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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.

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