Mator said:Another great episode. Most of my fears about pacing are out of the window now, the action took a backseat to the characters this episode.
I'm excited for more. What the heck is going on with Juri?! Clearly she has some kind of power/ability, likely related to the previous circumstances in which she entered the world of stasis, but what is it? It appears to be gated behind her memory loss, is that memory loss circumstantial or purposeful?
Honestly, I have no idea what she's going to be capable of doing. I don't think there's anything in the OP/ED that really hints at what she's able to do. The only thing I can think of right now is she has access to teleportation but can use it much more quickly effectively than grandpa. I supposed enhanced strength/speed is also possible (some kind of aspect of possession, related to how they enter the world of stasis by being possessed by the jellyfish spirit things).
Here's what I think we know so far:
1. The genuine love cult was put together by our main antagonists who have some kind of history relating to the stone - like a feud between families, though more like a struggle over supernatural powers. I think they're too serious and level-headed to JUST be people who researched the power and decided to pursue it. The cult is just a means to an end - a way to organize fanatical people to do their dirty work (their long-term goal is something akin to world domination).
EDIT: Actually, I think they're more sinister than a feuding family. Their lack of emotional response suggests conditioning, which seems unlikely unless they have a lot of experience with the supernatural/crazy shit, and potentially also a lot of confidence. It's possible they are a product of some other supernatural happenings related to stasis, part of some larger organization which deals with supernatural stuff (currently or formerly), or have a history of psychopathy/sociopathy/murder.
2. Their stone is inferior to the stone used by Juri & Co. With the camera they were able to know the exact moment when Juri & Co. used their stone, and performed a similar ritual involving their own jellyfish spirits so when Juri & Co. enter stasis, they can move to. It's clear that the aspect which allows movement with the world of stasis are the jellyfish spirits - if you have one of them within you, you can move in the world of stasis. So the ritual is two parts. First you call forth jellyfish spirits to possess you and others who you wish to bring into the world of stasis and then you invoke stasis, creating an instance of a "stasis world" at an instant in time. Cult & co. clearly have access to the jellyfish part of the spell, but not the "stasis" part. If the spell is merely a matter of saying the word, they may already know it from the hidden camera they placed in the Juri family residence.
3. When someone who can move in the stasis world dies, their jellyfish may move into another host. This can lead to situations in which completely random people enter the world of stasis, e.g. the woman with the dark hair who we're introduced to this episode. Per the first episode it looks like there may be other spirits/circumstances in which this can occur as well. It seems clear that the world of Kokkoku has multiple supernatural elements and will not be limited to the stone, stasis world, teleportation, and herald we've seen so far (though how many other elements will be introduced is still difficult to determine, I imagine there are at least a few that will play a part in the story).
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Also, a side note, but it just occurred to me that Juri's white coat is oddly reminiscent of Okabe Rintarou's white lab coat in Steins;Gate. Anyone else notice that?