Nameless’s retro appearance gives the humans an opportunity to act out their subconscious fears/anxieties towards androids. His slightly ridiculous looks helps them relax, having been confused by the other androids’ human appearance, and be honest in their reaction towards them.

I think Nameless also serves as a sharp reminder of where the current generation of androids come from. The boys’ nervous reaction is a product of their spoilt interaction with sleek, familiar looking androids – when faced with an old fashioned jittery piece of machinery they’re in fear of it exploding/failing, thinking it inferior and dangerous. You could read into it as a wider comment on our relationship with technology, and again how we relate to old folks (in an abstract sort of way).

Man, every time I spent a few minutes writing about this show I get so excited by how good it is. I hope we get a chance to own it in a more physical way.

Society might still be able to function if you gave them rights and free will and control over their own lives, but then we’d just have to build ‘dumb’ robots again so what’s the point? Unlike discrimanated minorities today, humanity will have created these robots, why shouldn’t they 1) protect their investment in them, and 2) be afraid what they will be capable of (don’t have to sleep, more durable, personality, memory, etc. are all programmed/subject to change and manipulation)?

Also, Masaki is a robot or something. Has to be. The irony of the human girl being jealous of his interest in robots is too delicious for it not to be so.

Substitute any race, religion, class, gender or other disenfranchised group for “androids” in the above statement and you’ve answered your own question.

I also agree that I got an Asimov-esque feeling while watching the plight of the abandoned robot.

The one thing that always amazes me is the subtle and pervasive influence of Western science fiction writers in anime. From the end of World War I all the way up to the bubble years.

For me the contributions made by these writers to the various genres of anime is palpable indeed.

This is why I like Eve no Jikan because it is good science fiction. Not the glorified infomercials and/for gaudy merchandising that passes for science fiction these days.

(I will not name names…seriously!)

Good science fiction presents a compelling story of the future by scrutinizing the present. After all today was once tomorrow. Tomorrow is today that waits to be born.

I’ve actually really liked the fluidity of the camera shots throughout this series, it suits the cafe setting really well and definitely proved its worth in this episode’s more manic moments, particularly when ending in that classic understatement “Just now, the information was quite confusing…”.

One thing that I’ve been mulling over since watching this episode is whether Nagi is a human or android – I’m starting to wonder if her rigid sticking to the rules in this episode suggests the latter (although admittedly I’ve always tended to her being an android based solely around the similarities to Mizu no Kotoba), but I suppose it’s something you could argue endlessly at the moment. I’m not sure if Rikuo’s father is going to be a big deal beyond acting as a vehicle to introduce Rikou’s own personality and the issues at hand though.