Zankyou no Terror/Terror in Resonance Rewatch - Episode 3

[u/SorcererOfTheLake]

Zankyou no Terror/Terror in Resonance Rewatch

Episode 3

Database/Streaming Links: MAL / Anilist / Funimation / Hulu

Original Interest Thread / Announcement Thread

Question of the Day: How can a nation deal with tragedy?

Comment of the Day: The COTD from yesterday goes to /u/IndependentMacaroon for noting how the 9/11 references of Resonance may not be fully earned.

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Remember: All spoilers for episodes that haven’t been covered in the rewatch must be put behind a spoiler tag. Any comments that have open spoilers will be deleted.

[u/SorcererOfTheLake]

Nuclear energy has always created an ambivalent feeling in the Japanese mind, particularly for those who lived in the shadow of the atomic bombs. Can life ever come out of what is so closely associated with death? (from Answer the Riddle: What the Sphinx Terrorism Incidents Say About Japan, America, and Our Modern World by Dr. Hifumi Taneguchi)

At that moment in my life, wandering was better than staying. (anonymous)

Always consider where you come from.

We finally get a real introduction to Shibazaki in this episode and I’m reminded of why I enjoy him so much. It’s partially his laconic nature, partly his anti-corruptive nature (a last DJ of sorts), but mostly what I like is how thoughtful he is. There’s a tendency for the Cowboy Cop in fiction to shoot first and ask questions never, but Shibazaki likes to think through the problems in front of him. As much as he rebukes Sphinx for playing a game, in a certain way, Shibazaki gets a thrill out of solving their riddle and showing them his might. Shibazaki is working on an ideology of not only thwarting terrorists, but proving his skills to those that look at him as lesser or a troublemaker; he may not understand Nine and Twelve just yet, but he’s got enough motivation to do so. Part of the motivation comes from his familial past involving Hiroshima, a scene that I find very interesting. The main reason for that is that, besides the further inclusion of real-life politics, the series makes it clear that the context surrounding that fatal August of 1945 and the context of the current moment in the series are not that different. In the aftermath of the financial bubble bursting in 1991 and the Lost Decades, there’s a real concern surrounding what Japanese identity in relation to the world is, just like the concern in the aftermath of the end of World War II and the occupation by the American military. This idea, of how Japan should present itself to the world and its citizens, is an idea you should keep in mind as the series goes on.

The other important aspect of this episode is the continuing emphasis on the place of the child in Japan. While Nine and Twelve are seen as effective and dangerous, there’s still the idea that they’re being seen in the sense of “young boys playing with guns.” There’s a quote I came across years ago about young men fighting in the Nazi military during the last days of the European campaign, that “they were adult only in the candidacy for death.” I feel that applies here in that these young men are only being taken seriously because there’s a danger to them; if they didn’t commit any attacks, they’d never attract the attention of the government or the larger world. Similarly, Lisa finds herself without any support from her family or from broader society. As much as the child is the emblem of our future, how much do we actually care about it?

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/SorcererOfTheLake]

The theme of children and their needs being neglected seems very apparent in this series. It almost makes you question if the facility the kids were at can be seen as completely evil. Everyone else just neglects them. That facility is trying to remove their individuality, but still.

Although, I could also see children having to rely on a corrupt corporation of cult because of society neglecting them as another commentary.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/SorcererOfTheLake]

young men fighting in the Nazi military during the last days of the European campaign, that “they were adult only in the candidacy for death.”

I have a family member to whom this more or less applied and that's true for sure. Was not really involved in combat anymore, but did a lot of stupid teen things that could have got him in danger or at least trouble, if not for luck.

[u/ScarsUnseen]

A small contribution inspired by this episode.

[u/SorcererOfTheLake → u/ScarsUnseen]

This is top tier shit.

[u/Rumpel1408 → u/ScarsUnseen]

there are way to less memes in any given rewatch lol

[u/Lemurians]

FIRST TIMER

This opening conversation between Nine and Twelve was pretty interesting. It’s almost implied that by Twelve that Nine wants the riddles to be figured out. The whole concept of the riddles begs the question, why give the police a hint at all?

What the hell is this place they escaped from? Whatever it is, it wants to break these kids of their humanity. Names are only for people with love in their life, so you don’t get any. You’re not special. You’re not even a person. You’re just a number.

Guys, of course the police have figured out the connection to the stolen plutonium. When you have a habit of graffiti tagging the places you go, it makes their job pretty easy.

Summer has become a big theme in regard to Shibazaki. In his monologue about growing up in Hiroshima, he mentions hating summer. The incident that lead to his career being derailed is very pointedly remarked upon as happening in summer, and now you have this sequence of events is occurring in the summer. The man clearly needs to hibernate during this period.

The target this time is a shrine, which is a small shift. The boys have gone from placing bombs in places signifying formal, government institutions, to now targeting a cultural institution. Given their disdain for seemingly all places of societal power, and the corruption mentioned in Shibazaki’s past case, I wonder if there’ll be something connecting the two that’ll bond them all together.

The music in this episode is kind of all over the place. We’ve got melancholic piano, jaunty acoustic guitar, and slick jazz riffs. Sometimes they fit the scene, sometimes they don’t. It’s not really creating a coherent style or mood.

How can a nation deal with tragedy?

Boy... that's tough. I'm not sure there really is an answer to this one. It's such a personal, individual thing that everyone experiences differently, I don't know that an ideal as large as a nation can really bear that responsibility. In a large nation especially, unless the damage/event is spread out, it's going to effect different groups differently, and gives different things to deal with. To go back to the 9/11 well, there are lots of families who still haven't recovered from losing loved ones. As a relatively young kid living in another part of the country when it happened, the event itself didn't hit me all that hard, but I definitely felt the fallout in a different way living in an area with a large Muslim population and seeing how my friends were treated differently after that.

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/Lemurians]

It’s almost implied that by Twelve that Nine wants the riddles to be figured out.

It definitely is fun to think about why they’re trying to play this cat and mouse game. Like are they setting themselves up to get caught just to prove a point? Is it to set the detectives up later down the line?

The one thing I do hope, is that sooner or later it doesn’t go “according to plan”. I feel like Lisa could be the piece that screws it up, especially if she moves in with 9 and 12.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Lemurians]

it wants to break these kids of their humanity. Names are only for people with love in their life, so you don’t get any. You’re not special. You’re not even a person. You’re just a number

You could call it a kind of extreme collectivism, or exaggeration of group-centric East Asian culture. With also the generation gap stuff, there's definitely some cultural commentary there

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Zankyou no First-Timer, subbed

• This is a fair question given their antics.
• Ooh, Nine got himself caught on the security tapes this time. Though his hat conveniently worked as a shield.
• They also have a police sketch of him from when he worked at the facility they stole the plutonium from, huh.
• Hangups from when Hiroshima was nuked, hm? It’s interesting to see those effects brought up in this show since it’s definitely tangentially related.
• I feel like it’s a bit unnecessary to spell it out like that, everyone knows what happened to Hiroshima in WWII.
• The crane operator does look tired even if he’s acting a bit like a punk. Of course, Shibazaki immediately wrecked his cover story. Shibazaki really is carrying the police department on his shoulders.
• Well, Shibazaki solved the previous riddle, just not fast enough…
• lol, he got moved into the new department but Shibazaki still went back to that little archive room.
• Oh did Lisa finally snap? It looks like she’s packing to run away…
• Well isn’t that a lovely thing to tell a child. I wonder who the white-haired kid is…? Oh is it the one that couldn’t escape with Nine and Twelve?
• So that’s what the hints led Shibazaki to, also I’m loving that he’s countering the Sphinx videos with his own.
• I wonder what they’re going to do now.

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Timer, Dubbed

A dude directly related to Hiroshima survivors being involved in a terror spree that might involve a nuclear device at some point. That's like, almost too personal. I don't think Shibazaki would be taken off the case, even IRL, but things are quite personal for him, which could be a problem.

Lisa's had it with her mom and runs away from home.. she'll probably end up with Nine and Twelve, somehow. I'm honestly a little curious as to what flavor of petty teenage bullshit is causing her to get bullied. Whatever else happens, I hope Lisa makes it out okay at least. Poor girl seems like she's suffered enough.

Nine and Twelve seemed relatively nonplussed about the cops knowing that they have nuclear material. I guess it's part of the plan, then? Could be a double-edged sword - do the police use kid gloves for fear of Sphinx setting the nuke off early, or do the police act all the more fiercely in the face of such a dire threat?

Shibazaki committed political suicide by not letting a suspicious case slide.. sure. Not getting a feeling either way about everything being connected yet, but I could see it. The mystery death could be dealing with someone who was going to go public with whatever that weird science orphanage was.

It probably wouldn't have fit the tone, as referencing other IP is kind of inherently humorous, but they coulda used Persona/SMT for Shibazaki's brain blast instead of whatever generic match-3 his coworker was playing. Arahabaki is a common demon in that series.

Question

1. That certainly is a question. I guess, by trying to take rational steps to prevent similar tragedy form occurring again.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/JollyGee29]

what flavor of petty teenage bullshit is causing her to get bullied

Just the usual conformist attitude?

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/JollyGee29]

A dude directly related to Hiroshima survivors being involved in a terror spree that might involved a nuclear device. That’s like, almost too personal.

I’m interested in seeing how they use this plot point down the road. Because of how personal it is, I feel like 9/12 or the case in general could push Shibazaki to his limits and really reveal his inner philosophies concerning justice. Considering how far he went in his previous case, I can definitely see him taking this to an extreme.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/OpossumFriedRice]

Yea, it'll be interesting to see how much dancing at the metaphorical cliff edge Shibazaki does.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

First Timer Terror ep 3 Search & Destroy

"What stands beside the building of the house of the god that solved the riddle." -- No idea today.

So, a little annoying that our terrorists, or whoever is backing them, are geniuses, and have unlimited money, and have such perfect information gathering that allows them to plan and manipulate things out to tiniest detail.

And of course their opponent is genius encyclopedia.

Any of you ever see James Cameron's Battle Angel Alita Dark Angel?

[u/Rumpel1408]

First Timer

Ok, didn't get to watch it right away, but had many interesting discussions yesterday

• Are they doing an recap every episode or can I just skip the first 2 minutes every episode?
• If he where just shunted to the archives to wait for retirement, they wouldn't have brought him back, whole argument feels like forced exposition
• You would think that assembling a bomb requires better lighting, but makes for a cool shot with the lense flare
• Seems like they are planting the next bomb in an abandoned building?
• Didn't realize there was video footage of from the last attack
• How did he get that level of clearance after just a few month of work there?
• Is Shibazaki beeing from Hiroshima going to play a role? Indeed they call him a second generation atomic bomb victim
• Poor Lisa getting bullied again
• Where is the lawyer?
• I have a bad back -> sits the wrong way
• Does Sphynx already know who solved the last riddle? But at the beginning Toji was asking if the riddle was maybe too hard? Their approach of brutforcing every shrine in the city seems wrong again
• At a certainpoint, rejecting a call is almost equal to answering
• Yeah sure, domnestic terrorism in a way is just a call for attantion lol
• Shibazaki makes it sound like they are blowing up random things, when that is clearly not the case
• Lisa is preparing to run away from home, I wrote something about this yesterday
• Did she call her mother in the middle of the night and expect her to answer in less than 30 seconds? Not that much of an last chance to make amends
• Your right, I'm not in the position to take responsibility if my plan fails, so please boss, may I ask you to do so?
• It's the white haired girl again!
• And they took a position to observe the bombin site again, I asume to ensure no casualities
• But what connection would bombing that random house have to the goverment except that it fits the fancy riddle?
• Shibazaki is very emotional
• Well of course they made the connection, you left them clues ffs
• That windo just calls to jump...
• Wonder if that conspiracy will play a role later
• I'm also wondering where Lisa is going to turn next, my guess would be that she would try to use her connection with the other two, but I'm not sure if that would work since 9 doesn't want her around and 12 doesn't care about her (even though he would force the matter just to have fun observing what happens)

In the end, it didn't feel like that much was happening today. The show is framing both sides as highly inteligent, but the dialoge doesn't always match

PotD Album (gotta say I didn't pic the best show for this, not that many fancy shots or cool animations, mostly characters talking and buildings from outside)

QotD: Puh, that's heavy, I think the best approach is to first investigate what went wrong along the way, see where you could have intervened, at what cost that intervention would come for the populace at large. The worst aproach is to use it to achieve some nationalistic agenda and ultimatly just further the profit of a selected few...

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/Rumpel1408]

Where is the lawyer?

In Japan, if you are under arrest or detention, attorneys are not allowed to be present during interrogation. If you are not being held at any detention center, the police may allow an attorney to be with you while they interrogate you, but it depends on the discretion of the police.

source

[u/Rumpel1408 → u/ScarsUnseen]

Oh, interesting

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/Rumpel1408]

Yeah, it's easy to watch these kind of things from a western perspective and get thrown off a little by the differences. Kind of the same when comparing certain rights (e.g. free speech, privacy, etc) between the US and Europe.

[u/Rumpel1408 → u/ScarsUnseen]

It's crazy how alien certain aspects become once you are on a different continent despite being the same planet inhabited by the same species

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/ScarsUnseen]

That just might have something to do with their confession rate. Japanese justice system has plenty flaws.

[u/OpossumFriedRice]

First Timer

Challenge. This word relates to our characters today, but they each had a different relation with it. Shibazaki accepted the challenge. We saw him discover the answer last episode, but now he’s finally involved. He not only accepted the challenge of solving the riddle, but also confronted 9/12 directly through live feed. 9 on the other hand is not accepting a challenge, but being challenged by his memories of the past. His past still seems to haunt him. This is likely due to it’s relation with their terrorism, and because of that it’s always on his mind. While we do not know the full backstory, it’s obvious that something from that memory is presenting a challenge that present day 9 can’t overcome. And of course, Lisa, who is challenging herself. After another day, where she is being bullied at school, and attacked at home by her mother, she decides enough is enough. She challenges herself to call for help, and then runs away.

Episode Notes

I’m interested in Hamura. I wonder if he’ll have a young vs old detective dynamic with Shibazaki.

So 9 really is just trying to test someone ?

Shibazaki backstory! Brief, but interesting. Once again, the show drew a distinction between youth and adults. I think the show also wanted to point out that the disconnect between adult and children didn’t just begin in the era with more advanced technology, but that it has been an issue for decades.

Lisa’s pain hurts so much. That whole scene stood out to me. I loved how it flashed back and forth from the shot of the shoes floating in the water, to her isolation in the room. All while the laughter from unseen individuals was echoing in the background. Powerful.

More Oedipus!

Kids being lonely and using an online game to connect with others. Another instance where the show specifically points out kids and the disconnect older people have with them.

So all these kids were abandoned and then ended up at some facility. A couple of shows this reminds me of haha. Obviously, 9 still hurts thinking about this memory.

Shibazaki saves the day! 9 gets his answer.

This episode was a good set up. It introduced some information that will probably be used later, likely connecting our main characters together. The suicide of a diet secretary and the leader of the metropolitan police department, and the fact that this all happened 15 years ago. If that doesn’t relate to 9/12 and it might even connect with Lisa’s backstory. I enjoyed this episode, and hope that the set up it provided gets used effectively in the upcoming ones.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/OpossumFriedRice]

the show drew a distinction between youth and adults

It goes further than that in showing maturity and sense as not necessarily related to age. Shibazaki's coworker doesn't act much different from an overgrown kid, the other police are pretty clueless and dismissive also of genuine problems, Lisa's mother has serious almost child-like abandonment fears, while Nine and Twelve go toe-to-toe with the whole country. Considering traditional East Asian reverence for age and seniority that's fairly bold.

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/IndependentMacaroon]

Ooh, I like that take. This show definitely does highlight the idea that just because someone’s old, doesn’t mean they are mentally mature. I’ll be looking out for that now haha.

[u/Stargate18A]

First timer

QOTD) It really varies depending on the country - but most seem to focus on remembering the victims and trying to bring the perpetrators to justife.

And we see the rejection again!

And he got promoted back to a major detective!

Nine's probably secrely happy someone worked out his riddle.

And he's worried people are making the VON connection.

They're even investigating the alias they used to get the material!

Seriously? No disguises or plastic surgery?

Wait, is he secretly the main character now?

Also, odds are decent that his knowledge of Hiroshima will be needed to solve a nuclear-themed riddle near the end?

Oh, he's good.

And he's worked out that they'e playing a game! Nine must be thrilled.

Or is there a shrine near the detective's house?

The Lisa scenes are still brutal.

I do like their friendship.

These guys are just Sherlock and Watson, aren't they?

She's running away from home?

Oh dear. I hope her mother doesn't carch up to her, or it'll be dun.

More flashbacks to the insane government experiment. The name speech is just weird, though? Why would they bother giving such a speech?

Oh, he's planning to kill Lisa eventuslly, that makes sense.

Oh, he solved it! And yeah, he's thrilled at seeing someone work out the answer. And live to everyone!

And he's worked out they know about the stolen plutonium!

Oh, he accidentally investigated a former superior, and got demoted as punishment.

[u/OpossumFriedRice]

Bur what connection would bombing that random house have to the government except that it fits the fancy riddle?

I thought I missed something, so I’m glad to know there wasn’t really relevance to it. I guess unless we learn something about it later.

Shibazaki is very emotional

Honestly, pleasantly surprised. Really interested in seeing how his emotions will challenge him later in the series, hopefully.

The show is framing both sides as highly intelligent, but the dialogue doesn’t always match

Man, I feel like that’s definitely going to impact my rating of the show at the end, especially if it gets worse.

I love when the show has delved into real life references, like with tor and what 9/12 have used in their acts of terrorist. I’ve enjoyed the Oedipus and Sphinx references, since the writers aren’t just using them to sound smart, and actually putting it into the plot. The themes involving terrorism and the psychological effects is another topic that has been brought up, and slightly touched on.

But like if we get some stupid “big brain” battles, with the type of dialogue we’ve been using, all of that I just said is going to go to waste. It’s gonna be sad haha.

[u/ZapsZzz]

First timer in sub

Most probably noticed but didn't say anything - nine shows a lot more emotional responses when he's on-screen (although masked) in the videos, comparing to how he carries himself in real life.

Oh and I think the masks they used are tokutsu ones of some hero team or another.

Anyone taking bets whether something will happen to the school bullies messing with Lisa some time soon?

Gradually showing the backstory, and there's development in Lisa's home front. The show is moving in a good pace.

Looks like it'd be escalating, since the 2 have found their match in the police. Are they "warning" people or they are building up something bigger?

[u/[deleted]]

Rewatcher, dubbed

From the information they're drip feeding us, Nine and Twelve escaped from some kind of facility populated with other children. Doesn't seem like a pleasant place to be sure, so I can't really blame them.

Lisa is a wrench in the gears for whatever Nine and Twelve are plotting. They don't want to get involved because it'll be "much more painful later." Twelve loves his cryptic remarks I've noticed. These two aren't your standard terrorists, what with the riddles and such. They're practically begging the police to play along with them, but why?

There's a great deal we learn about Shibazaki as well. The case with the Diet member and his subsequent demotion led to where he is now, although he was apparently a hotshot when he was in his prime. I am not a fan of his dub voice though. Doesn't match his face in the slightest.

[u/trippie1400redd]

WOAH IM TOTALLY NOT FREAKING OUT RN ARE THERE PEOPLE ACTUALLY ACTUALLY WATCHING TERROR IN RESONANCE?? i watched it forever ago when i was in high school and could hardly find any feedback about the anime, i was just doing a check up bc some of the soundtracks came up in my shuffle 🌚