The Black Sand // Occult Koumuin Ep. 6 Review

Devil and Sense of Loss: Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin Episode 6

Otaku Voice Staff

Fresh off the box episode, we are back into the mystery in Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin Episode 6. While the last episode didn’t move the needle to much with plot, this episode finally feels like a driver of consequence for the show. So much time has been spent establishing the rules of the world, that it feels fresh to get into the meat of the conflict.

One of the girls from Kohaku’s seance has awoken, and while she is mostly fine, two key problem has arisen. She claims to have been born in 1965. That means she was kidnapped essentially 50 years prior. Nothing outside of that story throws up any red flares for Arata and Sakaki. In her abduction story she recalls seeing a black sand. After that everything is blank until she shows up in the hospital completely unchanged.

The second issue the girl faces is that she can no longer sing. She is mostly fine in talking with Arata and Sakaki, but she is unable to produce noise at a higher pitch. This isn’t good seeing as she was a member of the choir when she was at school. It means that whoever is taking these girls has a use for their parts, but isn’t disposing of them entirely. If she has been kept around for over fifty years, there must be more girls out there to save.

The Black Sand

Sakaki’s memory is triggered by the mention of black sand. In his memories we finally find out what happened to his sister. Later in the episode he sits down with Arata to go over his past and explain his need to talk to Kohaku. Seventeen years ago, Sakaki and his sister were orphaned. Not long after that event, his sister, Shiori was captured in a cloud of black sand. While Sakaki survived the next few years working as a host, until he met Senda. His experience with his sister’s abduction played an important part of becoming a member of the Nocturnal Community Relations department.

We have gotten a lot of hints in the last few episodes about how important Sakaki’s sister is. He has been keeping tabs on all of the missing girls in the region suspected of being related to Another. The show has done a great job of getting us to the point of the major reveal. This is a guy who has had a poor run of it and yet kept it together. Sakaki’s sit down with Arata feels like a great character moment for him to get a lot of his problems off his chest.

Sakaki’s host days are extremely fascinating to me. I let it pass over me the first time Seo mentioned it, but seeing him dressed up in Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin episode 6 with his hair done is pretty entertaining. I am not sure if it will really play much into the rest of the show. It just feels like it is to highlight how much of a playboy he is, even if that isn’t important just yet.

Izumi, Arata’s Childhood Friend

At the beginning of the episode we do get to see what the department is up against. Kohaku ventures into an unknown place where a different Another hovers over an unconscious woman. Kohaku thanks him for the girls he used in an earlier plan. There is another woman off to the side that the unknown figure indicates is going to be for the eyes of the unconscious woman. By the end of the episode it is pretty obviously Sakaki’s sister Shiori, but at the beginning of episode 7 we don’t know that yet. We do eventually know where some parts came from, but there is no indication that any other abducted girls are in the room.

Its not clear if this Another can travel through time, or has just been going at this for over fifty at this point. Either he can travel in time, or time doesn’t affect the realm he inhabits. We already saw from the last episode that Another’s can inhabit their own realm with their own rules, so a time bubble makes sense. Kohaku’s visit to the realm also triggers another event. The kidnapping of Izumi, Arata’s childhood friend.

Kohaku catches Izuki leaving from Arata’s house early in the episode. By the end she is captured by the unknown Another. Its even obvious to Arata that Kohaku was involved once he puts two and two together. Its great to see how fast thinking Arata is now that he has had some time to deal with the Another. He is definitely in for it since he is dealing with a trickster god.

Final Thoughts

This episode really moved the plot forward and upped the ante. Most of the episodes before this have ended when the Another stopped caring or became distracted. Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin episode 6 actually raises the stakes with the full reveal of Sakaki’s deep loss and the kidnapping of Izumi. The last episode was lackluster, but this episode is really bringing the series into its own. I hope the next couple episodes can keep up the momentum this episode began.

[Source and Further Reading]
[Episode 5 Review]
[Image via Crunchyroll]