LogFAQs > #972590778

There were things that happened... I didn't expect...

Megumi Yakushiji
Not much today, just cleared up Meg. First we see her come to a rental agreement with Tamao Kurabe, who I believe is the legitimate Tamao-bot at this stage before Izumi takes over. I wonder what Tamao's purpose is, I'd previously assumed she came to 1985 just to capture 426 but there must be more to it. And we've barely seen anything of her in this time period, curious... Come to think of it, 1945 Tamao was having dreams like the others, maybe she remembers who she is like baby Chihiro did and shifts sectors to... idk. More to come with her, probably in Ei or Hijiyama's stories.

After Juro's finale, Megumi now finally comes to realise that the memories he is gaining are not of the Izumi she knew. She is soon accosted by Chihiro and Gouto (it's been a while!), and it's nice seeing her behave like a regular person for a short while here. I like that she immediately answers Chihiro honestly and fully, it's just that her story comes across pretty batshit. It was a cat! The duplicitous duo seem to get the wrong end of the stick regarding Izumi, thinking he's gonna leave the sentinel defences wide open. I suppose I can't rule out the possibility they're right, but I'm beginning to think these two are less knowledgeable than they believe.

Then it's time for the final confrontation with Fluffy, and after being a bit disappointed throughout this story, I'm really impressed with this climax. Megumi suddenly wisens up to Fluffy's manipulations, and ironically it comes at a time when he decides to be honest with her. He casually drops in the fact that humanity went extinct millions of years ago!! This isn't framed as some massive reveal, but if he's truthful (and at this point I'm fully on his side) and correct then this simulation has been running far longer than we know. I think I briefly considered this possibility way back but it's a seismic revelation nonetheless, just how many times has this cycle reset without it ever being broken? It certainly adds to the stakes if there's no one waiting out there on the other side.

There's some cool hologram/simulation visuals as Megumi collapses under the weight of her own guilt and shoots herself with the magic bullet (I like that she mentions Tomi multiple times, the shame is particularly strong there), and then Fluffy monologues. I'm not sure why Izumi adopted the guise of this wise-ass cat or why he belittled Megumi for so long, but much like with Shiba he pulls another pretty great face turn here at the end. Maybe he's just a natural prankster. Izumi turns out to be a complicated character indeed, neither a scheming villain or a secret hero, he's a flawed man trying to do the right thing but making mistakes and falling to his own selfish impulses sometimes. Though the Izumi this AI is based on never had a strong connection to Megumi, he has grown to care for her and lets his personal desires fade, rooting for her and Juro Kurabe to make it out. I'm glad Megumi realises he was trying his best, and fights for him as well as her Juro. It's about time he got some credit from somewhere.

Lastly we have a romantic confession between Juro Kurabe and Megumi, which is sweet though I don't personally love this couple. He's rather new to the world and his feelings for her are likely at least partly due to Izumi's memories, and I'd hoped Megumi's arc would involve her moving on from Juro to live her life. But there's intrigue in the idea of this relationship, even if we never see it through. Megumi joins the final battle, to fight for Juro, and Juro, and Juro, and hopefully for herself too.

Cleared:
Shu Amiguchi
Ryoko Shinonome
Tomi Kisaragi
Yuki Takamiya
Natsuno Minami
Nenji Ogata
Juro Kurabe
Megumi Yakushiji- CLEARED

Uncleared:
Keitaro Miura- 87%
Ei Sekigahara- 28%
Iori Fuyusaka- prologue done
Takatoshi Hijiyama- prologue done
Renya Gouto- prologue done

Next up: It's Ei, Iori, or Hijiyama. I don't know!

Also, for real I wonder how Megumi can see Fluffy if he's only in Juro's nanomachines, he doesn't seem to be able to show up for anyone else. I wondered if the connection was made due to Juro and Megumi living together, but it hasn't come up here. Does he only show up when Juro is nearby, I don't remember. I assume we'll get closure on this point but this part of the story feels over now. Maybe I missed it!