Azure Encounter
What They Say:
The camping trip to Himeka island gets off to a great start with a BBQ and lots of alcohol. But when Moe visits Dr. Magata’s lab, things take a sinister turn.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Saikawa-Sensei’s seminar group has just arrived to begin their research outing, which is really nothing more than Sensei’s thinly-veiled attempt to interact with Dr. Magata Shiki (and Moe’s even more thinly-veiled attempt to get closer to Saikawa-Sensei). Moe demonstrates a strange fascination with almost every aspect of the trip, revealing just exactly how sheltered she is, as well as how wealthy – it’s not exactly common to bring 10 pieces of luggage on a class trip, especially with the aid of a personal butler, after all. On the ferry to Magata’s isolated island laboratory, it becomes clear that this will not be an average educational outing; the lab is on its own network, all communications with the Dr. herself are monitored, and there is absolutely zero cell phone signal. It’s a closed circuit, surrounded by the ocean.
Their first night there, Moe feigns a headache and manages to manipulate herself and Saikawa-Sensei into an invitation to enter the lab. Yamane, one of Magata’s assistants, doesn’t even seem apprehensive about allowing the two into the secured area. Yamane lets slip an intriguing fact – the Dr. has been on radio silence for the past several days, to the point that it’s become worrisome to the other employees. Yamane has even considered having security open up the Dr.’s door, a last resort if there ever was one. The difficult decision is taken out of his hands, however; the lights begin to flash and the heavy locked door opens on its own. A ghostly vision of Dr. Magata floats past the group, and it’s all that Yamane can do to shut down the system as the room falls into complete darkness.
Though this episode reaches more of a typical climax than the opening episode, as with the first it’s the combination of dialog and characterization that enriches what is otherwise a fairly typical journey from point A to B.
I find it really fascinating that, despite only knowing Dr. Magata from the things that others have said about her, it’s become quite clear very quickly how much she and Moe represent a set of contrasting viewpoints. As Moe and Saikawa-Sensei speak with one-another following the class barbecue, they discuss the merits of the different things a human might see as beautiful. Moe, for her part, comments on the striking beauty of the stars in the night sky. Saikawa-Sensei believes rather that it takes true inner beauty to find the isolation of a windowless compound (such as that which houses Dr. Magata’s lab) beautiful. The discussion reveals a lot about how the characters experience isolation, and how it forms their character.
We learn that Moe has grown up within a world of isolation – her wealth, the restrictions that have come along with it, and its resulting naiveté have given rise to a great deal of social isolation. She is hungry for experience, and the new “exotic” foods she’s never had (including yakisoba!) are new things that serve to enrich her world. Hers is an existence heavily influenced by experiencing new things, meeting new people, living through her emotions (rather than reflecting upon them privately) and recognizing that the world outside provides novelty and newness that just isn’t available on the inside of a mansion.
Dr. Magata, on the other hand (at least as Saikawa-Sensei perceives her) seems to be much the opposite type of person. Whatever her exact circumstances (and though we do know a few things about her, it’s not entirely clear why she’s locked herself away) she seems to thrive away from the public. Saikawa-Sensei attributes to her the aspect of inner beauty – because her nature itself is so beautiful, even the cold white walls of the lab in all their starkness are more beautiful than the stars in the sky. It would be easy to attribute this interpretation entirely to Saikawa’s acute fanboyism for the Doctor, but a flashback conversation Moe and Magata herself reveals that Magata finds the idea of a world in which people no longer physically interact with one-another especially intriguing. In a world where people eventually become physically isolated from one-another, even a simple handshake becomes a special occasion.
It’s not in my nature to be satisfied listening to a group of characters talk about a woman and how special she is; it’s not only tedious to listen to, it becomes a question of whether or not the character is being given a voice and allowed to be a human being of her own volition. A lot of us complain about “Mary Sue” characters when written as self-inserts, but when a male character seems infatuated with a female character as a component of a serious story, this method of storytelling and characterization often seems to get a pass (because it’s his story). For whatever reason, though, this hasn’t bothered me so far in this show. Maybe it’s because, for every googly-eyed compliment Saikawa has lobbed in Magata’s direction, a flashback has painted her as complicated, slightly sinister, and otherwise motivated to her own ends, though we don’t quite know what those are yet. It might also be the fact that one of the more important events so far has been the interaction between Magata and Moe, two women of different personalities and different intelligences who have done their share of intellectual sparring with each-other. Either way, I anticipate possibly hearing more words directly from Magata’s mouth (and considering the end of this episode, it’s not clear whether that will entirely be done in flashback or not – I refuse to spoil myself for the plot) as I find her to be an intriguing character independently of what the other characters say.
In Summary:
This is definitely a “talky” show so far, and I think that will likely limit its audience. The action isn’t the result of cool fighting moves or dynamic animation (which is a bit of a downgrade from episode 1). But the show has really demonstrated an intensity so far with its dialog and the way that the characters interact. The use of flashback (a technique that usually leaves me kind of cold) has been very effective at building tension thus far, and the sinister undertones of both the plot and Magata’s character are bringing a lot of life to the narrative. It might not be a traditionally “scary” show, but there’s an intensity that makes it feel appropriate for this chilly, creepy time of the year. I’m really liking where this is going.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Samsung Galaxy S5 running the Crunchyroll Android App at 1080p
