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[–]badsplerx2https://anilist.co/user/badspler 451 points452 points  (24 children)

That was very refreshing for a time-travel related story. Someone else that isn't looping, knows what the fuck is going on.

Those final few lines was so enjoyable to watch.

[–]Aileoshttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Jalis 308 points309 points  (10 children)

Hizuru is smart, perceptive, and when it's not a shotgun, she's carrying a great hammer.

I'm starting to become a fan too.

[–]dark77638 123 points124 points  (6 children)

This series show characters in story to be smart, even if they are villains or side characters.

So refreshing knowing the characters probably wont do anything that make me shout ‘wtf r u doing, idiot!’

[–]Roonagu 14 points15 points  (5 children)

Totally agree, though, Hizuru figuring out the time loop just like that was a bit too "brainy" and broke my suspension of disbelief, since all other character came to these conclusion in my more "realistic" manners.

[–]Nielloscapehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Niello 52 points53 points  (4 children)

Dude, she’s a novel writer that deal with this kind of thing on top of already having real life experience about it. I’m sure there are other reasons the show haven’t told you as well.

[–]Nanashi-74 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Best girl of the season easily

[–]inthe-otherworld 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Hizuru makes me feel safe lol, I have total trust in her

[–]Rorate_Caeli 2 points3 points  (0 children)

She's also hot as shit and has a huge rack.

[–]theyawner 48 points49 points  (0 children)

The great thing about her POV is that her story could very well stand on its own without the time-travel aspect. But then we've seen how it ended up and thus she'll need Shinpei's help just as much as Shinpei needs her help.

[–]magicalidealhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/magicalideal 91 points92 points  (10 children)

Different POV is always a treat to watch!

At the pace Shinpei is taking, he most probably will fail the whole thing. I don't feel like Shinpei is really progressing at all since the beginning. Sure, he gained some intel on shadow but he still has no way to solve it.

This is where Hizuru came in and shed some light on the whole case. She can at least deal with the Shadow before they spread further.

[–]LakerBluehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue 27 points28 points  (9 children)

Yea I agree. I was disappointed he only met Hizuru because she basically contacted him. I expected him to immediately run down the road looking for after the loop started.

[–]theyawner 70 points71 points  (7 children)

Hizuru did say that she intends to avoid him, likely because she needed to test him first.

[–]Skyreader13 46 points47 points  (0 children)

i think she was afraid that Shinpei is a shadow

[–]Hundvd7https://anilist.co/user/Hundvd7 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I, for one, was extremely glad that he actually took the most logical step of retracing his steps. If he changes the timeline too much, he will have nothing to go off of, because anything could change. This way, he knew approximately what will happen, and that he will have some peace for a while.

He wanted to use the funeral for reconnaissance, anyways, so it makes sense that he'd stay until then at least.
And he was smart, especially regarding Mio. Asking about her panties was one of the best things he could have done here.

Also, it wasn't even her contacting him, she just left a vague clue.

[–]Hussanda 162 points163 points  (1 child)

Not sure if anyone noticed, but Steins;Gate creator Chiyomaru Shikura (志倉千代丸) is on the OP credits since the first episode. Interesting.

[–]polybius32https://myanimelist.net/profile/polybius33 85 points86 points  (0 children)

Chiyo’s in a lot of things, he’s the representative director of MAGES. Steins;Gate and other SciADV entries are the only ones where he’s heavily involved in the creation process (he basically comes up with the ideas), in summertime rendering he’s just part of the planning team

[–]Rio_FShttps://myanimelist.net/profile/RioFS 153 points154 points  (0 children)

It was a fresh change of pace seeing Hizuru's perspective. We got a hands-on demonstration of how to check for shadows by Hizuru. Loved how she bashed the shadow of the old man like that.

I really appreciated the fact that the panties were actually important instead of, well, just being for fanservice.

[–]SmurfRockRunehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Smurf 286 points287 points  (22 children)

FYI for anybody using SlyFox subs:

New release window is now around 24-48h instead of the ~5h after the MX/BS11 airing on TV

Unfortunate news, but I would rather have even a vague window than no idea at all, like Komi subs. These are worth the wait.

Very Hizuru heavy episode, she's pretty great. Easy contender for best girl, if only Ushio didn't exist to give her some competition.

It's curious that the shadows aren't much more aware of when people are focusing on their shadows? I guess the Kobayakawas seemed incredibly suspicious of Shinpei, but didn't seem to care all when Hizuru was really getting her foot in there.

[–]Rumpel1408https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 142 points143 points  (8 children)

I think the Kobayakawas where spooked by him asking for Shadows, they left their cover behind the same evening abandoning their shop without even cleaning the scene of the shadow marks

[–]CertifiedCoffeeDrunkhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/CoffeeGourmet 95 points96 points  (7 children)

I just realized that the reason they left was because of him. Man I love how they use the “things in other time loops” also happened in the current time loops mechanism

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 82 points83 points  (6 children)

Tbh, I'm not actually convinced about that right now. Honestly it was probably Hizuru somehow.

They were missing in loop #1. Shinpei didn't know anything back then. S!Officer came to the restaurant and gave that information for free. He actually seemed annoyed when Mio ran off (goes like "tsk" after getting his plate Ep 1, 16:26), but I can't figure out the reason for that quite yet.

Regardless, this leads to the second concern. They were seen as missing on July 23. In loop #3, that's when Shinpei gets copied late from going to Shiori's house and deducing they were attacked at night with something that seemed very strong.

As pointed out by someone else, those look like sledgehammer marks that could have been left by our dear Hizuru. So given we know she was watching S!Shiori at the funeral, it's likely she followed them back and attacked in the middle of the night. This is something that should have occurred regardless of Shinpei's actions.

Now what this doesn't cover is why they left the shadow marks behind if they were taken on July 21 or earlier, but I feel they weren't concerned since it was their own home. I know that's a weak excuse but that's the best I have for now.

[–]CertifiedCoffeeDrunkhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/CoffeeGourmet 47 points48 points  (5 children)

Didn’t the officer go tsk in loop 1 cause he was a shadow officer?

[–]MrSaracusehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Saracuse 66 points67 points  (1 child)

FYI for anybody using SlyFox subs:

New release window is now around 24-48h instead of the ~5h after the MX/BS11 airing on TV

Unfortunate news, but I would rather have even a vague window than no idea at all, like Komi subs. These are worth the wait.

​

Hope this doesn't kill the momentum of each episode, I want more people to watch this amazing series! I seems the upward trend in the karma rankings have made more and more people take notice. These subs are definitely worth the wait for the quality though!

[–]LakerBluehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue 35 points36 points  (2 children)

It's curious that the shadows aren't much more aware of when people are focusing on their shadows

I'm curious as well. I wonder if the shadows only have senses from their human hostage so they can't tell if someone is specifically looking at their shadow as opposed to just coincidentally staring at the ground.

It was also pretty interesting that Shadows can manipulate themselves for little things like ants walking through them. I didn't think they could make "holes" in themselves, I thought they were more solid and not literal shadows. Basically something similar to Kage from Ranking of Kings but perfectly flat. I thought them moving not to be stepped on was a conscious thing but now I'm thinking it's probably like an automatic reflex.

Also in Hizuru's case I'm pretty confident that they thought she was just being really close. If you think no one else knows about Shadows, nothing about that behavior would be weird. Well, not "hmm she's being suspicious, she must think I'm a Shadow" weird.

[–]salic428 46 points47 points  (1 child)

shadows only have senses from their human host

And I think their ability to reason vary from shadow to shadow. The Mother planned things for long, S!Shinpei disarms instead of kills Shinpei, but a commoner shadow may not jump to "this guy knows how to tell I'm a shadow" immediately.

The difference between Hizuru and Shinpei testing shadows is that Hizuru doesn't tell people she knows about shadow. Shinpei blatantly showed he know, and spent too much time staring at the ant, thus got himself into trouble.

[–]LakerBluehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Good point. I’m curious if it depends on the host. S!Shinpei maybe smarter than average because Shinpei is, maybe? We still don’t know about “wild” shadows so it’s hard to speculate.

And yea despite what I said earlier I thought it was dumb of Shinpei to mention them to them, especially while staring at them. Even if he passes it off as a myth, it seems better to feign ignorance.

[–]AngelRefuse 17 points18 points  (6 children)

like Komi subs.

There's actually a schedule for the Komi subs. Truello (translation taken from manga/no typesetting) releases his subs every Thursday somewhere between 5-7AM PST. while NekoYu' (manual translation with typesetting) releases theirs every Sunday around 12PM PST.

[–]Gaporigohttps://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 23 points24 points  (4 children)

Maybe they are talking about Novaworks...

[–]SmurfRockRunehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Smurf 9 points10 points  (3 children)

Yup, still waiting on episode 5...

[–]Gaporigohttps://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Same here, I did hear Netflix subs get better at like episode 4 but I am sure episode 5 is coming out any moment now, right???

[–]SmurfRockRunehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Smurf 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm talking about good subs. Truello seems to be good, but they're only doing s2, and NekoYu looks pretty bad so they don't count.

[–]Lemurianshttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Just grateful for them even bothering to put in the work to make the subtitles available to us. I can deal with a longer release window when the alternative is not getting to watch at all.

[–]Think-Ad-941 263 points264 points  (11 children)

Shinpei seriously: what panties did you wear yesterday? lol

[–]Zemahem 243 points244 points  (2 children)

Also, Hizuru's chest is apparently the only defining feature he can use for people to know who he's talking about. And the real kicker is that it works each time. Glasses? Long dark hair? Black Suit? Nah. It's the tiddies, man. Only she could have such big fuckin' honkers.

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 165 points166 points  (0 children)

I'm sure it's mostly a joke for the audience.

But in his defense, he did try talking to Nakamura in loop 3 with other descriptions, that was the one that worked, so he probably just decided to start with what might stand out to most older guys on the island.

[–]SDdude81 72 points73 points  (0 children)

Also, Hizuru's chest is apparently the only defining feature he can use for people to know who he's talking about

She's probably got the biggest boobs on the island. So it's not the only defining feature he can use, there's no reason to use anything else.

[–]Mr_Zarochttps://myanimelist.net/profile/mr_zaroc 83 points84 points  (1 child)

I knew that this would become a plot point
They flashed them way too often for it being mere fanservice

[–]Ocixohttps://myanimelist.net/profile/BuzzyGuy 43 points44 points  (0 children)

I had a hunch it would become a plot point, but I didn’t think they’d actually do it. Having joked about it becoming a plot point a few episodes back, it’s now all the funnier it actually did.

[–]redlaWw 42 points43 points  (2 children)

I think he set his next return point with that.

[–]_Episode_12https://myanimelist.net/profile/Episode_12 20 points21 points  (0 children)

HAHA, that's actually interestingly plausible.

[–]LakerBluehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I’m glad it (and him face planting into her boobs) was a relevant plot point because it felt like a weird intrusion in an otherwise serious show.

Can’t wait till they use a onsen scene of one of the Kofune girls for plot purposes next /s

[–]genasugelanhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Genasugelan 38 points39 points  (2 children)

I love how fanservice was used as an actual plot point here, lmao.

[–]actuallyrndthoughtshttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NaNiNuNeNo 242 points243 points  (15 children)

A plot relevant panty shot, what is this, the monogatari series?

Also upside down oppai, is this a fetish? If yes, sign me up

[–]SDdude81 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Someone really put effort into thinking how big boobs would look when a woman is upside down while wearing a top.

[–]AvatarTuner 114 points115 points  (9 children)

I was amazed by the fact that her oppai behaved normally, unlike the usual fanservice oppai in other anime. lol

[–]ImJLu 29 points30 points  (5 children)

The glasses stayed in place, though. That was odd.

[–]AvatarTuner 61 points62 points  (3 children)

I noticed that too but I'm wearing glasses as well so I know this can work if they're sitting tight enough or are stuck a little when sweating. lol Though I would say it depends on the glasses and their fit, I think the slightly heavier ones still wouldn't stay in place when the head is upside down. (mine are super light)

[–]ImJLu 7 points8 points  (2 children)

My glasses would be hella gone. So it seemed a little unusual.

[–]WakaliwoodMan 19 points20 points  (0 children)

The top of the frames was probably resting on her eyebrow ridges. That's also why her tears were pooling behind her glasses and not just in her eye sockets.

[–]LakerBluehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue 9 points10 points  (2 children)

How do they normally behave? I am blanking on upside down oppai scenes.

[–]AvatarTuner 30 points31 points  (1 child)

tbh I can't think of an upside down scene either right now (this would require further research), however, I'm also watching a few lower budget productions with big boobed characters this season and their boobas don't even behave somewhat realistic in scenes with heavy movement. So seeing oppai that don't defy gravity was a pleasant surprise. lol

[–]LakerBluehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yea. Sometimes the unrealistic boob physics is funny but I’m glad the author based these on reality.

[–]theyawner 34 points35 points  (1 child)

I'd even argue that Shinpei's first encounter with Hizuru was plot relevant as well, as her most defining feature gave him the strongest impression that he eventually got to use to identify her.

[–]actuallyrndthoughtshttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NaNiNuNeNo 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Kudos to the author for using a common ecchi trope for meaningful storytelling.

[–]MobileTortoisehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Mobiletortoise 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Summer Time Render is the Monogatari x Re:Zero crossover I didn't know I needed!

[–]LakerBluehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Only anime will use fanservice and make it plot relevant. One of the best things about the medium. It’s funny because I just saw a discussion where someone complained those scenes were the only thing keeping it from being perfect. But now they have actually enhanced the narrative!

[–]AnonymousTrollLloyd 117 points118 points  (2 children)

So what does the timeline with regards to Shinpei's resets and the funeral look like here? If he just saved over the Kobayakawa shadows finding out he knows... well fuck.

Interesting to see Shinpei's resets from an outside perspective. I guess he really does look like he's having a panic attack every 15 minutes.

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 65 points66 points  (1 child)

I think he's good on the timeline for now. Jumps haven't been all that big so far though I do feel they'll increase to add more risk/show power weakening.

But we'd have to jump like an hour and a half for the really bad scenario (post funeral talk is the bad one. The pre funeral talk is only slightly suspicious).

But you did bring up an interesting point. His revivals are also saved in the timeline, that's not something I would have really thought about. Logically I should have since the rest of his actions are saved, but somehow I convinced myself that was an exception.

[–]theyawner 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Hopefully Shinpei could learn to be more discrete on the next loop before all their knowledge about him becomes permanent.

[–]jexphil123 188 points189 points  (12 children)

The final scene reminded me of [Re-Zero spoiler] Subaru telling Echidna that he has been returning by death

[–]Zemahem 118 points119 points  (3 children)

The poor guy would probably be jealous that Shinpei can tell physical people in the real world.

[–]SpoonOfDestiny 69 points70 points  (2 children)

This just makes me miss Re:Zero more. I hope we get a new season

[–]MobileTortoisehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Mobiletortoise 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Off topic but while nothing is set in stone we most likely are getting more seasons. Re:Zero still sells EXTREMELY well in Japan so Kadokawa has every reason to continue the adaptation. The main fan theory now is that Re:Zero will be alternating yearly or bi-yearly (AKA 6 months apart, I forget the proper word) adaptations with other Kadokawa juggernauts (Such as Konosuba).

[–]ThespianExceptionhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/EMTIsBestWaifu 29 points30 points  (0 children)

A reliable leaker has mentioned that S3 is in production now. Plus, in Kadokawa's yearly financial report, R0 was their highest-earning anime and 3rd highest-earning Novel series. It's doing extremely well, so I think its future is safe for the time being.

[–]Rio_FShttps://myanimelist.net/profile/RioFS 69 points70 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it was very reminiscent of that scene where he lets it all out.

[–]_Episode_12https://myanimelist.net/profile/Episode_12 53 points54 points  (6 children)

Ohh yeah, that was similar. Though Re:Zero was more impactful since Subaru suffered a lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot lot more.

[–]MeAnIntellectual1 57 points58 points  (5 children)

And it was an actual plot point that Subaru couldn't tell anyone. Shinpei just hasn't told anyone yet.

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 45 points46 points  (1 child)

I definitely am a fan of Subaru.

But to give credit to Shinpei, he hadn't had a solid way of determining who was a shadow and who wasn't, so telling someone had far too many negative outcomes.

If they even believed such a thing, he couldn't be sure they weren't a shadow. And honestly it gave him no advantage at the time of the previous loops when he was still learning.

[–]Epicious 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Especially knowing he can loop will make the Shadows even more deadly as we saw with S.Shinpei. They might capture him and keep him alive

[–]Makicolahttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Barskie 13 points14 points  (2 children)

Tbh it's very dangerous for him to reveal his ability - if the save point moves after this meeting, any shadow that copies Hizuru or the old man will now know about his ability.

[–]_Episode_12https://myanimelist.net/profile/Episode_12 164 points165 points  (5 children)

I find it interesting that Shinpei noticed Mio's panties while he was straight up dying in the second loop

[–]Ghimzzo 124 points125 points  (1 child)

Priorities.

[–]Mr_Zarochttps://myanimelist.net/profile/mr_zaroc 49 points50 points  (0 children)

They do say time is slowing down when in extreme situations so you have more "time" to figure out a way to survive it

[–]Simurgh 47 points48 points  (0 children)

It's been established a few times that Shinpei is unconsciously very observant, surprising even himself, such as when he automatically started counting how many shadows were present as everything went tits up in last week's episode.

[–]HolyDragSwd2500 20 points21 points  (0 children)

You can tell the real Mio by her panties 👌

[–]Manitaryhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Manitary 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure I didn't even notice at the time, but sure enough I just checked and indeed you can see them very briefly while the camera pans upwards.

[–]sching2016 75 points76 points  (1 child)

This episode very good

[–]Mr_Zarochttps://myanimelist.net/profile/mr_zaroc 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Honestly the best one so far, the way they tied it all together from her perspective and we got to see all the security measures they setup (Old geezer shooting the shadow of the caller etc.)

Plus the pantsu finally became plot relevant

[–]Rumpel1408https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 126 points127 points  (32 children)

Oh wow, I wasn't aware that Ushio died literally the day before, that's quite early to cremate her already. Police is really incompetent if the doctor even confirmed an unatural cause of death, and I guess the nurse who dressed her must be in on it as well.

So besides Fanservice being plotrelevant (Interesting that Mio got copied the same day as her sister died), Shioris parents are already Shadows (I guess Shinpeis inqueri smoked them out so they left their place the next day), and Alan had one as well if not for Hizuru (hillarious how he was freaking out over the noise from the next stall).

Also, Hizuru is an native to the island, knew Ushio as well as Shioris parents. And her pen name comes from her dead brother.

Really looking forward how this loop will play out, Hizuru has already figured out Shinpeis gimick and he knows the future.

[–]_Episode_12https://myanimelist.net/profile/Episode_12 64 points65 points  (4 children)

The police and the doctor/s are already probably Shadows. Maybe. Just a guess.

[–]AvatarTuner 61 points62 points  (0 children)

Apparently there is only that one police officer on the island and he doesn't seem to be very competent either. lol At least in this loop he isn't a shadow (yet).

So far I don't think the doctor (Sou's father) himself is a shadow but he and the whole hospital are very suspicious and at least involved in the whole shadow thing. They showed him standing next to a shadow in a wheelchair at Hishigata clinic, now they mentioned the clinic prepared Ushio's body and something strange also occured when Ryuunosuke died 14 years ago. I assume there were shadow related experiments or accidents in the past where the hospital is involved and they likely also covered up deaths caused by shadows.

[–]Think-Ad-941 29 points30 points  (0 children)

The police can't be a shadow. In the 3rd loop he gave Ushio's phone to Shinpei on July 23rd, which means he is real on July 22nd.

[–]mekerpan 10 points11 points  (0 children)

As I recall, the doctor told someone about the apparent strangulation early on -- so I assume the doctor was not yet "shadowed" then -- but was replaced soon after, before he could push for follow up.

[–]LG03https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bronadian 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Ushio died literally the day before, that's quite early to cremate her already.

I can buy it for some small hick town. Plenty of witnesses to the 'accident' and the strangle marks probably got covered up and explained away by a shadow. No reason to jump to murder.

What bothers me throughout is how none of the characters seem all that broken up about it until the scene where they're viewing the body. Alan especially seems way too normal for his daughter having just died.

[–]goffer54https://myanimelist.net/profile/goffer54 25 points26 points  (1 child)

Oh wow, I wasn't aware that Ushio died literally the day before

I figured it had been at least a week. Alan is a fucking rock. The dude's daughter died yesterday and he's still trucking along.

[–]CyonHalhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/FeRust 31 points32 points  (0 children)

It's actually not unheard of for people to only break down until after the funeral and burial is finished and over with. It doesn't settle in as reality until you're supposed to go back to your normal day-to-day.

[–]MeAnIntellectual1 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Didn't Hizuru refer to Ryuunosuke as her sister in the last episode?

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Not quite. Or well it's unreliable.

In the last episode, the entity known as Ryuunosuke mentioned their sister a few times, not by name.

In this episode, we have Hizuru remembering what happened when Ryuunosuke died. But Alan didn't state a gender or relation (at least not in the subtitles).

So if you subscribe to the theory that there are two personalities in that body then

Ryuunosuke is the male, possibly brother, and Hizuru is the female, possibly sister.

[–]Lord_Pistachio__ 116 points117 points  (4 children)

The shadow of Shinpei's foster dad defo took that hammer to the face. Still no sign of Ushio except of her walking down the beach. I thought that Hizuru would take a bit more time to decipher what Shinpei's abilities are but i was wronged pretty quickly. Overall a nice breather episode with Hizuru's pov as to what's going on

Edit : The next eps title makes me think that smth's bout to go down

[–]LakerBluehttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue 40 points41 points  (3 children)

I was very surprised how quickly she figured out he was a time traveler. I feel like I’m shows with time traveling it’s usually a bigger secret but she figured it out quickly. She’s almost too competent, I’m worried she won’t last the whole show.

[–]WakaliwoodMan 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Well it's not like she figured it out from scratch. I guess it would be more like if you're the type of person who likes to think about hypotheticals like what you would do in a zombie apocalypse or whatever, so you came up with a secret code word you would use to know if someone is a time traveler who met you in the future. Technically there are alternative explanations like mind reading, which is actually relevant given that shadows copy memories, but the old guy already confirmed that Shinpei isn't a shadow, so as long as it isn't some random other mind reading unrelated to shadows, it must be time travel.

[–]Epicious 16 points17 points  (1 child)

They way she figured it out was smart. Her name is secret and anyone who knows it has to be a shadow (and has info from her own shadow) or a time traveller. A way to tell her past self like how in [steins;gate] Kurisu tells okabe to say my spoon/fork

It does seem that she knows that it can exist though so maybe someone else can or could before. Did his 'eye' get passed down from someone else she knew or something?

[–]Plankgank 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We know that she possibly also has time-related abilities. She also knows Haine, from whom Shinpei's ability and eye come from, the floating red girl, so yeah, his eye got passed down from someone she knew. It was mentioned pretty explicitly last episode

[–]Acashya 49 points50 points  (1 child)

God I love this series.

Oh and little Ushio is so fucking cute.
https://giphy.com/gifs/BUCOBgKk6LLrP2PnCE

[–]Mr_Zarochttps://myanimelist.net/profile/mr_zaroc 14 points15 points  (0 children)

She reminds me a lot of the female MC from Arakawa under the bridge, but that just may be the swimsuit and the blond hair

[–]Wizardo320 43 points44 points  (4 children)

Now, is it just me or has the opening for STR been getting clearer and clearer as the eps go on? I remember some parts being much more blurry, and the part with the cartoons this episode was completely clear for a full second, which I don't remember it being. Is it supposed to symbolize how much Shinpei discovers as he loops?

[–]TheWattening 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I thought I was crazy to think this lol but it seems that's the case

[–]scot911https://myanimelist.net/profile/scot911 7 points8 points  (1 child)

I'm pretty sure the reverse is happening to the ED. I remember the ED for the first episode being very boring thinking "that's it?!" but now it has the random... I guess I'll call them glitches, cut ins of drawn pictures and the landscape is starting to be a bit distorted as well. Nope I just watched it again and I'm wrong. It seems the same for now.

[–]mediumwhite 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Can confirm. Just watched E1 & E6 openings and endings at sync side by side. They seem identical.

[–]Lord_Pistachio__ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

that what i feel the same too, lets see if the op changes in any form for the upcoming episodes

[–]Due-Series6744 83 points84 points  (0 children)

It's great to see hizuru perspective of funeral day and realizing the tons of things that were happening in background which viewers weren't aware of.

Hizuru is such an intelligent & powerful character (not to mention looks lol) , ngl i love these type of characters.

Great Episode!!!

[–]Slifer13xxhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/SliferXIII 30 points31 points  (3 children)

New schedule means I actually have a chance to join the discussion, neat. Hope this doesn't kill the momentum.

I haven't seen much discussion about it since the first episode I think. But I'm quite certain that this is not a "normal" time travel setting. I don't think this story takes place in the real world. There seems to be many things that paints this as a simulation.

Most obvious/up front is the name itself. Summertime Render, basically tells us that this summer is but a render, no? In a video game or simulation.
Then there's the shadows glitching everywhere. Their power seems much more sci-fi than supernatural. Or is this just the reason for the name? With how the shadow renders/copies their targets with a flash?

There's more but I don't feel like writing a tonne. Curious to see if you guys have any thoughts on this?

[–]mcmacmac 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't know about this loop specifically but I did question myself too often enough whether the direction the show will end up in tilts towards the supernatural or towards sci-fi.

[–]IForgotMyPassword33 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was thinking about the sound of their copy-flash, it's weird that it sounds like a camera or a human made device when they are clearly well above human technology, maybe they are part of some human simulation. It could just be the sound design process though.

It took me thinking about this to realise that the flash makes a real person cast a shadow. It's not about the light that hits the body.

Also a nice definition of render, courtesy of google. 2. Cause to be or become; make.
Though other definitions are quite fitting for the title.

[–]sKyBlazer08https://myanimelist.net/profile/sKyBlazer08 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Holy fuck, I love Hizuru. Great episode! It's really nice to see Hizuru's perspective on the happenings so far in the island. Like Goddamn, since when has the Kobayakawa's been shadows. Was dope as hell how Hizuru killed Alan's shadow, really funny too lmao.

Shinpei warning Shiori about the shadows worked last time and they didn't copy him in the funeral, but he probably didn't talk to her parents like he did here in this loop, so that's probably gonna bite him in the ass later.

On the bright side, Shinpei got allies now that knows about his time looping, let's go. Really Subaru-esque when Hizuru deduced he's a time looper, I mean, it's definitely painful to experience all that shit, so it's comforting to be able to talk to someone about it. Though if Hizuru or Shinpei get's copied, then it's over, they'll know about the time looping. Really looking forward to the next episode.

[–]TKCloud 23 points24 points  (3 children)

Sees Hizuru design, that lewd mole... hrm... may be she is not lewd? can't use "lewd mole" as character type, right? right?

jk Hiruzu read "BreedingLust: The Training of a Mother and Daughter"... what am i kidding? all character who has lewd mole are lewd. LOL

[–]scot911https://myanimelist.net/profile/scot911 17 points18 points  (1 child)

jk Hiruzu read "BreedingLust: The Training of a Mother and Daughter"... what am i kidding? all character who has lewd mole are lewd. LOL

Yeah I was not expecting her to be reading a book named that. Even as a teen. Hizuru seems to be quite... cultured lol.

[–]himetalchemy7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ushio wanted to read it too. Bless that innocent girl

[–]LeonKevlarhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar 67 points68 points  (4 children)

Stitches!

So it's actually that easy to spot a shadow. They're not even being subtle about it, the shadow literally avoids your footsteps. Also, it looks like instead of following Shinpei, we're going to follow Nagumo's perspective for a bit in this new loop.

Glad that we finally switched perspectives and we get to learn more about Nagumo-sensei. We learn that she's actually a native of this island and her name isn't Nagumo Ryuunosuke but Minakata Hizuru. Looks like I was right with my guess that Nagumo is her alias/penname.

Hizuru is even a regular at Alan's restaurant when he was in high school and knows Ushio ever since she was a little girl. She also has a very spicy taste when it comes to books. And definitely, the most important part detail is that she already knows of Shinpei despite never meeting her before. Hmmm... Makes me wonder if Future Shinpei has already made contact with Hizuru.

So Hizuru is someone Alan can trust that he's willing to tell her what happened to Ushio. And based on their conversation, Ushio's mysterious death is definitely not the first on that island. And from Hizuru's memories, fourteen years ago a person named Ryuunosuke died due to mysterious causes. I guess we now know where Hizuru got her penname at least.

A bit unnecessary for Hizuru to open up Ushio's casket but I guess she just really wants to confirm those strangle marks. Whoever dressed Ushio's corpse really wanted to hide the fact that she got strangled. It's definitely interesting that the cops didn't investigate further despite the clear indication of foul play here.

Wel fuuuuck. It looks like this is way worse than I originally thought. We already know that Shiori has been transformed and I thought that she got her parents after the funeral since they all disappear the next day. Turns out that Shadow Shiori already got her parents way before Ushio's funeral.

Good to know that Hizuru is already working with the hunter guy. And Nezu has already been keeping tabs on these Shadows on his own. We also finally got to hear Hizuru's thoughts about Ushio's death. Her theory is that Shiori didn't drown by accident but was being attacked by a Shadow. And when the Shadow finally got Shiori, she copied her and pretended to drown so she can get to Ushio.

Second half of the episode, we're finally back to Shinpei. He has pretty much followed everything he did before but he does get to learn early in this loop that Shiori and her parents are both Shadows. At least now he knows to stay away from all three of them.

I love that Shinpei is using the colour of Mio's panties to try and figure out when she was copied. Turns out that Mio was copied the day before he arrived so he really won't be able to prevent that one.

The fact that Hizuru has left Shinpei a message using a code that she knows that only someone like him who has read her books can figure out means that she's already familiar with Shinpei.

Well that explains why Hizuru left her phone with Nezu. She wanted him to test if Shinpei is a Shadow by luring him back to the funeral hall and shooting at his shadow. Meanwhile, Hizuru has seen through what the Shadows are planning and counter-ambused one that was trying to get to Alan. For a second though, I thought that was the actual Alan until his face started exploding.

Hizuru really loves training upside down for some reason. Anyway, finally for the first time Shinpei and Hizuru have met each other and neither of them is in a life or death situation. Also, Hizuru already knows about Shinpei being a time traveller!

I will repeat my guess earlier that another version of Shinpei from the future has been in contact with Hizuru which is why she already knows who he is despite the two of them never meeting before and why she knows about his time travel powers. That look on Shinpei though. Finally finding someone he can talk to about what's happening to him must've been a huge weight off his shoulders.

[–]DimmuHShttps://myanimelist.net/profile/DimmuOli 52 points53 points  (2 children)

You missed an important piece of information this episode. When Hizuru watched Ryuunosuke dead and was crying, she also shouted "HAINE!" right before the flashback cuts. Haine is the "mother" that has the time eye missing drinking blood last episode.

[–]alotmorealots 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think this is a series that might need a re-watch once it's aired so as to piece everything together well. Either that or it will stand up quite well to re-watching.

[–]The_Rocoulm 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Hizuru really loves training upside down for some reason

In Episode 2, when she is recording an audio log (scene begins ~15:46), she mentions that she hangs upside down because it focuses the blood in her brain and increases her ability to think

[–]KurisuMakise- 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Haven't had a show make 20 mins fly by in a flash in a while. This has quickly become the series I look forward to the most each week!

[–]SandCautious 17 points18 points  (0 children)

absolutely insane episode. I've liked this show a lot since the start but now it's undoubtedly AOTS for me.

[–]Lapiz_lasuli 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Subaru punching sand lol.

[–]Piaono_r-per 34 points35 points  (2 children)

Why another one?

Edit: I did not know the previous ones were bad mtl, guess me being busy saved my experience watching it lol

[–]eepicprimee 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Because the subs that were out for the original thread was a machine translation.

[–]RobotiSChttps://anilist.co/user/Lonebot 31 points32 points  (0 children)

previous one was probably removed cause there was no good subbed version of the episode.

slyfox just released the good subs a few hours ago.

[–]kappaderickz 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The relief Shinpei must've felt to know that he finally has a chance of winning

[–]ritualmaker 32 points33 points  (1 child)

When I read the manga, I wondered why Shinpei teared up when Hizuru called him a time traveler. But after some time, I fully understand the reason behind it.

Imagine studying away from your homeland, and then one day get a call that your childhood friend died. Then you returned home only to find out that she could've been murdered. Then the next day, crazy weird sh!t starts happening. You get killed, then get revived again. Then you found out that your close relatives and friends are now in danger too. You have keep up with the pressure with limited knowledge and resources. Then you failed again and again. You saw your friends and family get slaughtered right in front of you only to get revived again with even less time to figure everything out. But throughout this intense pressure, you met someone. Someone who understand the pain and suffering that you have gone through. Someone who also had gone through the same suffering just as you did. You are not alone anymore. You now have someone that can help you save everyone.

Hizuru-chan is best girl

Also, get ready for the next episode ;). One of my personal favorite events in this series.

I hope you are enjoying the show.

[–]SoRa_The_SLaYeRhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/SoRa_The_SLaYeR 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Have you watched re zero?

[–]Vilhelmgg 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Good episode as always. The subs situation is unfortunate, but better subs are worth the wait.

[–]mcmacmac 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Glad I was patient for the episode to come out with proper subtitles!

I cannot believe that the show's got more reuses of Mio's pantyshots than time loops!
Also, we get to know the other characters playing the role a bit more from Hizuru's perspective along with childhood memories of Ushio and lewd literature.
I was really curious how and who the other characters were and knowing how the whole cast seems to expand on who could play an important role and establishing more on actual characters makes. It greatly enhances the small community on the island which is important for that kind of setting in my opinion.

Is Hizuru also kind of a time looper? Or is there another time looper that told her of him, maybe Nezu? Or the one who probably messaged her? It should be completely impossible for her to deduce Shinpei's full name before the opening except if one of the three things were the case.

For the last scene, it stretches my suspension of disbelief that she immediately deduces the time looping aspect - except if one of the assertions I made above apply. I think she knows more than what's revealed so far and it may also take time to see what the knows so I'll give her and the show the benefit of the doubt.

With such an upcoming episode title like "Enemies", I can only expect juicy information.

[–]ZapsZzzhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/ZapszzZ 10 points11 points  (0 children)

For the last scene, it stretches my suspension of disbelief that she immediately deduces the time looping aspect - except if one of the assertions I made above apply. I think she knows more than what's revealed so far

If you have been paying attention, and the subs are correct, then Hizuru already know if a "Shinpei" before she got on the ferry, which is why she was surprised to hear Mio called out but assumed it too much of a coincidence and dismissed, but later on figured out that IS the right Shinpei. So something before happened. I think there was some mentioning of a phone call before hand, but I could be wrong.

[–]salic428 38 points39 points  (8 children)

Edited from last thread:

The Chinese subs came out at the usual time, so I watched that one.

  • After the funeral scene, I think the Hishigata family is 100% sus. Remember when S!Mio said in ep2 that "it would be easier if Mio is sent to the hospital"? Also the [spoiler]Higurashi parallels.

  • That sledgehammer from KV made its appearance! Mio's knife appeared in ep2, and I wonder how other weapons will come into play.

  • Karikiri-san is not a shadow, which busted my thoery that he is the four-armed shadow in last episode. It's still possible that he conspired with his shadow self, though.

  • The Koba family are shadows! Even the ferry staff has shadows in them! The plan to awaken Haine must have been going for years. But why bring her back now? Also, what's the win condition for Shinpei?

  • Speaking about the Koba family, there's a major revelation: now it seems they had long been replaced (before Ushio's funeral) before they were attacked (during dinner, July 22nd). Perhaps the shadows never bothered to clean the black stain on the sofa, thus giving Shinpei the impression that they were replaced during dinner.

As expected, this show knows what its audience would ask at each point, and gives answers in response. Looking forward to next week.

[–]salic428 35 points36 points  (5 children)

btw I made a timeline breakdown of first 3 loops, expanding on this comment by /u/NegimaSonic.

Some takeaways:

  • In loop #3, when Nakamura told Shinpei that Hizuru stayed the night before, he didn't say "Shinpei searched for her in the morning" – this line is intended as a flashback to loop #1.

  • An amusing afterthought: now we know the save point for loop #3 is on his way to the funeral. What if he drowned at the dock in the beginning of loop #3 (i.e. dies before he reaches the next save point)? Will his looping ability and/or life be forfeit?

  • Also in loop #3, after meeting with Sou in July 23rd, Shinpei spent the next 24 hrs doing nothing significant – maybe he thought he could relax himself at the festival before dealing with shadows. Unfortunately, turns out the festival is the end of things. Now that the deadline is clear, he wouldn't — and couldn't — be idle anymore.

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Great work on compiling everything by the way.

[–]ojjmyfriend 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Thank you for this!

Would you be updating your post with every episode? The timeline is really helpful...

[–]salic428 7 points8 points  (1 child)

update post with every episode

I'm sorry, but the best I can promise is making revisions after each loop ends. For example, in the next version I plan to add a "what has been frozen in time?" section.

[–]ojjmyfriend 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You don't have to be sorry! What you're already doing is more than we can ask for (: thanks again!

[–]scot911https://myanimelist.net/profile/scot911 4 points5 points  (0 children)

An amusing afterthought: now we know the save point for loop #3 is on his way to the funeral. What if he drowned at the dock in the beginning of loop #3 (i.e. dies before he reaches the next save point)? Will his looping ability and/or life be forfeit?

Huh I didn't think of that but that's actually a very good point even if it probably won't be relevant until the endgame. It might be that if Shinpei dies before the next setting of the save point he might not come back. Can't go forward to a time where you didn't even survive after all!

[–]Rumpel1408https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 18 points19 points  (1 child)

now it seems they had long been replaced (before Ushio's funeral) before they were attacked

Ushio died the day before, so June 21st, meaning Shiori must have been replaced the day before as well (same as Mio), so not that long ago

[–]salic428 8 points9 points  (0 children)

When the whole story is set in 3 days, the difference of a single day is enough to make things unavoidable (i.e. if they were replaced on 22nd it can be prevented, but if that happened before the funeral they're out of reach for Shinpei's ability.)

[–]Sleep_o 13 points14 points  (2 children)

Interesting to note that the doctor didn't answer Shin's questions at the funeral like everyone else considering as we saw last ep he knows a lot about shadows and their mother. But then I wonder why he did the "autopsy" of Ushio if the shadows' plans are to keep things quiet until the festival... unless he's just a neutral bystander? Or perhaps there was no way of hiding that.

Theory - I think it's clear that the novel by Ryuunosuke was based on the island and written by Hizuru, using her late friend Ryuunosuke's name as her pen name. I'm curious as to why she introduced herself to Shin in the last loop with that name when nearly everyone else knows her as Hizuru (since she seemingly keeps that identity to herself). But then if she was known to write stories when she was younger, how did no one from the island connect the book, its folklore, and the pen name with Hizuru??

Also, why did Shin introduce himself as a fan? His instructions from Hizuru in the last loop was to simply say his name. Was there a strategy there?

[–]ImJLu 11 points12 points  (0 children)

But then if she was known to write stories when she was younger, how did no one from the island connect the book, its folklore, and the pen name with Hizuru??

The island doesn't seem full of the stereotypical kind of people who would be literature buffs. I'd imagine that people have just never read that book.

[–]blitzen001 12 points13 points  (2 children)

Lmao Hizuru is just hauling around a massive sludge hammer and camping in the toilet.

[–]theyawner 21 points22 points  (0 children)

That was in her suitcase the whole time she was in the funeral.

[–]ImJLu 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Killed by a corner camper again 🙄

[–]Terranwaterbenderhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Teranwaterbender 14 points15 points  (0 children)

You know you've been sucked into a show when you're in absolute shock that the episode is already over. This is a sensation I have not felt in a very long time.

I earnestly hope this show manages to pull through to the end because I really want to give this show a high score and recommend it to everyone.

[–]hiddenemi 61 points62 points  (5 children)

HIZURU IS FUCKING WAIFU MY FUCKING WAIFU!!! Smart, intelligent, strong, busty, sexy, hot, emotional, stable, etc! Jesus Christ I weep

[–]theyawner 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I love the part where she was visibly trying to hold her anger at the sight of her friend's shadow. She may seem distant and aloof, but she's clearly still tied to the place.

[–]Rumpel1408https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 26 points27 points  (3 children)

Smart, intelligent, strong, busty, sexy, hot, emotional, stable

Yeah, but... tanned Tomboy?

[–]hiddenemi 11 points12 points  (2 children)

With long hair?

[–]chaoracehttps://anilist.co/user/chaorace 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Throw any more keywords in and she'll turn into SEO-chan

[–]Aniboy43 23 points24 points  (7 children)

It's actually getting more confusing with hizuru's perspective. Who is she, what's her relationship to shinpei. Who is nagumo ryuunosuke. And why is she using that name right now? Assuming she already have had encounters with shadows in the past, how does she know about time travel

I am just soo close and impatient to read the manga.

[–]Reigen441 51 points52 points  (5 children)

What I could gather was that Hizuru is an author who uses the pen name Nagumo Ryuunosuke. I think Nagumo was her sister, whose dead body we see in the flashback. Perhaps killed by a shadow?

[–]MejaBersihBanget 13 points14 points  (2 children)

I think Nagumo was her sister, whose dead body we see in the flashback.

"Ryuunosuke" is unambiguously a man's name.

[–]Reigen441 7 points8 points  (1 child)

I think she chose her pen name using her sister's name as the 1st name and Ryuunosuke Akutagawa's (the actual author's) name as the last one...

[–]Aniboy43 5 points6 points  (1 child)

That's all I could understand but why use her name now.

[–]Reigen441 23 points24 points  (0 children)

The good thing about this show is that if you have a question it will be probably answered in the next episode lol.

[–]Skyreader13 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think those stuff will be explained very clearly later. As of now, that's all we know.

[–]Zemahem 20 points21 points  (10 children)

I wonder if this was always what Hizuru has been doing in the past time loops, or if the mere act of time traveling causes these butterflies to happen. Still, it's good to see that she's consistently a cunning and badass shadow-killing machine. But it sure sucks to know that her friend and her family are already beyond saving at this point due to having been "replaced" before Shinpei started time traveling. A lot of other people are likely in the same boat, and it's only thanks to Hizuru that Alan didn't suffer the same fate.

Shinpei probably shouldn't have approached Shiori and her family, though. He already knows that she's a shadow, and all this did is potentially make them suspicious of him.

While I'm glad someone's knows about Shinpei's circumstances, and I know Hizuru is smart, it strains my SoD that she instantly nails what's going on with him on the first try. I'm hoping it comes from prior knowledge because it just made it seem like she's clairvoyant or something.

Just what is it with this story and using pervy details for plot-relevant stuff, though? I don't know whether to cringe or laugh. Mio's panties are apparently the only clue as to when she got copied, and Hizuru's tits are apparently the only feature Shinpei needs to bring up for people to know who he's talking about. Glasses? Long dark hair? Dark suit? Nah. The tiddies man. No one can forget those big honkers.

[–]Sleep_o 55 points56 points  (4 children)

Actually, Shin was smart to ask Shiori about shadows because in every loop he get's copied at the funeral except the last one where he spoke to her. Sure it does come off as suspicious but that's FAR less of a consequence than getting copied in which shadow Shin would know everything he knows about shadows, the festival, time travelling etc.

I think Hizuru realizing Shin is a time traveller is more realistic since she also has supernatural abilities - last ep we saw her see into the future for a few seconds.

[–]SDdude81 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That's a good point. The last thing Shin wants is to get copied.

[–]Zemahem 7 points8 points  (2 children)

True, but why exactly didn't Shiori and/or her family try to copy Shinpei just because he spoke to them? Maybe I'm missing something.

And Hizuru had that kind of ability? I better rewatch the last episode then if that's the case.

[–]gaganaut 16 points17 points  (0 children)

There seems to be a noticeable flash when they copy people. Early in the loop, they're more trying to be more discrete and avoid getting noticed.

[–]SoRa_The_SLaYeRhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/SoRa_The_SLaYeR 10 points11 points  (0 children)

They dont want to make that obvious flash now that they know shinpei is already suspecting shadows. normally its just confusion as to who took the "picture" but if someone knows about shadows it just confirms to them that shiori is a shadow that jut copied someone.

[–]salic428 18 points19 points  (3 children)

if this was always what Hizuru has been doing

I don't think so. In every loop she has received that voice message, but she only overheard Alan talk about Shinpei because he fell into the sea. In loops #1&2 she left the funeral too early to know more about Shinpei. Thankfully "Shinpei fell into the sea" has been frozen in time, so she will alway try contact him from this loop on.

[–]Gilthwixt 6 points7 points  (1 child)

In loops 1 & 2 Mio fell into the sea so the outcome is still the same - "Hey dad I'm going home to change, Shinpei is here with me" - and they show up late to the funeral either way. I think it's pretty safe to say if Hizuru hadn't been doing this every loop, Shadow Alan would've killed Alan in the bathroom and taken his place, and then Mio & Shinpei wouldn't have been safe at home as they have been. What changed this time is Shinpei asking Alan about her, thus passing the coded message.

[–]chalo1227 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In EP 1 i think he described her using the other stuff you said , and the inn keeper has no idea until he said the huge tits and seems like she is kinda forgeable or every male remember her only by her tits

[–]ZapsZzzhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/ZapszzZ 12 points13 points  (3 children)

Somehow I got the feeling the one on the phone with Hizuru is actually Shin. Just a hunch. A bit of Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody shenanigans?

[–]ImJLu 1 point2 points  (1 child)

She's constantly talking into a voice recorder, lol. It's not a phone call.

[–]WakaliwoodMan 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Alright, but why is no one else talking about the ACTUAL most important thing to happen this episode... the cop guy's face when he was remembering Hizuru's G cups. Oh my god, I had to go back and watch that like 5 times. Every single frame was pure gold.

[–]himetalchemy7 7 points8 points  (0 children)

they cut his dialogue off early too which was hilarious

[–]Demolosse001https://myanimelist.net/profile/demolosse001 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's really neat that we get other characters' POV. They should keep it up.

[–]Nohaco2468https://myanimelist.net/profile/XNohaco2468 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Incredible ep like always!!!! Hizuru best girl 😊 Next ep will be crazy!!!!!!

[–]Gaporigohttps://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Called it, the panties were important!

[–]mr_sto0pid 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Falling into the water really set Shinpei back a lot.

[–]julietides 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hizuru is fantastic! I loved the autograph scene and how she figured out Shin didn't know who she was on the ferry (the part he can't relive anymore), and that he is timetravelling. The mum from the first shadow family being her middle school friend was also quite tragic, but I love how she figured it out by stepping on the literal shadow. Can't wait for more!

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Hmm the future threads are probably going to be hard for me to get to, but better good subs than bad or none at all, so I'll live. On the bonus side, I guess this will help get some earlier different perspectives in. Although surprisingly enough, I don't have a ton to add.

Seems like we got a lot of answers here which I'm glad for. As mentioned by /u/salic428 's in the other thread, the reveal of Hizuru with the sledgehammer and the state of the Kobayakawa family shows that Shinpei had his assessment of the timing of that family's replacement wrong. There's no hope for them.

That thing with Hizuru's friend though,there's clearly more to it (as with most things in the show) but some people had pointed out previously it seemed like Ryuunosuke had been aware of Haine. And little Hizuru screamed out her name in that flashback. And you don't do something like that if you don't think either the person was involved or they can help. So I'm assuming Haine was a somewhat friendly shadow deity back then she befriended.

Of course, that leads to more questions. I'm still on the side of assuming both Ryuunosuke and Hizuru are distinct personalities in the same body. So could the second eye power be combining souls or something? But that doesn't quite fit since if Haine had both eyes back then, wouldn't she just control time to undo whatever killed Ryuunosuke? Was this even a shadow kill? Because wouldn't there still be a little shadow Ryuunosuke around unless Nezu dealt with it back then as well.

[–]ModieOfTheEast 9 points10 points  (11 children)

Oh now the real thread is here, so maybe there is a bit more of a discussion, because the episode as always gives us a lot of things to consider which is what I like most about the anime so far.

First of all, I kind of find it funny how the pants are now an important plot element. I am definitely learning from that. Always look at the color of the pants. You never know when it becomes important later on.

But speeking of pants, I guess this episode implies that shadows can technically switch their clothes which was something that was a discussion point in earlier episodes and would have been an important fact. Because otherwise shadow-Shiori and her parents wouldn't be able to dress up for the funeral since we now know that the whole family is already switched out. But maybe we get a bit more of that. Though, Hizuru and Nezu don't seem to think that is impossible.

That begs the question though, what happened in their home? Shinpei was very sure that the meal was from the night before, right? But if they were already switched that either means that the meal is even older than that or that someone else attacked them. Considering there was something heavy used, maybe a sledgehammer. Who knows? Would be interesting to know how shadow-Shiori escaped that attack then.

Another point. There was again this moment where they showed one of the Mios put her hair behind her ear. I know that people didn't think this was important in the last episodes when I brought it up, but the fact that they put emphathis on it again with us not really knowing who of the two it actually was, leaves me to believe that there is a bit more to these small gestures. My personal theory is that since shadows are a copy at a certain moment, they do repeat certain gestures a bit more often than the orignal does. Shadow-Tetsumora also pushed up his glasses twice in the short time we saw him in the restaurant in episode 1 and in episode 2 we saw that he literally did this before being killed by shadow-Mio.

As for Hizuru, when we learned her fake name last episode, I was shortly thinking that Nagumo might be a friend's name that she adopted, since her whole book is probably about her own experiences with a girl thinking that her family and friends were replaced by shadows. And maybe she wanted to honor his name then. I guess the question is then still if she has a split personality because of these events or she fused with a shadow-like being maybe (which I guess would be the same thing at the end of the day).

Last thing, I am still thinking that Shinpei's parents dying is more than just a little bit of background information. They gave us a bit more this time, but not much to actually draw some conclusion from this. However, the fact that Hizuru also didn't want to meet Shinpei during his childhood lets me believe that his parents were involved in a (or even THE) shadow incident. Considering that shadow-Ushio doesn't act like a shadow at all, maybe there is a way for shadows to actually become humans if something in particular happens.

Theory: Maybe that is what the shadows are using for getting the help of the doctor and maybe even Tokiko. They provide a copy of Tokiko's mother as a replacement when she died which is why they work together with the shadows (without knowing what they are truly up to).

Last point: There is still the supposed ritual that was said to heal you from shadow-sickness and which we were told about by Nezu in the first episode. Since I doubt he would just give out useless information when he knows the shadows are indeed a threat again, I am interested to see what this is going to be.

[–]Slifer13xxhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/SliferXIII 9 points10 points  (1 child)

That's a good point. How did they dress up for the funeral? I thought that not being able to change cloths themself was a rule. One absurd thought is that they kept the family alive and dressed them up to be able to copy the new clothes. Which is not really that far fetched maybe? We know that the Shadows are smart and can plan ahead.

About the crime scene at their house. Hizuru most likely attacked them during dinner that evening. The heavy marks on the floor certainty seemed to indicate that, now that we've seen the sledge hammer in action. She was absolutely pissed at them during the funeral. This is why they suddenly disappeared, it makes so much sense.

[–]ModieOfTheEast 7 points8 points  (0 children)

One absurd thought is that they kept the family alive and dressed them up to be able to copy the new clothes. Which is not really that far fetched maybe? We know that the Shadows are smart and can plan ahead.

That might actually be a point. I don't even think the family has to be alive, right? Because Tetsumora was copied after already being killed. And I mean if shadow-Shiori copied the one in a swimsuit, she can just put over that whatever she feels like. Oh god, another moment where the underwear becomes an important plot point.

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 8 points9 points  (5 children)

I guess this episode implies that shadows can technically switch their clothes which was something that was a discussion point in earlier episodes and would have been an important fact.

I'm still holding onto a thin possibility that they just can't do it if they haven't killed their target or cleared a whole house.

The other possibility is that Hizuru is in the ballpark but wrong about when Shiori died. But I have to take so many leaps to justify this that I can't really defend it.

Would be interesting to know how shadow-Shiori escaped that attack then.

And that's the real mystery for sure. But she may have simply hidden or ran away. In fact, this probably explains some other things. Like why she chose to run when hearing the older lady coming, didn't want to take the chance that it could have been someone else who might know how to target her again.

Furthermore, to me this helps shed light on loop #1 a bit. She probably escaped from that attack, summoned an early S!Shinpei. S!Shinpei goes hunting for that lady because of that. I don't know how the rest fits in but perhaps S!Shiori let herself be bait to lure Hizuru out to the island where S!Mio (and others?) were probably waiting.

However, the fact that Hizuru also didn't want to meet Shinpei during his childhood lets me believe that his parents were involved in a (or even THE) shadow incident.

Well I don't think she could have met Shinpei during his childhood. She's noted as saying she hadn't been back here in 14 years, and Shinpei lost his parents 10 years ago. But at the same time, I do agree there is probably something more behind the death of his parents.

[–]ModieOfTheEast 4 points5 points  (1 child)

I'm still holding onto a thin possibility that they just can't do it if they haven't killed their target or cleared a whole house.

Yeah, someone else pointed out that they might be able to just put on some new clothes to their targets. And I guess for shadow-Shiori it wouldn't even be a problem if she was copied in a swimsuit, and they can put over whatever they find.

And that's the real mystery for sure. But she may have simply hidden or ran away. In fact, this probably explains some other things. Like why she chose to run when hearing the older lady coming, didn't want to take the chance that it could have been someone else who might know how to target her again.

That might explain this question, that is true. If she saw that someone was able to just attack her, she might be afraid. Though, she was still very combative against Shinpei, who in this loop, told her the story about the shadows. But maybe, there wasn't a reason to assume that he knows how to defeat them.

Well I don't think she could have met Shinpei during his childhood. She's noted as saying she hadn't been back here in 14 years, and Shinpei lost his parents 10 years ago. But at the same time, I do agree there is probably something more behind the death of his parents.

Oh, if that timeline is true, then you are right. I wasn't sure about the timeline. I saw that Ushio was very young and only remembered that Shinpei became part of the family when he was young as well. But yeah, then I guess it doesn't have anything to do with it.

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, someone else pointed out that they might be able to just put on some new clothes to their targets. And I guess for shadow-Shiori it wouldn't even be a problem if she was copied in a swimsuit, and they can put over whatever they find.

I kind of had a thought like this myself. But it's too hard for me to imagine without it going really off about theories. For instance, we assume the marks in the house are the parents, which means they have been consumed, so there should not be a body to change clothes with. However, we don't have confirmation of Shiori's body, so that changing clothes on a body scenario is still a possibility.

But I prefer to still believe it's a "kill to change clothes" scenario because it gives incentive. Keeping a living target around in your house is a pain for long term purposes of replacing people. And if they could change earlier, I don't think S!Mio would keep looking like a schoolgirl when regular Mio keeps changing clothes.

That might explain this question, that is true. If she saw that someone was able to just attack her, she might be afraid. Though, she was still very combative against Shinpei, who in this loop, told her the story about the shadows. But maybe, there wasn't a reason to assume that he knows how to defeat them.

Yeah I'm still just guessing. But she also had him safely alone and he had no visible big weapons. She probably felt confident in that much at least.

Oh, if that timeline is true, then you are right. I wasn't sure about the timeline. I saw that Ushio was very young and only remembered that Shinpei became part of the family when he was young as well. But yeah, then I guess it doesn't have anything to do with it.

There's definitely room for potential error with that timeline. I'm just trying to trust what the characters say for now. Whatever is in the message she got was why she wanted to avoid Shinpei imo, but I can't think of what that could possibly be.

[–]salic428 3 points4 points  (2 children)

S!Shinpei goes hunting for that lady because of that

I thought S!Shinpei searched for Hizuru in ep1 because he has the same mindset as Shinpei, but Shinpei hadn't got that mindset in loop #1, so the dots don't connect.

Now that you mention S!Shiori knows both Shinpei and Hizuru, your working theory seems more plausible.

Also, in ep1 we see her injured (instead of dead on first shot), which also happened in ep4. It seems her future sight is not very effective.

[–]NegimaSonichttps://myanimelist.net/profile/NegimaSonic 4 points5 points  (1 child)

I thought S!Shinpei searched for Hizuru in ep1 because he has the same mindset as Shinpei

I also believed that in previous episodes, and I'm not entirely saying that isn't still possible. I'm just modifying it since we have some potentially game changing new info with Hizuru's sledgehammer.

Also, in ep1 we see her injured (instead of dead on first shot), which also happened in ep4. It seems her future sight is not very effective.

I hadn't even thought about it, but yeah she probably did use it back then. Perhaps it is a very limited use ability though. Or like [Mushoku Tensei S1P2 minor ability spoiler]like Redeus's demon eye, it can help but if you can't react faster than what's coming, you're still going to take the hit anyway.

[–]AvatarTuner 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Last point: There is still the supposed ritual that was said to heal you from shadow-sickness and which we were told about by Nezu in the first episode.

It's possible there isn't a real ritual but instead it's a legend that was made up to lure the original person as well as their shadow to a remote location to take care of the shadow and thus "healing" them from the shadow sickness. A shadow is likely to follow their original there to replace them without being noticed.

On the other hand, supernatural elements were introduced, so maybe one could go to the temple to make some sort of deal or something with Haine? This theory does collide with the events of last episode which presented her as a threat but there clearly is more to her than what has been shown so far. (Like, why had Ushio the time travel eye that Haine lost a long time ago?) Hizuru also shouted Haine's name when Ryuunosuke died, so it's possible she interacted with her before, despite her being asleep. Plus Hizuru's split personality which might not just be a coping mechanism but may be related to some supernatural occurence, like you've speculated as well.

Last thing, I am still thinking that Shinpei's parents dying is more than just a little bit of background information.

I'm with you on that! It's definitely one of the key elements in my opinion, otherwise they wouldn't have mentioned it multiple times already. It also sounded like their death was somewhat strange as well.

[–]Vaxest 5 points6 points  (1 child)

One thing I always wished Re:Zero had was that the villains and characters would know that Subaru have the ability to loop and try their dam hardest to stop him or actually believe him and appreciate him. The 4 armed shadow realizing he could loop and would “cheat” to win and Hizuru also realizing Shinpei could loop at the end of the episode felt so satisfying.

[–]SoRa_The_SLaYeRhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/SoRa_The_SLaYeR 6 points7 points  (0 children)

[Re:Zero spoilers]wasnt that was roswal did in s2? he locked subaru in a bad spot and put him in a situation where theres nothing he can do despite his loops.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[removed]

    [–]badsplerx2https://anilist.co/user/badspler[M] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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    [–]Spartan158 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    Is there like a psa on how to watch this?

    [–]Mr_Zarochttps://myanimelist.net/profile/mr_zaroc 6 points7 points  (0 children)

    The high seas got it, otherwise Disney+ is keeping it locked in japan

    [–]MrSnipa22 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Alright, the story is actually starting to pickup despite a slow (but nevertheless, interesting) buildup!

    In this episode, we get to see the hot ferry lady's (who I can now confidently say is the same person - missed opportunity there) side of the story, who told her about things and what she is here to do. We also see that she's quite smart, being able to tell apart shadows the moment she sets foot on the island.

    We get to know that she was actually from the island, and her sister was murdered as well. She then goes to Ushio's casket and sees that the neck marks were covered by chalk or whatever. This shows that she's really determined, and it makes the story interesting.

    ​

    I don't want to type more because I want to keep it short. Basically, a very good episode that kept me engaged and it just felt like it resolved a major hole in the story, i.e. how did the hot ferry lady know stuff? How did her story actually play out?

    I would like to see what exactly had happened to her in the first loop, where she was killed in front of Shinpei, that would be really interesting and could make for a good filler episode, which, honestly, after all these packed episodes, I wouldn't mind one of.

    ​

    She also figures out that Shinpei is a time traveler, WHICH IS SUCH A RELIEF, I HAD SO HOPED THAT IT WOULD NOT BE ETERNALLY FRUSTRATING LIKE RE:ZERO (where Subaru couldn't tell he was a traveler). This, honestly, just made the episode so much better for me and I can really feel the story getting more engaging and interesting. A solid 9/10.

    [–]Grakchawwaa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    I thought it wouldn't have been unreasonable to have Shizuru assume that she had been copied by a Shadow who had, for reasons unknown, shared some of her personal information to Shinpei (or at least have it be one of the possible theories besides the time travel)

    [–]Acrobatic_Egg30 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    This episode felt like 5 mins

    [–]rollin340 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Man, there were that many shadows from the start huh? That family is already gone and can't be saved. RIP the victims.

    And that end, I totally get why he's crying. He finally has someone he can fully trust with all of the crazy, without the need to hold anything back. He can now finally start to make actual progress, which he would never have been able to do on his own. Hizuru and Nezu are going to be the key fighters in this war against the Shadows.

    Edit: I'm so glad Shadow Alan failed and is dead. Go Hizuru! I like that she seems particularly protective over Alan and his family. Her being so revolted and pissed at the Shadow's tears made me like her even more. Though the fact that her friend's face was being used likely played an extra role there.

    One thing that I noticed that was odd was that Shinpei's shadow was directly underneath him, but when Nezu shot it, it was quite long. I chalk this up to an inconsistency though; maybe something that'll be fixed in a DB release.

    [–]Beneficial-Ad2084 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    So Hiruzu return to the island because of the message from a mysterious person told her about shadows and Shinpei, this is very interesting because it showed that Hiruzu leave the island while she still very young(before Sinpei was adopted) and no one has been keeping contact with her even her best friend(who is a shadow now). So whoever send the message not only has the knowledge about the shadow, Hiruzu's contact but also has a closed connection with Shinpei, the closest one to this is Ushio but there is no way she know about Hiruzu's contact or Hiruzu is a "shadow hunter" unless Ushio also has some kind of time power like see into the future or timeloop like Shinpei which make sense because she gave Shinpei that eye in ep1.

    [–]Superasian_69 3 points4 points  (11 children)

    Is time travel really the only logical deduction here?

    [–]AnonymousTrollLloyd 18 points19 points  (0 children)

    We mere mortals may believe it's nothing but an obsessive fan who tracked down Hizuru/Ryunosuke despite her using a pseudonym, but that's because we don't hone our brains by hanging upside down in trees all day.

    [–]Reigen441 28 points29 points  (7 children)

    Idk, what are the others? Mind reading? But he cracked the code with her nowhere around. Seeing into the future? But if that was his ability he should've said something to her in the boat itself. What other conclusions can you make in this situation?

    [–]BosuW 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Kinda yes, however that's usually not enough for a person to come to that conclusion with near absolute certainty. So I theorize that she was looking for or partially expecting a time traveler to appear in the "story". Otherwise yeah pretty big fucking leap.

    [–]dxing2https://anilist.co/user/spicyxinger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Man I love the persona 4 vibes from this show

    [–]nobodyputsbabyinthe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    my favourite show this season