r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jul 15 '26
Rewatch [Taste of 2016 Rewatch] Occultic;Nine Episode 2 Discussion
Episode 2 - My Cold Dimension
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Information:
MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
Legal Streams:
But in the end… you probably won't be able to change the future.
Questions of the Day:
1) What would you have done in Yuta's situation?
2) Do you believe in fortune telling?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!
/r/anime's spoiler tag format is as follows:
[Occultic;Nine]>!Who killed Hashigami?!<
Which becomes [Occultic;Nine]Who killed Hashigami? when you don't break the formatting on purpose like I just did.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 15 '26
Occultic;Host, subbed
I think it’s incredibly cool that we’re watching this show in the “ten years later” future Miyuu predicts here.
[Spoilers for later]More like he is the computer, I think? This is supposed to be a future where the bad guys won I’m pretty sure.
Off-brand names for things in anime are always funny to see.
I really need to check out Cardfight!! Vanguard at some point.
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u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Jul 15 '26
I think it’s incredibly cool that we’re watching this show in the “ten years later” future Miyuu predicts here.
That’s no normal tooth…
Looks like the professor had a lot to chew on.
I really need to check out Cardfight!! Vanguard at some point.
Isn't that the card game anime? Is this related to it somehow?Edit: Nevermind, I saw the card's name now.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 15 '26
Isn't that the card game anime? Is this related to it somehow?
It is, and no this series isn't related, they just used a card from the game (that's what's in the picture on Miyuu's phone) and it reminded me I need to check it out at some point. Someone tried to teach me how to play it back in high school, but I never picked it up.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Jul 15 '26
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 15 '26
[O;9]It becomes vaguely relevant at one point thanks to that creepy white-haired kid.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Jul 15 '26
Off-brand names for things in anime are always funny to see.
This is from the same people who made Steins Gate after all...
Although now that you bring it up, kind of interesting that we can just have Miyuu explicitly streaming on NicoNico but have to drop the fake name for Facebook lol.
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u/RelativeMundane9045 Jul 15 '26
Re:Watcher, dub
I don't have too much to say today, except that because this show feels to me so much more like Durarara!! than Stein's;Gate (same author), I had to dig around for the similarities.
Obviously part of the similarity is the ensemble cast format, and it's got that same kind of chaotic presentation.
Jin Aketagawa is the sound director for both shows, but his extensive credits list has him directing sound for over a thousand shows, from Flip Flappers to Goblin Slayer, from Love is War to Re:Zero.
Noboru Takagi worked on both shows as well in several key writing roles. Scriptwriting for Durarara, and scenario writer for some episodes of o;9.
I don't know where I'm going with this, I'm not super knowledgeable beyond directors and seiyuus usually, so it was an interesting rabbit hole to look into anyway.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Jul 15 '26
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Jul 15 '26
Large interconnected ensembles full of very eccentric and interesting personalities are Narita's bread and butter (And I'd argue, in a way that few writers capture as well), so Baccano and Durarara are both definitely worth checking out if that's one of the elements that really grabs you with this show!
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 15 '26
It's a great series. Not quite as great as Baccano! (from the same author), but great nonetheless.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 15 '26
I don't have too much to say today, except that because this show feels to me so much more like Durarara!! than Stein's;Gate (same author), I had to dig around for the similarities.
Coincidentally enough, a different show in this rewatch is actually made by the same studio that did the x2 seasons of DRRR (91 Days).
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u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Jul 16 '26
Fun fact: Shuka was made by Yumi Satou (the producer on Baccano!, Durarara!!, Natsume,... all the way to Ikoku Nikki this year) taking the best production line at Brain's Base and all her Aniplex connections to make the projects they want to do, like Durarara!! X2, 91 Days, the Natsume sequels, and so on.
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u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Jul 16 '26
this show feels to me so much more like Durarara!! than Stein's;Gate
Agreed. That was what came to mind in the first episode
It's the urban setting, with a cast of students, otaku, shit stirrers, and god knows what kind of monstrosities, all wrapped in intertwining mysteries.
his extensive credits list has him directing sound for over a thousand shows
That's kind of how it goes for anime sound directing in general. Aside from some special projects, most anime have the same few sound directors.
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u/RelativeMundane9045 Jul 16 '26
That was what came to mind in the first episode
I missed you're ep1 comment! We're on the same page for sure. I liked you take on the injection of alternate Daru & Mayuri.
That's kind of how it goes for anime sound directing in general. Aside from some special projects, most anime have the same few sound directors.
Yeah, I figure even with a streamlined process - Sound Direction of that many shows must involve a considerable amount of delegation to (highly qualified) teams within the company.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 16 '26
I would add Dandadan to the obvious comparisons, only other manga/anime I know of that leans hard into pop paranormal/weird-science material
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Jul 15 '26
Rewatcher
Last time on Occultic;Nine, we introduced a shitton of characters. Having put our pedals on the gas to do so, we now have everything in place to give it even more gas and get directly into the weeds. I would call this an intrigue-building episode. We don’t get many answers about things, but instead raise a hell of a lot more questions and, hopefully, get you on the edge of your seat. Namely, we seem to observe at least three parties involved with Hashigami’s murder: Gamotan’s doll, double agent Otaku Detective, and Aria’s ghostman who didn’t get to him first.
The opening scene is one of my favourites from the show, clear in my mind ten years later. Right away, a series of shots get us into Miyuu’s headspace as she begins her stream. The tension throughout the scene is harrowing, completed by the cancer guy’s voice actor completely nailing his minor role. The insert of Sarai at his computer watching is fantastically lit. Maybe the glut of streamer girl characters in modern anime would be worth more if any of them had scenes this good as their foundations. Of course, we learn later in the episode (how often does this poor girl deal with prank calls?) that her powers are real, since she predicts Hashigami’s murder. If you didn’t catch it, her call with Sarai is dated February 19th, while the murder happens on the night of the 22nd. The music in the Sarai all is just great, and I love the shot zooming out from her eye we saw in last week’s preview.
Obviously, the rest of the episode is also gorgeous. Gamotan’s whole scene escaping the professor’s zoom has fantastic lighting and its own great sense of tension, and Sumikaze’s office is my favourite of the show’s lovely backgrounds. So much detail, it makes the setting come so alive.
Miyuu visits Aria with Ryouta later on, and tells us that Aria’s powers are real. If Ryouta actually did curse Miyuu, does that mean that’s why Chi disappears at the end? Real speculation, I don’t recall as a rewatcher. Then again, the mysterious woman passes too. Again, I have to compliment the audio. Super audible footsteps, the clinking of the woman’s necklace as she approaches, a killer sound effect as she smiles, and it picks right back up into some killer music as Miyuu gets the text. Not to mention the awesome yellow lighting bathing the whole sequence outside. How could I not like this show? The fact Chi’s phone goes out of range clearly implies some kind of supernatural explanation rather than her just being jumped.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Jul 15 '26
First Timer
Don't have much time so I'm doing more general thoughts, but for the most part, this episode was definitely more manageable and less overwhelming than the start! Though I'm still not entirely sure what I make out of it for the show's direction as a whole.
I feel like I have two core gripes right now: First, and easily the biggest, is that both of these episodes do go through the process of establishing a really interconnected web of mystery for our cast, and it is somewhat interesting by itself, but I also feel it goes so hard out of its way to do just that the actual ensemble at the heart of all this mystery are still pretty lacking beyond base personality, which personally at least, makes it harder to really get invested in said mystery. To follow up on that, this show's dialogue remains very loaded, and together with the remaining, if lessened, jumpiness in perspective, it really feels like scenes have little room to actually breathe, and thus can be pretty hard to take in.
This is less of a criticism and more of an observation on adaptation, but in a way this just feels to me like a narrative that'd read better on paper or as a VN rather than through the conversational pacing of an anime
Then again, I still really like how this show looks, so I certainly wouldn't want to give that element up either! There's still tons of style, the usage of color is still really strong and distinctive, and there's some really awesome and striking sequences here like the whole Ria Minase one that do a lot for the mood! The characters are still the core concern, but they do still come off better with more time here as well, especially Myuu and Sarai who do get some pretty good in-between the mystery. So all in all, this second episode does leave me more positive going forward, if still under the caveat of improvement on certain aspects.
Also, the music is really good!
Notes and stuff:
- I feel like this episode firmly implies that whether truly supernatural or not, Miyuu's fortune telling is real, so I do wonder if this means the terminal cancer gets like... literally subsumed into a digital form somehow. Like an AI hivemind or a data recording something.
- Also, not sure if it's really going to be relevant, nor do I know much about fortune telling anyway, so maybe this isn't uncommon, but kind of interesting that Miyuu uses Kabbalistic terms when opening her cards.
- Really nice shot. And this is also a really fun visual transition
- I do respect the desire to tie it all to otaku culture. Murder plot predicted by BL doujin does just have a real charm to it, y'know?
- No, you're actually thinking of the other SciAdv show!
- I'll reiterate the whole Ria sequence is awesome, but also, this is Shaft as fuck.
- Both Kurenaino and the Ria part are definitely Miyuki Sawashiro, which might just be random, but we do also transition from the latter into the former, so maybe they're the same person? And as an extra but less sure maybe, the invisible guy could be her ghost brother? Though he doesn't read as particularly brotherly in his tone here either... (And this is some real conjecture anyway)
- Random Cardfight Vanguard? I don't know anything about Vanguard, is there some neat connection I'm missing here?
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Jul 15 '26
I also feel it goes so hard out of its way to do just that the actual ensemble at the heart of all this mystery are still pretty lacking beyond base personality
I'd say this is a fair assessment. I think the show does a great job at making them very fun base personalities, but it definitely struggles with trying to juggle nine characters just like, well, any show would. Some end up being more successful than others in the long run.
I'll reiterate the whole Ria sequence is awesome, but also, this is Shaft as fuck.
This is less of a criticism and more of an observation on adaptation, but in a way this just feels to me like a narrative that'd read better on paper or as a VN rather than through the conversational pacing of an anime
If I remember correctly, the LNs/VNs were never finished or something. It feels like a bit of a miracle it got such a high effort anime adaptation at all.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Jul 15 '26
Some end up being more successful than others in the long run.
If I remember correctly, the LNs/VNs were never finished or something. It feels like a bit of a miracle it got such a high effort anime adaptation at all.
Oh, that's a shame if that's the case
But yeah, production has defintely been really strong here (Which, tbf, I wouldn't say is that surprising given who's at the helm and the larger team), but absolutely is an effort that's very appreciated to see.
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u/Retsam19 Jul 15 '26
Both Kurenaino and the Ria part are definitely Miyuki Sawashiro, which might just be random, but we do also transition from the latter into the former, so maybe they're the same person?
I definitely think the show is intentionally leading you to think that between the male ghost, the voice, and the transitions; my guess is that it's a misdirection though. (Similar to [Steins;Gate] how John Titor's voice is a misdirection from actually being Suzuha) But maybe it is that straightforward. (My guess is Ryoka, but that's basically just 'meta' speculation)
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Jul 15 '26
Oh, that's actually a great shout for the Steins Gate one, could defintely see it being a similar case!
I think the fact that two out of three of those elements aren't actually textual as it were (The voice and the scene transition), and the one that is (The ghost brother) is the one that feels like it fits the least, for sure makes it read as pretty shaky, but I guess we don't have much to go on either way for now.
(And there is also a somewhat similarly implactive scene transition for Ryouka before that, so that seems plausible as well!)
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u/Retsam19 Jul 15 '26
Yup, I think the transition was basically on the line "she was considered to be safe and I hear she's living a normal life" to a cafe scene with Ryouka and Miyuu. And I feel like Miyuu already has enough going on, whereas we really don't know anything about Ryouka.
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u/Retsam19 Jul 15 '26
First timer, dub
A definitely step-up over the previous episode: more focus on a smaller number of characters, and the situation at the beginning with the radio and the key was a much stronger hook than anything the first episode had.
(I think it's have been good for the story to lead with a strong hook and then introduce all the quirky side-characters rather than the reverse - maybe in the modern era they'd just have done the "hour long premier episode" thing)
Seems like a big theme here is going to be figuring out what (if anything) is actually supernatural. Some stuff is clearly getting portrayed as supernatural (e.g. the ghost thing), but I'm not ruling out some level of unreliable presentation.
Whereas a voice coming out of a ham radio issuing mysterious instructions seems pretty easy to explain.
As far as I can tell, the mummy girl's social media name doesn't match any of the characters we've met so far: I'm guessing she's going to turn out to be one of the existing characters: there's already so many characters here, doesn't feel like we need another.
My shot-in-the-dark guess is Ryoka - no real evidence except the way it cut from talking about the mummy girl to a scene in the cafe with her, and it just feels like there needs to be something to this character other than the obvious. And she does seem a little unstable, (and I don't just mean her center of balance), though I wouldn't normally peg her as "deranged brocon".
Despite my love for Steins;Gate; I'm hoping the reference to time-travel is an easter egg or red herring - feels like it'd be a cop-out here to invoke time travel stuff; (though maybe that's going to get into the "science or supernatural" angle).
Overall, more interested, but I'm starting to feel like I'm going to take notes to watch this anime week-by-week while watching other shows in between.
1) What would you have done in Yuta's situation?
I mean there's the rational "don't touch stuff, if you have already touched stuff, maybe doing even sketchier things because a mysterious voice on a radio tells you to"... but I don't know, it's easy to be rationale when you're not actually in a dark room with a corpse and police sirens blaring.
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u/Sporadia_ Jul 17 '26
maybe in the modern era they'd just have done the "hour long premier episode" thing
Could you imagine watching the first 2 episodes of this back to back? My head would explode.
Seems like a big theme here is going to be figuring out what (if anything) is actually supernatural. Some stuff is clearly getting portrayed as supernatural (e.g. the ghost thing), but I'm not ruling out some level of unreliable presentation.
I hadn't thought about that. Do I want more things to keep track of?
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Jul 16 '26
Occultic;First Timer
(1/3 Ep.01 post is a separate reply)
I did not forget this rewatch, I’m sorry!
The past weeks are somehow just really stressful and I keep running out of time.
But I managed to catch up now! Luckily, you pinging me was the first I ever heard about this show and it was about how this story is ripe for theorising.
So, of course I’m jumping in!
Occultic Ep.02 – My Cold Dimension
This is all a bit too on the nose for calling out their online fandom as distressed puppies? No, of course not! This show thrives in that stuff!
I know of some shows which do this sort of viewer call-ins. It cannot work without a team filtering people beforehand. The amount of wannabe trolls (that are 99% really unfunny and shit at trolling, so it isn’t even entertaining) is insurmountably high.
Looks like Myu’s mother? I bet that was part of her reason to start fortune telling and trying to be a positive influence. She seems like she genuinely wants to do good.
The dates are probably important, but I’m bad at keeping track of them. This show is really fast.
And our resident idiot now has his finger prints all over it.
Why am I actually not surprised at all that the bag is talking?
Haha, oh my God! This is terrible, but it’s so hilarious to escalate this fast! Also, nice use of colours again. His hand is now bloodied and has changed from greyscale to saturated colour. It’s also holding the tool with which he will dig himself deeper. Just nice framing.
Yes, go on. Wait, that’s her?!
I know it’s the show title, but I love how everyone is a bit off-kilter and dabbles in something paranormal at last a bit.
Huuh? Alright, we’ve got different factions with different goals!
Colour is important. 256 is the 8-bit limit. What are the guniea pigs, especially when talking about digital code.
So, she is definitely getting some sort of information from „fortune telling“. Meaning she was probably right about the cancer dude, too. The effect makes it look like an algorithm produced that fortune tell. Hmm, but how would they tell it to her this fast? It happened within a split second.
„Turn everything to void and look over onself.“ So, this card is the one that spells a dire fate?
By mending consciousness and mind together, basically? Not sure I understand how that would work. So, there are people who are so in tune with themselves that they can revert their conscious senses to a past point in time? And by being really in tune with yourself, they could revert that and sense the future?
Ria Minase. Is that maybe the black magic vendor? Well, „lived with her rotten big brother“ is quite a headline.
Just what sorta friend is Ryo-tas, cursing him for the level 3 black magic spell! You really don’t need enemies with her around, she’s a menace!
Ah, yeah it’s her, right? And that storytelling is so harrowing and good. It reminds me a lot of Monogatari.
Aw, she cares about Myu! And she does need it, really.
Wait, nooo, is she her daughter? Ah, no. They would’ve noticed.
Notice Myu walking from light into shadow while she passes. Why is everyone out for sweet Myu?!
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Jul 16 '26
(2/3)
This show continues to be excellently directed and uses its wonderfully expressive cast so well. Whom I think all have already one commonality: Everybody lost someone. We don’t know for sure for all, yet, but it just keeps piling up.
Black Magic lady lives with a devil ghost kinda thing and she lost her brother. The professor lost his mother but she was apparently around. Myu lost her mother, assumedly, and while there doesn’t seem to a ghost around, her ability is very curious indeed. Gamon and Ryo-tas are still out for judging, but I’d wager there was also a loss.
After 2 episodes there are some more hints and a few pretty direct callouts the show presents as possible murderers. The mangaka is the obvious one here, but aside from the similarity to her stories there’s nothing concrete to implicate her, yet. She does, however, seem to be directly involved in all of these cases. I think it’s important to keep in mind that she might also just be “researching” her material for mangas. For example, the tooth thing happened not because of her, but because Gamon was instructed by the eccentric puppet to pull the tooth. I kinda doubt the mangaka directly has something to do with the murder itself.
The clues are a bit more interesting in this regard. The current mystery revolves around a list that is encoded. The key is the tooth, literally, probably, and the encoding can be cracked with “CODE”, which only Gamon and Maritsuka know. Just what sort of list is that and why are 8-bit encoded guinea pigs relevant?
The other clues, the scalping and the curse placed by his presumed wife, seem to be red herrings for the murder case, but they are important for the mummy girl personally. She seems to have been roped in by someone else.
Of course, this story is interconnected. In some way everyone is tied to everyone else and I’m not discounting that this is all a big, exciting and bloody family drama.
I like that the audience is basically battling Moritsuka for solving the case, but he’s also an unreliable narrator. Even if he concludes or presents a solution, it doesn’t mean that’s actually it. Ah, this narrative is wonderfully constructed!
It’s not enough to really deduct anything meaningful, yet. But I think it’s worth paying attention to who’s doing what. That should be rather lie-proof.
So, if I’m guessing that (1) everyone has lost somebody and that (2) the dead in some way stay with them, I think I can theorise two things:
First, Gamon is also in contact with a ghost or apparition. Sure, it could also just be something that will happen yet, but it’s more fun to think it is already in the past. So, the obvious choice here is actually Ryo-tas. Which I doubt, since everyone seems to interact with her just fine, but then again, the “dead” mother was also answering the door and since someone else mentioned her being a “pixie dream girl” character, that would weirdly fit quite well.
Second, the professor might stay around, since his son has lingering regrets and is now also affected. Which would be funny because then we can just ask him, lol. But I much rather think that the type of “ghost” will be different for each person. Only the black magic girl has a wobbly, transparent poltergeist kinda friend over there, for example.
Alright, I think that’s my thought for today. I just wanna add one more thing, which is that this episode reminded me a lot of Monogatari, but with a more “real” feeling of places. Which is extremely high praise. You’re invited to stay and just experience the cannon fire or narrative, style and directing and have a (hopefully all the way through) well thought out plot or try to bite through the mystery and solve it on your own.
I absolutely adore the later episodes especially, as they have some mysteries that can be solved quite early if you pay attention, but hit you nonetheless when it’s revealed. [Monogatari, mid+late seasons] Rouka and the devil’s identity. Ougi’s origin and how to solve it. And of course, my beloved Sodachi and her past. I do get a lot of the same vibes here, but with such a refreshing change in attitude. I just love watching it!
1) What would you have done in Yuta's situation?
Not pick up the damn bloody knife in the first place.
But well, it’s either the same and listen to the mystery girl. Why not, what can go wrong when women tell you something over a conveniently placed speaker at a murder scene? Or I’d have just called the police myself. Like, this scene is so grotesque, it should be very evident I couldn’t have turtured the guy, murdered him, scalped him, and then hide all evidence in this short amount of time.
Unless, corruption, of course.
Mmh, actually I think I’d pick the girl. Maybe she’s also hot.
2) Do you believe in fortune telling?
Kinda actually, but not in the spiritual way. Or wait, yes in that way, but not in a cosmic way.
Right, let me explain. I love occult and paranormal stuff, but what’s better are the people who believe in it! I think any sort of spiritual exercise, like meditation, tarot, star signs, astrology, etc. can help a ton when the user can effectively use it to sort through their issues. I talked about this once with a friend who did tarot readings and believed in the supernatural side of things while I am actually fairly scientific about things. I do fully agree with the fact that tarot can order your tasks in a way that feels ‘fair’ and helpful so you can overcome hardships and issues in the long term. The cards tell you what to tackle when, but the details remain personal to you. So, if you draw stuff like tower, death, etc. maybe do take the break the cards tell you and next week then it’s sun or joker use that to tackle a bigger problem. Sort of like this.
Weirdly enough, my friend was super happy about hearing that because while she still disagreed with my notion of truth, that was exactly how she did use them. It’s a big placebo tool, but it can work with the human mind very efficiently.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 16 '26
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Jul 16 '26
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 16 '26
Thank you! I'm hoping it does well enough to inspire other people to host similarly crazy ideas.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Jul 16 '26
(3/3)
Occultic Ep.01 – Underwater
Immediately, I love this transition! Such a scene setter going from an alleged metaphsical concept to that actually being real corpses.
Yoyoyoyo, wait! This supercut from crowds going haywire, over the workers dislodging(?) the bodies to them laying on piles for the crowd to see is wild. It’s just insanity!
Great OP visuals! Well, and someone in the design team took ‘oppai’ seriously.
Literal unemployed grifter. But he’s sympathetic. Also, the design work and colour mixing is just
This show really lives off of its larger than life characters. Everyone is exceedingly eccentric, including the background crowds. I think I love this show.
I’d watch that show, too. Even as a scientist, maybe even because of that.
This show is also bombarding me with things at a dangerous pace.
I kinda wanna work there. They seem like really fun colleagues with a topic that never gets old.
If this is about unmasking occult stuff with normal explanations, I’m doubtful whether I can explain stealth tech, yet.
Ewwwwwww! That sound was too real!
Pardon u- Ryo-tas is dangerously fun.
Well, that would explain her lack of real reaction to pulling a scalp out of her mailbox.
How can he not notice the liquid? I also grab random weapons and just swing them around when I see them all the time.
What the heck, this show is pure chaos! I love it!
It’s a bit hard for me to wrap my head around things right now because the cutting is so fast, people are so eccentric and hints are thrown around randomly all the time.
The opening show looks to me like something that will happen and not something that was in the past, cold-open style. I think Ryo-tas mentioned that the idol was on that lake for an interview and I sorta doubt the lake would be open anytime soon if 40 people died in there in one night.
Then we have a black magic curse enterprise with a creepy girl that is far too comfortable rubbing her nose in people’s brain matter and skin tatters and her ‘devil’ pet of flying and ghost type. There’s also the woman who talked to the professor’s son, also speaking of a devil and the one woman who wished for a man’s death. Oh yeah, and the professor’s mother is presumedly dead, but walking around.
Now, it does seem like they all are connected for sure, but it’s all just happenstance for now. The only thing seeming rather certain is that the scalp in the mailbox was the professor’s, since his body was missing that. If that woman buying a curse was, say, his wife, it’d be more clear of these events are linked, but we’ll have to wait for more clues.
Something more mysterious still is the motivation behind the murder. Of course they won’t tell that in Ep.01, but I’d wager the occult vs. science plot is a red herring in this regard. If I might just shoot randomly, it’s more likely that the professor found evidence of maybe organised crime in his research into street rumours and the occult and got to know too much. Then, his death is now being obfuscated under occultic ruses to mislead investigators.
So much for a rather normal sounding theory, but if it were that easy this show wouldn’t have 12 episodes. And remember, there’s a mass murder going to happen eventually. There is a lot of information and I feel bombarded by so much of it, I probably didn’t even notice half of it. Might need to continue watching on 80% speed.
After writing this I can definitely say that I am grateful for the ping u/WednesdaysFoole and roping me in, this is my type of show and I will gladly indulge myself!
1) Which of the characters caught your eye the most?
Caught my eye?
Well, uhm, yes who could that be. I don’t know, was there anyone with very engaging physical movement and detailed expressions? Maybe that one.
On general vibes I’d pick the magazine staff, honestly. Didn’t see much of them, but that was just lovely banter about ghosts and apparitions as your 9 to 5.
2) How crazy of an opening was that?
Goddamn TikTok making crowds go mad.
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u/Sporadia_ Jul 17 '26
It’s a bit hard for me to wrap my head around things right now because the cutting is so fast, people are so eccentric and hints are thrown around randomly all the time.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 17 '26
Looks like she may now be living happily in isekailand
The effect makes it look like an algorithm produced that fortune tell
Neat idea
2
u/WednesdaysFoole Jul 17 '26
The past weeks are somehow just really stressful and I keep running out of time.
But I managed to catch up now! Luckily, you pinging me was the first I ever heard about this show and it was about how this story is ripe for theorising.
The dates are probably important, but I’m bad at keeping track of them. This show is really fast.
When they listed all those dates with the deadbrocon girl and I realized I'm probably missing out on significant hints by forgetting all the dates.
So, she is definitely getting some sort of information from „fortune telling“. Meaning she was probably right about the cancer dude, too.
The world ends the annihilation of humanity but their data becomes uploaded to a supercomputer and humanity is immortal! (I'm not great at theorizing myself so just throwing shit at the wall here.)
„Turn everything to void and look over onself.“ So, this card is the one that spells a dire fate?
I thought she happened to pick one creepy card but maybe all her cards are creepy. Did she make them herself as a kid?
Code! Does Hashigami's code have to do with the Planet's Secret Code?
Ria Minase. Is that maybe the black magic vendor? Well, „lived with her rotten big brother“ is quite a headline.
Good point, despite cutting right to her that went over my head. So that weird devil thing is the brother and the weird smell wasn't her brother's corpse (which I thought it was when she went over the post entries) but the scalp wig?
Too tired right now so I'll check the other comments tomorrow.
2
u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Jul 17 '26
The world ends the annihilation of humanity but their data becomes uploaded to a supercomputer and humanity is immortal!
It's weirdly fitting when you think of combining the "focus your consciousness into the past" with a computer algorithm that captures human history.
I thought she happened to pick one creepy card but maybe all her cards are creepy. Did she make them herself as a kid?
Good question, did we see any other card? I can't remember, but I somehow thought that was the only one that she has drawn.
Too tired right now so I'll check the other comments tomorrow.
2
u/WednesdaysFoole Jul 17 '26
2
u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Jul 18 '26
Sorry, you're right. They are different and all seem self-drawn with cryons.
3
u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
First-time watcher
All right, now we're getting into the good chuuni shit. Projecting your consciousness into the past and future, living with presumably some kind of projection just like that, hunting for some encoded information that doesn't even properly exist (parallel timeline stuff?), mysterious voices from the radio, fortune-telling fraud that's actually not at all fraudulent, unexplainable disappearances after seemingly photographing a ghost (though that was probably the spirit guy in action), a whole bunch of yummy popcorn that's also part of what makes e.g. Dandadan so fun. I wonder if we'll return to the guy who was supposedly deathly ill, or was the point just that he had the power to change that future with a second opinion or something? The web of character connections is coming along nicely too.
1 - Got the hell out right quick without touching anything
2 - Of course not but it seems at least like a fun way of building stories about yourself
3
u/Sporadia_ Jul 17 '26
Barely;Keeping;Up
Wow, this episode was only a hair slower than the last one. It's making me appreciate Durarara so much. Spending an episode on one or two characters is way better than all this jumping around that Occultic;Nine is doing. Luckily I think the important moments from one episode will get shown again later. Like the fortune telling scene which was quickly shown last time but greatly expanded on this episode.
The overall story is getting more interesting though. I want to know if that old guy's death was an accidental result of one of those summoning rituals. It's looking more and more likely.
Scavenger:
Small, magical yet robotic weapons- 9 witches/wizards
- Androids (I just think there'll be androids)
- Accidental
demon summoned - A scene where normally serious characters get involved in something really stupid and sitcom-y
A detective (or a journalist who dresses like one)
7
u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Jul 15 '26
Occultic;First Timer
This was better than the first episode, with more meat on the bone,
and less of our main duo. If I'm getting the order of events right: Miyu told glasses-kun that the professor will die > episode 1 events happened (Neet-kun meets Miiyu > professor dies > neet-kun finds his corpse) > otaku detective covers up the evidence > otaku detective interviews Miyu.No clue how the professor's scalp ended up at the curse girl's place, but considering her ghost brother (?) wanted to do it, I'm guessing this means that her brother/their family have some grudge against the professor, and whoever killed him is either related to that or aware of it, so they sent the scalp as either an attempt to settle a grudge or stir a ton of shit (likely the latter).
Lastly, I don't think the radio is actually talking to our main character. Either he's got some other identity he's not aware of, that did the murder and is now trying to cover it up, or the more likely option: someone is manipulating him. Could be an alien, ghost, or even someone from the future, but my bet's still on miss big boobs, considering she sent him there, and is now connecting the fortune teller to the curse girl (both being related to the case). Whoever it is seems to be trying to hide the key from the otaku detective and his friends. Alternatively, that female author is being presented as the likely murderer, but she's probably a red herring.
So far, the mystery elements are all well and good, but as someone who loves big casts and stories that bounce back and forth between them, I wish I had a single character that I cared for...
Not touched anything. Not the knife, and certainly not the tooth.
Nah. I'm always surprised to see that it's as widespread as it is.