This series continues to be a fun, campy exercise. While the obvious vampire hypothesis appears to be proving out, there are a few nice secondary mystery elements creeping in.
Of course, lots more people died this week – young people, old people. Dr. Leg-twitch is revealed to have a complex about his Daddy, who placed the weight of the village on his shoulders. His growing frustration with his own ineptitude reveals itself in a few snit fits and a generally vile temper. It also causes him to disdain the “clues” that Seishin has brought him – namely, that many of he deceased quit their jobs before they died and many others have left town without notice – as an irrelevant waste of time.
Meanwhile, the smarter villagers – Otouto, Natsuno, and a crazy Obaa-san- have started to figure out the truth. Even Seishin may have an inkling – we know he was checking out vampire books from the library. Was it to research Sunako’s disease, material for his own novels, or a suspicion as to the cause of the “epidemic”? Or just the fact that his father is the scariest looking man alive? When Natsuno finally confronts the Doc with a question about just how dead Megumi was, the veil is finally lifted from Ozaki’s eyes and he appears to catch on. Meanwhile, Otouto and Twintails have gone to investigate the mansion on the hill, and the ending finds them in serious jeopardy.
Lots of interesting questions presented themselves here, in addition to Seishin’s motive for reading the vamp books. Just why did one of Ozaki’s patients actually improve for a bit before she died – was it the whole blood transfusion? Why are so many families leaving town – are they simply being consumed by the Kirishikis? Or perhaps, going elsewhere to spread the “epidemic”? Most interesting to me – what of Sunako? She’s the only Kirshiki to receive serious screen time so far. Is she somehow a vampire with a sense of compassion – might she be the key to ending the carnage? She seems to be toying with Seishin, frankly – like a cat with a mouse before he devours it. She’s obviously going to be the key to wherever the resolution of this series is coming from.
