Golden Time – 13

Having control over your body taken away by a new personality, and being held prisoner within that body, having to watch helplessly as that personality moves further and further away from the person you were: it’s a special kind of hell we wouldn’t wish upon our greatest enemy (that dog who barks at us when we pass by its house). But Past Banri is starting to show that he’s not utterly helpless after all. Literal and figurative stormy clouds are gathering about New Banri and his lovely girlfriend, and Past Banri would have us believed they’re of his making.

We still can’t blame New Banri for going cold turkey on Linda; he did what he felt he had to do to protect Koko. New Banri is done with his past self, an yearns for a simple, happy new life with his girlfriend. Linda didn’t help matters by so easily going along with his wishes, but a part of her still blames herself for what happened to Banri in the first place. That guilt has crippled her from acting for her own sake. In a way, New Banri made things easier for her by being decisive for both of them in cutting her loose.

There’s no sign that she’s sore over it this week, but then Linda’s always excelled at hiding her feelings. The Awa dance pre-gaming, the parade, the festival date, and Koko’s faux culinary exploits are so much pretty window dressing, while the wood of the window’s frame just behind it is starting to show signs of rot. If New Banri truly loves Koko as deeply as his past self loved Linda, he may never find peace, as Past Banri will always be that splinter in his mind, giving him bad dreams, raining on his dates, and even making him recoil from Koko’s kisses.

Golden Time didn’t waste any time re-asserting its supernatural elements, leaving us weary on many levels. We worry for Banri’s future sanity, and how it will affect his relationship with Koko; we worry about Koko getting hurt; we worry about Linda drifting even further away; but we’re also concerned about Past Banri wielding too much “magic” influence in his quest to punish his successor, making him a bad guy easy to root against. We’d prefer if everyone played a role in their downfalls, if they have them, rather than be able to blame all their ills on one scorned ghoul.

Rating:7 (Very Good)