Hey everyone! We’re a little late on this one, but there is a good bit to talk about here in episode six of Shin Sekai Yori — Escape. So much so that I took 13 screencaps as I went through this episode, far more than my usual five to seven. Enough dilly dallying, let’s jump in!
When we last left our sexually frustrated teenage protagonists Saki and Satoru they were trapped underground in the Robber Fly tunnels after an attack by the rival Ground Spider clan. Disregarding whatever that mysterious goop was at the end of Pursuit on a Hot Night, the cave starts to rumble and collapse, which puts our boy Satoru in protect mode as he jumps to save Saki. All is well and good, but they are still trapped. As they sit and ponder if the others are alright as well as their own fate, things start to get a little weird.
Needless to say that there are hallucinations abound. Explaining wouldn’t do too well at conveying just what is happening, but let’s just say all this trippy, psychedelic stuff turns to some flashbacks, giving Saki a revelation: She can return Satoru’s PK Power.
Each PK user has a mantra that gives them control over their own Power that they mustn’t share with anyone. Lucky, then, that something happened between Satoru and Saki back in school. Kids will be curious kids so Saki talks Satoru into sharing each others’ mantra. Since they don’t want the other to memorize it they decide to write it on pieces of paper and flash them at one another for a split second; leaving them only to know the general length of each others’ mantra without knowing it word for word. Satoru doesn’t properly dispose of his paper and Saki reads it, memorizing Satoru’s own personal mantra. Why is that important? Because Saki is apparently capable of hypnosis.
Using techniques used by the ritual priests, Saki talks Satoru through the experience all over again, casting his Power into a paper doll that is burnt, destroying his non-existent Power. She then gives him his mantra. This, of course, reawakens Satoru’s PK ability and he rips a hole in the top of the cavern before creating stone steps to lead them out to fresh air and a deep blue sky.
Now that they are finally free, the kids need to find a way out of there and get back home. Satoru explains that they can’t just run as they will just get caught all over again, leading him to the conclusion that they need to fight their way out. Using his newly revived Power, Satoru takes out the gas pipes used before and goes on the offensive, taking out the Ground Spider group as they go along on their escape (Hey, that’s the name of the episode!).
Man does Satoru know what he is doing. He’s using his Power in very cool, powerful ways like making tile bullets from a nearby rock. Is he unstoppable?
After making their way through the hills and forests a bit, the kids come across a group of surviving Robber Flies who beg for the help of Satoru and Saki. Not wanting to leave them be, they both follow along with them so long as the Robber Flies show them the way out. What follows is an onslaught of attacks by the Ground Spiders which are quickly dispatched by the super-charged Satoru. All goes well for a while, but all these attacks are wearing on the boy.
They continue their way, fighting off more and more Ground Spiders. This strikes Saki as odd as this was supposed to be a safe path. The leader of the survival group assures them that they had sent scouts ahead and their reports said this was indeed the safest route. He tells them that they just need to get through the forest ahead and they should be in a safe clearing.
Yeah. That didn’t work out so well for them.
This episode, I feel, was pretty good. It gave us the weird, inner psyche stuff at the beginning that had us scratching our heads before arriving at something that could plausibly get Saki and Satoru out of danger. My only complaint with the flashback to their matra sharing was that I think it would have been more effective to show that in, say, the second episode to keep it in the back of our heads for some time. Also, it was a fun exchange between Saki and Satoru; the former acting far more pushy and boyish than the latter who is usually so cocky and arrogant. The following acts of the episode are exciting and thrilling as we get excited for one of the kids’ Power to return, but they are facing an army which means that Satoru won’t be cutting swaths in the enemy and just happily skipping out to safety; there is still danger.
Personally, I don’t trust that Robber Fly guy. Sure he sent scouts, but the attacks just keep on coming and they eventually lead Saki and Satoru to a giant ambush by what looks like the rest of the Ground Spiders. It’ll be interesting to see if they really are on Saki’s side and if they are going to help them through this fight or if they are going to turn on them the second episode seven starts. Taking a stab in the dark, I think that either way, as the enemy charges in, that Shun and the others will come to the rescue, Power restored to them all through some events seen off camera. But we will just have to wait and see!
Shin Sekai Yori is up on Crunchyroll every Tuesday at about 3:30 PM Eastern Time.
