Zankyou no Terror ep2: so begins the simple game of “catch or be caught”

I can certainly live with this. I b*tch enough about wanting intelligent series, even though I have plenty at my disposal. Whether it be the Ghost in the Shell movies, Monster, Team Medical Dragon or Hunter X Hunter (don’t you dare underestimate that shounen series), I have all sorts of intelligent narratives waiting in the wings to tickle my thoughts on any number of moral or social quandries, or even critical thinking intensive narratives. But there is something about a good cat and mouse game that I love. No matter what side you’re looking at it from, a that game, that aspect of the narrative is so good at keeping you engaged. it works perfectly if done well to make all aspects of the show, the protagonist(s), the antagonist(s) and the viewers intimately linked in thought and emotion. I see the beginnings of this being woven into the show. And it may be the key to this show being simply well-done, and it being memorable and great.

For a terrorist organization, VON or Sphinx or whatever you want to call these two chemists sure seem to have gone well out of their way to not kill people. Perhaps it’s pure coincidence since their plan seemed to work best with the sprinkler system and the blackout, but it is rather miraculous that only a little over two dozen people were hurt. From then on, it becomes a game of reaction and counter-reaction between Nine and Twelve and the various police working to track them down. And there’s no mistake that they want someone on their trail. Having created a series of bombs to perfectly collapse a building under the guise of popular plushies, they went clearly out of their way to construct one seemingly unnecessary bomb that would leave their calling card. They know how the police work, and how their forensic teams work. So from the moment you see the calling card, you know that the police are just as likely to be the hunted as the hunters at this point.

And low and behold, no sooner is the meeting with the police adjourned that we find out that Nine and Twelve are already thinking at least two steps ahead.  In a simple, daring and highly effective gambit, they are able to get a bomb right into the local police station simply by going as a ramen delivery boy.  It’s like saying you’re here to deliver pizza or Chinese here in the States.  In some places, like in this episode, you can simply walk into places.  Most of the time, people aren’t going to argue with you about someone’s lunch.  An easy checkmate.  For us, it’s easy to see where this is going, but the police are all too off base by the cheap trick of their being too answers to the riddle, and if they paid close enough attention, they would know which was right.  By the time the retired detective calls in to inform them of the correct answer, the police station has been blown to bits.  Thankfully, many of the officers took off towards the incorrect location already, but I think there are going to be some dead this time around.

Surprisingly minimal in this episode, we do see a little of Lisa’s life and how her relationship with Nine and Twelve is going to work out, as Twelve is quick to let her know that he’ll be keeping tabs on her, and that he won’t hesitate to remove her from existence should she not be welcome anymore.  Quite the sadistic little chemist, no?  The scene involving her mother helps explain her timid and skittish personality, as her mother seems to be traumatized by the abandonment of her father.  I can’t say if there’s physical abuse, but the way her mother acts is certainly enough to illicit a panic attack.

Overall, this episode was very well done, though it wasn’t as stellar to me as the first.  I get the feeling a really good team is working on this show.  Especially when it comes to the animation direction and writing.  The animation itself is fine, the music is “meh” in my opinion.  But so far the storytelling itself hasn’t failed me once.  Though I felt the police meeting about the bombing was a little too long, I can’t deny its purpose and necessity.  And I’m unsure of how to make that scene more dramatic without it being melodramatic or campy, both don’t seem to fit this show at all.

As I said before, I’m a big fan of the cat and mouse game narrative.  And with this puzzle loving ex-detective being asked to come back to the force, it would be nice to a grizzled, world worn Zenigata take on these terrorist Lupin’s of “catch or be caught”.  These are baby steps, but if I’m that satisfied with the baby steps then I can’t wait for this thing to hit its stride.

 

Further Reading:

• Check-in Station: Zankyou no Terror ep1 (I wouldn’t have jumped)