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EP. REVIEW: Train to the End of the World

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Apogee, on the other hand, suggests the remoteness of their reconciliation.

Or to look at it another way, they can only get closer from this point on, whereas Perigee would suggest they're as close now as they're ever going to get, which would be sad.

Shizuru is, to put it bluntly, a crappy leader. We see her shirk responsibility several times throughout this installment. The inciting incident is Pochi's apparent poor health, which understandably concerns the group, but Shizuru brushes it off. While this attitude could stem from her greater familiarity with the pooch and his quirks, her attitude, combined with the context provided by the rest of the episode, suggests plain old willful thinking on her part. She disengages from any negative speculation because otherwise, she might be forced to reckon with the truth of her role in this journey—that nobody, neither girl nor canine, would be on that train if not for her. It's an anxiety-inducing prospect, and I can relate to how she shuts down in response to it.

Now, given that this is the first I've heard of a zombie queen, I'm inclined to assume she made this role up. However, the important part is that she has followed through on it.

Mervyn Griffith-Jones warned us but we wouldn't listen. He said you don't want your servants or wife to read this but we laughed.

In that regard, Akira is definitely my kindred spirit, muttering to herself about the dichotomy between Eros and Thanatos and whatnot.