Is Null Just Inside a Simulation?
While there have been plenty of questions to contemplate in this otherwise amusing short anime prior to now, episodes 6 and 7 seriously take it to the next level all while presenting what on the surface is a standard beach and haunted school style story lines. Where previously I was wondering what Peta actually was, now I’m wondering whether or not everything we’ve experienced in this anime is just a simulation Null is inside of; that in turn makes me wonder whether Null is actually alive and if she is, where is she?
There’s certainly been evidence before in regards to some of the things Null has created and invented and the fact that she has no family other than the robot Peta she created. Also, despite Peta’s insistence that Null go to school there’s no other consequence of her not going. Nor does anyone ever check on the house after one of the explosions that have occurred there. Basically, the world has been a little odd from the start but seemed like it could be shrugged off as anime.
However, this episode, where the people leaving the beach obviously glitch and then the virus that infects Peta, as well as her dire warning that the school will be no-more, before we see it glitch as well, seems like they are finally ready to pull back the curtain and maybe let the audience in on what is actually going on. And I’m pretty keen to find out because Null and Peta, while it has remained relatively silly, has proven time and time again to have surprising depth.
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What episode 6 also brought to the table was a rare glimpse of Null interacting with someone other than Peta. It was almost the beginning of an actual friendship and while I’m not overly hopeful that the unnamed girl will return later, it brought out a different side of Null.
But these episodes most definitely leave us with more questions than answers and I really want to know where it is going. However, what is more important is that it has been a lot of fun getting to this point and this one has been an ongoing surprise this season as it continues to be very entertaining.
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Karandi James
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Images from: Null Peta. Dir. H Ogura. Shin-Ei Animation. 2019.
Null’s pensive “So she has a mother and father,” when the other girl went home was pretty interesting. After ep6, I just thought that meant Null and Peta were both orphans. But after ep7? I have no idea what’s going on. What is this place? Some kind of virtual reality purgatory?
I didn’t expect this show to be interesting, of all things. Dark horse of the season, I’d say.
It definitely has some unexpected depths and it keeps me wondering.