Tokyo ESP — 05

• Episode 5: Scene 05: Meeting, Phantom and Girl

It only looks peaceful on the surface, everything is already completely rotten underneath.

With the appearance of the Professor, Rinka and Murasaki experience his incredible illusions, made by sending images directly into other people’s minds. And while it’s only images, he can also affect the sense of sound, taste, smell, and touch also. His “negotiations” are more or less an explanation of the glowing fish, the rock (which is actually part of a stone tablet), and the collector (which is what Peggy is), and asking Rinka why she fights.

Tokyo ESP — 04

• Episode 4: Scene 04: The Rain, Ring, and Girl

Through various coincidences we met. And little by little, our courage bound our hearts together.

This episode both ends this small arc full of introductions and yakuza, and also sets up for a bigger conflict by revealing some information about some of our more mysterious characters and introducing us to the real antagonists.

Tokyo ESP — 03

• Episode 3: Scene 03: Penguin and Girl

Real heroes don’t lose against the fear of retaliation.

The main purpose of this episode seems to be to show us the beginnings of both esper crime and esper heroism. We get to see how Rinka ended up becoming the famous superhero we kept hearing about in the first episode, and the consequences that has even before the serious issues we know will come. Just as importantly, though, it also give us more development on the other characters: we meet Murasaki, get some backstory from Azuma, and also follow up on what happens to Kobushi after the events of last episode.

Tokyo ESP — 02

• Episode 2: Scene 02: Girl Meets Boy

But I was the type that didn’t believe in miracles.

This episode, we get the origin story we thought we’d get in the first episode. It opens by continuing from the end of last episode, with the appearance of the White Girl and she does not disappoint! She easily defeats two guys (I think they were two separate guys) whose powers are magnet-themed, and one plant vine lady. Then we flashback straight to the start of the story!

Tokyo ESP — 01

As someone who had never seen, read, or even heard of Tokyo ESP before this Summer season, the first episode did an amazing job of both impressing me and making me confused enough to be strongly interested. Of course, a group of extremist espers levitating the parliament house building, murdering many inside, holding the rest hostage, and then causing explosions and other terrorist attacks all over the city should be able to grab almost anybody’s attention. The reason I said “confused” is that this first episode doesn’t start off at the beginning; there is no narrator introducing us to the main character, no schoolgirl running late to class and giving us the basic backstory to the current situation. All we get at the start is the snow gently falling on Christmas night, the crowds walking through the streets, friends meeting up, and military soldiers and tanks scattered around like it’s normal. And then the supernatural fish start swimming through the streets. If that isn’t already an interesting but questionable setting, I don’t know what is!

• Episode 1: Scene 01: White Girl

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.