Shin Sekai Yori - Episode 1

The sto— YURI!

I'm not sure if I could be any more confused than I am right now. As expected of a sci-fi series, the terminology really requires great focus and familiarity with applicable terminology to fully grasp during the first time through, unless you have read the LN novel (thanks for the correction, helpful Anon) already. Nonetheless, I really like the ominous mood that's being set. Right off the bat, the introduction scenes where a mysterious boy goes around killing people using his mind and where the main cast prepares to head home as the sun sets in a shadowy field area might just be foreshadowing the dark elements that are to come. With demons, ghouls, and other supernatural evils seemingly playing a more than minor role in the plot, I'm expecting Shin Sekai Yori to also have thriller, and maybe even horror, aspects to it. And while the direction of the story is not yet clear (to me at least), I'm pretty sure that things will start to make sense later on; that's just how it always is.

Taking a look at the characters, they all seem quite different, which is good. There wasn't enough interaction between them in this episode to allow me to specifically say what I like and dislike about each one. However, Satoru did strike me as a big jerk, while Maria's character design is probably my favourite. Given that she's the main character of the story, Saki receiving a lot of screentime in this episode was expected and appreciated. We learn a bit about the idea of "Juryoku" through the ceremony she went through and get a glimpse of how life in this "new world" is. It'll be interesting to see how the group deals with the forces of darkness that inevitably await them in the near future.

While I thought this episode was decent, it didn't really manage to hook me, per se. However, the preview for the next episode does intrigue me, especially the parts that looked grainier. I get the feeling that this new world is actually split into parts (not physically, I should note)—one where the characters live a regular school life, and another which is shrouded by unimaginable evils. Overall, the episode did do a good job at introducing the story though.

I don't know if it's becoming a trend or not, but many series nowadays only include the OP as the ED in the first episode. According to MAL, however, Shin Sekai Yori is listed to only have an ED, or more appropriately, a "Theme Song".

TM: During the song's intro, I actually thought my media player was having problems as the abrupt stops didn't sound nice nor did it feel like it was part of the song. But on the other hand, I liked the techno vibe it gave off and the beat gets quite catchy after a while.