NIGHT HEAD synopsis – episode 13

We open on the two brothers relaxing at a small coffee shop. Naoya, smiling, comments that the two women running the place look like sisters. Naoto asks why he mentions this, and his younger brother falters – cautiously, he says he thinks it would be nice to work a normal job together like that, the two of them. Naoto assures him that they’ll be able to someday, but Naoya questions his sincerity – when pushed, Naoto admits that he’s becoming less and less sure these days. Hearing confirmation of his older brother’s doubt, Naoya’s hopefulness at watching the sisters at work dims, and he begins to wonder aloud if they would have been better of staying with Mikuriya. Hackles raised, Naoto snaps at his younger brother that he refuses to go back there, but Naoya is still concerned that the causality of their leaving is changing things for others. Naoya doesn’t back down, saying they can’t be blamed for things like that – “We have the right to live our lives the way we want… I just want to live a normal life. Is that really so wrong?” 

Outside in the car, they discuss how similar incidents with lightbulbs blowing out happened when they were children, though they had never thought of it as being related to their powers before. Naoya wonders if one of the sisters has psychic powers like theirs, but Naoto responds that it could be both. He asks his younger brother if he can sense anything, and Naoya responds that it’s unclear – if either do have powers, it’s unlikely they’re aware of them. Naoto is concerned that this could be the work of negative forces, but is surprised when Naoya asks what they should do about it. Naoya thinks there may be some significance in their coming to this place – could there be something they’re supposed to do? 

Out on her date with Kiyokawa, Emi is taken aback by his sudden proposal of marriage. She tells him that she loves him, but reminds him that every man she’s been with has come to harm – it’s the fact that she loves him that’s holding her back from accepting. He scoffs, calling it all a coincidence, before pulling her in for a romantic kiss – only to be interrupted by a fierce slash from nowhere slicing his hand. Emi, looking around in vain, seems terrified. 

The next day, passing through the same park with his older brother, Naoya recalls what he had seen the night before. He comes to a decision, and asks if they can go back to the coffee shop again – something is weighing on his mind. Upon arrival, they hear the sound of crashing coming from inside the establishment and rush over to see what’s happening. The sisters stand in the doorway in shock, staring at the interior – when the brothers approach, asking what’s wrong, they point inside. All of the furniture has been piled up haphazardly, seemingly by a supernatural force. 

When asked if things like this happen often, they learn that while this is particularly bad, it’s not unusual. Strange supernatural occurrences such as the lights going out, or objects moving on their own, have been happening for quite a while – it’s bad enough that they’ve begun losing customers, and have even had a purification ritual performed. Emi is convinced that this is her fault, and says that she’s going to break off her engagement to Kiyokawa. Her younger sister is shocked, and they argue about whether this is the right thing to do. Just then, Kiyokawa arrives, saying that he loves her, and that he doesn’t care if marrying her will bring him harm. Yuri encourages her, saying that surely their marriage will bring them better luck. Pleased to hear all this, but still unsure, Emi looks conflicted. Both Yuri and Kiyokawa hold firm, and she shyly nods in agreement, much to their delight. 

Later, at their hotel, the brothers discuss what happened earlier. Naoto thinks this isn’t a normal poltergeist, as its power is clearly intervening between Kiyokawa and Emi – or, Emi and anyone she dates, more specifically. They wonder if someone is directly trying to interfere, and if so, who – Naoya decides to investigate. 

On returning to the hotel, he relays all this back to Naoto, and says that he wants to do something to help. Naoto, arms crossed in consternation, doesn’t seem to want to even contemplate this, and when Naoya tells him that he was able to have a normal conversation, he is completely taken aback. Buoyed by an unusual self-confidence, Naoya pleads that he feels he’s “gradually becoming able to interact with all kinds of people”, and wants to try and use their powers to help the sisters. Naoto looks away, seemingly unsettled.

The next day they return to the coffee shop where Naoya and Yuri share a smile, recalling their heart-to-heart in the park. As Yuri serves their order, she freezes – her hand quaking, sloshing and clanking before dropping the cup entirely. She falls to the floor and is quickly surrounded by her sister and the brothers, who help her to lie down. Emi tries to call for an ambulance and finds the phone won’t connect – similarly, Naoya tries to get to a phone booth and finds the door is sealed shut. Some force has trapped them here, and they have no clue what it is. 

Naoya uses his powers to sense the source – much to their shock, the collapsed Yuri appears to be the origin. Of his own volition, Naoya crouches by her side to try and ‘read’ her. He sees a vision of the two sisters hugging, vowing to never be apart – never, ever. While it’s clear that Yuri loves her sister, Naoya doesn’t think that the sheer violence of all these problems could be caused merely by her desire not to be separated. He feels there must be some other force at work, and reaches out to her again.

However, he’s stopped in his tracks by none other than Yuri herself, falling back with a yelp at the force of her spite. Her voice tinny with negative energy, Yuri tells her sister that she’s been holding her back on purpose – that she resents having been compared all their lives, and in retaliation she’ll never let her find happiness. Sobbing, Emi falls to her knees, begging Yuri to stop – how can she do this when they’re sisters? But no, Yuri replies – it’s because they’re sisters. As Yuri’s cruelty reaches a crescendo, Emi finally breaks down and retaliates, unburdening herself of her spiteful feelings on her younger sister’s clinginess, but Emi only smiles, saying her sister has finally revealed her true colors. 

Gasping, Naoya falls to his knees, and Naoto pats him on the back while proffering advice to Emi. All the supernatural phenomena up to this point were caused by Yuri’s repressed jealousy because the two of them “were simply too close” – Naoto assures her that if they live apart for a while, nothing more will happen. But Emi is appalled at the rupture, and says that it doesn’t make a difference if they were feelings Yuri was unaware of, now that she’s heard them – how could they possibly stay together any longer? Emi says they’d be better off how they were before, then falls apart completely, choking back sobs. Awkwardly, the brothers make their exit. 

Outside, Naoya is shaken – what were Yuri’s true feelings, the love or the hatred? He seems genuinely confused at the notion of contradictory emotions, and it terrifies him that “you might not even know it, yet feelings you’re not even aware of, from the depths of your heart, could hurt those around you…” But Naoto knows better – “that’s a ‘power’ everyone has.” 

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Another fun and campy episode! Naoya’s suggestion at the beginning that they run a cafe together feeds delightfully into a fanfiction trope that I sorely hope some fujoshi tapped into in their work.² We also get a lot of charming acting choices from Toyoetsu in particular, which is always a treat:

This episode featured a lot of growth for Naoya – taking the initiative with both social interactions³ and the use of his powers – but the way the scene is blocked out around Naoto’s closed off body language reminds me too much of his behavior in episode 8. Previously, when Naoya has tried to connect with someone else, Naoto almost maliciously told him he’d just get hurt – while I didn’t include it before, the script for episode 8 gives more context to that conversation that similarly resonates here: 

Naoya sits on the bed, lost in thought about Mizuki.
Naoto: “What’s up?”
Naoya: “…Huh?”
Naoto: “You’ve been going out alone a lot lately.”
Naoya: “…It’s nothing. I’m just taking walks outside.”
Naoto: “…”
Naoto looks at Naoya with a suspicious expression.

More generally speaking, the emotional depth of the writing was also pretty lacking – I think most people with siblings have had conversations with more bite and have lived to tell the tale, but these ladies fell apart at the mere suggestion of jealousy. If Emi can’t handle the fact that her younger sister resented being in her shadow, perhaps Negative Force Yuri was right, and she isn’t as good of a person as people think! 

The idea that it scares Naoya that feelings can be contradictory is both interesting and frustrating, but I think I’d rather have his sense of things not be so definitive to begin with. Generally, what he’s commenting on there is what was said to him, not what he sensed himself, and I would love to have heard a more nuanced take from his own perspective. If he’s confused, I want what he has to say to be confusing! Emotions are never so linear as all that! But I guess this answers one of my questions from before – if Naoya’s readings snag yr subconscious on the way out and the only solution is to shove it back in, that hardly seems healthy, let alone professional. This feels like another case of not having gained the right tools while in Mikuriya’s captivity, which is a shame!⁴

1. I had to include this in its entirety, because it’s one of my favorite moments in the whole show. This is art. ↩︎
2. episode 9 of the drama adaptation of Tsuzui-san, the Complete Fujoshi features a meta twist, wherein the protagonist writes a self-insert fanfic about her favorite actor coming to visit a cafe that she herself runs, and her intimate fan-centric knowledge of him gleaned over time makes for a uniquely healing visit for him. I mention this because maybe that’s what I’d write for these beleaguered bros – come down to cafe Amigo any time, boys. Omurice is on the house. ↩︎
3. Compare that to episode 5! ↩︎
4. Though I guess it is a bit more emotional intelligence than many men I’ve known in the 20-27 year-old range, but that’s really not saying much.  ↩︎