What a consistently weird and unexpected gem Kokkoku is.

One of the reasons I love seinen so much is that as a rule, it’s much less governed by formula than shounen or shoujo.  That familiarity in those demographics can be highly enjoyable, especially when you get a writer who knows how to tweak the template just enough to honor it while still reimagining it.  But whether it’s because we’re so conditioned by formulaic series or not, seinen often surprises – it’s much more free to go where it pleases, depending on the inspiration of the writer.  That makes the few seinen anime we get something to be treasured, though they don’t all measure up to the level of Kokkoku.

One of those unexpected twists has been to turn much of the focus of the final arc to Sagawa, even making him the central point-of-view character for much of the narrative.  He’s got an interesting story – in fact, one of the qualities I admire about this series is that it’s full of people who seem like they could carry a show as a protagonist.  After seeing how he got to where he is today – disillusioned by human weakness and betrayed at every turn since childhood – it’s easy to understand how he ended up the way he did.  Given what we know of most cult religions (Japan is all too familiar with them) can we really judge a man harshly for dedicating himself to destroying one from the inside?

The problem for Juri, of course, is twofold.  First, Sagawa represents a practical problem, an existential threat to her family.  And second, he’s already done terrible things, things which merit punishment – he’s proved himself beyond a reasonable doubt to be a dangerous and amoral man.  I found his rejoinder to Juri quite revealing about his nature – she should take his deal and go back because if not, she and her family would “never be able to experience each other’s pain” again.  For Sagawa, that’s all normal life is – pain and annoyance.  As such, it’s no sin to deprive other’s of their right to be subjected to it.

When push comes to shove, Juri decides to do what she has to do – though Ojii-san tries to stop her to “keep her hands clean”.  But he hesitates – that’s certain, though it’s less certain whether Juri does too.  Takafumi’s intervention makes it moot I suppose, and it again reveals both his flaws as a person and his genuine desire to protect his family.  He’s broken, this man, but he still loves his family and they him – and that’s important in understanding this story and its characters, I think.  But in Takafumi-vision, he certainly did “nail it”.

Sagawa is desperate and resourceful in clinging to life, however (considering how little he values it for others), and has one more trick up his sleeve.  He escapes with his brain and vitals and forms a cocoon around himself, sending out razor-sharp threads which both protect him and draw in materials from the air around him.  This is a tense, interesting cat and mouse – and it leaves the good guys more or less in stasis (figuratively, this time) as they wait Sagawa out.  This is a time for Juri and Ojii-san to reflect on their choices, and there future – especially for Juri, who has to send her father back out of stasis without the chance to say goodbye.

That Grandpa would decide to stay makes perfect sense – he disapproves of Juri’s sacrifice on his behalf, so (despite her efforts) he’s not going to let her suffer alone (at least for a while – he is much older than she).  But there are still other goodbyes to be made – most poignantly Makoto, who represents hope for the Yuzawa family’s future.  But Sagawa forces the issue one last time, and takes the story in yet another unexpected direction.  In doing so he imposes on Juri and Grandpa an age-old moral dilemma, one often expressed through “What if you had the chance to kill (fill in the blank evil figure) as a baby – would you do it?” It’s certainly an interesting setup for what should be a fascinating final episode.