I really dislike being unsure about a show this late into the season, but I just can’t sort In/Spectre.  It’s not as good as Zetsuen no Tempest, I think we can say that for sure – not only in terms of production (obviously), but the story itself.  Still, that leave a lot of space – Zetsuen was a Top 10 series for me in 2013.  I like Kyokou Suiri, but more in the abstract than in practice.  Maybe it’s the Steel Lady Nanase arc more than the series itself, but something just isn’t quite clicking for me.

Kotoko’s notion of a “logical fiction” being needed to cut down Nanase is one of those elements that works better in the abstract.  It sounds good, but watching Kyokou Suiri execute it the premise seems kind of slapdash to me – basically this is fanfic-level science-fiction at this point.  It has, to understate the case, been done.  And better than it’s being done here.  That doesn’t mean it can’t work, but the other elements – character, world-building – need to be exceptional to offset the flaws in the premise.  And I find them to be more in the “pretty good” range.

But hey, there are the cards the series is playing and it certainly does have its moments.  I don’t really get any chemistry between Kotoko and Kuro (he’s kind of a cipher at this point, which may be intentional but doesn’t help things generally), but I like Saki’s strained resignation – just on the edge of panic over what she’s seeing play out, but not quite going over the edge.  I’d go so far as to say she’s been the best thing about this arc, which makes me worry more than a little about what will happen if her involvement comes to an end when it does.

As for Kotoko I find her a bit much to be honest, though the mahou shoujo dance was amusing.  The other major element introduced here was Kuro’s explanation about the Kudan’s power and how it applies to him – which was more than a little foreboding.  This is a little more creative and interesting than the logical fiction stuff – the Kudan not being able to see the future but rather to force a specific future to come to pass.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that these are dangerous waters for Kuro to be swimming in, and I struggle to see it ending well for him.

Now, I suppose, we wait to be told who the “her” Kuro and Kotoko were talking about at the end of the episode was – it could be this person (probably the true culprit behind the Nanase phenomenon) but I’m guessing not.  And poor Detective Terada’s death will no doubt exacerbate the Nanase problem, probably forcing Kotoko to take a more aggressive approach than she initially planned to.  It’s all intriguing enough but somehow, the whole is adding up less than the parts – at least so far.  I don’t know yet quite where that leave me – I suppose that’s a decision I’ll make after next week’s episode.