Ghost Hound – Harmonising Binaries [Episode Ten]

I initially wrote this as one post that covered all three episodes but Ghost Hound is proving impossible to analyse with any brevity, so I’ve split it up into one episode per post. This is the final part, episode ten.

My brain is a mess. Looking over the notes I jotted down as I watched these episodes my thought processes were so neat and sequential. Then I got ideas and it all went to shit. I hope these entries are proving useful to someone, ye with the stamina to read this far. They’re as much for me to articulate wisps of thought as they are to edify others.

The suspicious facility is given much more of a presence this episode, with various paraphernalia adorned with ‘DBi’ appearing throughout. The sudden attention to these things that otherwise would’ve been apparent from the beginning did seem slightly contrived on Production I.G.’s part, but frankly I’m relieved that we’ve got a sinister organisation to blame things on. Sadly this episode did little to explain what it does and how it relates to the queer goings on, but when has that ever got in the way of wild hypothesising? My money is on it either being wholly responsible for all the supernatural activity or there to take advantage of it in some way. Their relationship to the sudden loss of a natural water supply is also incredibly suspect. Ask any certified Crazy and they will whisper to you with mad, haunted eyes: they put something in the water. This is often before they refuse to take their medication and steal fishing boats.

So the aforementioned Grand Experiment idea grew a pair of legs this episode. Thank god. If I was forced to get any more existential my own homunculus would bust out via my nose and beat me unconscious (I’m not sure if that counts as irony).

Now that Tarou’s plot is starting to wear a bit thin Ghost Hound's grants more focus on Makoto and Masayuki’s journeys of redemption to flesh things out. Masayuki looks to resolve his previous wrongs by defending those similar to the ones he once bullied, and Makoto searches for information on his father to free him from making the same mistakes, whatever they may be. Frankly, like Martin, I find these two characters much more involving than Tarou, who has yet to develop beyond Affably Boring Male Shonen Protagonist. He has no passion, does nothing to offend, never says what he should say when the opportunity presents itself. Worst still, I’m actively questioning the importance of him meeting his sister. What benefit would it ultimately provide, to him as a character or us as an audience? There’s been no suggestion she knew something important and the show. It’s starting to feel like a flimsy motivation, which is troublesome considering how much the show relies upon it.

Nonetheless, Ghost Hound is a fantastic show. It provides all the opportunities to theorise ourselves into a tizzy while remaining a fundamentally enjoyable experience, which is further enhanced by Production I.G.’s typically fantastic production values and Ryutaro Nakamura’s deft direction. My otherwise deep-seated cynicism of most anime is always delightfully challenged by at least one show a season, and this is it.

Comments

[bateszi]

I have to admit, it took me a while to get into Ghost Hound. I mean, literally, I had the first four/five episodes just sitting on my computer for weeks as I prepared to give it a fair chance. Now I'm at a point where I'm ready to claim it as the best anime to come out of the autumn 2007 season. I love Kaiji too, but Ghost Hound is just so weird and creative that I'm positively buzzing with enthusiasm for the latter half of the series.

In particular, the climatic moments of episode 9 when Masayuki transformed into a TRON-esque "thing" from his video game was great; I just didn't see that twist coming at all and it opens up the story to so much possibility in the future. Of course, with Ryutaro Nakamura at the helm, there are ample helpings of disturbing material too; I love how the other "spectres" look, and I hope I wasn't the only one a little freaked out when the ghost of Tarou’s faceless kidnapper literally took flight after Masayuki.

[Hige]

bateszi:
Heh, yeah. It was a total surprise to me, too. I guess the title 'Ghost Hound' doesn't seem so random anymore. I really can't wait to see where they take things now -- I was enjoying myself even before things took a turn for the badass.

[Office 2010]

The invention rtyhtuh is a big change of the world.