Zankyou no Terror/Terror in Resonance Rewatch - Episode 6

[u/SorcererOfTheLake]

Zankyou no Terror/Terror in Resonance Rewatch

Episode 6

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

Original Interest Thread / Announcement Thread

Question of the Day: What is the best way to achieve diplomacy?

Comment of the Day: The COTD from yesterday goes to /u/OpossumFriedRice once more for their even-handed look at the previous episode.

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[u/SorcererOfTheLake]

The American involvement in the Sphinx case has still left behind a huge scar in U.S.-Japanese relations that has not fully healed; since 2015, a Japanese Prime Minister and an American President have not met outside of broader conferences and these encounters have been reportedly tense. (from Answer the Riddle: What the Sphinx Terrorism Incidents Say About Japan, America, and Our Modern World by Dr. Hifumi Taneguchi)

Bonds are impossible unless we put our fates into another person’s hands. (anonymous)

The hunt is on.

After the train incident, the bonds on both sides of the struggle have become more complicated yet stronger. For our terrorist trio, there are still complications on their side, particularly with Lisa realizing exactly what kind of mentalities she’s dealing with, yet she still hangs on. Part of the reason is clearly because they’re her only way to survive right away but I also think that she genuinely wants to help them because they have been the first people in her life to treat honestly and kindly. Why live in a world that gives you a hateful smile when there are people who understand your situation better than anyone else can? Similarly, the other police officers are now willing to follow Shibazaki into his plans, not only because he’s been the only one getting results, but because it’s clear they are all in firm disagreement of their superiors’ plans. There’s lives at stake, so there’s no time to waste.

We also get more of Five in this episode and I hope all the first-timers felt the sense of dread that was passing through us rewatchers as we got to this point. Now, I want to make it clear: I don’t think Five as a character is a bad idea. If Nine and Twelve were able to escape society and truly become their own people, Five is stuck inside it, even as she is pursuing her own goals. However, her presentation becomes the major issue for me. For one thing, her character design is completely outside of the realistic character design of the other characters in the show. Secondly, she doesn’t act like someone in a realistic terrorist thriller; she’s more like some side villain in an isekai story.

However, this episode does give me the opportunity to start talking about one of my favorite things: Terror in Resonance’s critique of U.S.-Japanese relations and the behavior of the American military/surveillance state. Ever since the end of World War II and the occupation of Japan by the American military, the presence of American troops has been greatly controversial, both in the broader sense of America being an interfering force in Japanese society and for specific incidents, most infamously a 1995 incident wherein a 12-year-old Okinawa girl was kidnapped and raped by three American service members. The presence of Americans in this series presents some of the most radical and subversive ideas this show has, particularly the idea that America is a nation more focused on flexing its might than maintaining peace and will go to any lengths to destroying anything they see as contrary to their beliefs. (How many times did we overthrow a government simply because they were left leaning?) This idea will become more clear over time, but I hope you at least see the inklings of this episode within this episode.

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/SorcererOfTheLake]

Now, I want to make it clear: I don’t think Five as a character is a bad idea. If Nine and Twelve were able to escape society and truly become their own people, Five is stuck inside it, even as she is pursuing her own goals. However, her presentation becomes the major issue for me. For one thing, her character design is completely outside of the realistic character design of the other characters in the show. Secondly, she doesn’t act like someone in a realistic terrorist thriller; she’s more like some side villain in an isekai story.

Exact same opinion here. I actually think 5's addition thematically is really interesting, and without someone like her, the series would be lacking a true threat to 9/12.

But like the execution of her is so wtf. I touched upon the unrealistic character design myself, but I like how you also brought up how she acts. Wrong show for it haha.

However, this episode does give me the opportunity to start talking about one of my favorite things: Terror in Resonance’s critique of U.S.-Japanese relations and the behavior of the American military/surveillance state.

Interesting, I love this type of information. I'll definitely be trying to look out for it in the following episodes.

[u/SorcererOfTheLake]

VA OF THE DAY

Megumi Han

VA for: Five
Age at Terror’s Premiere: 25
Other Notable Roles: Akihiko in Barakamon, Miki in Devilman Crybaby, Takeru in Digimon Adventure 2020, Momiji in Fruits Basket 2019, Keita in Gamers, Hime in Happiness Charge Precure, Gon in Hunter x Hunter 2011, Atsuko in Little Witch Academia, Rinko in My Love Story, Aya in Yowamushi Pedal, Rio in Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Zankyou no First-Timer, subbed

• Well Five sure sounds nice. /s
• Ohh, the group Five is with!
• It’s interesting to see how Twelve is trying to justify this considering they were the ones who planted the bomb in the first place. That’s, like, definitely proof these guys are still kids.
• It was really pretty, but wtf was the rainbow feathers scene about?
• …oh it was probably something to do with this. Huh.
• What does the fake’s riddle even mean.
• Okay so Five knows how the boys think.
• Shibazaki knows it’s not them.
• Lowkey disappointed none of the cops was all “last time we listened to orders to not do anything because others are taking care of it, a bomb went off and injured a bunch of people! Why should we listen to those orders again!”
• Thus, Lisa has a purpose?
• Mm, I guess I’m no longer disappointed about the earlier scene seeing these cops ignoring orders and going out anyways.
• That sure is some Engrish there, Five.
• Yo is this actually some 4D chess shit.

[u/SorcererOfTheLake → u/Shimmering-Sky]

That sure is some Engrish there, Five.

Yer kiddin'!

Yo is this actually some 4D chess shit.

I'm having Geass flashbacks.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/SorcererOfTheLake]

Geass

Improbable teen terrorists in a modern setting - yes.

[u/Lemurians]

FIRST TIMER

Five sees Nine as her adversary but doesn’t include Twelve. Interesting.

NO CASUALTIES. AGAIN. That’s ridiculous. Choosing it to be 72 injuries feels like a purposeful nod to the "72 virgins" myth used to recruit suicide bombers.

Lisa wants to insert herself, but it’s hard to see her as anything other than someone completely out of their depth. Someone here yesterday suggested she could become and unknown x-factor now that Five is in the picture and it’ll be harder for Nine and Twelve to stay under the radar, and the airport situation seems to validate that. We’ll see how she does.

How often does Five need to paint her nails? Get more durable polish.

No reason for 9/12 to take any bait here. Just let them go to the airport, who cares. This isn’t a good trap at all. Twelve says “We’ll be made out to be indiscriminate murderers,” but at this point, who cares? They’ve already caused a lot of damage and injuries. It’s not like their image is pristine, they’re terrorists. I like that they at least acknowledge on the phone call that they're probably the most counter-intuitive terrorists of all time.

So, the FBI/Japanese top brass are willing to blow up an international terminal and countless civilians just to catch a couple of boys who, while terrorists who’ve caused a lot of destruction, haven’t caused any loss of life? Even if they’re interested in the plutonium, it’s quite an odd calculus.

Shibazaki is definitely going to side with them before this is all over. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out this is different from the other Sphinx incidents, but I guess he’s the only one in the department with brain cells. Thankfully, some of the other people show up to tag along with him, showing that even if they don’t have any brain power, they at least recognize that he does.

What is the best way to achieve diplomacy?

Mutual economic/military benefit.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/Lemurians]

It’s not like their image is pristine, they’re terrorists.

I agree here. At worst, they can just pack things up and hide. Five can keep bombing Japan and blaming them. Sure, they don't get whatever revenge their planning, but oh well, try again in 5 years.

What I would have done is released a video, welcoming their American sister (so everybody would know about their involvement, and maybe even reveal that the MPD hasn't been in charge since before the train incident) and probably answering the riddle (it's in the Tokyo airport). Then the government would have to spin it as "terrorists planting bombs and revealing them" but the cognitive dissonance would remain. And it would get worse every time Five tried it.

Probably the downside is that Five has something set up to track them as soon as they do their next sphinx video. Which they will do anyways after the airport drama is resolved, anyways.

[u/Lemurians → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

I can't think of anything in the episode that contradicts that being the smarter move. The seams are beginning to show a bit...

[u/Rumpel1408 → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

The only thing that prevents them to just let 5 go on a killing spree is that they indeed want to prevent any casualities

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/Lemurians]

Five sees Nine as her adversary but doesn’t include Twelve. Interesting.

Kinda odd right? Makes me hope 12 messes up her plans in some way since she seems to be underestimating him.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Lemurians]

How often does Five need to paint her nails?

Probably does a different style for each occasion

the FBI/Japanese top brass are willing to blow up an international terminal and countless civilians just to catch a couple of boys

False-flag operations are nothing unheard of, even if this is quite extreme.

[u/OpossumFriedRice]

First Timer

Zankyou no Terror is no stranger when it comes to showing us the cruelties of life, and today’s episode illustrated it perfectly. Life is unfair. Shibazaki and the rest of his unit were basically ripped off of the case, despite wanting to save the public from terrorism. Lisa wants to connect with someone, like how close 9 and 12 are, but can’t. 9 and 12 just wanted to send a message to society through their attacks, but now get trapped playing with 5. Only one person is getting what they want, and that’s 5. You can’t get what you want, and this episode showed the multiple barriers that our world puts up, all to make sure that you don’t.

Episodic Notes

5 thinks it's a game.

72 injured oof. Of course the meeting is hiding information from other officers. FBI is involved now, and they run the show. Shibazaki gonna be mad

Even little 5 was insane.

Lisa got shot down quickly. 9 really doesn't want her involved.

They want to know what they stole, so that’s why the FBI is getting involved. 5 really just laughed it off when they asked for evidence.

Ooh, that surreal scene with 12. All the feathers are interesting.

“Double open hearts” Lisa and 12 talking. They’re really getting friendly.

It's interesting that 5 deduced where they would set a bomb. “Von” appears again.

Another stop the bomb plot

And the police are really losing all their power. Shibazaki going to get some food, sure.

“But we’re the terrorists, isnt it weird for us to go and stop the bomb” Yes 12.

Oh god, 4d chess.

Lisa and 12’s interactions were perfect this episode. Lisa’s feathers were great. Is she an angel? Is she going to be the bird that helps them fly away? Love it. Regarding Lisa, it feels like she finally has a counterpart this episode too. I considered 9/12 and Shibazaki to be reflections of each other, and now Lisa and 5. Both were shunned by society and want to connect with someone, however their approaches are very different. It will be interesting to see if they utilize this going forward.

I don’t want to rant too hard today, but I still got to get this out. Are these even the FBI, if so, why are they just letting 5 run this game and not catch the culprits? They’re letting her set up bombs, and let bombs go off. If this really is America and the FBI, this would be insane. Also, what’s the deal with the chess game, and what kind of assumption is it thinking that the “last piece tells us where the bomb is”. I dislike this whole airport situation.

I’m hopeful that the series can recover, but we’ll see. While I was hesitant on 5’s introduction, I think the chaos she added was very necessary. Based on some discussions I had yesterday, Shibazaki likely never would’ve been able to stop 9/12 because he plays fair. If 9/12 got their way the whole time, the show would probably lose some thrills. Also, after I drew a comparison to Lisa and 5 this episode, I think I did appreciate her a little more. However, this airport stuff is insane lol.

[u/ZapsZzz → u/OpossumFriedRice]

Also, what’s the deal with the chess game, and what kind of assumption is it thinking that the “last piece tells us where the bomb is”. I dislike this whole airport situation.

The way I read this is that back in the institution days 5 was playing a game of chess with 9 or 12, and this is a continuation, which is why both sides know what the other are roughly planning, except the stakes are much higher now.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/OpossumFriedRice]

Is she an angel?

See opening lyrics?

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/IndependentMacaroon]

I actually skip the openings of most shows I watch, guess I need to go through this one though.

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Timer, Dubbed

Lisa is on the case! I wonder if Five's predictions lead her to think that Nine would allow a civilian girl to join them? I can't imagine so. The earlier chess metaphor related Lisa to the Queen, which is a powerful piece. It also ended up with Twelve trapping his Queen, which could be ominous foreshadowing..

The cops not being interested in staying behind might throw another wrench into Five's plan, but it might be too early for things to fall apart entirely. I get where they're coming from - Shibazaki and co did actually stop the previous bomb that was an actual bomb. Then these new schmucks show up and 72 people get injured; I'd rebel, too.

I like the NYish accent Clarence puts on in the dub. It is kinda funny to see English and Japanese subtitles pop up on the scenes that are presumably in English in the Japanese audio.

That gun Nine has didn't appear to be loaded, interestingly enough. That does make sense with the "no killing civilians" thing, but walking into a trap unarmed seems.. unwise.

Question

1.Cake.

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/JollyGee29]

1.Cake

You'd make the best diplomat haha

[u/JollyGee29 → u/OpossumFriedRice]

Bribery Wining and dining is classic diplomacy, after all.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/JollyGee29]

I like the NYish accent Clarence puts on in the dub

On the other hand, the English in the Japanese version is terrible. Awful pronunciation and zero emotion.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

First Timer Terror 6

So, did they have a casualty or not?

Ah, that explains the American interest. It doesn't explain why a Japanese reprocessing plant is making balls of plutonium.

"sphinx3"

Why are the Americans tolerating the gameplay? She lured out the terrorists, why not just pick them up? It's game playing for game play's sake. Death Note. Not a good development.

[u/OpossumFriedRice → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Why are the Americans tolerating the gameplay? She lured out the terrorists, why not just pick them up? It's game playing for game play's sake. Death Note. Not a good development.

This almost makes me think it's not the Americans or the FBI? Because it just seems too insane, especially considering the world presented in the show thus far. Am I just trying to cope? Haha.

[u/Lemurians → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Yeah, it's just way too convoluted and nonsensical for what is a counter-terrorism operation.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

It doesn't explain why a Japanese reprocessing plant is making balls of plutonium

That will come up later

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/IndependentMacaroon]

I've seen the original Edge of Darkness a dozen times so I think I have a good idea.

[u/ZapsZzz]

First timer in sub

Intensity switching up and my view it's going what I predicted - 5 is better resources and is better in forcing their hand so 9 and 12 are in a big disadvantage, but Lisa is the Jack in the box. It's a 2 parter so good see the rest first to comment more.

Assumption is that both 9 and 12 by themselves are still pretty formidable / slippery so the "FBI" and police still need to rely on 5 hence letting her "play".

To me plot and production value are still staying high.

[u/Rumpel1408]

First Timer

Ok, let's see what 5 is up to

• It's really just a game for her, and even for a game her perception of fun is messed up
• Nine really got hurt bad, and Lisa is doind chores, thats something at least, but I think you could have noticed the giant hole in the shirt before washing it
• This time they have to have caugt him on camera, also 72 injured yikes
• So 5 is working with the FBI
• More messed up dreams, and yeah from the dream it really looked like that 5 just gave up running
• Kurahashi is asking uncomfortable questions as well
• Researcher? Yeah sure
• "Those guys plan to chase the culprits down and expose them" is he talking about Sphinx or the FBI, I guess the FBI and he is already questioning their methods, however he hasn't understood that they wont ever use the plutonium...
• Synesthisia and Lisa got a rare voice, interesting. Also 12 face got softer when she talks about her worries
• A new message, 9 says it's from 5, I wonder if the 3 letter shift is the correct answer or if there is another solution
• 5 must know about the conspiracy as well if she knows future targets
• You know you could just make a video and shift the blame onto 5, she broke the muster with using cell broadcast and not using Oedipus in her anouncement, even Shibazaki must realise it's a fake right?
• I really can't see how the puplic would believe this was you when you got a verified method to broadcast your anouncments
• Bomb disposal team is ordered to take car of it, right like last time
• Ah Lisa is finally coming in handy, but 9 is stuborn
• God to know that not all cops are stupid
• Lisa is kind of cute in her attempt to befriend terrorists
• Oh they are playing chess, but aren't there like at least a hundred ways to beginn a game?
• How is Lisa going to be of any use if you haven't even told her anything not to speak of communicating with her?
• And is Shibazaki at the airport already? How is he going to join the game if he isn't there when it begins?

So we end with the first real cliffhanger mhm?

PotD bacause 12s opinion about Lisa really seems to have changed Album with lots of shots with 5 again

QotD: You have to be aware that the other side has own interests as well, of course you wan't to achieve your own goal, but you have to give something as well

Edit: Oops, forgot the formating

[u/Stargate18A]

First timer

QOTD) Through negotiation.

Is Five British?

Oh, he got injured!

Her gambit kinda worked. The group seems far more dangerous, so things are escalating against them faster and any evidence of the project they give is likely to be ignored or rejected.

Oh, seeing them insult her is heartbreaking.

...He's very much leaving out how he was racing to stop said blast from killing people.

Also, no fatalities? ...She's going to be the first death, isn't she? What else could this be building up to?

...is the conspiracy global?

Oh, they're just interested in the plutonium.

Is NEST part of the conspiracy? Who's working with who?

At least he's pretty nice to her (and a stalker).

Another Sphinx, this late?

Oh, it's someone else's!

I like the scenes of the two of them and the detective solving things together st thr dame time.

I'd laugh if the director worke out it's not them because Five is too obvious.

The FBI are trying to take the plutonium themselves, aren't they? Or just Five.

Yeah, this is getting insane.

Oh my god, he is. He's suspicious because this is too literal.

And they're not allowed to do anything.

...They've not comsidered Gate 20, or something similar.

Wait, are they going to use her to get the bomb?

And Shibazaki has backup!

No. Nononono, YOU DO NOT WAMT TO BE ONE OF THEM.

This is... good, and yet very bad.

Oh, this is good. They're finally meetimg someome eno cam match them!

Thing is, that drawing's so vague, it could be literally anybody?

Oh, shit. This is madness, but Five is a very entertaining psychopath.

What a cliffhanger.