I’ve been avoiding /a/ more than usual these days, not only because it can sometimes be the cesspool of the internet, but because it likes to spoil anime. Especially this one. At the time of writing, raws for the last episode of TM8.0 are starting to make their way to a tracker/bot near you. Having seen episode 8, I can honestly say I have no clue what will happen, or who will survive.

I have a feeling it’s going to turn out badly for at least one of our protagonists though. Because life isn’t always smooth.

I thought this episode was really well done. If you think about the very premise of this show, it’s to show what a huge earthquake in Tokyo would look like, and what would result from it. It’s relatively easy to show chaos and destruction – that’s a given. But many are de-sensitised to that sort of thing. How do you really hit home that this is serious shit? Put your little brother, who you just started liking again, in a life-or-death situation. Then turn up the mindfuck and say he really is dead. With the body, complete with ghostly white face, there and all.

Mirai’s attitude and character continue to develop nicely. There haven’t been any unrealistic step changes, but it’s been gradual over the last couple of weeks. She’s actually endearing now; remember when she was acting like a spoiled child and we couldn’t stand her?

Something tells me Mari isn’t being entirely truthful when she says nothing’s wrong. “Here are the legal documents?” What for, pray tell? I have a feeling we’ll find out fairly soon.