Gleipnir: Season 1 Episode 8 “Shadows in Memory” – Recap/ Review with Spoilers

For those who missed getting a ton of ecchi from “Gleipnir,” they compensate this episode. But, alongside that, a magnifying glass is put on Shuichi that leads to a notable reveal.

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Directed By		Yoneda Kazuhiro
Written By		Inotsume Shin`ichi
Aired (Funimation)		5/24/2020
Introduced This Episode
Isao	Yamamoto Kazutomi
Aihara	TBD

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

The New Normal – Shuichi, Ikeuchi, Yota, Isao, Aihara, Sayaka, Clair, Yoshioka

So, the unnamed group is composed of Clair and Shuichi, and the eccentric others. There is Yoshioka, who has an affinity for animals so now she has dog ears when she turns. There is Ikeuchi, who is a voyeur, so he turns into a “Big Brother” type of camera. Yota, from what it appears, it just a strong fighter, but this is shown in limited quantities. Isao, the big woodland creature one, he is actually someone small who claims to have known Shuichi back when they were kids. His power is, since he likes plants and flowers, is being able to make them grow faster than what should be possible.

Following them is Aihara, who we saw at the convenience store, who can turn invisible, and Sayaka has hair that can make you choke if you lie. This is the team Shuichi has now bound himself to, thus holding him too to the inability to betray the group.

Becoming One – Yoshioka, Clair, Shuichi

With Yoshioka entering Shuichi and becoming this new being, so comes the question of how, why, and whether Clair should be worried? After all, she thinks she and Shuichi are in sync, yet, even with not seeing what he became with Yoshioka, the damage is visible. And while Shuichi has some memory issue, Yoshioka saw into him, and with that type of connection, she went beyond where Clair has gone and may ever. Which to add insult to injury, Yoshioka makes it clear to Clair she, Clair, and Shuichi will never become one.

So, with that in mind, Clair talks to Shuichi and tries to understand what happened and what is required for them to become one. This, naturally, leads to some teasing, but Shuichi is far too stunned by the proposition to say or do anything. And, lest we forget, Clair is a tease, and just as Sayaka likes being in some weird power position, so does Clair. Also, despite rarely being at school, there is also Clair blackmailing Shuichi if he ever did step out of line and needed to be reminded what started their arrangement.

Forgotten Memories – Yoshioka, Elena

Being that Yoshioka isn’t afraid of Clair, and wasn’t given a reason to be, she decides to call Elena. Someone whose number she gets from Shuichi’s memories to Elena’s surprise. Leading you to wonder, when Elena gave Uchuujin that coin, was any part of her wish for herself, or Shuichi, affiliated with their relationship and her maybe wanting it wiped from memory?

Let’s take note, while Elena portrays herself as a badass now, in flashbacks, she was a bit more nerdy and seemed awkward. Granted, going by Sayaka’s opinion, nice, but not necessarily a social butterfly. So could it be something or someone messed up that relationship, so she tried to erase Shuichi’s memories in order to start over? Here is hoping that’s answered in the future.

But, getting back to the topic at hand, Yoshioka mentions what she learned from becoming one with Shuichi and asks Elena questions about it. Of which she has nearly every answer, sans the memory issue. However, when Yoshioka asks about Elena joining forces, the answer is no. It seems Elena is now geared towards collecting coins and killing gatherers, if she needs to, and has no desire to go back.

So, as much as there clearly are lingering feelings, and perhaps the question of whether, if she, Elena, became one with Shuichi, would she too experience limit breaking power? It seems that ship has sailed.

Highlights

Addressing The Memory Issue

Elena’s role in Shuichi’s life has long been a mystery, ever since we saw a key chain of his monster form in her possession. However, it has only continued to build as their first interaction made her so happy she’d let him kill her, and, when she heard Clair, she ripped his head off. Leaving you to wonder, what is the relationship? Why is it blacked out, and what caused it?

For, taking note of this episode, it seems to have gone beyond Elena and even affected Shuichi’s childhood memories. So it this about him not unlocking his full potential? Could he, before all this happened, have gained 100 coins, and the power overwhelmed him so much his brain shut parts of itself down?

Don’t you love a good host of theories?

Understanding How Shuichi’s Powers Works

What this episode did was make Shuichi interesting – despite the flush of properly introduced characters. We now know his powers allow for his strength and the person who goes inside of him to combine. Then, if they are on the same page, be it goal wise, mentally, or emotionally, they can surpass certain limits. Hence why, despite Shuichi and Yoshioka not being any real threats, they became monstrous when in a position of life or death.

Which leads to the obvious question of, could Clair and Shuichi ever get on the same page? Not to forget, what would other combinations with Shuichi look like?