English Dub Review: Midnight Occult Civil Servants “Fixed-Point Observation in Kabukicho”

It’s a drinking party.

Overview:

The trio goes out for a routine check of the area and gets into a lot of trouble.

Our Take:

The trio this time is on recording duty- there are many Anothers dispersed throughout the city, and they have the obligation to check up on the most common ones.

In this case, they find a native god– Kio Gongen. He had fallen asleep, which is why the bureau hadn’t been able to locate him and has spirited a policeman away. He doesn’t intend to kill the policeman, but rather keep him in the temple to celebrate his awakening. That’s done through a massive drinking party, one that can easily last for a century. Of course, no middle-aged human would be able to survive for that long, much less someone with a family to go back to.

It’s once again Miyako’s ability to properly communicate with the Anothers that facilitates a safe exit. It’s through meeting and talking with the Shojo that he is able to find someone to combat Kiyo Gongen’s massive tolerance. Although the drinking party is quite absurd, it’s a much better alternative to the original proposal of violence. Kio Gongen was willing to fight the group to defend his festival- and it’s pretty doubtful that the trio would’ve had any normal means to deal with a God. Just like with Coyote, it’s through more pacified means that the trio is able to do their job, instead of being mindless rule enforcers. As a result, the group can all go home– bewildered and drunk, but still alive.

This show really evokes the feeling of Natsume’s Book of Friends in a lot of ways- with one person being the exception to the rule, able to communicate with supernatural creatures. It isn’t just ability though, but a willingness to. Even though Miyako is very put off by the Anothers and the fact that he is the only bridge (as well as being constantly mistaken for his ancestor Seimei) he is still willing to talk. He is afraid and constantly aware of his own mortality, so he avoids resorting to violence. He doesn’t have the knowledge or the technology to hold his own against the Anothers, and he isn’t even familiar with the culture to fake his way through. All he has is his ability to communicate, but that is a great tool that can work in his favor.