Okay, episode ten was not just about the proverbial hitting the fan, it was about the entire septic and sewer system exploding out of nowhere – basically anything that could go wrong did, and did in a pretty bleak and heavy manner. It was almost as if the emotional pendulum from last episode’s “happy, happy, joy, joy” feel was swung hard in the opposite direction in an almost crazed, destructive, and wild manner, and things were left pretty up in the air, with not much of a way out (in multiple senses) and hopes and possibilities hanging by the thinnest and barest of threads. In that sense it was extremely well done and “effective”.

On another level, though, the studio has decided to put almost all their cards on the table here, and it has definitely brought about a pretty polarized reaction among a fair number of manga source readers following this series (at least that I have seen). However, while it may have alienated some of the source readers (I am not among their number, by the way, though I can understand where they might be coming from at least emotionally), the response of the the anime-only viewers has generally been quite positive, and many, many have mentioned being even more interested to pick up the manga after the series is over – in that sense I feel this is an indication that the studio’s choices may prove to be good ones in the long run. For myself, I feel this is the final arc of this season (I doubt there will be a second any time soon, but it is quite possible at this point in the game, I think), and want to see how well the studio pulls off this mini-arc in and of itself and how it will fit in the series as a general whole. Thus far I feel most of their decisions have been good ones, with the aim of introducing the franchise to new audiences.

Let’s see here … what went wrong in the episode for the poor main characters? Taroumaru got bit by the zombified Megu-nee, and is now a zombified dog. Kurumi barely survived an ambush by the zombified Taroumaru, only to encounter another zombie and to freeze in indecision and fear on realizing it is indeed Megu-nee. This split second of indecision resulted in Kurumi being bitten by the zombified Megu-nee, and the process of Kurumi’s zombification is under way. Yuri is presently desperately trying to tend to Kurumi, but is feeling hopeless, remembering Kurumi’s words several episodes back that if she were to be bitten to please kill her before she completes the transformation to zombiehood, and is torn between whether to kill Kurumi (hand and ankle-cuffed to the sofa she is lying on by the way) now or rely on the slim chance in hell that the newly found information that Miki discovered of a cure (?!) being located in the secret basement area (where Megu-nee is lurking by the by) may be able to to save Kurumi. Miki is feeling overwhelmed and helpless and despondent on hearing that Taroumaru is effectively lost and Kurumi is almost gone as well and that Kurumi’s only hope at the moment is her. Yuki is shown beginning to slowly, slowly “wake up” into a very disturbing situation.

Also … one last factor into the midst of things. In the midst of a torrential downpour (turns out that Megu-nee was lost during a heavy rainstorm as well – and in this episode we see why … the rain drives the zombies indoors for some kind of shelter) large numbers of zombies broke down the boards and impediments placed there by the main characters proper, have taken recourse inside the school and have just pulled down the barricade made of desks and chairs that has up to now protected the handful of survivors from the rare, occasional zombie that would wander into the school (or that was trapped therein and could not find it’s way out – the zombie encountered in the library in the early episodes was perhaps one of these). Umm … yeah … things are not looking pretty.

Once again, this episode’s OP and EDs continued to reflect the current situation and hint at future ones … some of thought that the “transformation” of the OP is almost “complete”, and have (rightly, I feel) posited that the “inner world” of Yuki in particular and the other girls’ in general is reflected therein. At the end of episode 9 both Taroumaru and Kurumi were missing in the final sequence, and that was definitely played out in episode ten. Though Kurumi’s fate is still unsure, Taroumaru’s is pretty much finished … hopefully the medicine can reverse the process of someone already zombified (though I have my doubts). This episode’s ED ended with the stuffed bear that serves as a sort of proxy for Yuki of Megu-nee being torn up and badly mangled. That definitely does not bode well for future events. Things are definitely going to continue to be rather dark and difficult, I fear. Hopefully after the torrential downpour the sun will peek through the clouds for the characters? Really looking forward to next week’s episode and seeing how this mini-arc will be wrapped up in general!

Once again, thanks to Takai from random c dot net for the screenshots … real life has been way too hectic of late. Not bad … just super busy with more unexpected things popping up than usual! ^^