, Reiko and Yaomay also enter that same teahouse only to find that Gwen had quit, leaving them wondering why he would quit now of all times. As they’re walking away, Yaomay asks Reiko to tell her what the waiter looks like she might run into him somewhere. Reiko then sees some accessories for sale, and since she’s clearly thinking of Kujirai B, Yaomay suggests the clip-ons that are most similar to what Kujirai B wore.

Back at the realty firm, Hajime tries to find info on Gwen since he brokered his apartment only to fail since he comes across an error he had never seen before. Reiko then comes in, and Hajime calls her Reiko for the first time, probably since Kujirai B is his Reiko, but he tells Reiko to knock it off when he learns that they’re clip-ons, which has Reiko crestfallen. This possibly suggests that Reiko doing that was considered an insult to Kujirai B’s memory to Hajime, indicating that Kujirai B has passed away, and I’ll be taking a detour to do some theorycrafting now although I have to note that Hajime can be a real jerk at times.

I noted earlier that when Kudo met Kujirai B, he was thirty, and she thirty-two, and now, she is still the same age despite this being The Second Kowloon as the manager of the real estate company stated in Episode 1. So the place was rebuilt, and she hasn’t aged at all, which shouldn’t be possible under normal circumstances, and as such, there must still be a huge twist coming as the world they’re in is clearly unnatural. Although I’m not confident about this, it could be a simulation with people plugging into the simulation, which is why Yaomay could say, “It’s been a while, Reko-pon!” despite having seen her yesterday ’cause Yaomay spent a lot of time in the living world and then came back. Maybe The Second Kowloon is not a real world but a simulated world, and that could be why nobody ages. I lean towards Kujirai B being dead based on the way Kudo reacts, so the current Reiko may only exist in the simulation. But a simulation isn’t the only plausible explanation, just what most easily comes to mind assuming no other twists. The bottom line is that whatever the truth is, it’s basically guaranteed to involve the world being unnatural, whether it be a simulation, magic, a dream state in one or more people induced by experimentation, or something I haven’t yet mentioned but can still conceivably happen. Hajime notably said that they’re making a fake Earth in Episode 1, so that potentially backs up this theory of the world in Kowloon Generic Romance being unnatural.

Reiko then shows up at Yaomay’s door, crying, and says that she was stupid as that wasn’t the look she was hoping to see on his face and that it’s pointless to draw his attention like this. Yaomay then invites her inside for some sweets to help her move on from that interaction. And outside, Hajime himself is sitting down and miserable, and it even starts raining down hard on him. Back at Reiko’s apartment, Reiko is suffering, and it shows glimpses of how Kujirai B lived her life with shadow copies of her everywhere. Reiko then, as a strong woman, shows that she is shelving the glasses and earrings look, which I’m happy to see since she should strive to be her new self rather than try to fit the mold of Hajime’s past lover.

Back at work, Reiko’s taking a smoke break, and Hajime does so too, and he actually ends up apologizing, and instead of merely going along with the apology and forgiving him, she rips into him and guilts him into taking her out to a place of her choosing since he owed her for hurting her so deeply, which I love since she won’t accept bad behaviour like many women from bad harem anime. At the restaurant, Hajime notes that the lemon chicken’s delicious, much to Reiko’s delight, who’s beaming and has a wonderful smile on her face, which shocks him, leading to him acting tsundere and saying it’s not as good as the boiled dumplings. When he asks her whether she comes here alone, she says she eats here often with her friend, Yaomay, and he seems perplexed and somewhat curious about it judging by his reaction even though he didn’t say more. When they’re finished, Reiko remarks that it has stopped raining, and she steps into a puddle, resulting in Hajime catching her by the hand, and the romantic music that always plays during a romantic moment between them plays, not that I’m complaining since I like it a lot as it’s catchy and captures the feeling of the moment. She moves to move away her hand, and his grasp on her only gets firmer, leading to her asking if he’s confusing her with someone else, and he says he’s looking at her, which has her face go completely red before he finally lets go and tells us to watch her step. He notes that Generic Terra is shining extra bright today, and for some reason, he isn’t negative about it tonight, maybe he’s in a good mood ’cause of Reiko.

Reiko and Yaomay are now ready for their appointments, and Yaomay makes a point about how Reiko can’t just show up with her normal make-up, so Reiko puts on the same shade of lipstick as Kujirai B. When it’s time, Reiko is booked with Dr. Hebinuma, and she says she’s self-conscious about her crow’s feet, leading Dr. Hebinuma to look at her “Compatible Person Medical Record”. Yes, you saw that right, compatible person, as in it isn’t Reiko’s actual medical record. He then asks to have a look at her face, and he caresses it in a really creepy way, talking up her skin’s glow and feel and that it even has warmth. When he asks her if she’s married and what her family structure is, she answers that she doesn’t know as her memories are missing. After hearing that, Dr. Hebinuma, with a creepy smile on his face, says that’s outside his area of expertise as her wrinkles have no medical history, meaning she was born with them instead of having them form slowly over life. In light of her not having memories along with her wrinkles, he says that it’s possible that those memories never existed in the first place, leading to him saying what’s important is that she exists right here, right now. He then asks for her to tell him more about herself, only to see that his tongue is a snake tongue, and he wipes the lipstick off her face. She then leaves the room abruptly, and when Yaomay asks how it went, Reiko just grabs her and forces her to leave, missing her appointment in the process since she was majorly creeped out by him. As Dr. Hebinuma watches them leave the premises, he says that the lipstick didn’t suit Reiko, leading to him putting the lipstick he wiped off of her on himself and saying that that’s so wonderful that he might go crazy.

My theory regarding this is that the current Reiko is a cyborg recreation of Kujirai B. That would be why Reiko was born with wrinkles rather than developing them over time assuming Hebinuma’s word can be trusted. All the diagnostic tests done as part of a free health check-up could be a means of physically recreating someone, and this current Reiko could be a biological and mechanical proximation of the original one. Maybe the ‘barium test’ itself is meant to inject nanoparticles into your body for observation/research purposes.

Episode 1 notably had them talking through TV about Generic Terra backing up people’s memories, making the concept of immortality possible, suggesting that perhaps the reason Reiko still likes watermelons is ’cause they backed up Kujirai-B’s consciousness and memories and then recreated Reiko, wiping her memories after doing so, which is why she still loves watermelons ’cause she in fact did love them. While part of the reason we like the foods we do is genetic, the other part is acquired tastes in that things that tastes bad to you at first can eventually taste good if you build a tolerance to them, but since Reiko apparently suddenly came into being, that cannot be it, and that’s why I lean towards her having had memories when she was created before they were wiped to have that preference for watermelons.

As for Dr. Hebinuma, he’s either a person who has experimented on himself to have the properties of a snake or an alien. “Hebi” means snake, so I guess it’s no surprise his name has “Hebi” in it, but I’m wondering where they’re going in the story with him since they made him so cartoonishly evil in this episode.

As readers of my blog know, I am a huge fan of Re:Zero, and it was my inspiration to even start a blog given how it is one in which Chekhov’s gun applies with excellent character writing and foreshadowing, and I get a sense that Hajime’s question to Kujirai B, “Wouldn’t it be painful to be in love, knowing it’d be gone someday?” could end up being really important to the story since it’s clear Hajime is still reeling from what was probably Kujirai B’s death and given him placing a huge emphasis on nostalgia. Of note is that I personally feel that Subaru will have to kill Emilia at the end of Re:Zero based on all that has been presented up until Season 3, so two of my favourite stories potentially making use of that question in different ways tickles my fancy. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Kowloon Generic Romance having in store for viewers, especially since it’s a 1-cour show that will have to wrap up everything instead of going on for tons of years.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) Episodes 35-36 (Season 2 Episodes 11-12) – Analysis + Important Details

Posted on | by anicritic | 4 Comments on Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) Episodes 35-36 (Season 2 Episodes 11-12) – Analysis + Important Details

The episode led with Jinshi asking whether Gaoshun had made the necessary preparations and then saying that all that’s left is that girl since he has never once addressed Maomao by her name up until this point. Gaoshun doubts he’ll be able to hide it from her on this expedition, and Jinshi says that he intends to reveal his true status to Maomao.

Then Maomao is summoned to Lady Gyokuyou’s quarters where Jinshi and Gaoshun are, and Gyokuyou has a wonderful teasing exchange with Jinshi wherein Jinshi wants Maomao returned to her while Gyokuyou says he wants to borrow her Maomao and deliberately points out indirectly that Jinshi has never referred to Maomao by her actual name, which doesn’t actually bother Maomao, as for her it probably helps her subconscious not allow her to realize the truth about Jinshi’s identity. The reason Jinshi wants Maomao with him is ’cause he’s been invited to participate in a hunt by Shishou, Loulan’s father, who was a favourite of the previous Empress Dowager, the powerful mother of the previous emperor.

Then on their way to Shishou’s domain, Basen explains to Maomao that the character representing the name of their nation, Li, which was first mentioned in Episode 31, also depicts the founding of Li. Three swords under grass. “Grass” is for “flower”, representing the Mother Royal, ancestor of the Emperor, and the three “swords” under it represent the three warriors who helped her, which again shows how the people from the west infiltrated the land and took control entirely, naming the nation after their own personal story. One of the three swords, the one larger sword, represents the Shihoku-shu, the northern lands. That entire area grows sorghum and wheat and is controlled by Shishou’s clan. Basen then gets upset that Maomao was falling asleep and wonders why his father, Gaoshun, cares so much about her. Gaoshun was invited on this trip as a guest in his own right with Basen serving as Jinshi’s aid instead.

When they arrive, Maomao thinks to herself that Shihoku-shu was the late emperor’s favourite summer resort, and he visited yearly. Members of the imperial family haven’t visited during the current Emperor’s reign, but Shishou continues to manage the area, showing he is quite an important individual, whatever his official title is. When Maomao and Basen have arrived where Jinshi is, she’s perplexed by how unrestrained he is with the manner by which he’s relaxing with his legs fully stretched out, acting like he owns the place to some degree. She thinks he may be more tired than usual, but there must be some limits, showing that she can’t even begin to think of Jinshi as having that high of a status, possibly as a subconscious defense mechanism so that she doesn’t realize just what it would mean for their relationship if the truth were to get out to her about him. After being prompted by Basen, Jinshi tells him to call him “Kousen” whenever they’re outside. Maomao, not understanding the implication of this, asks if there’s some special rule, which the people around are hesitant to talk about. When Maomao gets it confirmed that Gaoshun was invited as a guest, she thinks to herself why Gaoshun was in the same room as Jinshi considering there is a large difference in rank between them, leading to Basen showing he isn’t by dumb by sniffing out what she thinking, saying that they, the Ma clan, have served Master Kousen’s family for many generations, so of course they’d be placed in the same building, which led to her thinking Jinshi comes from a good family after all. Gaoshun then pulls Basen aside after he started whispering to him to tell him that Maomao doesn’t know about Jinshi’s true status, and he hit Basen on the head when he questioned not having told her something that important. Maomao apparently didn’t think about that interaction on why Gaoshun and Basen moved to a corner to discuss when it was clearly regarding her question and just reminds herself to be mindful of her work lest she gets in Suiren’s bad graces.

When it’s dinner time, Maomao wonders why they’re all staying inside and suggests opening some windows, leading to Jinshi telling her to taste the food, and she’ll know why they’re doing that after she has done that. Maomao notes that all of the food is invigorating, leading to Jinshi saying, “Now you see, right?” When Basen brings Jinshi some preserved food, Maomao still doesn’t get the picture and asks if she can eat the food prepared for him instead since it’d be suspicious if it went untouched. When Jinshi watches her eat the food while clearly being very satisfied, he asks her if it’s good with her confirming that’s the case and asking him if he’s sure he doesn’t want any, leading to him asking her if she’s sure he can eat, absolutely sure, and Gaoshun just puts his hand on Jinshi’s shoulder and shakes his head to get out the message that Maomao just doesn’t understand why he asked her to taste the food. Jinshi then orders Basen to eat the food, and he gets a nosebleed, probably due to getting an ejaculation, with him remarking why she isn’t affected, and Maomao just responds that she’s built different lol. Basen then limps his way away from the table and passes out entirely. Clearly, Maomao does not see that Shishou intends to reveal that Jinshi is not a eunuch. Then there are cloaked figures out in a forest with guns saying that this is where they die.

The next day, Jinshi has donned a face mask and is never seen outside without it. Maomao thinks the point of the hunt is to cook the game caught by the nobles on the spot, and it seems she didn’t think at all about why Jinshi’s food was spike with what it was. Given what Shishou has been doing, the hunt could actually be part of a plot to execute Jinshi. As they set up camp, Maomao thinks there’s nothing for her to do, so she takes a walk and enters the forest where she learns of a waterfall being nearby, and during that walk she encounters Lihaku, who was surprised to see her there, and when she revealed she was asked to join, he revealed that he was asked to join the guards but that the other guards forced him to look after the dog. Maomao notes that he appears to have been climbing the ranks lately, but that tends to be met with resistance, which might be why he’s stuck watching the dog. When she remarks that he’s bad at whistling, he takes out the actual whistle and says that the dog can be summoned from miles away after doing a demonstration.

At the party, Maomao finally observes that Jinshi is the most important person in the room based on where he was seated, but she didn’t think more of it. When Jinshi shows discomfort while speaking to Shishou, and she picks up that it’s due to the heat in conjunction with the face mask, Gaoshun gestures to her to not do anything about it. Basen himself seemed quite concerned himself. When Jinshi gets up and tries to leave, Gaoshun calls her, and she gets some water for him. Jinshi had wandered into the forest, and after Maomao successfully finds him, he still won’t take off his face mask off in case somebody comes by, leading to her suggesting they head somewhere where nobody else is, which is the waterfall she observed earlier. When they’re there, Maomao wipes Jinshi’s face and moves to give him the water he needed, he says that there’s something he needs to tell her, but they are interrupted by two gunshots, one of which would have killed Jinshi had he not reacted quickly to the first shot. Jinshi thinks the shots came from a feifa, which mean illegal in Mandarin, and he jumps off into a waterfall, startling Maomao heavily in the process.

Although CPR shouldn’t have been invented yet in a world based on Imperial China, Jinshi uses it to resuscitate Maomao, and he says that this waterfall basin is very deep, so if you jump correctly, you won’t die unless you drown. Maomao then took off everything aside from her undergarments since she didn’t watch to catch a cold. Maomao offers to wring out Jinshi’s clothes too, but he replies that he’s stronger so he’ll do it for both of them. Maomao then offers him butterbur, which was part of what they had for breakfast. She brought it as a snack, but she noted how important it was for him to get some salt at that very moment since he was dehydrated. She had brought some water with soy paste and sugar in it when she was chasing him, but that was lost when they were shot at. She then reached to to touch his face and saw that his fever had come down but recommended he eat the butterbur as he needs some salt. Then her belly growled, and he offered some butterbur back to her, and very much like a territorial cat, she accepted it in a somewhat standoffish fashion.

When Maomao asked just what they were attacked by, Jinshi said that it was a feifa, a weapon of war that uses gunpowder and requires preparation after every shot, but since two shots were fired in succession, it meant there were multiple assailants. Maomao then asked if Jinshi knew a way out aside from swimming, and he replied that there’s a hole deep inside the basin and that Basen knows where it is. At the hole, Maomao wonders whether others would be able to hear them if they kept shouting, which Jinshi doubted unless someone was nearby, and then she did a whistle with the dog Lihaku was looking after on her mind. Jinshi suggests that if one of them stands on top of the other that one of them should be able to get out. Maomao shudders at the thought of standing on Jinshi as Suiren would be give her trouble for that, leading to Jinshi saying outright that if he stood on her that she’d be crushed, and that settled the matter. Maomao almost got out until a frog jumped on her head, distracting her, leading to the pair falling over, and Maomao on top of Jinshi in a position that will make it hard for her to ignore the truth, that Jinshi isn’t a eunuch.

In the next episode, Basen notes that several high-ranking officials immediately realized what was going on and started a search, and a couple of officials laughed about Jinshi/Kousen potentially having a lover’s tryst with the servant girl. Basen dismisses that as being impossible given what he knows of Jinshi, but he still has a mental note that Jinshi has been gone for two hours. He himself also sent out people to do a search but has gotten no updates, and he can’t ask his dad for help since he’s Jinshi’s aid at this event. He noted that Gaoshun had issued an order to Maomao but not him, so he’s sick of roles that are pure formalities. He thinks if only the organizer of the party could at least wrap it up, but Shishou might intend for Jinshi to die, which could be exactly why he isn’t wrapping things up. Basen believes Shishou wouldn’t want trouble at his own party, thinking he might not have anything to do with this, but I wonder about that.

Then back to Jinshi and Maomao, Maomao starts feeling up Jinshi’s penis, leading to Jinshi saying that that saves him from needing to explain more with Maomao thinking that there were a lot of hints about him not being an eunuch but that she rejected them subconsciously. When Jinshi motions to reveal his true status to her, she decides to try to pretend that what she touched was not his penis but actually the frog that landed on her she might’ve crushed, which led to a funny scene that ended up pretty serious with Jinshi on top of her and about to kiss her/sexually assault her until the dog Lihaku had been looking after landed on top of him. Lihaku then gets them both out of the hole. Jinshi indicates that he didn’t see the face of his shooters and thinks of searching all of the guests’ luggage, but Maomao says that since they’re all high-ranking officials invited by Shishou that wouldn’t hold on to weapons. She then asks whether the dog knows any other tricks aside from following a whistle, and Lihaku says that he can sniff out a rabbit’s burrow. Maomao, realizing that Jinshi is mad at her for interrupting him when he planned to reveal something to her and how she taunted him on how his penis is only somewhat large, then quickly lets them know that she knows a way to find out who the shooters are, probably by using the dog’s sense of smell.

At this point, simply recapping everything would be really tedious, so I’ll summarize it with how they had Lihaku and the dog join the search party, resulting in them finding one of the shooters, and they framed a guy to expand the search area from just the river to the forest as well, leading to that shooter going back into the forest to search for his feifa, only to be caught red-handed, clearly outmaneuvered since Jinshi, Lihaku, and Maomao had already found all the feifas, with there being three total that Jinshi noted are foreign-made and most likely the latest model from the west. Jinshi then fires a gunshot, confirming that it was the same weapon that was fired at them earlier, and Basen comes running, telling Jinshi that they’ve got eyes on the associates of the shooter they caught after Jinshi asks for a status update.

At night, Gaoshun notes that the disappearance during the day was written off as being the masked lord’s whimsy. It became public knowledge that during the party, a certain official and his entire party accompanying him disappeared, and that they’d never be seen in public again. He doesn’t know the specifics of everything that happened to Jinshi, but Jinshi seems tired. But since he, Gaoshun, is here as Jinshi’s surrogate, he’s not in a position to hear about that since Jinshi is going by Kousen here. Gaoshun thinks to himself that Basen still has a ways to go since he’s still upset with how things played out. A drunk then comes to Gaoshun and remarks that it’s a shame that Gaoshun became a eunuch ’cause he angered the empress although we know that isn’t true since he’s a taking a hormone-suppressing medication just like Jinshi is. It’s just his cover story for why he’s a eunuch. The drunkard would’ve preferred to see the beautiful eunuch rather than be graced by the presence of the masked lord, who he hears has a horrible scar his face, saying that it must be horrible for “that” to be the crown prince, showing that Jinshi’s true status is that of a prince and that this man has no respect for Jinshi, who is the actual crown province, with the scar being a cover story since Jinshi has to both play the role as the crown prince and also as the handsome eunuch. The drunkard then whispers to Gaoshun whether he has heard any news about any of the concubines being pregnant after the tragedy, and Gaoshun takes his leave since he doesn’t want to answer the question. Outside, Gaoshun remarks that everyone is trying to determine whether the Emperor’s younger brother, who I believe is actually his firstborn son, is fit to be the future ruler of the country. He wonders whether Jinshi was able to tell Maomao the truth since she needs to know it in order to deal with problems in the near future, noting that she really is that useful. He says this may sound cold, but they need all the useful pawns they can get.

Back in her room, Maomao thinks back to how things took a turn for the worse again and how the west was involved. She says the story about the twins tricking the guards was probably about the special envoys and wonders what had actually happened when they snuck out. Jinshi then asks at her door whether she has a moment. Sensing Maomao’s apprehension, he says that she doesn’t need to open the door since he must’ve startled her so much earlier. Maomao says that she’s probably the one who should have apologized, thinking to herself apologizing for calling his penis somewhat large. She wonders what he’s thinking at this moment since she’s always been slow to understand human feelings since the big sisters who raised her were hard-working courtesans and couldn’t tend to her whenever she cried, leading to her quickly learning not to cry. That’s why she’s slow to notice how others feel about her, whether that be good or bad. She says that she won’t breathe a word of it regarding his secret and that to her, he’ll always be Master Jinshi, which gets him in a good mood. He then passes off to her the ox bezoar she wanted, and she has such a look of elation on her face that made him flustered to the point he didn’t react in time before she closed the door and said good night ’cause the ox bezoar had taken up all of her attention, and she wouldn’t let anything come between them. Jinshi is banging on her door to no avail, and then the narrator says that there are only two people with “Ka” for “flower” in their names, the Emperor and Jinshi, the Moon Prince, whose real name is Zuigetsu. Gaoshun notes that Jinshi cannot stay in his temporary position forever due to his relation to the Emperor. This is almost certainly what Jinshi had intended to share with Maomao only for him to denied the opportunity.

Re:Zero Episode 66 (Season 3 Episode 16) – Analysis and Important Details

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I thought the episode was a satisfying conclusion to this season although there was one detail I hoped would be revealed that didn’t. Included in my post this time will be an update on how I believe Al relates to Subaru as I’ll be including something I didn’t in my previous write-ups.

The episode opens with Beatrice and the group fighting Lye, and she notes to Otto she can use up to five magic crystals as she needs to save one to bring back Puck. Two of them were used up as they fought with Lye eating the names and memories of three of the White Dragon’s Scales mercenaries with the special effect of them being shattered and reforming showing that they had entered the same state Rem and Joshua are in. When Felt returned, Lye attempted to eat her name but faced serious negative effects with his eyes becoming bloodshot and him feeing nausea that resulted in vomiting given it seemed to be a fake name Rom gave her in childhood. This gave them the opportunity to use two of the remaining of three crystals to fire the special metia Felt brought to them that appears to have once belonged to Echidna judging by Beatrice’s reaction to it. Lye was defeated, but he somehow swapped places with his sister, Rui Arneb, who gutted Dynas’s legs and then did the same to Otto when Rui had moved to strike Beatrice with Otto getting her out of the way. Apparently, one of the powers of the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony is to transform into people you’ve eaten before although we have yet to see Lye or Roy do that since Rui had taken the form of a man before going into her true form. Rui realized that Felt herself didn’t realize that her name is not her true name upon interacting with her. Rui notes that she’s backing off, most likely due to her Gospel’s instructions, reasoning that since Lye was beaten to a pulp and since Roy just does as that woman, who I assume is Capella, says. Rui says it’s not whether you’re a gourmand or a foul feeder as what you eat isn’t important, and it’s who you eat with that’s important. Beatrice, with only one magic crystal she can use, since one must be saved for bringing back Puck, decides not to pursure Rui although Felt really wanted to even though they were clearly outmatched.

If it wasn’t clear from Rui’s interaction with them that she was holding back severely, I’ll make it clear now. It’s clear with how Regulus’s Gospel making him believe he’d meet the Emilia camp again despite it not happening until the fourth loop of Arc 5 is that Gospels are meant to keep the world on a particular path as I have long believed rather than being an object that makes the holder’s goals/dreams come true. This was also likely why Capella went to attack the government office the heroes had made their base of operations when if she had stayed with Theresia and Kurgan both Wilhelm and Garfiel would’ve both 100% died and why Capella was certain that she accomplished all that she had needed and was leaving, when her pursuing Al, Felix, and Anastasia would’ve resulted in one or more of them dying, and for this very reason, Rui left as well when she could’ve butchered them all since Beatrice only had one magic crystal left aside from the one she was saving for bringing back Puck. I believe people who have treated Re:Zero as a serious story are meant to pick up on this, but people who expect the usual from most isekai series that don’t have much happening on a story front don’t realize that Re:Zero is a deep story and that it wants you to draw conclusions from these things happening multiple times in succession. You have to actually think critically when you watch Re:Zero. After all, Roswaal’s not-quite-Tome of Wisdom was basically a tool meant for Echidna to keep the world on a particular path, and it wouldn’t be a stretch if the Gospels had a similar purpose.

Kiritaka then announced that they had taken control of all four control towers and had driven away the Witch Cult. After Subaru and Emilia make their way to the government office seeing that it had been destroyed, they are reunited with Beatrice, and Subaru princess carries Beatrice, leading to Anastasia saying that Subaru can be a boy after all, which Emilia affirmed, although I’m not sure Emilia affirmed that in the same way Anastasia did. First with Ricardo joking earlier in the season that Subaru seduces little girls and now this bit with Anastasia showing that characters are openly mocking Subaru about him attracting little girls knowing that Subaru isn’t really that type of person as that’d be inappropriate, which isn’t a bad thing of course given how serious of a show Re:Zero can be.

Subaru and co. then pay a visit to Garfiel, who is proud of Subaru for showing off what a man he is by saving Emilia. He’s in good spirits given he joked that he didn’t want to hear about his condition from Subaru of all people, which Emilia could see, and Beatrice resorted that he’s feeling too good about himself given it’s usually when he’s nice and quiet that he’s actually suffering. Mimi then barges in and has her way with Garfiel with Otto saying that he really should’ve acted like a man who’s hurt. Otto is expected to be able to recover from his injury, and Subaru wishes that he’d consult with him before leaping into danger since they’re friends after all with Otto replying that there’s no way he could just sit back and do nothing when Subaru had so much on his plate, ESPECIALLY since he’s his friend, and that just shows why Otto is such a good person to have on your side. Otto says he’s sorry that Gluttony got away but that they did gain something from this since Priscilla captured Sirius.

They start interrogating Sirius, and when Subaru asks what made them think about demanding the not-quite-Tome of Wisdom and the artificial spirit, as in Beatrice, Sirius remarks that she doesn’t even care to think about what the others were thinking and that they only gathered here ’cause of the instructions from their Gospels. When Subaru puts it out that there that they follow their Gospels so religiously to revive the Witch of Envy, Sirius retorts by saying she doesn’t give a damn about that and that the only one she loves is Subaru with her going up to him to lick him, which Emilia struck her hard for doing so. When Beatrice urged them to leave, Sirius started singing horribly since she had realized the power of song from Lilliana, and Subaru says that she shouldn’t consider Liliana and her singing to be the same with it being completely different. Fortuna then taunts Subaru, saying the situation is the same with him in that he’s not Petelgeuse but with both his soul and body and Petelgeuse’s melding together with her goal being to drag Petelgeuse out from within him although it’s hard to say whether this is pure delusion or a fact. Although I do believe Petelgeuse exists in a pocket dimension within the vicinity of Subaru’s soul, I do not believe their souls have literally melded together. Before they leave, Sirius warns them that Gluttony will be after Subaru. The subs say Gourmand, Foul Feeding, and Satiation, but given the words are used to describe their representation of the Gluttony sin, I feel it should be Gourmet (since Lye wants Gourmet food, which is why he makes his prey feel strong emotions to juice them up and fights them as if to prepare them well for being eaten), Foul-Feeding (Hyphen for grammatical purposes), and Satiation are the right terms to use, and I will use them moving forward since I’m not going to expect Crunchyroll to have any sort of consistency moving forward. I’m guessing Sirius got wind of this ‘when she compared the text written in the Gluttony Archbishop’s Gospels compared to her own ’cause Lye, and Roy and Rui by extension, have been after Subaru since Lye ate Rem’s memories, which is part of the reason he was so hyped for a confrontation with Subaru in Episode 59.

After they walk out of Sirius’s cell, Al replies that they got nothing aside from making them feel gross, which Subaru shoots down immediately, leading to Al saying he sure knows how to make those freaks like him, which suggests that Al is not Subaru himself since it alludes to him not being able to ingratiate himself with some of the Sin Archbishops whereas Subaru has, possibly showing that he was a failed hero of the story. Beatrice then tells Subaru to not get too friendly with Al, which Al is disappointed to her after he helped wake her up, calling her Beako, which she remarked she only lets Subaru do, and Emilia thanks Al for helping her pass a message to Subaru, which Al reacts well to, similarly to how Subaru said in Arc 2 that he’s the type to like to be rewarded for his efforts. When they emerge from the underground, Beatrice reveals that Al visited her and got her Kiritaka’s magic crystal, which is what woke her up but that he wouldn’t tell her anything about how he got it, and that soured Al on Beatrice even though Subaru does the same thing to others. It was only after Emilia spoke well of Al that they were forced to admit that Al’s not a bad guy.

I have to mention this regarding Al now. I don’t believe he is Subaru himself since there is a good deal against it, but I do believe that he and Subaru both originally came from the same soul. Ever since Episode 22, A Flash Of Sloth, I have been looking up the names of Re:Zero’s characters since that title could’ve referenced multiple things from that episode, showing that names are important in Re:Zero. Subaru’s dad is named Kenichi, which means ‘wise man’. Subaru said in Episode 16 that Flugel’s Tree was planted by a wise man centuries ago, and while this wouldn’t mean something in a different show, its presence in a show with Re:Zero’s long-term planning suggests that Kenichi himself might be Flugel. As for the time period in which Flugel existed, Petelgeuse apologized to Flugel-sama in Episode 43 for taking in the Sloth Witch Factor, which shows that Flugel was from the same time period Satella was from.

Episodes, 18, 25, and 38 show that Subaru has dormant memories of Satella as shown by how Puck indirectly revealed in Episode 18 the number of shadow hands Satella could generate to Subaru by asking Petelgeuse summon a thousand shadows if he truly wants to kill him, half of what Satella could (two thousand), Subaru using a number associated with Satella (two thousand) to indicate his appreciation for Emilia in Episode 25, and Subaru suddenly having an upswelling of positive emotion for Satella in Episode 38 that led him to say that he’d save Satella after she asked him to love himself and then some day come kill her, which shows that Subaru and Satella may have a past history together.

Given we know Echidna succeeded in creating a soul clone of herself with how Echidna spoke in her own voice in Ryuzu Shima’s body in Episode 49, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Kenichi, if he is Flugel as I speculate, also did that as well and Subaru and Al were both split off from Kenichi’s soul, and Kenichi made his sons his soul clones, and that would explain why Al and Subaru both call Beatrice ‘Beako’, not ’cause they are the same person but because they were created from the same soul. It’d also explain why Subaru has dormant memories of Satella despite it not being possible for him to have lived at that time, why Al also likes being rewarded for his efforts, why he failed when Subaru succeeded, and why he didn’t know about Capella’s powers.

When the group reconvenes without Julius and Ricardo, Anastasia, or whoever she is, reveals she is against letting Sirius live, which upsets Felix since Sirius is their only lead on how to save Crusch. Anastasia doubts they’ll get anything useful on Gluttony or Lust from Sirius, but Subaru disagrees and doesn’t think it’d be a total waste of effort although he does understand she’d uneasy about keeping her in custody. Wilhelm then shuts Felix down for making a fuss of things. Reinhard also takes Subaru’s side and says he’ll transport Sirius to the castle since this is a rare opportunity to learn about the Witch Cult. Then the topic comes to Lust’s victims, and Felix says that they can’t be healed since they’re creatures that’ve been completely remade. Priscilla suggests giving the people turned to flies death since they’d probably prefer that, and when Subaru starts to protest, she calls him a fool and that ideals that are all talk have no value, which leads to Emilia saying she’ll handle that by putting all of Lust’s victims in cold sleep, and Priscilla backs down after seeing Liliana’s exuberant confidence in Emilia and even says she’ll make Emilia her rival after she does, probably ’cause she was again as I said in my write-up for an earlier episode saying things that were stressful to others to bring out the best in them.

As dawn breaks, Kiritaka thanked Subaru for saving the city, and that he was had been fully prepared to die until he heard Liliana’s song. We get shots of all the relevant parties and then have Subaru thank Subaru and for Reinhard to say it’s a tremendous honour to help a friend, probably since Subaru treats him like an actual person like others instead of a weapon.

Subaru and Emilia are then happy that Lusbel and Tina are safe, and Emilia says that they have to celebrate that since everyone worked so hard to make that happen. Subaru then sees Subaru, who is wounded in a lot of ways and has lost an arm. When he makes a remark about Julius, Ricardo doesn’t respond, but Subaru sees Julius all by himself in the shadow of a building, and Julius is astounded that Subaru remembers him since Emilia doesn’t. This shows that Roy ate his name, which rewrites reality as if no one ever remembered his existence. I don’t believe Julius’s possessions were also erased given how three members of the White Dragon’s Scales broke into pieces of glass and reformed into their current state of being in suspended animation, showing that they had become something fundamentally different than before. As Puck revealed in Episode 26, if a Sin Archbishop of Gluttony eats your memories, you lose your memories, your name, your existence erased, and if both your name and memories are eaten, you become a shell of who you were in suspended animation. Given even Rem’s possessions disappeared when she had been erased by the White Whale, your possessions probably don’t disappear unless both your name and memories are eaten, or Rem’s possessions were just thrown out ’cause no one could remember her.

What this shows is that Subaru has a resistance to Authorities for some reason. After Unseen Hand was used in his presence once, he was able to see Petelgeuse’s Authority the next time he saw it being used. When the White Whale, which Puck referred to as Gluttony in Episode 18, erased Rem, Subaru was the lone person who remembered her, which showed even back then that he had a resistance to the Gluttony Authority. When Rem was again erased by Lye, he still remembered her, proving that the White Whale was either made or modified somehow to have its mist have a similar effect to the Authority of Gluttony. After Sirius used her Authority on Subaru, in subsequent loops, it took longer and longer for him to fall under her control. This latest incident shows that Subaru still retains his resistance to the Authority of Gluttony. I don’t know where this resistance comes from though and expect it will be made clear towards the end of the series.

Anyway, with Season 4 being confirmed to be in production, I eagerly await to learn more about Re:Zero’s fantasy world and the aftermath of Julius having been forgotten. I also wonder what is up with whoever this Anastasia is. This season was fun and a refreshing change of pace compared to previous seasons.

Re:Zero Episode 65 (Season 3 Episode 15) – Analysis + Important Details

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This was my favourite episode of Season 3 so far. It had very compelling fights ’cause the fights themselves made you care about the characters either directly or indirectly due to the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony’s powers, more compelling villains since Regulus was just a noob with an OP power who was just evil in contrast to Lye and Roy, interesting foreshadowing, and character writing that is consistent with what came before.

The first two scenes need to being looked at as a whole given how one interaction doesn’t make sense if you don’t do that, so I’ll be covering both the ongoing fight with Lye and the start of the fight with Roy, looking at them together as if they are a whole. The episode starts with a lot of the White Dragon’s Scales mercenaries making light of Lye since they think he’s just one brat, but he moves really quickly, leading to Gaston trying to take him on directly with him being taking a big blow from an attack Lye called the “Fist Lord’s Strike”, which seemed to pack a lot more punch than what Lye had attacked Gaston with a number of episodes back. Otto then used Earth Magic, which he had revealed he had in Season 2, to get Lye away from Gaston since he realized all of them would be in huge trouble if Gaston were to be killed. Otto then noted that he’s surprised by Lye’s lack of finishing blows considering he probably had the opportunity to kill Gaston then and there instead of merely hitting him with one blow. Lye then taunts them, saying that they’re useless for not being able to handle one brat and that he’s nothing compared to the indiscriminate Roy, and in this sense I believe he is referring both to how Roy is not a gourmand like he is and how Roy is unrestrained in dealing with his prey.

And now to the Roy fight, as I mentioned in an earlier episode, Julius reacted to Roy referring to him to Nii-sama, and it’s ’cause deep down he retains the feeling he had a younger brother even though Roy has erased Joshua by eating both his memories and his name, the latter of which causes all proof of your existence to be erased, and when both are eaten, you become like Rem, who is a shell of herself in suspended animation. That’s how Roy could dodge Julius’s Al Clauseria and then counter his 2-spirit combination attack after he demonstrated to Ricardo how much better as a swordsman he was. Then he dropped his swords and said, “Eclipse”, and struck Julius with his fist, which dealt a lot of damage to Julius. When Roy started using Water Magic, Ricardo was baffled that he had mastered sword arts, martial arts, and magic, and Roy had described himself as a humble, nameless mage after Ricardo asked him just what the hell he was, showing that he had gained access to the skills of a mage that he had erased, and perhaps the reason he said Eclipse after he dropped his swords the first time was to show he was switching to someone else’s memories to harvest his/her skills and knowledge, which allowed him to be skilled at martial arts. I believe Lye and Roy can only tap into one person’s memories and skills at a time basing this mainly on how Roy dropped his swords before he said, “Eclipse”, and switched to martial arts against Julius and how he called himself a humble, nameless mage when he used water magic against Ricardo and Julius. If they could tap into more than one person’s skills and memories at a time, Roy wouldn’t be speaking as if he was just a mage or dropping his swords when he intended to change his fighting style if he could just put them away, which shows he tapped into someone’s memories who isn’t used to moving around with swords on his/her person. Ricardo then dispelled the water dragon attack with a roar, leading to Roy being giddy about how it’s a long time anyone survived that attack, which shows that he is indiscriminate as Lye had indicated with him being unrestrained in handling his prey by going all-out from the beginning whereas Lye has seemed to be going easy on them by not dealing any of Otto’s group a finishing blow even though we’ve gotten much more of that fight and only the beginning of this Roy fight. Julius then remarks about why Roy has chosen evil despite his skills, and Roy taunts him with Joshua’s memories, calling him the brother he always idolized due to him picking an appa from a tree for him when he was sick, but Julius has no recollection of that even though clearly feels something deep down given his reaction to Roy’s words. Roy then says with Joshua’s memories that he always felt that he was a burden, but now with Joshua’s memories in tow, he implies it’s great now to be in control, saying he actually resented Julius for picking that appa for him since it’s something he couldn’t do himself at that age. It was then implied that Julius took a blow after rushing towards Lye, and that became a good time to segue into the Capella and Al fight.

Then it segues to Al having split Capella in half from the top of her head to her belly with Capella musing about how many more times will it actually take before he can actually kill her. Al then replies even if he dies a hundred times, he’s not sure that he could ever kill her but that maybe she is the one who hasn’t thought this through since he knew she’d come here which means they were prepared to give her an especially warm welcome with an attack that would shatter her very soul, and Capella just tells him to do it if they went through all that effort to do so. She says that if they did all that for her that her principles won’t let her turn down the thoughtfulness in what they had prepared for her. Al then has a cute interaction with Capella when he says that she’s seriously going to die and that dying hurts and is scary, especially the first time, saying she doesn’t want to do that, showing that Al does indeed have a power that lets him defy death, which was hinted at in Episode 60 when he said that she better get out of there before he dies. Al, for the lulz, even threw in a dirty joke for her about how she should save her firsts for when the time is right, which she really appreciated although she remarked that he’s probably doing that to lie to her, leading her to transform into her black dragon form, asking him which form he likes the most with Al replying that he can never love anyone. Al then steps on a part of the ground that caused the whole place to start collapsing, and he dives into the water.

When Al got out of the water, he nearly took off his helmet, but seeing Anastasia was there, he decided not do it, saying he’s self-conscious. Anastasia says she didn’t expect Capella to take the whole place down, and Al says he was secretly crushed three times, which suggests that Capella killed him three times. Then Felix also joined them, and when Anastasia asked whether it was pointless to hope that Capella had died, Felix remarked that even Anastasia blowing off Capella’s face with magic wasn’t enough and that she thought Anastasia couldn’t, leading to Al drawing his sword against Anastasia since he knows magic is something Anastasia’s not capable of using. I’m not sure who this could be in Anastasia’s body though, whether it’s a shape-shifter or a possession of sorts. Al only backed down ’cause Felix pressed Al’s sword against his skin, causing it to bleed.

The information suggests again that Al may have been the previous hero of the story given he knew the remains of the witch in Priestella is that of Typhon’s and that you shouldn’t give out your real name to the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. As for why Al is very likely not a future Subaru, Al neither knew about the extent of Capella’s regeneration nor her power to transform into your ideal partner by reading all your reactions to her, showing he had limited to no exposure to her, meaning she may not have been the Sin Archbishop of the Lust during his run-through as the hero of the story. Another point against Al being a future Subaru is that Al can specifically mention that he has been dying to Capella with it implied that she knows that is the case, which Subaru is not permitted to do by Satella when he has the intent to share information about Return By Death. This suggests that Al simply has a different power than Subaru and that it’s not a matter of Al being able to control his power better. Granted, this is not definitive proof that he can’t be Subaru since we don’t know all the rules of Re:Zero’s world. We don’t know whether an Authority can change over time, and if it can, perhaps Al’s Authority used to be identical to Subaru’s before it became whatever it is now.

Capella then returns as she reforms from rats with her missing her eyes leading to her getting the last two rats to conglomerate into her full form. This may indicate that Capella has a minimum mass given when she was missing a couple of pieces of her body she couldn’t fully reform herself. Capella is acting very dere with how Al hit her with such a passionate attack even though it didn’t end doing any permanent damage to her. When Al draws his sword against her, she tells him not to misunderstand since she’s leaving due to her already having done what she wanted to do, and as Anastasia interjects, it’s what the Gospel ordered her to do, which Capella didn’t respond well to, saying that her feelings for them aren’t from some book and that they’re real, describing it as pure love, which triggers Felix, leading to him saying that if they kill her, she bets Crusch’s body will be returned to normal, something Capella shoots down immediately since her and her blood are two separate entities. She then sends out her Demi-Beasts that are alive yet dead since they’re so intent on chasing after her, which Felix makes Felix cry out in tears about how she could do such a thing with Capella remarking in an attempt to provoke Felix that it might be ’cause no one ever told her to not play with corpses. This does get under Felix’s skin since as a healer he probably values life and respects those who have died as opposed to Capella turning corpses into monstrosities and not allowing people to move on. Al then directs them to flee, and Capella tells them if they don’t keep up the fight that more people will die, creating more Demi-beasts in the process, urging them to slaughter them all before she splits her bodies in rats and starts fleeing from the city.

As I have stated before in my previous write-ups, I do not believe that Witch Cult Gospels are true texts that tell the future but are merely meant to keep the world on a particular path given how Regulus’s Gospel made him believe he would meet the Emilia camp again in the first loop of this arc despite it not happening again until the fourth loop. Capella escaping could be the way for the source of the knowledge of the Gospels to ensure that none of Al, Capella, or whoever this Anastasia is, die since if she had pursued them, one or more of them may have died, showing that it’s also keeping the world on a particular path. While they’re fleeing, Felix eventually cries out to somebody to help, leading to Reinhard using his super hearing to hone in on their location, and at Felix’s urging of him to kill all the Demi-beasts, he does. I believe Felix is crying for them to be given death since they currently can’t move on after dying due to what they have become. I believe Reinhard’s eyes were obscured for this week’s episode ’cause he is suffering while fulfilling his duty as the Sword Saint. ‘Cause Reinhard was adamant that the corpse soldier Theresia was just a corpse soldier, meaning he was justified in killing her, Wilhelm said that he had nothing left to say to him and urged “Sword Saint Reinhard-dono” to do his duty in using his immense strength on the battlefield, reducing him to merely being a weapon. Earlier this season, Wilhelm wanted to close the gap between him and Reinhard, but him saying in the previous episode “You’re right. I’m wrong. So I have nothing more to say to you”, followed by referring to Reinhard in an extremely impersonal and respectful way (full title with the -dono honorific) is a pretty clear indication that the gap is not closing anymore as you really don’t hit someone with a “I have nothing more to say to you, so respectfully go away” if you have any intention to be friendly with them afterwards. Reinhard just wants to be treated as a person as anybody else would, and that’s why he reacted so well to Subaru saying he’d make up for any of Reinhard’s shortcomings in Episode 58.

Back to Otto’s group and Lye, Gaston remarks that Lye is pretty damn good at fighting, and he knows this ’cause he was trained by the gardener at Reinhard’s place and can see that Lye’s movements aren’t that of someone who is innately talented but has trained for years. Upon hearing that, Otto realizes that Lye and Roy can gain the knowledge and skills of anyone they eat, and Otto plays dumb. Lye says that unspoken messages, which I’m guessing should actually be “hiding your body language” and was a mistranslation, isn’t a strong point of Otto’s, so maybe she should give up on being a merchant before he gets hurt. Lye then immediately eats one of the mercenaries, Hicks, and nobody remembers him, not even Dynas, the leader of the White Dragon’s Scales. Lye says it’s because this type of thing is so sad that they love to engage in this sort of one-sided reunion in which they taunt the people who have lost someone dear to them much like Roy had also been doing, and when Dynas says that he hasn’t seen the guy who had been eaten before despite clearly on some level knowing there’s something off, Lye taunts him with his memories, suggesting it wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t protect Miriam (and Maylie? The subs said Mary, but there was someone with a similar name from Season 2).

Enraged, Dynas rushes towards Lye and gets knocked back easily with Lye musing that strong emotions are great ’cause they’re so rich, and that’s likely why he takes his time buttering up his prey as opposed to Roy who immediately escalates the situation with his prey, which is why Otto remarks that as a normal person he can’t think of people in terms of how delicious they are, prompting him to ask everyone to not say his name, only for it to be revealed that none of them knew it to begin with. Otto put it out there that he believes that what Lye is doing in letting them fight back is his idea of setting a table for a meal, and Lye remarks that people with keen instincts are hard to finish off and that they get away with it ’cause it makes them all the more tasty. Otto declares that he has won with Lye indicating that Dynas and Gaston are not bad but not worthy of a main course but that after losing Felt it would be bad to also let Otto get away too, especially Rui would rip him a new one, and this is not the first time Lye has mentioned Rui. Given Rui would rip him a new one if he were to let Otto go, it perhaps suggests that Rui is also a Sin Archbishop although who knows where she is given she is nowhere to be seen. Otto then tells everyone if he touches them that they’re as good as dead since he can eat anything he touches. They all rush towards Lye after Otto thanks him for his impeccable manners, and after Gaston creates an opening, Otto grabs Lye and puts two fire magic stones underneath his shirt, which explode on him, revealing many scars. Otto wonders whether those scars made him the way he is, which leads to Lye pestering him about giving out his name to him and also saying he has other ways to get him to talk, such as eating Otto’s fingers one by one. Beatrice then makes a grand entrance saying it’s rude to start eating before everyone is at the table. I’m not sure how she’s awake after she was in a severely mana-depressed state, but absent a proper explanation, maybe she restored enough mana to function after one day of sleep. Otherwise, someone restored her mana through some other means. Otto was about to say Beatrice’s name, but Lye tapped into Rem’s memories and already knew it, and his impersonation of Rem is just so disgusting on every level. He clamours to meet Subaru since Rem had talked about how Subaru would pass judgement on him in Episode 26, which is why he was so eager to meet Subaru in Episode 59. Beatrice is determined to not let Lye meet Subaru given that he’d be extremely hurt, possibly irreparably, which is why she and Otto have to take care of him here and now. Beatrice and Otto don’t really remember Rem themselves, but they have been told about Rem by Subaru and knows how much she means to them.

I just find Lye and Roy to be much more compelling villains than Regulus was, who was just an evil man-child with a broken power. Lye and Roy taunting people with the memories of people they used to know is more effective at making me care their fights both the characters fighting the Witch Cult and the Sin Archbishops themselves. Capella also steals the scene of basically every scene she’s in. The touch with Reinhard being disheartened over how his relationship with Wilhelm has relationship has deteriorated further and the bit with Anastasia being a possible fake was also great to watch, and I believe this episode was Re:Zero at its best.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) Episode 34 (Season 2 Episode 10) – Analysis + Important Details

Posted on | by anicritic | Leave a Comment on Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) Episode 34 (Season 2 Episode 10) – Analysis + Important Details

This episode seems very different from that of what came before given Maomao indicated some things are simply beyond her understanding.

The episode opens with Lady Hongniang introducing Maomao to the three new ladies-in-waiting, Haku-u, Koku-u, and Seki-u, who are all from the same hometown as Lady Gyokuyou, which is the safest way to ensure only those who have earned Gyokuyou’s trust can be her ladies-in-waiting. After Maomao is unable to differentiate between them, Haku-u says that the three of them will wear hairbands that match the colours in their names. After Yinghua and Maomao caused a scene in the presence of the new ladies-in-waiting, Hongniang drags them back to Lady Gyokuyou where it’s made clear that the shed is now Maomao’s main quarters but that she must sleep in her original room, probably to maintain an air of normalcy to the new arrivals to the Jade Pavilion.

Maomao then thinks as they’re all working that with the new ladies-in-waiting that the work per person has reduced dramatically, but Gyokuyou’s pregnancy isn’t the only reason they needed more ladies-in-waiting since they had to balance out to an extent the astronomically high number of ladies-in-waiting from Concubine Loulan’s Garnet Pavilion. When Maomao finishes her work, she heads back to the shed, leading to Koku-u (black hairband) and Seki-u (red hairband) asking Yinghua whether Maomao really lives in a shed considering she’s Gyokuyou’s lady-in-waiting, and Yinghua is at a loss for words while Haku-u (white hairband), who is the same age as Lady Gyokuyou and could be a personal best friend of hers, is calm, possibly to show that she trusts Gyokuyou.

Maomao, in thought, shows that she understands that the reason Yinghua tried to get her out of the shed was so she could get comfortable with the new ladies-in-waiting faster, which shows how considerate she is. She then apologizes to Yinghua for being so selfish all the time, and Yinghua guilt trips her into accompanying her somewhere later in the night. They venture out to a building on the north side of the palace and meet a woman, who Maomao thinks to herself is pretty but quite old for a court lady. The lady reveals that this place was used during the era of the late emperor and that compared to back then the number of court ladies has gone down considerably but that this place is still useful on occasions like this.

Once Maomao has taken a seat in a room with the others, she thinks up an incomplete thought with 12 people total in such a hot room on closed-off room like this with it being interrupted by the organizer asking if everyone was prepared with their stories, saying that tonight they’ll enjoy thirteen spine-chilling tales. Maomao reacted to there being thirteen stories, but Yinghua being a scaredy-cat got her distracted. After the first story is told, Maomao clearly sees that Yinghua is easily scared by the ghosr stories but thoroughly enjoys them. Maomao thinks to herself that the stories are more like rumours heard in the rear palace, saying they’re not particularly spine-chilling, reasoning that there not being much entertainment in the rear palace being why they’re allowed to gather like this.

For one prominent story, there was a forest near a village that villagers were told to never enter. It was said that if you went in, you’d be cursed and demons would eat your soul. One day, a child broke the rule and returned with a lot of food since crop yields had been low that year. When the other villagers found out, the boy and his mother were ostracized, not even getting food any longer, resulting in them getting very weak with not a single person reaching out to help them. One night, another villager saw what appeared to be a light floating into the family’s house. The next day the village heard the news and went to visit them only to find the son already dead and the mother near death. Her last words to him were “let me tell you a good secret” before she died with no one the wiser about what had happened to them and the locals all regarding the forest as the forbidden forest. The story spread that anyone who entered would be attacked by a demon and have their souls devoured. Maomao is not all that interested and having pieced out what had actually happened, tells Shisui she’ll tell her the truth behind the story after this is all over, and she thinks to herself that she’s awfully tired for some reason.

Shisui then told a story from a distant land far to the east, and it’s like she became an entirely different person once she starts telling the story with her tone of voice. Apparently, a monk from a foreign nation finished performing funeral rights in a distant land. On his way home he realized the sun had set at some point, and given he could hear wild dogs nearby, he was eager to get out of danger, and suddenly an old house appeared in front of him. There was a couple inside, and the wife gave the monk food and bedding. The monk was grateful but had nothing to offer her in return so he thought the least he could do was to chant a sutra for her. As he chants it, he hears the couple arguing, and he gets the feeling he shouldn’t intervene and should keep chanting the sutra. The wife talks about using the monk as a replacement, and when she walks into the room she had offered the monk, she has the body of a monster and is unable to discern the monk’s location, probably due to the sutra. She then goes and eats the husband instead since she couldn’t find the monk, and the monk continued chanting until the chewing sounds stopped. He didn’t see the couple outside and only the wings of insects, and that convinced him to continue chanting the sutra until dawn. Maomao notes that it’s as if Shisui had become an entirely different person and that she’s a good storyteller. She also notes that Shisui’s face at the angle she’s looking at seems familiar, so maybe Shisui is Loulan in disguise as I had previously speculated.

Then it was Maomao’s turn to tell a story in which rumours were flying around that floating spirits had been seen in a graveyard. Suspicious of that, a group of young men went to investigate only to find it was another man from the same town walking with a torch. The man was a graverobber and grew an unhealthy interest in a strange curse, going around digging up graves to cut up corpses and harvest human livers he believed were cures for the curse with Yinghua interrupting her before Maomao finished her thought. Yinghua was up next and turned out to be a terrible storyteller.

The organizer then mentioned it was her turn to share, and Maomao thought back to her saying there’d be thirteen stories even though only twelve of them were there. During the late emperor’s reign, the rear palace was always growing, constantly adding new sections. The Great Empress Dowager, also known as the Empress, wielded immense power at the time. She was constantly trying to find girls who would fit the late emperor’s tastes. He’d choose the youngest girls again and again with those that he chose spending their time in the rear palace, barred from ever leaving. One of those girls eventually became pregnant, and she petitioned the late emperor, but she was never allowed to leave either, which seems eerily similar to what happened to what was implied in the previous episode with those having relations with the late emperor not being allowed to leave. The storyteller then said that right before the woman who got pregant died, she said that it’s his turn next very loudly, which jolted Maomao awake and made her realize why she was getting dizzy. She then rushed to the window and opened it, ordering Shisui and Yinghua to move the unconscious ladies to the window, saying that the smoldering fire was trapping a lot of bad air in the room. The organizer said that she was so close too, and then Maomao when turned around, she was gone without a trace.

On their way back, Maomao explains to Shisui that the story was probably a superstition with how some things have a reason for becoming forbidden as forest are full of food but also inedible things. If someone got sick from eating something from the forest, word would get out to not do so, and over many years, what was once just a recommendation to not do something could morph into being a forbidden endeavor. After the famine ended, no one could distinguish between what could be eaten and what couldn’t. Maomao surmised the mother and son from the story must’ve entered the forest while it was dark since they were breaking the rules. She indicated there’s a type of mushroom called the moonlight mushroom that resemble oyster mushrooms and looks delicious but are actually poisonous and glow in the dark with a villager seeing someone carrying them from a distance in the dark possibly mistaking them for floating spirits. It’s not a potent poison, but if eaten by a starving, weakened person, it’d kill them. Maomao reasoned that the mother was perhaps trying to say there are delicious mushrooms in the forest as a way to get back at the villagers who abandoned her and her son. Satisfied with the answer, Shisui parted ways with Maomao and Shisui. Yinghua said all of those stories must have background stories like that, and Maomao replied with “Well… who knows?” showing that she has doubts whether what happened back at their gathering could be explained by a natural cause.

When they returned, Hongniang indicated that they came back earlier than they expected with Yinghua saying that there was a bit of commotion, which Hongniang had figured would happen since the organizer of the event this year was new with the previous organizer, a helpful court lady who never got to leave the rear palace after having relations with the late emperor, having passed away last year. Maomao realized that that was the organizer’s own personal story, thinking that the world is full of things she can’t truly understand and that she’s glad they didn’t become the thirteenth ghost story. Yinghua then forced Maomao to sleep with her tonight due to her being spooked.

This was a very interesting episode as I never expected Maomao, a creature of logic, to acknowledge the supernatural like she did, and it seemed that the new organizer was the ghost of one of the girls the late emperor had preyed upon who had malicious intentions.