This anime fucked me up for weeks after I watched it (years and years ago) - it's like, the more I tried to think about what was going on in the background, the worse it got.
It really did have that kind of effect! I’d think about this anime off and on over the years without really understanding what had happened but knowing that it was one of those “impactful” anime. It’s worth the rewatch to really understand what’s happening and why!
I watched 'Shinsekai Yori' when I was younger, about six years ago, when I first got into anime. It was interesting, but I didn't understand the plot very well back then. Years later, I stopped watching anime, only occasionally watching a couple of times. Then, last night, I suddenly felt the urge to watch a serious anime, and 'Shinsekai Yori' popped up in my mind, so I decided to rewatch it. After a few episodes, I was already hooked. The experience felt different from what I remembered watching years ago; it was like a breath of fresh air. The storyline completely blew my mind. The first part of the series gave off a 'cult-like' vibe, and I could relate it to other films like Ari Aster's 'Midsommar.' However, in the second part, starting around episode 12, the tone changed, and it started feeling like a horror series from that point on. The plot twist revealed in the final part left me speechless! I found myself attached to Saki, and it's sad that it's over, but nevertheless, it was a great show.
These are the kinds of things I hope people will understand about anime such as Shinsekai Yori! It’s not your average everyday run-of-the-mill anime; it’s dark, dystopian in a way-even horrifying at times. Like you, I had watched this anime several years ago (I think I said that in the intro. Aha) and going back to rewatch it with the intent to fully understand it was indescribably thrilling! The time skips and turning points make for great engagement as you watch the characters grow and change. Similarly, you have to think about the relationships between characters as well and how that affects a lot of important decision making. Great comment! Hope you stick around for what I have coming for Friday! Oddly enough, I will be referencing this video, so your comment was well-timed!
The whole society of Kamisu 66 is based around the realisation that the mere existence of PK users is a threat to the entire world's biological existence: the barrier forces passive PK leak outside, thereby protecting Kamisu 66, its inhabitants, and its wildlife, while the rest of the world mutates and distorts under their uncontrollable influence; they're told stories that indirectly inform them of what out-of-control PK and broken restrictions can turn them into, keep them safe within the barrier, and prevent people from protecting those affected by those broken restrictions by ostracising them; they force exclusively same sex relationships for those who've yet to reach adulthood and opposite sex relationships for those who have, to prevent underage pregnancies, and unstable relationships caused by unstable hormones, then fix people into stable relationships; etc. The unfortunate fact is that their existences are constrained destruction and the fake fiend is a demonstration that a true fiend would be a world ender, distorting and killing all around them. The only way PK users can exist is by culling the weakest willed (e.g. Mamoru), projecting the damage they cause away from themselves, and genetically engineering non-PK users to be killable. Saki was chosen because she's the best/only one capable of handling all the necessary evil of Kamisu 66, including what Queerats are and what it means to kill them, and try to find a way forward. The whole history of the Shinsekai Yori is a demonstration of the utopia complex and how solutions for one problem can cause problems elsewhere; if anyone can find a solution that doesn't just make things worse, it's Saki.
This is an excellent explanation of Kamisu 66! It really was as oppressive in some ways as to force homo/heterosexual relationships between those that Kamisu 66 deemed appropriate. The entire anime is so full of deep-thought and psychological elements it's almost frightening. Great comment! Thanks for your thoughts!
You forgot the most cruel plot twist... fiend was forced daughter of Maria and Mamoru. They were kidnapped by rat people. It is so horrifying background event, I remember it after years from watching...
I definitely remember this! I’m not sure if I mentioned it directly or not, though. Definitely an important part to the anime, regardless, and is horrifying, like you said!
Honestly I would argue that the most important romantic relationship for Saki was her relationship with Shun. It was understated compared to the overt romantic relationship with Maria (I mean, the most we see of Shun/Saki is some hand-holding when they’re boating at night), but it’s sprinkled throughout even before he ‘disappears’. Years later Shun is the one who returns to her thoughts again and again, and he’s who she hallucinates near the end, not Maria. She’s unable to completely forget him. Her and Satoru’s love for the person they both lost is just one more thing that binds them together, and I think the anime’s ending song and visual sequence shows that best - Saki reaching for the faceless figure on the boat, crying for someone she can’t completely remember or forget. But when she wakes up, there’s a hand in hers comforting her - and I suspect it’s Satoru’s 🥹 because he gets it. Either way, this anime is one of the greats. I do a near-yearly rewatch and I think I pick up something new every time I see it, it’s so unique!
This anime is one of those that would make the analogues of history if there ever were for anime! It’s so deeply and uniquely complex that there’s just too much to cover in one video. I would agree that Maria had a hugely influential role in Saki’s growth and development-undoubtedly. All of the characters had some level of impact, but it’s this dependence on Maria at times that makes the anime so successful and the twist at the end so unexpected (the ogre child)! Alongside Maria, of course, is Shun. He’s always there in some way shape or form and it’s Shun who ultimately forces her to learn the truth about Kamisu 66. GREAT comment!
Didn’t they explain the barrier releases their physic energy to prevent their power from effecting them. That’s why the plants and animal outside of the barrier are mutants
That might have been the reason, but even so, it was still used as a means of control and that control instilled fear of the outside world. Great example of one thing leading to something quite a bit more symbolic!
" I have to go. I have to fight. Otherwise, I'll just be a murderer" Saki Watanabe. With her as head of the ethics committee and unlocking the secrets of immortality, she will have the time to find a way to create a better world. She does not have the answer now, but she will in the future. I used to hate the ending of this show because of how it left stuff up in the air, but upon rewatching it, the ending is brilliant. No one has the answers to the problems we face, but if we work towards facing these problems and learn from the mistakes of those who came before us, we will find a way to fix things.
I believe Saki was the right person for the job, and I agree with what you said! No one has all the answers, but that’s why we have to find the answers to the questions we ask otherwise, there never WILL be an answer. I think the ending is quite fitting, but, as is the case with most anime, it kind of lacks an expansion on the conclusion. I would have liked to see more of what Saki had planned to do and maybe cultural developments in Kamisu 66, but I guess we can just leave that part to the imagination.
@@Lurichans This is what for me prevents Shin Sekai Yori from being a masterpiece. It is an 8.7/10 for me, I scored it 8.3 the first time I watched it. A more conclusive ending showing how Saki plans to fix her society as well as showing her as head of the ethics committee and discovering immortality would have been enough to make shin sekai yori a 9.5/10 for me. Aot suffers the same problem as shin sekai yori. It would have been nice to see how armin is able to convince his fascist country to let them come back after killing their lord and savior.
Loved how refreshingly non-infantile it was. It takes two major, real, adult themes - "childredn are scary, unkonwn, uncontrolable" and "our prosperity is powered by well-hidden slavery" and RUNS WITH THEM.
Watched this anime back in like 2014 when i was 14 or 15. Was the third anime i ever watched after parasyte and Naruto. This show blew me away. I never understood why ppl said it was confusing or shit. Im glad ppl are refinding it
I think it's that people aren't used to stumbling upon anime like this and actually having to think about it. Everything is connected in one way or another, but it's easy to get lost if you get confused early on or weren't paying attention. That being said, it's an excellent anime, and I'm shocked it was your THIRD ever! I'd seen probably little more than 100 by the time I watched this one. I enjoyed it back then, but it was even better during my rewatch!
people hate it because the first 3-5 episodes were actually supposed to be a completely different story and the author changed their mind and then kinda did a sudden narrative shift into a completely different story that's why first few episodes suck really bad it was never supposed to be the same story
My favorite anime . I have watch it over 10 times . Once a year . The story is just perfect . It is the perfect description of how a society would develop if humans start having psy powers . I don’t like Yuri or yaohi. But since children should not have kids before they become adults , also before they get totally brainwashed, they make them have same gender relationships. I love how they explain everything . I love this anime !
This anime has a TON of little themes and hidden messaging you don’t really think about it until you really sit down to actually analyze what it’s trying to say. That’s why it can connect to such a wide audience and range of people! It’s not over-the-top and the addition of psy powers, like you said, can be seen as a mirror into a world where these powers are just another facet of everyday life. :)
for the first section, I'm pretty sure it was Satoru's thinking that made them initially distrustworthy of Kiromaru early on, not any provocation from Squeera. they assumed he was loyal to humans and would be ordered to execute them for hearing the truth from the False Minoshiro. unless there was anything before that that i'm missing
You’re probably right and might have been a mistake on my end! The early part of the anime introduced a lot of world-building, so I may have gotten names mixed up!
I think he was ordered to execute them but somehow saw a way of being friends with this powerful beings , remember , he searched the old world to find a way to kill humans . Making relations with kids is a great way of gaining power , specially when you are a powerless slave
I will never have the time like before to watch every anime from every season . So I don’t think I will personally find such an anime because this kind of stories end up being cult nitch. That’s the reason I like watching videos about shinsekai yori , there are people that like this kind of stories that may recommend me similar stories or at least with such a heavy plot .
Can anyone explain to me the significance of Shun? Haven't seen the anime in years, and I never remembered why Shun was even relevant beyond being a love interest for being 'cool'.
He was a good childhood friend of Saki’s, and when he disappeared, she began to suspect something else was going on than what was being told. So, when she took it upon herself to start “looking” for him, she began to discover things she wasn’t really supposed to know. Shun’s disappearance is the catalyst for the rest of the anime beyond that point. Saki would never have dug deeper had things stayed the way they were. Hope this helps!
This anime fucked me up for weeks after I watched it (years and years ago) - it's like, the more I tried to think about what was going on in the background, the worse it got.
It really did have that kind of effect! I’d think about this anime off and on over the years without really understanding what had happened but knowing that it was one of those “impactful” anime.
It’s worth the rewatch to really understand what’s happening and why!
Me too, me to.. 😢
I watched 'Shinsekai Yori' when I was younger, about six years ago, when I first got into anime. It was interesting, but I didn't understand the plot very well back then. Years later, I stopped watching anime, only occasionally watching a couple of times. Then, last night, I suddenly felt the urge to watch a serious anime, and 'Shinsekai Yori' popped up in my mind, so I decided to rewatch it.
After a few episodes, I was already hooked. The experience felt different from what I remembered watching years ago; it was like a breath of fresh air. The storyline completely blew my mind. The first part of the series gave off a 'cult-like' vibe, and I could relate it to other films like Ari Aster's 'Midsommar.' However, in the second part, starting around episode 12, the tone changed, and it started feeling like a horror series from that point on. The plot twist revealed in the final part left me speechless!
I found myself attached to Saki, and it's sad that it's over, but nevertheless, it was a great show.
These are the kinds of things I hope people will understand about anime such as Shinsekai Yori! It’s not your average everyday run-of-the-mill anime; it’s dark, dystopian in a way-even horrifying at times.
Like you, I had watched this anime several years ago (I think I said that in the intro. Aha) and going back to rewatch it with the intent to fully understand it was indescribably thrilling!
The time skips and turning points make for great engagement as you watch the characters grow and change. Similarly, you have to think about the relationships between characters as well and how that affects a lot of important decision making.
Great comment! Hope you stick around for what I have coming for Friday! Oddly enough, I will be referencing this video, so your comment was well-timed!
The whole society of Kamisu 66 is based around the realisation that the mere existence of PK users is a threat to the entire world's biological existence: the barrier forces passive PK leak outside, thereby protecting Kamisu 66, its inhabitants, and its wildlife, while the rest of the world mutates and distorts under their uncontrollable influence; they're told stories that indirectly inform them of what out-of-control PK and broken restrictions can turn them into, keep them safe within the barrier, and prevent people from protecting those affected by those broken restrictions by ostracising them; they force exclusively same sex relationships for those who've yet to reach adulthood and opposite sex relationships for those who have, to prevent underage pregnancies, and unstable relationships caused by unstable hormones, then fix people into stable relationships; etc.
The unfortunate fact is that their existences are constrained destruction and the fake fiend is a demonstration that a true fiend would be a world ender, distorting and killing all around them. The only way PK users can exist is by culling the weakest willed (e.g. Mamoru), projecting the damage they cause away from themselves, and genetically engineering non-PK users to be killable. Saki was chosen because she's the best/only one capable of handling all the necessary evil of Kamisu 66, including what Queerats are and what it means to kill them, and try to find a way forward. The whole history of the Shinsekai Yori is a demonstration of the utopia complex and how solutions for one problem can cause problems elsewhere; if anyone can find a solution that doesn't just make things worse, it's Saki.
This is an excellent explanation of Kamisu 66! It really was as oppressive in some ways as to force homo/heterosexual relationships between those that Kamisu 66 deemed appropriate.
The entire anime is so full of deep-thought and psychological elements it's almost frightening.
Great comment! Thanks for your thoughts!
That was fucking beautifully explained.
You forgot the most cruel plot twist... fiend was forced daughter of Maria and Mamoru. They were kidnapped by rat people. It is so horrifying background event, I remember it after years from watching...
I definitely remember this! I’m not sure if I mentioned it directly or not, though. Definitely an important part to the anime, regardless, and is horrifying, like you said!
Honestly I would argue that the most important romantic relationship for Saki was her relationship with Shun. It was understated compared to the overt romantic relationship with Maria (I mean, the most we see of Shun/Saki is some hand-holding when they’re boating at night), but it’s sprinkled throughout even before he ‘disappears’. Years later Shun is the one who returns to her thoughts again and again, and he’s who she hallucinates near the end, not Maria. She’s unable to completely forget him. Her and Satoru’s love for the person they both lost is just one more thing that binds them together, and I think the anime’s ending song and visual sequence shows that best - Saki reaching for the faceless figure on the boat, crying for someone she can’t completely remember or forget. But when she wakes up, there’s a hand in hers comforting her - and I suspect it’s Satoru’s 🥹 because he gets it.
Either way, this anime is one of the greats. I do a near-yearly rewatch and I think I pick up something new every time I see it, it’s so unique!
This anime is one of those that would make the analogues of history if there ever were for anime!
It’s so deeply and uniquely complex that there’s just too much to cover in one video.
I would agree that Maria had a hugely influential role in Saki’s growth and development-undoubtedly. All of the characters had some level of impact, but it’s this dependence on Maria at times that makes the anime so successful and the twist at the end so unexpected (the ogre child)!
Alongside Maria, of course, is Shun. He’s always there in some way shape or form and it’s Shun who ultimately forces her to learn the truth about Kamisu 66.
GREAT comment!
Incredibly underrated, this should be top recommended ones
I agree! Not many people talk about this one anymore!
This in my top 5 fav shows of all time!
It’s so deep and full of mystery! It’s absolutely one of my favorites too!
Didn’t they explain the barrier releases their physic energy to prevent their power from effecting them. That’s why the plants and animal outside of the barrier are mutants
That might have been the reason, but even so, it was still used as a means of control and that control instilled fear of the outside world.
Great example of one thing leading to something quite a bit more symbolic!
" I have to go. I have to fight. Otherwise, I'll just be a murderer" Saki Watanabe. With her as head of the ethics committee and unlocking the secrets of immortality, she will have the time to find a way to create a better world. She does not have the answer now, but she will in the future. I used to hate the ending of this show because of how it left stuff up in the air, but upon rewatching it, the ending is brilliant. No one has the answers to the problems we face, but if we work towards facing these problems and learn from the mistakes of those who came before us, we will find a way to fix things.
I believe Saki was the right person for the job, and I agree with what you said! No one has all the answers, but that’s why we have to find the answers to the questions we ask otherwise, there never WILL be an answer.
I think the ending is quite fitting, but, as is the case with most anime, it kind of lacks an expansion on the conclusion. I would have liked to see more of what Saki had planned to do and maybe cultural developments in Kamisu 66, but I guess we can just leave that part to the imagination.
@@Lurichans This is what for me prevents Shin Sekai Yori from being a masterpiece. It is an 8.7/10 for me, I scored it 8.3 the first time I watched it. A more conclusive ending showing how Saki plans to fix her society as well as showing her as head of the ethics committee and discovering immortality would have been enough to make shin sekai yori a 9.5/10 for me. Aot suffers the same problem as shin sekai yori. It would have been nice to see how armin is able to convince his fascist country to let them come back after killing their lord and savior.
Loved how refreshingly non-infantile it was. It takes two major, real, adult themes - "childredn are scary, unkonwn, uncontrolable" and "our prosperity is powered by well-hidden slavery" and RUNS WITH THEM.
Watched this anime back in like 2014 when i was 14 or 15. Was the third anime i ever watched after parasyte and Naruto. This show blew me away. I never understood why ppl said it was confusing or shit. Im glad ppl are refinding it
I think it's that people aren't used to stumbling upon anime like this and actually having to think about it. Everything is connected in one way or another, but it's easy to get lost if you get confused early on or weren't paying attention.
That being said, it's an excellent anime, and I'm shocked it was your THIRD ever! I'd seen probably little more than 100 by the time I watched this one. I enjoyed it back then, but it was even better during my rewatch!
people hate it because the first 3-5 episodes were actually supposed to be a completely different story and the author changed their mind and then kinda did a sudden narrative shift into a completely different story that's why first few episodes suck really bad it was never supposed to be the same story
My favorite anime . I have watch it over 10 times . Once a year . The story is just perfect . It is the perfect description of how a society would develop if humans start having psy powers . I don’t like Yuri or yaohi. But since children should not have kids before they become adults , also before they get totally brainwashed, they make them have same gender relationships. I love how they explain everything . I love this anime !
This anime has a TON of little themes and hidden messaging you don’t really think about it until you really sit down to actually analyze what it’s trying to say.
That’s why it can connect to such a wide audience and range of people! It’s not over-the-top and the addition of psy powers, like you said, can be seen as a mirror into a world where these powers are just another facet of everyday life. :)
for the first section, I'm pretty sure it was Satoru's thinking that made them initially distrustworthy of Kiromaru early on, not any provocation from Squeera. they assumed he was loyal to humans and would be ordered to execute them for hearing the truth from the False Minoshiro. unless there was anything before that that i'm missing
You’re probably right and might have been a mistake on my end! The early part of the anime introduced a lot of world-building, so I may have gotten names mixed up!
I think he was ordered to execute them but somehow saw a way of being friends with this powerful beings , remember , he searched the old world to find a way to kill humans . Making relations with kids is a great way of gaining power , specially when you are a powerless slave
If i watch this is it gonna fuck me up....
No, but it’s still fairly gritty at times! Well worth the watch!
@@Lurichans ill watch it once i get through my other 10000 page backlog i promise
One of the few perfect animes.
Promised Neverland if it was done correct and heavenly delusion if done correct goes up with it there
This anime WAS done very well! It's rare we get gems like these anymore!
I will never have the time like before to watch every anime from every season . So I don’t think I will personally find such an anime because this kind of stories end up being cult nitch. That’s the reason I like watching videos about shinsekai yori , there are people that like this kind of stories that may recommend me similar stories or at least with such a heavy plot .
Can anyone explain to me the significance of Shun? Haven't seen the anime in years, and I never remembered why Shun was even relevant beyond being a love interest for being 'cool'.
He was a good childhood friend of Saki’s, and when he disappeared, she began to suspect something else was going on than what was being told.
So, when she took it upon herself to start “looking” for him, she began to discover things she wasn’t really supposed to know. Shun’s disappearance is the catalyst for the rest of the anime beyond that point. Saki would never have dug deeper had things stayed the way they were.
Hope this helps!
his disappearnce is what makes him super relevant to plot
I love that. Thank you guys so much. Even years later I'm still learning things about this anime. This anime is a masterpiece.
@@GrubKiller436 definitely my top 5 among the 300 different anime ive seen