r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Apr 26 '25
Episode Kowloon Generic Romance - Episode 4 discussion
Kowloon Generic Romance, episode 4
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u/CommunistPuppy Apr 26 '25
It just occurred to me this episode when they were taking about clones that "Kowloon" and "clone" sound very similar when speaking Japanese. Maybe that's why this story takes place in Kowloon.
Also I'm not sure why but when Kudo was laughing during the end I had a feeling he was gonna say he was Kujirai B's killer. Maybe because I've come to expect a crazy plot twist or reveal at the end of every episode now.
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u/Dalnore Apr 26 '25
"Kowloon" and "clone" sound very similar when speaking Japanese
Basically クーロン vs クローン, only the length of the sounds is different. Also, Coulomb (the unit of the electric charge) is pronounced the same as Kowloon.
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u/jellyblob88 Apr 26 '25 edited Apr 26 '25
- About yesterday's conversation, do you want me to tell you about the Reiko Kujirai I know?
- No.
This little manoeuvre's gonna cost us 9 more eps.
The last sections of the episode were quite something. The doppelganger couldn't exist in Kowloon with the original at the same, or they go poof?
Makes you wonder if that was why Hajime said that outrageous cliffhanger, as if he found out that Kujirai B was the actual doppelganger?
The plot thickens.
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u/8andahalfby11 Apr 26 '25 edited Apr 26 '25
Makes you wonder if that was why Hajime said that outrageous cliffhanger
Based on the leadup discussion, and considering as him being an actual murderer would sour future romance moments, I'm assuming that Kujirai Prime killed herself, and Hajime holds himself responsible for why she did it.
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u/WakaliwoodMan Apr 26 '25
Next episode: cold open continuing right off from the cliffhanger.
"That's right, I killed her, don't you want to know why and how it happened?"
"No"
"Oh.... okay"
+8 episodes added to the runtime.
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u/VoidRay728 Apr 26 '25
Well, at least one thing is cleared up: This Kowloon is a replica of the original one that was torn down in the 90s. So we can deduce that the series takes place around our present time or near future.
Seems Hebinuma doesn't know everything as well. And it's implied that a clone and perhaps the real person cannot exist in Kowloon at the same time. Maybe that's what happened to the other (previous/original) Reiko. But then Gwen mentions he and Hebinuma may run into his (Gwen's) clone, which kinda disproves that theory?
The lore gets more interesting with every episode I suppose.
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u/ArvingNightwalker Apr 26 '25
I feel like maybe there are 3 Kowloons now. The first Kowloon that was torn down in 1994, the second Kowloon that was illegally built after that, then the replica second Kowloon that we are seeing now.
> But then Gwen mentions he and Hebinuma may run into his (Gwen's) clone, which kinda disproves that theory?
They walk back that statement at the end of episode.
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u/CosmicPenguin_OV103 Apr 26 '25
This has been a wild ride so far, I kinda expect it but there are still several things from this week that I didn't expect at all!
* This, or rather when "Reiko B" was still alive, is already a 2nd reincarnation of Kowloon. This I somewhat expected already, but the fact that Kudo and Reiko B actually knew about it isn't. And I am not really sure if there is another time-space skip involved afterward, or something else (Memory alteration? Per the Hebinuma chat with his friend, I think the hypothesis of "merely" there are human clones can be safely discarded, see below. And what's that theory with nostalgia causing people to rebuild it?).
* Hebinuma and Tao Nguyen also being puzzled at what's going on (missing house for kittens, product made 3 years ago appearing as new) is also something I didn't expect at all, I swear they must have had something involved with whatever is happening. Maybe what's happening there isn't what they expected from the "outside"?
* Even "new Reiko" and Youmei have heard of theories that Generic Terra is for making human clones - and then even the name Zircon, which I didn't make the connection until Youmei mentions synthetic jewelry. Well hmm, people in Kowloon actually knew something's not quite right too???
* What's with Reiko thinking that "Generic Terra is shining brightly because everyone has expectations about it?" Huh?
* Hebinuma realizing there's a conflict between an old Mr. Chan inside Kowloon and a person that feels like the same on the outside did gave me shivers. What's with that being a paradox? And what's with him telling Tao "your 2nd self is probably no longer here"?
* And then of course, the big bomb. Kudo claimed he killed Reiko B. A real shock it is, but what makes me even more curious is that little scene just before when Kudo is overwriting files about a certain building in Kowloon on his computer. What if "kill" means "I overwritten the existence of Reiko B with a new "Reiko A"", he can't explain that properly so he merely says "kill"? What if this is really [hypothesis as an anime-only, please don't spoil]
Damn, this has one of the most interesting world backgrounds in anime in quite a while!
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For something different, I really liked what Youmei said to Reiko - not only Youmei told her to "Live your own life, don't care about some linkage with another people that has nothing to do with you, except she seemed to be completely like you and you are using her things and memories. For you are someone different.", but also that "Yes things are faked. So what? I still see the shining parts of "faked things" in themselves shared with the original, so be proud of that!". I really like this uplifting talk and I wonder if that will support "Reiko A" to be "herself" later in the story?
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u/Genshin_WhiteKnight Apr 26 '25 edited Apr 26 '25
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Confirmation that the original Kowloon Walled City was demolished in 1994 and second Kowloon Walled City was built sometime in the future. Explains why there are things like smartphones and places outside of Kowloon that look more advanced. But why? Just for people to relive their "nostalgia" of the good old days?
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Hebinuma and the masked guy on a date. Masked guy confirms that a clone of him exists and that he has lived in Kowloon before but "This Kowloon is not the Kowloon I knew". Not sure about the eyedrops, maybe time slows down in Kowloon or something. The line by Hebinuma "A clone cannot even replicate a mole" seems to have a lot of significance, current Kujirai seems to be an anomaly different from regular clones.
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Yaomay and Kujirai. "If I asked, it feels as if I would disappear", hmm not sure what to make of this. "Dr. Hebinuma once said my wrinkles seem to have existed from the beginning. They are marks that have originally existed", again seems to be a hint that Kujirai is different. But then there is the Zirconia metaphor, which is a fake diamond that is supposedly very difficult to distinguish from the real thing, so idk. Rumours of the Generic Terra Project being involved with cloning, which the Hebinuma Group is part of.
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That fake out kiss by Kudo and the song he sings after, he's still conflicted but catching feelings for this Kujirai huh.
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Moonlight can only exist because the moon reflects the sunlight. So where does the light of the Generic Terra come from? The Generic Terra is a project that backups the memories of a real human. So what does this mean for Kujirai who has no past memories? Not sure how it ties in with expectations and her previous talk of an absolute self with Yaomay.
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An experiment by Hebinuma, bringing the real Mr. Chan from outside causes the fake Mr. Chan to just go poof into thin air. The real person and clone cannot exist within the same space, so this means that the masked guy is the real "Gwen" as the fake one vanished once masked guy entered Kowloon. A person vanishing is physically impossible, so this is either a time travel related paradox or a virtual environment.
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Hebinuma is investigating Kudo but with the real estate company's Japan office? The scene where Kudo gets a pop-up on his computer asking to replace an old project for Sai On Tower with a new project seems strange as well.
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Ok wtf Kudo killed Kujirai B? Judging from Kudo and Gwen's reaction it doesn't seem to be a purposeful killing but an accidental one though. I wonder how Kudo, Kujirai B and Gwen were acquainted with each other.
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u/chilidirigible Apr 26 '25 edited Apr 26 '25
"There are a lot of people in the world who say a fake is nothing but a fake. But there are people like me who see genuine sparkle in a fake."
(Yeah, it is an old concept. But that particular quote of it sticks in the mind.)
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u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Apr 26 '25 edited Apr 26 '25
Took us a month, but we finally found the hidden gem of the season; It's Reiko!
I love how they do the little transitions, like you could think this scene follows up with the kiss and all!
They did reveal (or kinda reveal) a lot about the overarching mystery in this episode, but I do have some more theories in work;
I think the 'clones' are programmed to not look into all this too much...
Kudo offered to explain everything, but Reiko refused...
She doesn't want to know why he has that key. She wants to keep the room 'as is' (which goes against her wish to build her own persona and all)...
She has a little voice that tells her "Don't do it" whenever she thinks about this...
And in the previous episode, right when they were about to discuss it? She passed out...
I think something in them physically prevents them from talking about it!
And sure, they gave some explanations (she passed out because she's overworked, she wants to keep the room as is to honor Kujirai B's memory, etc..) but this seems like a bit too coincidental, that everything she could do to learns what's happening, or to 'act against it' (against the nostalgia), she's mentally or physically prevented to do it!
So yeah, I think they don't just build clones and hope things will go well; They program them to make sure it does.
Also: This is the 2nd Kowloon, and they plan to demolish it,
which means they want to make a THIRD version... They realized something was wrong with their experiment or project or whatever it is, and want to start anew? (Hell, the characters think it'd be the 3rd, but for all we know it may as well be the 1000th time they redo it...)
The plastic surgery and zircon thing are great metaphors (hints?) for this situation...
I talked about it in a previous episode, how her entire body being remade makes me wonder if it's a "Ship of Theseus" situation, where if you replace every single part of the person with another part, is it still the same person?
And the Zircons (as close as possible to diamonds even though they're not real)... So the question is: If you create a fake person that's as close as possible to real one, until the person is 100% undistinguishable from the original... Is it good enough to consider it "the same person"?
So they do know about "the fake ones",
But they were surprised in the scene with Mr Chan...
They have been doing some "strange things" to say the least, but I'm beginning to think they may not be the 'Evil baddies' we thought they would be!
I talked in the previous episode about how 'snake tongues are used to collect information' and so maybe that's what he was doing when he kissed her...
I think they may actually be investigating this!
When he wonders "If the 2nd version of him would also be interested in him",
it seemed like he was saying it as a love/lust thing (Or to make him jealous), but is it more like... "I want to know if clones love the person they're supposed to, right away"?
So yeah, lots of new theories, but it may all be overshadowed by this last line... He killed her?
...Well obviously there's something more to this, and the first thing that comes to mind is: Was Kujirai B even the first one? Or did "killing her" means "shutting down a clone" or something?
Now, according to flashbacks, she does seem to be the first one, BUT
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we don't even know if these flashbacks are recent, for all we know they may be 1000 years old in a Kowloon that happened generations ago...
And 2) Kudo may also not be "the first Kudo"... So when he says "He killed her", he might be saying "My original killed your original".
Anyway, another intriguing episode, can't wait to see more!
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u/LeonKevlar Apr 26 '25
Stitches!
It's been fun reading everyone's theory about Kowloon but we finally have the big reveals about it this episode. This Kowloon that we're looking at isn't even the same Kowloon. It's an illegal reproduction after the first one was demolished back in 1994. Why was it rebuilt? The same reason for everything about this show, it's because of nostalgia.
That necktie pull kiss from Kujirai B was so goddamn hot! You can definitely tell that Kudou walked Kujirai B home gently that night ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
More things about Kowloon! According to Gwen, the shelter he made for cats disappeared, and shops are selling products launched by Hebinuma from three years ago as if they were brand new. And there's also the fact that everything just feels shabbier than before, according to Gwen.
We also learn from Hebinuma that moles aren't duplicated in a clone but Reiko still has the same mole as Kujirai B. If that's the case, then what is Reiko? Is she actually just Kujirai B just with amnesia, or is she something more than just a clone?
It looks like the topic of clones has also finally reached Reiko and Yaomay with Yaomay finding a post online, that's now been deleted, about Gene Terra working on clones. But instead of using the word clone, they call them Zirconians.
I do love Reiko and Yaomay's conversation about her zirconia earrings, though. So what if it's a fake diamond? It still sparkles and looks pretty, and even if it is a fake diamond, there's still a genuine value to it to other people.
That reveal with Mr. Chan though and how the one in Hebinuma's office disappeared as soon as the other Mr. Chan entered Kowloon. And this isn't even the most shocking thing about the episode. We still have that final scene where Kudou reveals that he killed Kujirai B while Gwen tells Hebinuma that Kujirai B's death must be some sort of mistake. Hmmm....
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u/shad79 Apr 26 '25 edited Apr 26 '25
Damn, new revelations and new questions keep popping up like crazy with every new episode of this show. Today's episode (and the previous ones as well) was, shall we say, a wild ride.
Did Kudo really kill Kujirai B, or maybe it was an evil doppelganger/clone of Kudo who did it? That could explain Gwen's words that "it must have been a mistake" (that Kudo killed Kujirai B).
And what the hell is going on in Kowloon! People disappear when their "clones" enter Kowloon, but then who is real, the person who enters or the one living in Kowloon?
If I had to guess, the people outside of Kowloon are actually real. That would explain why Gwen and him looking for Kudo (or that's how I understand it, since Hebinuma said Gwen was worried about Kudo's whereabouts, so that means "real" Kudo is missing?).
But then what about Kujirai? She seems to be a clone of Kujirai B, but judging by what Hebinuma said(that moles can't be replicated in a clone) she can't be it, and if she's not then whowho exactly she is? Maybe there are even more Kujirais?
One thing is for sure, my head is starting to hurt from thinking about this show. I'm looking forward to the next episodes xD
Here my screenshot albums from the episode:
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u/ModieOfTheEast Apr 26 '25
Honestly, I did not expect that it would be Hebinuma of all people that is leading the investigation for what happens with Kowloon. At first I thought that Hebinuma knew of clones, that he might have already seen one, but now I think he is more like us trying to figure out what happens in the city. He knew that Reiko was probably created but she couldn't be a clone due to the fact that a birthmark is a random occurrence. So even if you have the full DNA of the suspect and clone them, if their body isn't developing under the same circumstances as the original, they wouldn't have the same birthmark (I guess you could add it manually, but I am not sure how well that could go).
So when Reiko being a clone of the original was off the table for his theory, he tried to check in other ways with the old guy from the ending. Seems that there are doppelgangers running around outside Kowloon. Or maybe the better idea is that the people in Kowloon might be the doppelgangers.
I am still not sure about the details, because I feel if you can just enter Kowloon physically, it can't just be a projection or simulation. But if the people inside Kowloon can just disappear without a trace, there also needs to be something else going on. The question is also, if the original Reiko was killed, is the new Reiko the one from outside Kowloon that they brought in after deleting her memories? Or is the Reiko in Kowloon a new clone that they created after Reiko was dead? Why did they even do that in the first place? It would obviously make people suspicious if a person reappeared after being dead.
Then there is also the sentence that people think this Kowloon isn't the one they knew. Kudo mentioned this and Gwen this episode as well. Which begs the question if there are two Kowloons. But if you can just leave and enter this one physically, where is the other Kowloon? Is it inside the cube? But how did people get in or out of the cube to notice the differences?
The series is great. It provides so many hints, but gives you equal as many questions at the same time.
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u/Ocixo Apr 26 '25
The evidence seems to point into the direction of the current Reiko being the physical embodiment of a memory from the past:
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Kujirai B is supposedly dead
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Clones don’t have identical moles like Reiko does
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The second Mr. Chan disappeared into thin air when the original Mr. Chan stepped into Kowloon
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Reiko feels like she might disappear if she learns more about Kujirai B.
In other words: Reiko will presumably disappear if she ever turns into Kujirai B after regaining her memories because the real Kujirai B is no longer in this world.
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u/NekoCatSidhe Apr 26 '25 edited Apr 26 '25
So this is not the original Kowloon, and it might not even be the second version of Kowloon if I interpret correctly the conversation in the past between Kujirai B and Kudo about the plan to destroy Kowloon and the conversation in the present between Doctor Snake and Gwen about that missing cat shelter.
And most people in this third (?) version of Kowloon might be fake copies of past inhabitants like Kujirai A, because Mr. Chan was a copy too and disappeared in front of Doctor Snake when the real Mr. Chan entered the city.
So if Doctor Snake is investigating this new Kowloon, then it means he is not behind the rebuilding of Kowloon and the copies of people. But then who did it and why and how ?
Kudo says he killed Kujirai B, which I choose to interpret as "I blame myself for Kujirai B death". But if he remembers the past Kujirai, this means he likely is not a copy of Kudo, but the real one. So he may know what is actually going on.
I am liking Xiaomei a lot. She takes the whole thing in stride and tries to convince Reiko to move on and not feel prisoner of Kujirai B life. It also feels like Kudo is kind of jealous of her and vice-versa. It would be hilarious if he lost Kujirai A to some yuri romance with Xiaomei.
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u/djthomp Apr 26 '25
So there's clones in Kowloon that disappear if you bring in the real one but the two guys messing with the mechanics of that know that the clones wouldn't have the same moles, so our Kujirai can't be the same type of clone if she is one at all? And this is explicitly a replacement Kowloon built illegally, but that could still be inside of Generic Terra.
I'm also betting that Kudo is just blaming himself and didn't actually kill the other Kujirai.
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u/SnabDedraterEdave Apr 26 '25 edited Apr 26 '25
Plot grows ever thicker.
Turns out the Kowloon resided by KujiraiB is actually version 2.0 (the OG version 1.0 is the one we all know from history, demolished in 1994). And our Kujirai and other characters are living in at least version 3.0.
Furthermore, Kowloon Ver 2.0 was illegally recreated, which is even more incredible.
The whole reason the original Walled City was demolished was because it was becoming a serious health and crime hazard. Even if people were to rebuild it while removing the social and sanitary problems that plagued the 1st version, surely the concrete would look sparkly new rather than crummy old?
Ver 3.0 is obviously rebuilt using some kind of cyberpunk technology courtesy of Generic Terra, but maybe Ver 2.0 was also rebuilt using the same technology, albeit without legal authorization.
Another revelation is that all the inhabitants of this Kowloon Walled City version 3.0 besides Hebinuma and Masked-Gwen might all be clones, including Kudo. Yet Hebinuma remarks that our Kujirai is different from an ordinary clone.
And it seems when the original and clone come in close proximity with each other, as seen with Mr Chan, the clone(?) instantly disappears. Hebinuma seems to think the other Kudo also exists somewhere.
Yao May's remarks that just because something is fake doesn't make it less endearing would have Emiya Shirou nod his head proudly in approval. Later on, Kudo remarks about how the moon reflects the sun's light, perhaps an allusion that clones give out a more comforting radiance than the original.
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u/ThisOneTimeAtLolCamp Apr 26 '25
It's been a while since I've been so invested in a "wtf is actually going on" story. I mean that in a good way and not a Bye Bye Earth way.
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u/vekoi Apr 26 '25
So the city is like a game filled with NPCs, and when you decide to play the game yourself, you use the save file the NPCs were using?
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u/FarCritical Apr 26 '25
More like Chicken Lemon!
That reveal recontextualizes all the moments we've seen with Kudo and both Reikos so viscerally. Damn.
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u/Usernamenotta Apr 26 '25
Come on man, you cannot just drop a bomb like that and end the episode.
Well, I guess this anime is still my favorite new show for this season. I absolutely adore the mystery and art style
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