Anime Best in Show

Review: Midnight Occult Civil Servants Episode 03 – Best in Show

Quick Summary

In Midnight occult civil servants episode 3, “Trickster with Amber Eyes,” Arata Miyako and his coworkers Kyouichi Sakaki and Seo Himezuka find themselves trapped underground. An undead army of kyoshi are threatening not only them, but people on the surface, too. The amber-eyed Another who is behind the army of kyoshi lays down some conditions for survival, but they keep shifting, and in the end, it comes down to life and death for not only our heroes, but kidnapped high school girls as well. Can Arata figure out a way out of this? And can he do it in time to save everyone who’s in harm’s way?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious. 

This show has done a great job of showing just how “other” the Anothers are. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Best Moment in the Show

I don’t know why, but all three episodes so far have surprised me in an important way: I’ve liked them! I really don’t think I’m in the target demographic, but the show’s been consistently interesting. I guess at some point I should just accept that it’s enjoyable! Case in point: The kyoshi, a form of undead who, unlike zombies, need to be powered by an evil altar, are attacking Arata, Kyouichi, Seo, and the people above ground for a single purpose: The amber-eyed Another wanted to surprise Arata, who he remembers as Abe no Seimei. Well, Arata is surprised all right, but that’s not enough for the Another. He apparently had a strong friendship with the original Abe no Seimei, and he wants to rekindle it. So, he insisted that Arata remember the Another’s name — a name Abe no Seimei had given him. Arata dives deeply into his own memories of his conversations with his grandfather, because he can’t remember being Abe no Seimei at all. He finally remembers a story of Abe no Seimei’s special Another friend, who he did not see as a servant though many Anothers served him. He remembered that the special Another’s name was Kohaku (17:14). Now, that was pretty cool; it showed Arata connecting with his past! But it really served as the setup to my real Best in Show moment, which was after Kohaku halted the kyoshi attack. Arata had had enough and finally snapped. He told Abe no Seimei’s old friend to stop calling him Abe and to start calling him Arata (21:34). What was so cool about that moment? Kohaku remembered the exact same exchange with Abe no Seimei years and years ago, only the refrain was to call him Abe. Now, his old friend was reasserting himself in the same way, and Kohaku could not have been happier. Sure, he’s a trickster god named Huehuecóyotl whose antics kill way too many people, but an emotional moment is an emotional moment! 

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2 thoughts on “Review: Midnight Occult Civil Servants Episode 03 – Best in Show

  1. The coyote is such a fun character. I’m fond of tricksters, and he’s just so stylish. That was a nice moment, but to me it was so much part and parcel of the entire segment (not even only of the scene) that I have trouble isolating it as a favourite moment. In fact, that’s a general feeling I get from this show. It flows really well, and is very entertaining to watch. It’s got a clumsy little charm, but it’s so consistent that it’s hard to pick favourite scenes. There’s just nothing that stands out to me. Saying this sounds like a criticism, but it’s not. It’s just a show I’m likely to remember more for its overall feel and characters than for individual scenes.

    1. Not sure how (badly!) it shows in my write-up, but I honestly had that exactly problem. The show has a low-key consistency of enjoyment that makes picking a single moment hard!

      I like having that kind of problem! It’s so much more pleasant than being able to list dozens of problems with an episode!

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