Rating: 7/10, 7/10, 6.5/10

Impressions:

Well I can’t give this show a high rating if I can only just bare to sit through it. I admit it’s interesting enough, though the psychological genre is one of the few I don’t really like. But then again there are exceptions, like Elfen Lied and Neon Genesis Evangelion. I’ve been putting this post off a long time now, and finally, even though I’ve decided to write it up, it ended up being a three-episode post, not two. Yes, you can see how lazy I am. The main issue I have with this show is the characters, who are all incredibly boring. Naoya is too dependent on his brother and breaks down too much. Naoto is alright, though he displays no likeable qualities. The ‘fight’ sequence in episode 15 isn’t really a fight, more of an endurance test. Yes, I mean that in a bad way. It’s quite lame. The way the enemies shatter is far too farfetched. In fact, everything is too farfetched. I mean, when your spirit leaves your brain your body disappears? And your spirit winds up in space? That’s bullshit. However, if you’re an understanding person you’d recognise this as deeply symbolic. Perhaps the disappearance of the body is meant to represent the absence of consciousness, or something like that.

At least there is some level of level-headedness in this show. The unused brain capacity is certainly an interesting and believable theory (or is it still a theory?) I don’t study psychology or anything like that, though my general knowledge tells me that humans use every part of their brain. However, it’s the speed of the electric signals passing through the neurons that matters. I guess if we’re only using 5% of our brain capacity, using 100% would mean our electric signals travelling at 20x normal speed, thus increasing our thinking efficiency. The notion of ESPers and SLIders (I bet you just thought of Suzumiya Haruhi didn’t you?) was probably born from this theory. The ability to transmit electric signals between neurons of ourselves and a target might allow us to read the target’s mind or mind-control him. And if the electric signals are too strong, it might even be enough to interfere with nearby electronic appliances, like street lamps. By the way, ESP stands for extra-sensory perception and generally applies to psychics and those who claim to have a 6th sense. SLI stands for street-light interference, and so SLIders refer to those who are able to interfere with electrical appliances like street lamps.

Although this supports the realness of Naoya’s mind-reading ability, seeing into the future is still somewhat difficult to explain (since time-travel is another thing that is debatable). I personally don’t believe it is possible. Naoto’s ability to move things by his will is, in my opinion, highly nonsensical. I really just can’t attribute extra brain activity to the movement of physical objects. I guess this must be the ’spirit’ Misaki talks about. Ah yes, another thought occurred to me, though it really isn’t of any importance. The concept of barriers around people’s hearts reminds me of the AT field (absolute terror field) that is featured in Neon Genesis Evangelion, although that idea is a barrier around the soul. Anyway though, this ‘barrier around the heart’ would make more sense if it’s actually a ‘barrier around/inside the brain’. That would certainly help in convincing people that the ‘Night Head’ is plausible. The notion of the ancient civilisation is plausible too, though I’d say it’s more religious than scientific. I’m not a believer, but even if I am, an anime is an anime, so why the hell am I thinking so deeply about this anyway? Ahh…I guess I was simply bored.

Impressions:

Ok, where should I start? Night head Genesis…something I seriously think is not worth my time. I don’t know what it is, but I just find this show much lower than all the others that I am watching at the moment, apart from Yoake -__-. I got so bored watching episode 13 that I started editing stuff in PSP9 (me noob at Photoshop =P) for something like a future banner. Sonezaki is seriously retarded and I hate his character. I also hate the show for making him so indestructible, that he can withstand a blast which destroyed a building, while being a few metres away from the source of the explosion. *Sigh* Thankfully, the next episode was better, with some more flashbacks. Flashbacks are always interesting, especially in this show’s case. At the end of episode 14, I was left with some really conflicting opinions. At some points, I felt so pissed off at Mikuriya that I willed the young Naoto to just blow him into a tree or something, yet at other points, I actually felt sorry for him (like when his lab burnt down aww…) I’m also not quite sure as to whether Mikuriya really wanted to help the brothers or not. At the time, Naoya interpreted Mikuriya’s help as genuine, though he claims later in the episode that he was only using them to find answers (when he was pleading for Naoto and Naoya to take him with them). Ah, it looks like next episode will have a fight scene! OMG a real fight scene, and I was beginning to lose hope. Actually, I already have lost hope and doubt the fight will be that great.

We find out that the Arc is Sonezaki. Naoto and Naoya are extremely powerful – we know that – but they can erect a similar barrier to that old dude now? Who is that old guy anyway? No, not his name, but specifically what is he and what did he do in his life. He seems to be a night head user more powerful than Naoto during his prime, so maybe he’s like some sort of founder of all night heads. Unlikely. Anyway, I’m still hoping for some sort of reappearance by the doll girl. I’m still not sure as to what was meant by Naoto and Naoya having memories of the same doll but with different coloured eyes. And another mystery, Shouko. I refuse to accept that she is there just for the sake of the story (I’ve said that before haven’t I?) The anime needs to reveal some of these things soon, since Shouko hasn’t made much of an appearance, or satisfied any important role for quite a long time now. And what exactly is the deal with Mikuriya? He’s not a night head user, so what did he teach all his patients to help them? Life skills? Social skills? Or how to control their power? Speaking of him, I’m quite disappointed that he actually started begging for his life at the end of episode 14. Well yes, anyone would be pleading for their life in such a situation, but I was expecting that Naoto would try to sway the mind of a Mikuriya who is refusing to leave. That scenario would have given good credit to both characters. The three other night head users who are meant to be fighting Naoto next episode are quite intriguing too. I wonder how powerful Sonezaki really is compared to him.

Night Head

Impressions:

If I were to divide Night Head Genesis in arcs, it would’ve just finished the first major arc: the virus. I earlier thought that this series was a single season show, which meant that that would be the end of the entire series, but it turns out there will be 24 episodes (I think) and the real story has started (the final arc I suppose). This second half of the series should be about Sonezaki, unless there’s a power even greater than him and overcoming will be the third arc. Anyway, the conclusion of the virus problem was definitely more exciting than the rest of the show, but it’s delivered through the intensity or seriousness of the show. As for anything related to action; it reeks. Even the characters aren’t drawn good and I think everyone is fairly ugly. Perhaps the animators had been going for the realistic look but ended up with this instead. If the visuals were better, such as more detailed and vibrant backgrounds, I would enjoy the show twice as much than if the storyline was made more exciting by the same amount (though you can’t compare how much better the quality gets to the storyline). I was pretty surprised when I saw some CG in the show too. It didn’t fit in with the rest of he show as usually, as it was inside, which makes it stand out more. Nevertheless, I hope the story continues to get more exciting (with more mysteries!!!), though it’s already pretty good currently.

A lot mysteries were solved this episode and man things clarified. But there are still mysterious that remain secret, such as the upheaval, which probably won’t be revealed until it actually happens. Shouko hasn’t been clarified either. Exactly what is she and how ‘real’ is she. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s being thought up by Naoto or Naoya. Her role in the story is still unknown though, as is everyone else’s. There’s also the DOLL-GIRL, who I REALLY want to see again! When did she appear first again? It was one of the first few episodes I think. She’d have such an interesting past to show and I want to see how Naoto and Naoya would interact with her if they saw her again. Wait…that doll girl isn’t Soukop is it?! Nah, Shouko has parents after all. Maybe that girl grew up as one of the scientists in Mikuriya’s lab! Though it’s more likely that the girl isn’t related to the brothers in any way and appears as a new character, which seems to suit Night Head Genesis. The show has a lot of mystery and puzzles, as well as the random clue which all add up eventually, though its flaw is that it has no twists, or at least I haven’t seen one yet. Another thing, if Naoto became slightly smarter and Naoya more manly and useful, the show’s popularity would increase by a tenfold (plus the quality upgrade of course, as well as the vast improvement in character design, as it is shit right now).

Naoya has actually been very useful lately, but his cowardice and constant ‘nii-sans’ cancels all his positive aspects immediately. But since he’s improving now, that part should be better before the long. I can definitely understand why someone like him, with such power, would be so cowardly, but the anime seems to emphasize its realness too much and neglects some other things which could become more realistic too. Example: the crowd around the woman when she jumped. I doubt they would just stand there, just a metre away from where she was falling, not getting out of the way and not even backing off when she landed. There was also this guy who went up to her and covered with a blanket (man that guy must’ve seen some scary shit in his life if he was willing to get so close to a mangled body like that). The brothers’ powers seem to be getting more acute now too, and Naoya’s was mostly due to Kamiya. It was a shame he died, as I was hoping he’d be of some help with the granddaddy battle (lol, granddaddy…my English teacher loves words like those). As Kamiya had powers like Naoya’s and the other forces we’ve seen have mind control abilities, it makes me wonder whether we will see another special manipulator like Naoto. Maybe the guy at the end of episode 12 is one, though it’s still not to clear. Maybe he’s being mind controlled as well and doesn’t really have such powers. Eh…what am I talking about? I’ll just think about it again after watching more.

Plot Outline:

- (Episode 11) Since I can’t remember the name of the female scientist, I’ll just call her Scientist
- So, Scientist tells Naoto and Naoya that she’s deleted all the data, but when Naoya touches the screen of her computer, he determines that she was lying
- After settling Naoya doing from the shock he got after touching the screen, he takes a glass of ice coffee which the assistant scientist had drugged to kill him
- Before he can drink it, Naoya hits it out of his brother’s hands and saves his life
- Scientist, after feeling some fear, decides to delete the data (and she does! OMG)
- The brothers leave, but Scientist’s assistant tries to recover the deleted data
- When Scientist tries to get him to stop, he pushes her onto the sofa and starts to rape her
- However, he is shot in the head by a crossbow and is instantly killed
- Meanwhile, Naoya remembers that he forgot his gloves at the lab and claims that it is calling him
- Naoto turns around and the two rush back to the lab, where they catch the guy shooting everyone with the crossbow
- In the end, Scientist is saved
- Afterward, Naoto and Naoya encounter Kamiya and they have a talk
- Kamiya predicts that Shouko will be in a desert and the brothers will be reunited with their mother

- In turn, Naoya predicts that Kamiya will die soon (lmao!)
- When Kamiya returns home, a guy called Sonezaki comes and mind controls him, then kills him with poison
- Sonezaki gets a call from his employer saying that there will be more work for him

- (Episode 12) Naoto remembers the time in the research center where he had been flying in the sky (or was it a dream…?)
- Outside, the two are met by a woman who wants to offer them a business deal
- After refusing her many times, the woman commits suicide
- It is then revealed that she had been killed by the little boy from a few episodes ago, the guy who’s dog was ran over
- He starts going on about being superior to normal humans and other stuff, before suddenly everything around the brothers turn into monsters
- The little boy tells them that they are a manifestation of their negative energy (after the monsters disappear)
- The brothers then realise the boy is being mind controlled and they suddenly have a vision of a number of people who blame them for ruining their lives, including their parents
- The chairs and furniture start flying at the brothers
- It turns out that some hooded guy is doing all this

Impressions:

Aside from the quality and animation (which reeks) the storyline has actually become quite interesting. The concept of human extinction is quite widely used, but perhaps more the prospect of genocide rather than accidental deaths. Disease is probably one of the worst ways to die, as it is slow and very painful. Biological warfare…only this time the culprit is a scientist’s experiment gone wrong. Of course the population of the earth isn’t going to be wiped out, Naoto and Naoya are going to do something about it (only Eva’s capable of showing mass extinction). If only the prediction of extinction came earlier in the series, instead of stand alone episodes that didn’t really have much to do with the main focus of the story. I wish the anime had made this problem a problem from near the start so that most of the series could be dedicated to coming up with a solution. It would be cool there are more factions involved, and those with more power as well. It’s not grand watching two brothers, a psychic, a scientist and some crazy woman duke it out – it just feels so isolated and lonely. I wonder if the viral problem will fill the entire series, or if it’s just one obstacle the brothers encounter and has no real importance to the bigger picture.

Anyway, with 14 episodes still to go, the animation quality can still go up, and I hope the producers are able to maintain the interesting turns of events. They better throw in lots of surprises as well. As of now, the show feels very shallow. I hope that this can be improved by providing good reasons for a lot of the things that are happening. One, why does Naoto and Naoya have such power? I know it’s because they can manipulate the part of the brain that is usually dormant, but how did they come to obtain such power? I don’t want to hear that they were just born that way; I hate those kinds of explanations. They are too simple and very uninteresting. I also hope that the producers manage to tie everything together and make everything relevant to one another. Shouko, for example, still hasn’t played much of an important role yet. New characters should also be introduced, perhaps with similar powers as Naoto. It would be awesome if we could see a real battle of the minds between Naoto and another person similar to him. So far, it’s just been running around trying to convince people to do stuff, and occasional uses of the brother’s power as self-defence. Finally, Naoya seems to be becoming stronger and I hope that continues.

Ep.9 Screencaps:

Ep.10 Screencaps:

Episode 9:
- Kamiya learns of the extinction of mankind and informs his assistant(?) about this, as well as how Naoto and Naoya are involved
- Hearing this, the woman decides to go and seek out the brothers, and kill them to what she thinks is saving the world
- The woman tracks Naoya down to his hotel and attempts to stab him with a knife as he is downstairs getting a drink
- Naoto finds them in time to stop the woman and wants to go after her, but Naoya convinces him not to
- The next day, Naoto and Naoya go and see Kamiya to discuss their involvement in the destruction of man
- As they interact, Kamiya discovers that Naoya has similar powers to him
- When the to try to predict the future together, the condensed power between them increases so that both can see the future more clearly
- The future that they see is one where disease has wiped out everyone, except a strange little girl who seems to be unaffected
- They also find out the source of the disease; a virus derived from an attempt to cure AIDS from a particular scientist
- Naoto and Naoya go and see this scientist to try and get her to stop her research, as it could result in the world

Episode 10:
- Naoto and Naoya inform the scientist of the prediction about the end of man, but she doesn’t believe them
- Before the scientist can get back to work, she is attacked by the same woman who attacked Naoya
- Once again, Naoto finds them just in time to save the scientist. His display of power convinces the scientist of them somewhat
- Meanwhile, Kamiya is preaching to his followers about his vision of the armageddon
- At night, Naoto has a dream where he is the scientist’s husband and they are living a normal life with Naoya
- Naoto refuses to accept that reality and runs of to find his brother, finally ending the dream
- When he wakes up, he goes outside just as the scientist is about to enter
- The scientist is ready to give up her research, but only if Naoto agrees to live with her (the two has the same dream)
- Naoto rejects her
- Kamiya continues to have visions about a silver snake, golden elephant, black gloves and white powder. He asks Naoto about this but he claims to not know anything about it
- Naoto and Naoya pay the scientist a visit at her laboratory
- After being asked to get some drinks, the scientist’s assistant and admirer spikes the beverages with white powder
- In Kamiya’s vision (and in Naoya’s as they tend to have the same vision) the black gloves point to Naoya as he is the one who has them, and the white powder is the drug in the drink. Therefore, the one most likely to die is Naoya

Impressions:

So, the minus energy is really the culmination of negative thoughts and emotions? Sounds reasonable. A lot of strange things happened during these two episodes, though I think most of them can be explained. But firstly, the little kid in episode 7 who lost his puppy – he’s seriously one scary grade schooler. I mean, killing people like that and not feeling any kind of shock, remorse or fear? That’s crazy! Of course, everyone would have thought that the world would be a better place without certain people, but if those people really did die and the person who thought that knew he was responsible, I’m pretty sure he would freak out and go into hiding or something. Moreover, the culprit is a little kid, who’d more likely just start crying and sulk in a corner. On the other hand, he’s lived with his special ‘night head’ powers for some time now, so it’s possible he’s gotten used to having control over others, but still…killing?

Episode 8, where that brute appeared…At first I thought it was a figment of Naoto’s and Naoya’s imaginations, but when he started resuming time to make the cars run over them, I decided it was probably Naoto’s/Naoya’s ‘minus energy’ that had collected and formed. The fake memory too; Shouko had said the brothers’ memories weren’t false, so of course we have to believe her! So when that monster showed the brother’s their so-called past, it must’ve been their own desires that created those memories, if the monster was indeed creations of their minus energy. However, that doesn’t explain the missing house, as in the episode when the brother’s discovered their missing home, the old lady walked by told them the lot had been empty since she was born. I doubt this is because she has memory problems as something like that wouldn’t have been put in the show just to throw the audience off track. If so, then the house would’ve still been standing when the old woman was younger, instead she claims it was never there.

As it is explained in the show that Naoto’s and Naoya’s powers are so powerful that they can alter reality, meaning time and space, as well as how the man at the end of episode 8 saw one possible outcome of the brother’s dimensional shifts, I’d say that a lot of the things happening around them are in fact their own subconscious desires. Shouko seems to be in the middle of things, literally, as she appears to have the ability of travelling between dimensions. Her disappearances where when she moved back and forth from possible outcomes of reality. This is why she knows the brother’s memories are true, as at the time, that was indeed what happened. I wonder if they can alter the past as well. If that is the case, then it is possible for the ‘false’ memories to become true if they are convinced enough. The brother’s own build-up of minus energy (the negative thoughts collected as a result of them wishing their parents had died) became a visible form and was trying to get them to alter reality – alter the past so that their parents did indeed die. It seems that the brother’s enemies are actually themselves, or at least, their own subconsciousness.

Episode 7:

Episode 8:

Important Points:

Episode 7
- Naoto and Naoya investigate the mysterious suicides by interrogating friends of one of the victims
- They come to a conclusion that the teacher they had suspected was no responsible
- When that teacher attacks the friends of the victim, they realise the reason for them being targeted was because they ran over a dog on their motorbikes
- Naoto and Naoya save the students from the teacher, who they believe was being mind-controlled
- They had also found out that the suicides were also results of the victims being mind-controlled
- The brothers track the culprit down to a small house, where they find a small boy clinging to his toy dog
- The boy explains that it was his dog that got run over, and he is only getting revenge on the bikers
- The boy’s tone is not a vengeful or evil one, but a sorrowful one
- Naoto decides to call Mikuriya (the professor in charge of the asylum for those with supernatural powers) to take care of the boy (as he can mind-control people)
- The brothers notice the boy has a photo of himself with Shouko, who they still don’t know about

Episode 8
- After enquiring Shouko’s mother about her, they take a walk outside and come across Shouko’s friend, Miki
- Shouko had told Miki she would meet the brothers before she disappeared
- Miki tells the brothers this, as well as the other things Shouko said regarding the brothers’ escape from the asylum
- In the middle of their conversation, everything around the brothers freezes except the brothers themselves, before a brute appears
- After chasing the brute for a bit and losing him, the brother’s make contact with Shouko
- She tells them that their memories are not lies
- After she disappears once again, the brute appears and shows them a fake memory
- The fake memory is of Naoto and Naoya burning their own house down when they were young, killing their parents as well
- Naoto does not believe this and manages to quell the brute, making him dissipate to nothingness
- In the end, the brothers are still not sure as to what is true and what is false, and return to their original dilemma: the disappearance of their house
- Elsewhere, a man wakes up after dreaming of a world where humans have become extinct, and believe this to be a possible outcome of the brothers’ immense powers.

Impressions:

This series is really quite unsettling. Especially the puzzle with the doll’s eyes, and whether they were blue or red. Episode 6 was just disturbing, with the teacher stabbing her patients… But it was this unsettling feeling that increased my interest in the show. I wish Mikuriya hadn’t concluded it was space/time shifting that had caused the disappearance of the house, as that ruins part of the mystery. I found Naoya’s weak nature less annoying this time, as I have probably gotten more used to his constant please for help from his brother. Overall, the events turned out to be quite interesting, though I still don’t like the character designs.

Episode 5:

As Naoto and Naoya are driving in the car, they have a few flashbacks about when they were young. The first flashback is about Naoto when he was a toddler (I would be surprised he can remember that far back, but considering he has supernatural powers, it might not be that unusual). Naoto had been playing with his toy truck, moving it around with his mind. When his dad arrives home, he notices this and goes to pick the truck up. When he flips it over, he sees that there aren’t any batteries. When he looks at Naoto strangely, he starts crying and deals a blow to his dad with his mind powers, causing him to bleed.

Next flashback, Naoto has grown older now, and Naoya has just been born. The two are stacking blocks in the living room, when the house starts shaking and Naoto realises it’s an earthquake. Naoya falls down, in front of a ledge where a vase is about to fall off. Seeing the danger, Naoto uses his mind to shatter the vase before it hits Naoya. Their mother runs in and starts hugging Naoya, as he is the most vulnerable being a baby. Upon contacting his mother, Naoya starts to self-consciously broadcast his mother’s thoughts to Naoto. This was Naoya’s powers awakening, while the first flashback was of Naoto’s awakening.

Third flashback, Naoto’s father’s former employee, his wife and daughter had come to sell some land Naoto’s father. After he signs the contract, Naoto and Naoya bar the entrance to prevent the former employee from leaving. Naoya touches the former employee’s hand and senses he had been trying to rip his father off. Hearing this, Naoto’s father asks them if he could go over the contract. Of course, the man does not allow it andr tries to get out of the house, only to be stopped and hurt by Naoto. The daughter tries to slap Naoto, only to get a blood nose like her father as well.

As of then, the brothers’ powers and completely awakened, but their parents never looked at them the same way from then on.

As Naoto and Naoya drive pass an old house, they recognise it as the ‘doll house’, and are surprised it is still here after all these years. This leads to the fourth flashback. There had been a girl living in the house who always caught Naoya’s attention. One day, he was able to find enough courage to touch her, and that’s when he finally saw the horrible things she had to deal with in her life. Because of this, Naoya practically loses his mind. Naoto goes to investigate the house, and what he finds inside is a large collection of dolls. Furthermore, he sees the girl’s dad etching holes in her with a fencing foil. Naoto manages to save the girl from further mistreatment, and the father was sent arrested. Bearing the good news, he was able to revive Naoya.

The thing that comes to both Naoto’s and Naoya’s minds is the doll that looked like the girl from the ‘doll house’. Naoto remembers that the doll’s eyes had been red. However, Naoya remembers them as blue, by seeing it through the girl’s mind. They decide to forget this enigma and continue on to see their home. However, when they get there, they find an empty lot. After asking an old local resident, she tells them that the lot had been empty since she was born. For a brief moment, Shouko appears on the empty space, before disappearing again.

Episode 6:

A woman from the institute comes to see Naoto and Naoya. Actually, as she reveals, she had been waiting for them at the empty lot. She tells the Naoto that Mikuriya had told them to find what they have lost by themselves. The woman also has some money for them, but Naoto does not accept it. The woman thrusts it onto him and turns away. Naoto reluctantly accepts it. Before she leaves, she asks Naoto if he can remember her, but she knows he can’t.

Elsewhere, a girl is lying outside on the grass. She complains of life being too unbearable, so to escape from this, takes out her knife and…

As Mikuriya is investigating the girl’s suicide, as well as another two which occurred recently, he receives a call from Naoto. Naoto asks him about the house, Mikuriya tells them time/space must have shifted. He then asks the two whether they know anything about the string of suicides. They don’t but this prompts them to go and investigate. When they visit the grave of the girl who recently died, Naoya concentrates on sensing the mind of the girl so hard that her consciousness overcomes his own. He starts to act as if he wa committing suicide, but Naoto is able to snap him out of it. Naoya tells him he can see the dead girl on the grass (who’s name is Megumi).

The two discuss the deaths and comes up with the probability of them being spiritual. That is when they decide to visit the school. When they get there, they see a sports teacher harassing one of the girls in front of everyone. The students around them start having the same thoughts. This overwhelms Naoya’s senses and he starts breaking down. The sports teacher comes and grabs his hand out of concern. All the teacher’s secrets are revealed to Naoya, including how he spies on the girls as they are changing, rummages through their clothes (for their underwear) and even having sex with another teacher. Naoya tries to get away, but the nurse approaches him and feels his head. The thoughts she gives him are what truly horrifies Naoya.

Afterwards, when Naoya has calmed down, Naoto says they shouldn’t go into largely populated areas like the school, as the amount of negative thoughts would overwhelm Naoya. He is quite perplexed as to why there are so little positive thoughts. When they see a girl walking by, Naoya recognises her as the Megumi’s best friend. She brings them to a warehouse, where she tells them all she knows about the incident. Before long, they are driven out by some of the girl’s other friends. Outside, Naoya concludes the girl doesn’t know anything about her friend’s death. Naoto asks him about what he saw with the nurse earlier. He tells him he had seen her chopping up the students, but isn’t aware of her dark side yet.

Later in the night, Megumi’s best friend starts having hallucinations of going out with her again. Ignoring the fact that Megumi is dead, she accepts these apparitions who lead her out of the house. Or maybe, they aren’t hallucinations and are actually ghosts…No, they seem more like hallucinations.

Impressions:

I don’t get it. It’s as simple as that. I just don’t get it. The story is very interesting with all the killings and such, but there are things which I simply don’t understand. The one major thing that’s been getting at me is this elder Misaki guy. I was sure he was being buried by the scientists, but he reappeared twice afterward: once as he was dying in bed beside Mikuriya and the other when he approached Naoto and Naoya. Did they really happen? The first appearance might have been someone’s flashback about when he did die, and the second appearance might just be in the brothers’ minds. I’m not saying that I don’t like mystery – I do, as it is an element that is excellent at getting and keeping my interest. However, that does pose a problem when I try to blog about it. There are also cases where I might skip a little detail because I think it is insignificant, but turns out to be quite important. Or, I might interpret something wrong and screw up the whole summary.

From these two episodes, it seems that the plot might be Naoto’s and Naoya’s struggles to get used to the real world and eventually start using their powers to help others on a regular basis. Personally, I think that possibility would ruin the show. I wouldn’t want to watch something as boring as that. But there are still man mysteries in the show, which can make the storyline spiral in to all sorts of crazy endings. Any of those is fine, as long as it is original, interesting, and most of all, answers most of the questions presented in the series. Questions so far: Who or what is Shouko? Who or what is elder Misaki? Who or what are the Ark, and do they really exist? Why do Naoto and Naoya have these powers? While I’m on the topic of the brothers’ powers, I must say that it is far too extreme. Their powers should be more subtle. Mind reading, divination, seeing spirits and such; they’re believable for people who make use of their ‘Night Head’ (the remaining capacity of the brain which most people cannot use), but levitating things, tearing up rooms – how’s that possible? Supernatural things and mystery goes well together, but when the supernatural side is exaggerated so much that it borders on fantasy, that’s when it gets out of hand. What’ll be next? Mind control?

Episode 3:

Brief Summary:

Miki is being questioned by investigators about the disappearance of Shouko. She says that Shouko often disappears but returns immediately, so she thinks that it’s not a big deal that she’s missing. She also explains how Shouko saved her life, as she had warned her about going to a certain place by car. There had been a pile up recently, and if Miki and her family had gone, they probably would’ve ended up in the wreck as well. In the end, Miki had persuaded her father not to go.

In the confinement centre where Naoya and Naoto had been imprisoned, two scientists are burying something (that elder Misaki guy? The one in the wheel chair?). Another scientist approaches Mikuriya, who is overseeing the burial, and informs him that Nishikido wishes to speak with him. Mikuriya returns to the building and makes the call. Nishikido tells Mikuriya about an incident at the bar just up the road from the institution. An injured man was admitted to hospital, as well as four other people who have some symptoms. They all claim that a man with supernatural powers is responsible. Mikuriya receives a photo of the scene, where there are two blue shadows, which he interprets as residual energy. There have also been recent killings, where the culprit has not been caught and all the victims were wearing purple. After the call, he asks one of the scientists look into all the women that have been murdered in the city.

In some place (I think it’s the grave where the scientists were digging earlier) an unseen force resonates from the grave. In space, Shouko’s spirit or something is watching the events happening on Earth.

In a hotel in the city, Naoya is squirming on the bed, trying to get the visions out of his head. Naoto tries to comfort him, but he is still seeing visions of the woman from last episode, who had knocked him as she was leaving the bar. Naoya can see that the woman is a killer, as visions of her committing murders are playing in his head. It seems that all her victims are women wearing purple. Naoya starts seeing things as well, imagining dead people around him in the hotel.

In a short flashback, Naoto and Naoya are still kids. In the institute, they had seen an old man outside their rooms (elder Misaki).

In the night, the killer (called Reiko) starts seeing floating eyes and thinks that ‘they’ are trying to get her.

The next day, Naoto and Naoya do some research in the library, but only find four murder accounts in the newspapers. Last night, Naoya had said he saw five murders. Naoya starts explaining about Reiko’s reason for these killings. She has convinced herself that people in purple are out to get her. He also starts to see ghosts of the murdered women (I’m not sure if they are real or just figments of his imagination, since seeing ghosts might be one of Naoya’s powers).

The following day, Reiko starts seeing things again. She is so paranoid that sees eyes everywhere, watching her. Naoto and Naoya are spending the morning in a park. Elder Misaki suddenly appears in a wheelchair. He seems to be dead but is somehow moving. He points upward and describes a certain flow – the Minus Energy? He starts talking but his lips don’t move. Naoya suddenly finds himself present at the murder of the fifth woman, though no one else seems to notice him.

Episode 4:

Brief Summary:

Naoya is in the hotel where Reiko has knocked out and bound the fifth woman. Reiko tells Jiro, her boyfriend/husband/brother, to put the woman in a suitcase and head up to the roof. Naoya calls out for someone to help him, but no one hears him. On the roof, Reiko is planning to show ‘them’ that they have failed (I assume ‘them’ refers to the eyes she’s been seeing). Reiko and Jiro climb onto a billoard and lower the unconscious woman over the edge, ready to let her drop. Naoya stares at this helplessly, until Shouko appears by his side. She tells him that what he’s experiencing is not the past. He then returns back to reality, where he is still in the park with Naoto. He explains to his brother that the fifth murder has not happened yet. He is determined to save her.

That evening, the to-be-captured woman puts on a purple dress for the night. Naoto and Naoya start looking for the hotel with the billboard. Naoya starts to break down again, but Naoto tells him that if he falters now, the woman will be killed. In the car, Reiko spots the girl in purple and claims that she is the last killer who’s after her. Jiro questions this, but has no choice but to help her (for reasons explained at the end). Reiko follows the girl into the women’s bathroom in a hotel, where she hits her on the head and knocks her out.

Naoto says that the woman’s self-consciousness had sensed she was in danger and sent a help message to Naoya. He suddenly clutches his head in pain – the visions have started again. Naoya can sense exactly what’s happening with Reiko and the girl.

Reiko and Jiro follow the same sequence of events as those which Naoya had foreseen. They take the girl onto the roof of a hotel, prepared to show Reiko’s likely non-existent enemy that they’ve failed in getting her. Just before they can drop her off the top of the billboard, Naoto and Naoya make it onto the roof and tell them to stop. Jiro doesn’t want to go through with another murder, but Reiko kicks him and makes him lose his grip on the rope to which the girl is attached. She falls, but not very far, as Naoto manages to ‘catch’ her with his space manipulating powers. Reiko is so devastated that she had failed to kill the girl that she commits suicide by falling off the billboard. Naoto tries to save her as well, but the effort he put in to save the girl had already drained all of his strength. While I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing, Reiko falls to her doom.

While mourning Reiko’s death, Jiro explains how everything started. She had run because she was being chased by something she called the ‘Ark’. While Jiro is crying over Reiko’s death, Naoya is delighted that they managed to save the girl. Security arrives on the roof, and so the brothers make a run for it. They aren’t seen as the officers’ attention falls onto Jiro and the unconscious girl. As the brothers are driving away, Naoto ponders about the ‘Ark’.

Preview:

Impressions:

A pretty good second episode, but I think it progressed too slowly. Immediately after I finished watching the episode, I was surprised that the events in the bar were able to fill up the 20 minutes airing time. Nevertheless, it was pretty interesting and engaging. When the woman pushes Naoya away to get to the door, I thought she was psychic too and was responsible for the vision, but that does not seem to be the case. I guess the fact that she remained calm throughout the whole thing gave me the idea that she was like Naoto and Naoya. Other things to note: Naoya is far too afraid of everything. I can understand he is scared about seeing nasty things when he touches people, but he should face it more like a man that some helpless child. All he has to do is act slightly less panicky all the time. Questions: Where did Shouko go? What is her significance in the show? What is this ‘Minus energy’? Looks like more blood and violence next episode.

Summary:

Naoto and Naoya spend the entire episode in the bar ‘Stinger’. The people in the bar give them unwelcoming glances as they enter. After a few moments of silence, the bartender offers the two to sit down. Naoto explains that they have a flat tyre that needs to be repaired. A few of the guys start laughing. One of them stands up and offers his services for 30 000 yen. Although it is quite expensive, Naota accepts the offer. With the money and the key to the car in hand, the man begins to make his way to the vehicle, which is parked a few hundred metres down the road.

The brothers sit down as they wait. A man turns on the television, which is broadcasting a program about psychics demonstrating their powers to an audience. The man in the show bends a spoon, which amazes the audience. One of the guys at the bar mocks this, saying that everyone knows it’s just a hoax. Hearing this, Naoto gets annoyed. A woman working at the bar serves the two brothers some drinks and asks for their order. She notices Naoya looking depressed and asks if he’s sick. She reaches for his forehead to feel his temperature, but Naoto grabs her arm, asking her to not touch it. On the TV, a fortune teller is shown revealing a man’s secret of dating an older woman. One of the women in the bar says she would like to have such an ability, as she’d be able to tell whether a man truly loved her or not.

As everyone is laughing at the remark, the restroom door opens and a man in a suit comes out. He notices the program and turns it off immediately, saying only idiots believe in supernatural powers. Naoto gets angrier. The man confronts the man who had turned the TV on, saying he knew it was him who did it as he overhead him talking about it. It is easy to figure out that this guy is very authoritative. Everyone remains silent as he speaks. He continues to rage, saying that if anyone has such powers to show him. The woman at the table who had joked about having psychic powers tells him that he’s acting like an idiot. The woman is the man, Jin’s girlfriend. Naoto has some flashbacks about his childhood. Naoya tells his brother to not get angry. Jin turns around and demands Naoto’s attention, asking why he looks so angry. He approaches him, but Naoya gets up and tries to stop him, saying his brother isn’t feeling well. Jin aggressively pushes him aside. The contact between the two triggers something in Naoya. Jin’s childhood memories of his dysfunctional family are revealed. It seems that everyone saw it as they are all staring at Jin and Naoya with shocked faces. Naoto gets up and runs to Naoya, pushing Jin aside.

To back up his opinion of all so-called psychics being fake, he reminds everyone that his mother is missing because she ran away with a phoney psychic. He gets madder as he speaks. He says that if everyone could bend spoons, read minds and such, everyone would be happy (which is false) and there wouldn’t be any murders in the world (which is also, definitely false). He sits down next to his girlfriend, who tries to comfort him by saying there is no such thing as superpowers. Other people affirm this as well, which seems to calm Jin down slightly. However, the man who turned on the TV has more to say (argh, you fool!) He claims that just because the people on TV are fake, doesn’t mean everyone else is. Getting pissed again, Jin pushes the man onto the floor. With the worst possible timing, the man who repaired Naoto’s car returns. Unaware of the tenseness in the room, he casually reminds everyone that the psychic show is on. We all know what happens next. Jin rounds on him and starts bashing him. Naoto tells him to stop it, which brings Jin’s attention to him. Naoto takes a fork and twists it (psychedelically of course). The head of the fork snaps off. Everyone is shocked.

The brothers are about to leave, but Jin has not been persuaded. Naoto gives him another demonstration, which shuts him up. However, he is convinced by Jin’s girlfriend that it’s a trick. She accuses Naoto of being a phoney. He gets mad and his psychic powers begin to operate. He demonstrates more of his powers by levitating cups etc. The man who believes in psychics is amazed at this and asks if Naoya has any powers as well. The man suggests that Naoya has the ability to read people’s minds. The ever-imposing Jin gets worked up again and punches him in the face. He turns around immediately and goes for Naoto. He is about to do god knows what to Jin, but Naoya yells for him to not do it, which results in Naoto receiving a punch in the face. With his only threat on the ground, Jin calls for his girlfriend to come and touch Naoya to see if he can really read minds. The woman places her palm on his cheek, which results in her secret love affairs being broadcast to everyone in the room. She had slept with two men and offered herself to a third (all three men are in the bar). Shocked, Jin slaps her. He is about to smash a chair on her, but Naoto uses his powers to throw Jin backwards. He is in such a rage that everyone in the room gets a nosebleed. Naoya begs for him to stop, and he does. A woman who does not seem shocked at the brothers’ extraordinary powers, gets up off the floor when he calms down, dragging someone else with her. She pushes Naoya out of the way as she leaves, but in doing so causes Naoya to see her strangling someone. The brothers quickly leave the building. After Naoya tells Naoto about what he saw, Naoto questions whether the Minus energy will be released.

Elsewhere in the Futami household, the parents of Shouko who disappeared last episode are crying as they have just been informed by a detective/officer. Miki has a few flashbacks of when Shouko had said that the two brothers will escape and given her the notebook. She seems to realise something important at the end.

Preview:

Night Head Genesis

Release: 07/2006
Episodes: 24
Genre: Supernatural, Psychological, Drama
OP: ???
ED: “Kotoba” by Under Graph

Impressions:

I was quite surprised to see a seed count of 2000 when I checked the torrent. Altogether, there were about 3000 peers. How many peers did Suzumiya have when it was still airing? 3000 peers for a first episode. I didn’t expect it to be so anticipated. I would have watched the episode anyway, but seeing the amount of seeders raised my expectations of the show. And what did I feel after watching the show? Well, nothing really. It wasn’t that great. Well, I never think the first episode of any show is great. It was exciting and interesting enough, definitely sufficient to keep me watching. What brought it down for me was the style of drawing for the characters. Yes, I know that’s the thing I’ve been complaining about most recently, but this aspect of any Anime is the most important for me. If a show had an amazing storyline, extremely high quality and brings all the right emotions etc, but the characters looked like Initial D, I wouldn’t even touch it (sorry to those who like Initial D). Anyway, Night Head Genesis definitely has potential to be a great show, though I have to say it isn’t really my type. It is quite bleak and very serious. Overall though, I liked it and will continue watching.

Brief Summary:

Note: when I say Naoto or Naoya throws someone out the door or blows up the house, I usually mean they did it using their powers.

From the opening lines – “It is said that 70% of the human brain’s capacity is left unused. It is thought that the amazing powers humans possess are hidden within these parts. That unused 70% of the brain is also known as… Night Head.”

Kirihara Naoto and Kirihara Naoya have been shunned by society due to their abnormal abilities. They can manipulate things with their minds, and according to their emotions. When Naoto was young, he had become angry at one of his classmates and caused him to suffer from a sever blood nose. Naoya has the ability to read people’s minds when he touches them. This had happened once on the street, where he saw terrible things, forced a few pedestrians onto the ground and caused a large traffic jam. One night, Naoto and Naoya’s mother prepared drugged drinks. The two were knocked unconscious and taken to a research facility somewhere unknown. Their parents had greatly regretted this decision.

When Naoto woke, he made his way to the cafeteria, where the professors are dining. Furious about being abandoned by his parents and brought here, he begins to tear up the room using his mind. He is interrupted by Naoya’s presence and goes to embrace him. The leader of the researchers, Mikuriya, appears by the door and tells him that he cannot go back home and must stay with him from now on. Unwilling to accept this fate, he throws the man back, crushing him against the back wall (he doesn’t die though). The brothers make a run for it. They run through the icy woods outside until the come to a section of the forest where the trees have some strange rope tied around them. When they try to get through, they get blocked by an unseen barrier. The two realises that they have no choice but to live here.

An old man is shown outside a building, seemingly not doing anything. The significance of this man is unknown at this point, and still remains unclear by the end of the episode.

15 years later…

In a library somewhere, a girl is sitting by the window, staring at an unknown script. Her name is Shouko, as indicated by the second girl, Miki, who comes running, looking for her. Shouko had advised Miki about not going to see her mother earlier. Miki had taken this advice and had just heard about a serious accident that would have killed her if she had went on the trip. Shouko says she shouldn’t die in a place like that and that she has many more years to live. She predicts that Miki will get married and have many children. She gives her the notebook with the strange writing she had been looking at earlier, saying that Elder Misaki has ‘left this world on a journey’. Elder Misaki is the old man shown before. Because he is gone now, the barrier is gone too. With tears in her eyes, Shouko says that the two brothers will escape tonight. She tells Miki to take care of the book, before embracing her. Miki is confused by all this. A breeze comes and blows the curtains, making Miki look that way. At this time, Shouko disappears.

Back to the research facility, Naoto and Naoya, now grown men, run through the woods, taking the same path as the first time they had tried to escape. They make it to the strange trees, but the barrier has gone, so they are able to pass through. Before they do though, Naoya mentions that Elder Misaki is watching them all the time. They drive out of the area in a car. Where they got the car? I don’t know. While driving, Naoya says that Mikuriya (the head of the research team) had said that if they leave the area, they will release the ‘minus energy’. The car runs over something and punctures a tyre. When the two get out of the car, Naoya suggests they look for help in the pub up the road. When they arrive though, they are greeted by some unwanted looks.

Preview: