With regards to Atsuko (was that her name?), I also had a creeping suspicion that it might have been her head that was in the box, especially considering the short, dark hair. This is why I never made any conclusive statements about whose head it was in my previous posts. The story makes a lot of feints and leaves a lot of red herrings laying around, and I think it intentionally confuses certain characters’ identities (visually), because I sure as hell can’t tell who I’m looking at sometimes. And what kills me is just trying to imagine how Atsuko could wind up in a position like that! Like, what if she and Sekiguchi had continued to investigate together, got too close to the facts, and she got kidnapped and ended up being experimented on?! Bitter business, indeed.

Ah yes, and the lovely Youko. I was almost completely in love with her… until my BS alarm went off. Poor Kiba might be in for an ugly surprise.

…Anyway, I KNEW you would like it! And you are perceptive as ever, as expected.

I’m pretty dure that the woman seen in the flashback at the start of the episode is Kanako’s mother. The advantage of watching all three episodes in succession is that you’re able to link common threads between them, and in episode 1, she mentioned how her mother who was mentally ill, choked telling her to “Die”. Another thing I noticed is that the girl that appeared in episode 2 along side Sekiguchi’s friend looks remarkably similar to the girl’s head in the box.

That hospital is unsanitary, cold and disturbing, but what surprised me is the amount of electronical equipment in Kanako’s room and the fact that no-one seemed surprise that all of it seemed tied to one patient.

Those doctor’s are crazy and creepy. I’m pretty sure they’ve killed more patients than they’ve saved. Detevtice Kiba’s resolve is impossible to miss, wbut what I found interesting was that he said he had “an enemy to fight” and “this is my mountain”. This could link back to the memories of WW2 he hasas a soldier; considering the fact we don’t have many details of his past, it makes me wonder what caused him to become so, for lack of a better word, docile in the first place ( his state of mind before this case in comparisonto his state of mind afterwards, or rather, after meeting his ai-doru).

Youko = deceptive, and no-one will ever convince me otheriwise. Kiba will most likely become further enraptured by her only to have his assumptions about her nature shattered somehwere down the line.

In my opinion, the story of love between Kanako and Yoriko has definitely taken a back seat to the darker more sinister (as you say) film-noir story that’s unfolding in front of the viewer. Everyone is suspect; this concept could be taken in a more cheesy and predictable direction, but the nature of the show is such that it’s impossible to determine who’s who and what’s what, not to mention the head in the box which has (as of yet) no concrete relation to the seemingly central storyline.

One last thing, the artistic touches of the show never fail to impress me. The colour red linking Yoriko’s mother’s attack to Kanako’s strangling, and the small hints of grey that show up whenever deep thoughts arise from the characters.

Sorry if my thoughts seem jumbled (SO MUCH IS GOING ON! SO MUCH!!!), but needless to say, I’ll be following this show avidly. If not to see the mad doctors’ laugh hysterically together.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

“Forget lolitas and harem girls; Youko is a REAL woman and I’m not afraid to admit I am quite captured by her loveliness.”

Rest assured that, as unlikely as it sounds, not all anime fans are moe-obsessed lolicons! It’s great to see, as you put it, a real woman in anime for a change (the enchanting Kuromitsu in Kurozuka is another one who springs immediately to mind). She may well be the femme fatale figure if you film-noir comparison is as accurate as I think it is.

…Anyway, if you don’t like it, don’t blame me, blame IMPZ! He was the one that told me about it! It’s not mai fault!!! ::Crumbles into a blubbering mess::

Actually — and I don’t say this for brownie points, I mean it in all sincerity — considering your penetrating comprehension, I’m willing to bet that you’ll like it. Your insight never fails to impress me. So watch it and come back to let me know what you make of it. That would be awesome.