Episode 9 "Yellow Blind Spot"
Up until this point, "The Perfect Insider" has been perfectly satisfying in the way that sustains tension mostly through laying out breadcrumbs while focusing on the philosophical movements of each character.
I'm still living for that characterization, especially the dynamic between Nishinosono and Saikawa, but as the mystery comes closer to resolution I've found the series' one and only flaw.
"The Perfect Insider" lingers.
Admittedly, the flaw is only large if you've been exposed mostly to modern films, television, and anime. Lingering, rather, painting a picture to its completion in plotting is usually frowned upon as keeping attention in the digital age requires brevity. Episode nine in particular lingers for the first half as most of the series has, taking its time to develop dynamics and character goals.
But then there's this very modern speed of information once Saikawa discovers the missing camera lapse. The speed almost feels out of place given the way that previous episodes have taken time with each clue and each conflict, allowing the audience to see everything from beginning to end.
In that way, "The Perfect Insider" is a tad bit slow.
But, as the cliché goes, patience is a virtue.
You could say in some ways that the point of "The Perfect Insider" lingering structure is to mirror the patience that every character needs to learn. Nishinosono is impatient with the speed of her life because the death of her parents has forced her to grow up faster than her body can. Saikawa is impatient with his ability to understand the things that he's longed to since the very beginning.
Dr. Magata is impatient with the world. The world should catch up to her views.
But the truth is that they can't and won't, so the tragedy of her life is that she will always be steps ahead.
At least until Nishinosono and Saikawa make sense of her murder.
Overall, this week's episode of "The Perfect Insider" is like an extremely slow curtain call. Everything you need to know will come to you - the mystery will be solved. However, as simple as the mystery might seem, you must first wait for the full picture to be revealed behind the curtain.
