Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) - Episode 23

Having introduced us to its flora and fauna last week, and as it continues to do so this time around, a simple question is raised - why is Tokyo filled with these mutant creatures?  The answer returns us to the concept of human's Power leakage that has been at the core of so much of the series.

There's little time to really worry about such things however, as our group of survivors are more concerned simply with surviving in this hostile environment so that they might complete their goal and defeat the Ogre.  Once we arrive at a waterway, Kiroumaru suggests that the only viable strategy is for the group to split up, leaving Saki and Inui to return and retrieve the submarine they traveled to Tokyo in while Kiroumaru himself and Satoru look to lead their pursuers astray.

On the journey back to this submarine, Inui suggests that perhaps Kiroumaru isn't being entirely straight with them while he questions why he spent so much time and effort in Tokyo previously, and why he also neglected to mention certain important facts that would have helped them stay safe while retrieving their submersible.  Paranoia or not, again there's little time for any in-depth thought into the matters as one peril after another face Saki and Inui, and perhaps inevitably only one of them can survive for long enough to retrieve the biological weapon which could be the key to defeating the Ogre.  Even this seems set to become of secondary important for Saki, as some strangely familiar dreams and memories seem to manifest themselves right before her very eyes in the form of a boy whose name she thought was lost...

Although there are certainly nits that I could pick with the unfolding of this week's episode, namely around the reintroduction of Shun via dialogue inside of Saki's head (which felt like a lazy and, for this series, unrealistic way of setting things up), there's still plenty of compelling viewing of Saki and company's attempts to survive in this harsh landscape against all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures, and with suggestions of plenty of twists still to come in its final couple of episodes I simply can't wait to see how the climax to the series maps out.  If it can even come close to living up to much of its build-up in the second half of the show, then Shin Sekai Yori is on a very firm footing indeed right now.