This was sadly a fairly normal episode of The Lost Village – not in that it was an average episode of this particular show, but in that it was a believable episode of an ordinary horror story. Well, as long as you discount the weird, self-destructive genre-awareness expressed during the Masaki interrogation. Aside from that, basically everything that happened here could really have happened in an ordinary show, which is pretty disappointing relative to what I generally expect from The Lost Village. Well, you can’t win ’em all.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.
“I’ve actually been to Nanaki Village once before”
Looks like we’re sticking with relatively effective camerawork for now. Still cutting this guy’s head out of all the frames, of course
“I’m surprised Uncle let you come”
Tracing markers to get to the village
Classic horror scenario – the fog thickens, “my feet hurt,” and even the old man warning them to turn back. These people know their stuff
Reiji’s the guy
The music is far more effective here. And the framing emphasizes how big the village actually is, the size of the buildings and how alone they are
“Reiji, it’s getting late”
“It looks like people lived here until just recently”
“I just wanted to find Reiji again”
And now everyone’s cool with her again
“So was he your boyfriend?” MITSUMUNE PERKS UP
Multiple Nanaki villages!
So, as expected, Masaki’s story tells us basically nothing
“I can’t really explain it, but I think we should stay away from the tunnel.” Masaki is not a very useful or convincing mysterious ghost girl
Masaki’s story sucks, and the group… actually doesn’t buy it! And are asking a bunch of relevant questions!
“I just waited and lived in a nearby town until I found a chance to come back.” Wow, her story just keeps getting less convincing. Alright, she’s a ghost, time for execution
“A nearby town? But what’d you do for money?” HOLY SHIT, THEY ARE ACTUALLY ASKING HER ALL THE GOOD FOLLOWUP QUESTIONS
“Let’s execute… I mean, exorcise her!”
Mitsumune, once again the voice of I Wanna Talk To Girls
And the bus comes zooming in!
Hayato grabs onto the bus
“It’s definitely a lie. It’s too obvious.” These genre-savvy kids
I generally dislike genre-savviness because characters just make jokes out of it. Here, they’re actually acting on that knowledge
Masaki can’t see monsters
“Oh, so she doesn’t have a really shitty past that’d make her sick just thinking about it?”
“If you’re a ghost like her, you can bring Misato to me, right?”
They’re gonna hunt down the bus
Valkana and Koharun having another conversation about trust
Valkana and Koharun are actually the real traditional protagonists of this story. Mitsumune’s an idiot, but they have regrets and are working to overcome them
The three actual character girls also have their own talk
“If I’d had even one person who believed in me.” Aw dang it’s theme time
Mitsumune actually lauded for believing people without proof
HYOUKETSU NO JUDGENESS RETURNS, WITH ARROWS