Shin Sekai Yori
(or From the New World) is about a
girl named Saki growing up in a small town called Kamisu 66 where people all
have “Power” or “PK.” * It takes place 1000 years in the future, but doesn’t
seem futuristic; if anything, technology seems to have regressed. At Saki’s
school, students in each class are divided into groups of about six, and Saki
has close, lasting relationship with all of the people in her group. From the
beginning of the show, it’s clear that something in the town isn’t quite right.
Children suddenly disappear and are never spoken of again. Rumors circulate
about dangerous creatures like “Trickster Cats,” and although the adults deny
their existence, the mention of them leaves Saki’s parents arguing late in the
night. Everyone in town is taught how dangerous the world is outside the town’s
Sacred Barrier, that somewhere out there are horrific monsters like ogres (akki) and karmic demons (gouma).
All of that is just the beginning of Shin Sekai Yori. The show follows Saki and her friends as they grow
older, and the show grows more complex as they learn more about their world.
Under the jump, there’s a spoiler-free review followed by an analysis that I would
only recommend reading if you’ve watched the show.
You might like Shin
Sekai Yori if:
- You like shows that are creepy, but not necessarily horror.
(There is some blood and violence, but that’s the exception rather than the
rule.)
- You are interested in moral grey areas where the line
between heroes and villains is nebulous at best.
- You like complex plots that develop gradually.
*PK is short for psychokinesis (the ability to move things
with your mind), but their psychic abilities actually extend beyond that. They
are shown as being capable of creating fire, making mirrors out of the air,
putting broken objects back together, and so on. The limits of their abilities
are never very clearly defined.
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