Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

[ Focus 13: For the Snark was a Boojum, you see. ]

Well that was a rather unique episode. At least three-quarters of it was spent following Tarou in his OBE exploration. He goes from checking up on Miyako, to his memories of his sister, to a hospital where dead people live for eternity, to an abstract place where he meets a ghost named Snark and back to his home where he goes into a room he’s normally forbidden to enter. I just love the creativity that is bursting from this series. The places in Tarou’s mind were just awesome and the look gave off dream vibes. Speaking of which, I’m not at all sure who Snark is yet and what the hell a Boojum is either. Snark tells Tarou that his physical body is still alive so he might be someone we already know or a new character all-together. For some reason I was thinking it was Hirata because of the hair on his head but it’s just a wild guess really.

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[ Focus 12: Homeostasis Synchronization ]

Miyako going god/goddess mode in front of Tarou was pretty surprising. Sure they were talking about possession prior to it but I didn’t expect one to happen right then and there. Still, I find it intriguing how the god identified itself right off the bat. What I don’t quite understand was what it was trying to say and why it chose to use Miyako’s body to go into the river and apparently drown her. Tarou wasn’t too freaked out but I guess that’s only natural given his exposure to such things already. While I’m on the topic of those two, I really find them to be rather cute together and wouldn’t mind seeing them becoming a couple. They’re already on a first name basis and Makoto has helped her out more than enough times when she was in trouble. It’s obvious that he likes her and Miyako, well at least one side of her, appears to like him so everything should work out.

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[ Focus 11: Syntax Error ]

There were so many things that happened in this episode that I barely know where to start. The execution of this episode was just brilliant. We get quite a few answers but even more questions in return.

Miyako’s father reveals to the guys a story about himself, the mayor, and Makoto’s father and mother, Sanae. Just like Taro, Makoto, and Masayuki they too went to visit the old hospital when they were younger to investigate a so-called cursed room. They manage to find an entrance that’s meant to store bodies of the dead and Makoto’s father climbs through it while Miyako’s father and the mayor, too frightened, flee outside with Sanae. The next time we see Makoto’s father is when he is standing outside and is staring into the sky. I have no clue as to what happened to him but I can only guess that saw something while crawling through that duct. Still though, none of that really answers the question as to why he would commit suicide years later. Could it have been as a result of whatever he experienced while crawling through that duct?

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[ Focus 10: Affordance/TFT ]

Ghost Hound has really been on a run these past few episodes. Last time we were given a brief fighting sequence and got ot see Tarou turn into his Ghost Hound-form and Masayuki use his “Weapon Select” command on the ghost that was chasing them. This time around we’re shown Makoto in OBE who transformed into his Ghost Hound-form that is the very same one found running in the OP. It looks something like a wolf or fox from what I could tell.

We a little learned more about the world that can be seen while in OBE as well from Miyako’s father though we’re still not giving anything groundbreaking as yet. Speaking of Miyako, her smile is SO CUTE. I know that Tarou must’ve felt like a million bucks (or a billion yen ) when she smiled at him so brightly. Though, her actions really makes me think again of the possibilities of her having a personality disorder or if she just has really frequent mood changes.

The last bit of the episode is rather hilarious though with Masayuki unintentionally scaring the life out of one of the guys from the beginning of the previous episode (the one that didn’t get possessed). I could’ve sworn he was going to leap out of his skin!

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[ Focus 09: Existential Ghosts ]

That was quite the awesome episode. The beginning with the teenagers who saw the very same ghost that Makoto did in episode 7 was very interesting because the ghost, who kept on getting run over, actually gave chase to them and seemingly entered into one of the guys. This ghost is, according to Tarou, the very same person who kidnapped him and his sister. Of course, Tarou, Makoto, and Masayuki learn about the incident and decide to investigate it for themselves. Both Tarou and Masayuki really surprised me when they confronted the ghost when it started to attack them. Tarou turned into some, uh, hound-like form but didn’t get to use it since he was still scared of the guy a bit. When the ghost chased after Masayuki he decides to use one of his videogame moves and blast the sucker out of the sky. Now that’s pretty damn cool.

Other things happened as well. Masayuki finally stood up to those bullies in school but got beaten up real good. I guess that’s better than saying nothing lol. Hirata called Reika to discuss his experience in the previous episode and sounded quite shaken. Hopefully we get some more insight into that soon. Then there’s the very end with Masayuki’s father who happens to see some ghost leeches near his daughter/wife(?). That was pretty freaky if you ask me. Lastly, thumbs up to Tarou blushing madly around Miyako. Is that some love I sense in the air?

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[ Focus 08: Revolution of Limbic System ]

Much of this episode was told from Hirata’s point of view. This is a first of course and I had wondered where it was going until the end of the episode. Before that though we get to see that Hirata has finally started treating Tarou’s mother. Whether or not we start seeing results of her healing is yet to be seen though since it is in the early stages. Tarou has an OBE yet again and meets a strange ghost that is of an animal that is extinct. Does that mean those other strange ghosts also existed before though? During his OBE he sees Makoto but is unable to talk to him. However, he does meet Miyako who of course can see him. She’s ever the intriguing young lady and I’m wondering if she really does have disassociative identity disorder or not.

The most interesting thing that occurred during this episode though involves Hirata who has a seemingly supernatural experience. He lost 30 minutes of time that didn’t seem to be that long and additionally saw a white disk in the sky. I’m guessing that that sight was supposed to be something akin to a UFo/alien abduction? Well, I guess he can’t rule out supernatural activity anymore after that.

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[ Focus 07: Long Term Potentiation ]

I found it interesting how for most of the episode they focused a lot on the brain. It was all pretty relevant though as Reika and Hirata basically were explaining what parts of the brain held temporary memory, long-term memory, and where emotions such as fear are generated. They also discussed what happens to a person when certain parts of the brain are damaged such as memory loss, seeing aliens, angles, or God, and other strange conditions.

So far though, I”m still wondering where Ghost Hound is going. The characters are being developed very well and are some of the most interesting of the season. I suppose my guess would be that Ghost Hound will cover the progression each of the protagonists will make in the acceptance and truths of their tragedies and familial issues.

On a small note, Tarou’s family must be rolling in the dough to be able to afford so much therapy and medical expenses.

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[ Focus 06: Brain Homunculus ]

Ah~. We’re introduced to a few more characters in this episode. One of which is the sultry neurologist Reika who, at least for now, is Tarou’s personal doctor. I’m quite interested in what her role will be in future episodes as it seems like, at least from the next episode preview, she takes a great interest in Tarou. As such it also looks like she comes into conflict with Tarou’s psychologist, Hirata. The other character is Motoi who is apparently connected to Makoto through being his deceased father’s former friend. Assuming Makoto wasn’t just being his normal angry self, it looks as if he holds something against Motoi.

As for Masayuki in this episode, he was pretty retarded. Conquering your fears through practical means is normally a good thing but him climbing over the rooftop fence to stand on the edge of the building is just insane. I wonder if he even considered that he could slip, fall, and die.

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[ Focus 05: Out of Body Experience ]

Lots of good stuff came up in this episode. Our three male protagonists are pretty much friends now. We’re also shown the problems that each of them have to face daily. Taro is in constant fear of his mother snapping; Makoto is being hassled by his mad grandmother to take over the family religion; and Masayuki has to deal with what appears to be a dysfunctional family relationship. It just goes to show you everyone has their issues they must endure. Miyako is still a bit in the dark for me at the moment. She doesn’t seem to have a problem but her father seems to think she has a personality disorder or something. I’d really like to know when or if she’ll be joining up with the boys soon though.

Next episode seems to be pretty good. There’s no sign of Makoto though it looks like Taro and Masayuki will be running around/investigating. Probably looking for that old man that saw them as spirits at the end of the episode. It looks like Miyako will be getting more screen time as well. ^__^

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[ Focus 04: Altered States of Consciousness ]

This was the best episode yet. So much happened and I was actually freaked out. The freak out came when Taro was walking along the corridor alone and was suddenly being chased by a pale female silhouette. I don’t blame Taro, I would’ve hauled my ass forward as well but I would’ve also called out to Makoto and Masayuki. Makoto is quite the interesting character as well. I’m not sure what to call him at this point but he doesn’t really have a positive view on things most of the time. Then there’s that story he told about his mother dropping him as a baby which he claims gave him brain that’s not normal. That supposedly allows him to think of why people can’t kill others. Yeah…I don’t know what to say about that at the moment.

Masayuki pretty much revealed that he was one of the bullies that caused the suicide of the kid in his flashbacks. Though, interestingly enough he seems to resent and fear that student. I also found it interesting how he didn’t deny that he ran away from the incident. Miyako has yet to be explored in depth though I have to admit she is awesome. That stems from the way she told Masayuki to “Take it like a man” when he was getting his hair cut for a ritual cleansing. I’m waiting to see what her connection is with the guys and the Unseen World.

Lastly, the creators must have had some interesting dreams to come up with the astral forms of Tarou, Makoto, and Masayuki. They look so damn odd yet unique.

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