Summary Key Points:

[spoiler]

• Takashi and Saeko start off by grabbing a special kind of vehicle that can cross over water and land
• They head back to the river on said vehicle
• They rest a bit at a sand bank in the middle of the river and then head back
• Takashi asks Saeko if there is a guy she likes, and she responds that she does
• They cut through a park, and use the vehicle as a noise producing decoy in the park’s fountain
• As they start escaping, Saeko suddenly freezes up
• Takashi saves her and drags her out
• They take refuge in a temple
• Saeko reveals her dark secret, that she enjoys beating people and things up
• Takashi comforts her and it leads to them sharing a night together
• The next morning, as they begin to head out, Saeko freezes up
• Takashi gropes and her tells her that he will look up to her no matter how dirty her hands become
• Happy at hearing that, Saeko snaps out of it, and cuts a clean path through the zombies with a newly acquired sword
• Takashi and Saeko make it to Takagai’s house and are greeted by Hirano and Alice
• The Episode ends with Takashi saying that he accepted Saeko’s darkness or maybe the darkness brought by the end, and he did all this to survive.

[/spoiler]

Opinions: (A+)

WOAH!!! I have to say, this is the best HOTD episode yet. Its got Takashi x Saeko moments and Saeko fanservice but those are just the icing on top of what is a dark, shocking and very interesting episode. I haven’t had an episode make my jaw drop as many times as this one has.

I hear that a bunch of the manga’s chapters were skipped over and this was animated first. I cannot help but support this idea. For all those people who’ve been dismissing this series on the fact that its just mindless action and fanservice, this episode provides some serious twists and revelations.

Saeko’s entire secret, and the way she tells about how twisted her love for violence is, It was unexpected and chilling. Not since Higurashi no Naku Koroni have I seen a sudden freaky expression that has sent chills down my spine. This piece of information is excellent character development for what seemed like a seemingly perfect and flawless character. It shows us that Saeko is actually sadistic and broken. The way this episode brilliantly slowly revealed the truth in such a foreboding manner, it was just… really impressive storytelling and great character development.

The most chilling line though, and the one that creeps me out the most, is Takashi’s monologue at the end of the episode. The words where he says “I did it to survive” can imply that Takashi slept with Saeko and got her out of her fearful state all in order to survive. That part scares me the most. I’ve often looked at Takashi as a fearsome brave guy, kind of how the ideal guy should be and would be in this sort of situation. Yet there’s hints that he may have just done all this to survive? I dunno, I could just be mistaken, and a big part of me wants to believe it too.

Is he doing whatever he can just to survive? Or is he an honest to good hero? There was evidence in this episode to suggest both cases. I guess whatever Takashi does in the coming episode will reveal what kind of a character he really is.

A few other things caught me off gaurd as well. For one thing… Saeko and Takashi did indeed sleep together. That was… well I expected it to end with just a kiss or something, but after I saw Saeko adjusting her dress, it was pretty obvious what happened. Added to that, Takashi groping her and telling her that he accepted her for who she was? That was just… woah. That was totally unexpected behavior from him as well.

The Saeko x Takashi pairing looks awesome though. I especially loved the shot of the two of them and Alice. And Saeko asking if Takashi will take responsibility was nice as well but Takashi stole the cake with his “No matter how dirty your hands get, I’ll always look up to you. You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever met”. It seems official that Takashi and Saeko are a couple, or at least I hope so. Hopefully Takashi stays true to her, and doesn’t just make his own harem and take advantage of all the girls. XD I doubt it, considering it’s Takashi

There was also quite a bit of fanservice in this episode. From Saeko getting “wet” three times (the last time she said it was just… odd)  to the  two times where she changed, to the whole scene where Takashi gropes her. Man… This was pretty much going into the hardcore Senin territory.

All in all, I loved this episode. It had the right combination of Action, fanservice and story mixed into a neat little package. I can’t comment on whether everything was balancing perfectly, but this episode has indeed  changed my opinions of the series. Sure, it’s a gory, fanservicey mindless zombie show, but it can also add good story and character development if it chooses to. I can’t wait to see the other sides to the characters in the coming episodes. Perhaps the only sad thing is that this is a 12 episode series, and so, we only have 3 episodes left.

Preview:

More odd characters, more action and more fanservice. All next week, as we head into the last few episodes of HOTD.