The Girl in Twilight – Ep. 2

So The Girl in Twilight continues to be weird but is it the good kind of weird? Well kind of, actually. I did find this episode much more appealing than the premiere. Part of that is obviously the lack of weird magical girl-esque action scenes with killer rabbits but I genuinely am finding the expanded lore pretty fascinating. Multi-verses are nothing new. In fact, they seem to have gotten more popular as a plot device than ever. The twist The Girl in Twilight adds to the mix though is a very distinct one. Apparently, whenever the girls travel to a parallel dimension, one of them must act as an anchor point, or “link” as the show calls it, for the others. As the link, that person merges with their doppelganger, seemingly assimilating whatever life they have while retaining their own memories.

Nana appears to be our guinea pig for this week’s episode and presumably the next. Despite being transported to an entirely different world, you actually gain a lot of insight to what she’s dealing with in the main world. We don’t know know what her stepdad is actually like but from how she lashes out at his counterpart in one scene, it can be inferred that there’s some rocky history. Even the predicament Nana finds herself in fits with what information the first episode provided. An arranged marriage would most certainly not gel with her desire to be a free spirit. Also: Oh God, she’s in Love and Lies now. GET OUT OF THERE, NANA.

The most ominous thing to take away from this episode is its interpretation of normalcy bias. As Other Asuka (what do we call her?) explains, most people won’t realize that the Nana they’re interacting with is actually from another universe and will try to rectify it as much as they can. Conversely, Nana is struck with some shock, confounded at her friends’ different personalities (Chloe acting shy is weird) and this law that teens get married off at seventeen. Where this anime really takes normalcy bias on a spin though is that gradually, Nana becomes affect by it as well, accepting her new life. Admittedly, she has yet to get a lecture about the multiverse as her friends did. Plus, who can blame her for wanting to marry her celebrity husbando now that she literally has a chance? Still, it’s pretty chilling seeing Nana normalize into this parallel dimension. It’s like being trapped in a dream only the dream is actually real. It may also make you wonder how the other characters would fare.

There are still some questions floating around. The mysterious fortune teller who appears early in the episode (and cameod in Episode 1) looks an awful lot like Yu. I guess she’s a dimensional traveler like the other Asuka is? If that’s the case, what reason does she have with luring Nana into the parallel dimension of the week? Let’s also go back to the other Asuka. What exactly is she looking for? Her brother? Maybe something that can bring him back? And while I’m at it, I’m still wondering what that world from last episode is. What was that place?

I guess these are just questions for later. At the very least, this episode did its job of enticing me to watch more quite well. I hope the mysteries get resolved soon but this concept of dimensional links has a lot of potential, specifically in how it allows us to explore the characters and their innermost thoughts and desires.

ED: “Kowarekake no Radio” by Ami Wajima

 

Why does this show have such strong theme songs?

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The Girl in Twilight is officially available on HIDIVE.

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