Throughout the show many scenes seem to foreshadow explanations to certain parts. Even though the first scene of the first episode may have given the impression of an anime about ruthless killing, the viewer realizes in the first episode that this is not completely true. Then, as the first few episodes carry on, there are a few more scenes that make the viewer sit a bit on the edge of their seat, but nothing extraordinary. Not until the end of the 3rd / beginning of the 4th do things really begin to stir up. After this point, the show no longer seems like your regular thriller or slice of life.
This is the point of which the anime became most enticing to me. I'll try not to spoil too much, but here the show picks up a lot of momentum. There are many scenes for the next few episodes that make you worried as hell about the characters, then at the same time you want to find out what will happen to them. Well, nothing tragic happens at this stage of the show, but many of the encounters the main characters have seem to cut it real close.
**This is when
I'd say now that after the characters are comfortable and safe, around the 8th ep or so. Again, this is another turning point in the show, and is slightly foreshadowed in the end of episode 7 if you have a sharp memory, but
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you will notice that Shun, Mamoru, and Maria--who were separated from Saki and Satoru--will end up dying
.<--- ONLY READ THIS IF YOU ARE PAST EP 15 OR IT WON'T MAKE SENSE.
Now I will start discussing where stuff really gets crazy. From episode 16-18 nothing extremely notable happens. Once you get to the end of ep 18 and the start of 19, you will realize how crazy this anime is. Although you may notice it, the fiend is none other than
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the child of Maria and Mamoru, who were disposed of by the queerats
. This is one of the parts of the anime where you have to think for a second before you realize what may be terrorizing everybody, but it really does make sense.
**LOTS OF SPOILERS IN THIS SPOILER BOX
At this point, I have basically reached the current episode. After ep. 19 is when things get EXTREMELY intense, and that there are a lot of things you have to remember from throughout the anime to understand.
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For example, you will wonder why fiends are able to kill other humans, but the conclusion I have come to is that they have lost their sanity beyond the point of which their mental barriers will hold them. As for the fiend in the war, the reason has to be because he is raised by the queerats rather than by humans. People can't kill each other because their minds have been trained to love rather than to despise.
(If you read this) This is basically my take on the whole situation.
Overall, I think that the foreshadowing done in this show is genius. Seeing as how many of the short scenes very early in the show come back, it makes you wonder how many of these small things you may have missed in other anime. The foreshadowing is much more apparent here because the lessons that the kids learn in school were made specifically so that they could prevent events such as the ones that occur from ever happening. Although it isn't perfect, you will realize that the adults' methods for preventing these things were in the best interest of the townspeople. These small hints that are thrown in throughout the show are second to the fact that I was extremely anxious about what would happen next every scene. Although certain scenes are somewhat predictable, others will completely shock you and make you take a few seconds to think.
