In/Spectre Episode 2 + 3

Come with me to the mountain

I can’t tonight… Dramatic pause I want to enjoy my pork miso soup.

Episodes 2 and 3 actually had me laughing a lot. Even the opening scene, with that rag/loincloth looking ghost shooting out from underneath her skirt when she meets Kuro. Then Kuro acting like her dad, giving her a hoodie and spraying her down with bug spray and giving her food, the the snake mentioning he could’ve also just brought a thermos with his food and then consoling Kotoko for bringing it up. So many moments of genuine laughter.

It’s also nice in a way to get an idea of where this show is going. It looks like it will be a bunch of mysteries being solved, case by case, but with the progression of Kotoko and Kuro (and now maybe Saki again) growing together. Imagine being the taxi driver at the bottom of the mountain in episode two. A university looking ass kid and a middleschooler come out of the woods together and then flirt in the back of the cab. Y’all better be tipping extra for that.

They don’t seem particularly concerned with ending mysteries by the end of the episode either, which could be nice? I imagine there’s some freedom and better pacing when you don’t have to confine to the limits of an episode. I don’t mind it. I’ve seen people who do not like it at all though and that’s totally fair. I also saw a bit of complaining about that they don’t actually solve mysteries, just lie. I don’t think that’s the point though. She’s not a detective, she’s a goddess of wisdom and her goal is to satisfy the curiosity of those who ask her. Whether they’re lies or not, humans are irrational as all hell and there’s no real way to know everything so coming up with a few theories and seeing which has the least contradictions seems like a very valid strategy.

Ok, but now we have to talk about this. Kuro. Ate. Mermaid. Flesh. What on earth compels a child to do that? And whatever else it was that this mf’er ate is negating immortality?? I can’t even imagine to be honest. It must be some cursed, cursed creature. I’m sure there are theories already buzzing around. I don’t know about Japanese folklore enough to have a guess so I’ll just patiently wait.

We also got a confirmation that Kotoko has no real powers except talking and touching ayakashi. I mean, in episode 3 we see she also has some pretty alright combat skills (I love Saki’s line said in disbelief, she kicked a ghost.). So Kotoko really is just a glorified mediator then. I guess if she was a real god, she wouldn’t need someone like Kuro around so that makes sense.

So episodes 2 and 3 dealt with:

Snake God

I like this snake. He seems so lost, like an old man. Nothing better to do than try to figure out the mystery of why the lady dumped a body in her swamp. I didn’t really like the final explanation Kotoko came up with. I don’t understand why Aoi wanted them to find a sack with her miscarried baby inside? I could understand maybe wanting the gods to find it, but it sounds like they implied she definitely wanted the police to help find it. I don’t get it to be honest.

One interesting thing about this show, usually when a story is animated, like in a mystery when someone is spinning a theory and it actually gets animated, you can count on it being true, you know? Like there’s this kind of trust that if it was taken the time to be animated in the show, it’s the true theory. This show doesn’t offer that trust, if that makes sense. They showed the same scenes, but with different outcomes. Maybe that’s not the right thing to pick up on, but I thought that was cool.

Steel Lady Nanase

So let’s talk about this apparently famously big boobed idol. First of all, I had no idea that was Saki, but from her first interaction with the chief about eating beef I already liked her snarkiness. The fact that she would later charge a ghost and try to punch it in the stomach only further cemented the fact that I like her. A no bullshit kinda lady.

I was really surprised at first that there was a police officer who believed in folklore. Usually they’re the antagonist in the sense that they don’t understand that side of the world so I was impressed. Of course, then we find out it’s because she not only saw the blood get sucked back into Kuro’s hand, but she watched a Kappa scream in fear after seeing him. And that look in Kuro’s eyes was pretty terrifying, let’s be real.

I guess her interactions with that otherworld has also made her more sensitive to it. She was able to sense the eerie feeling at the site of the car crash and she got a vibe from Kotoko before shit went down too. I wonder if she’ll become a main part of the cast.

Speaking of, I knew she’d say it, but I can’t believe Kotoko actually is out here trying to brag to Saki about Kuro being her boyfriend. She only said it after she knew! She 100% deserved that punch. That Meep though at the end had me dying.

I’m very excited about this show and where it goes.