English Dub Review: Midnight Occult Civil Servants “The Dream Demon of the Haunted Apartment Block”

Hide and seek.

Overview:

Children are falling into comas, and there’s an Another behind it.

Our Take:

I’m glad that Miyako is shown to be putting his words into play, as he has started to see the Anothers as beings to be bridged. As noted, he’s been so passive for so long, that we needed to see some of him in action. Convincing the lonely Another to simply move locations, especially since said Another had the disposition of a child, is a good thing to see. He isn’t merely being pulled along anymore, but is working in his own right.

The Tokyo Ward, it turns out, is antagonistic to the Anothers, preferring to dispatch of them before they cause any future trouble. As is pointed out, there’s no real guarantee that the Anothers will stick to their promises and change their ways, even if they can be talked to. Miyako points out that he is a fine translator, but that hinges on one thing- trusting Miyako. It’s commonly known that Miyako is the only translator that can hear the Anothers, and he’s also friends with Kohaku, Huehuecóyotl. Being friends with a disaster god is a cautious sign for people who don’t know him, and from an outsider perspective, he would be someone worth being wary of. We the audience know Miyako is harmless and out to do the greater good, but everyone who doesn’t know him wouldn’t know that. If the translator can’t be trusted, then why should their words be either?

This is a clear clash of philosophy that was bound to occur, especially when dealing with something that can’t be communicated with, no matter what. The Anothers don’t have an issue with language, as language can be learned, but the fact that they can’t be talked to at all. In that sense, they’re more like animals, only animals with completely incomprehensible thought processes. Most of the divisions, and indeed Reo for sure before Miyako joined, view the Anothers as threats. While the Shinjuku division sees the Anothers as threats that need to be contained, the Tokyo ward sees them worthy of extermination. To be fair, the Anothers are dangerous if put in the wrong place. The child Another wanting to play ended up putting three kids into a coma. They can be threats, no doubt, but it doesn’t mean they will remain threats. It’s an extremist worldview, but not necessarily one without reason behind it.