Sometimes I wonder whether I’m really enjoying a series or whether I feel like I have to defend it because it’s such an underdog. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. That is unless, of course, I have to write a “review”…
Because I’m quite sure most people do not know what’s happening in Pet, last week long lost operative Hayashi came back to town to retrieve Satoru. This week, we finally got an explanation of what is going on in this universe. People who are born with the ability to go into other people’s minds and manipulate their memories, usually don’t fare too well. They end up unable to process all this extra information and go into semi vegetative states that medicine can’t help with.
But if they learn how to compartmentalize their own minds, they can grow up to have fairly normal lives. And the best way to do that, is to have someone else in the same position show you by sharing how they did it. Apparently though, letting someone into your mind like that creates a deep and unique bond which strongly affects the latter all their lives. That is what Hayashi was doing for the company. Finding young people with these talents and “helping them”, in the process creating desperately loyal followers that are easy to manipulate. The company, a crime syndicate can then use these operatives as they see fit.
However, having become disillusioned with the company and disgusted with his own role Hayashi is back to do the one small thing he can consider redemption, and that is try to help Satoru escape. Unfortunately, Tsukasa, one of his earlier pupils, stands in his way.
In the meantime, Satoru, how is more of a tool of the company than an actual member, is invited to join and become an official employee. Granting him some degree of power and freedom should he accept.
So here’s the bottom line. Pet is getting better. Sure Tsukasa had some DUH-ramatic moments but they were short and sort of funny. For the most part the episode was a tense back and forth splitting it’s time between Satoru and this mysterious woman who representing the company and Tsukasa and Hayashi.
The former are playing a game of who can outwit who and it was genuinly interesting to watch even if it was really just a conversation while the latter yell their feelings at each other for a while then go into one of those groovy mindscapes.
Except Tsukasa’s mindscape isn’t a super grim high school art project like what we’ve been seeing so far. It’s actually a fairly realistic and rational series of vignettes with the two of them essentially going through a chase sequence through memory lane. It lacks in finesse but it’s no longer unpleasant. And there’s enough breadcrumbs to be interesting….to me… potentially only me.
Oh well. Once in a while it’s relaxing to just watch something by yourself.
Contributed by Irina
from I Drink And Watch Anime!
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