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Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 8 – Quick Summary
In Grisaia: Phantom Trigger episode 8, “Arisaka’s Journal,” Shiori Arisaka had completed her probationary period at Mihama Academy, and now she had to make a choice: would she resign and leave the school immediately? Or would she stay on – permanently? And not permanently as in “full time position.” Permanently as in “stay until you die.” Neither Ichiru Sengoku nor Nogami were kidding when they delivered that news. Does Shiori even have a choice?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 8
Neither Ichiru nor Nogami’s observations reassured Shiori. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
I have to wonder: how much was Ichiru joking?
It was early in the episode. Ichiru and Nogami sat down and asked Shiori if she’d made a decision to stay or not. They said she could walk away right now, no questions asked. Or she could stay. Permanently. As in, she wouldn’t be going anywhere.
If she hired on, she could not quit. If she acted up, she might actually be silenced.
Alarmed, Shiori asked if that meant she’d be killed.
As if the question was routing, Ichiru answered (02:34), “It’s only a possibility.. No staff members have actually been killed.”
Helpfully, Nogami added (02:38), “There was a suicide, however.”
Shiori did not seem reassured. And honestly? I don’t think they were joking with her.
Favorite Moment from Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 8
Shiori didn’t even know it, but she’d arrived home. Or, maybe she did know. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Shiori’s Grim Beginning
This season seems to be about emotional tone. The way this episode struck me as emotionally satisfying in a quiet and unexpected way. I’m curious to learn if you saw it the same way.
The story began on a grim note. We saw Shiori’s father trying to choke her to death. Her mother tried to intervene. Her father turned his violence on his wife. Shiori, seemingly in a trance, picked up a kitchen knife and plunged it into her father’s back.
There are some situations a child should never be placed in. This is one of them. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Talk about a clear and ambiguous way to establish few acts more egregious than a father hurting his wife and children. It’s a violation of the most fundamental responsibilities of a dad. In my mind, Shiori not only acted properly. She deserved praise.
Through the rest of the episode, we saw how society ostracized Shiroi. The story going around had been that her mother murdered her father. No mention was made of Shiori’s role. Still, she paid a heavy price. The price was so high that she mentally disassociated herself from the attack. In her mind, it was all her mother.
Delivery: Shiori Arrives Home
By the end of the episode, I really wanted to find some way to give her relief. She’d undeservedly been put through social hell for the sin of protecting her mother – because as you’ll note, she did not fight back against her father when her own life was on the line. It was only when her mother was in danger that Shiori acted.
Nogami and Ichiru were alone discussing Shiori deciding to accept the position. Nogami wondered if they had done the right thing; if they had accepted a timebomb into their midst. Most of all, she wondered if someday, Shiori would realize what she herself had done.
“Nobody can stop that from happening,” Ichiru said (21:35). “Not you, not me.”
Ichiru and Nogami knew the facts about Shiori’s situation. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
In that instant, it dawned on me. Shiori was in the one place in that world that would not only understand what she was going through. They had the skills and temperament to help her through it. Shirori’s found home offered her something her biological home never could: acceptance and safety. Or what passes for safety in this – and our – world.
The show didn’t have to smash me over the head with a tearful, emotional speech. It just laid out the facts and showed Shiori smiling. That’s some skillful story-telling right there.
What did you think of Shiori trying to decide to clear Taiga for a mission? What were your favorite parts? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 8: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 1: Mother’s Cradle I
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 2: Mother’s Cradle II
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 3: Mother’s Cradle III
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 4: Phantom Blade I
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 5: Phantom Blade II
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 6: Bluest Blue #1
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 7: Bluest Blue #2
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 8: Arisaka’s Journal
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 9: Rite of Passage
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 10: Heaven’s Door
- Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Episode 11: The Right Choice
