If not for a few discoveries, this episode could very well be treated as another filler episode.

Not much happened during Sphere Joint, the cliffhanger from the previous episode ended up in a pathetic suicide. Two new victims can now be attributed to the calamity that strikes Yomiyama each year. Class 3 homeroom’s teacher and his mother ended up in a seemingly common murder/suicide case. It wasn’t a freak accident like the previous deaths but an extreme action taken by an individual with a colossal amount of stress on his mind. Stress deriving from taking care of his ill mother, not having a girlfriend, being stuck in class where death is one of your pupils and being rejected five times by Ms. Mikami. According the librarian, the calamity might have also aided the teacher in committing such a dramatic act. Since a link can be established, it is now clear that ignoring two students wasn’t effective and that a new countermeasure must be conceived. Meanwhile, the two supposedly nonexistent students were brought back to life. Kouichi might not be too fond of being brought back to the living world since many will blame him for ruining the charm the other so painstakingly tried to establish. Not all is lost, a few of his classmates begin to socialize Kouichi, the sacrifice that didn’t manage to appease the god of death. Mei isn’t ecstatic to finally be acknowledged, it seems that pretending to be a ghost was more fun than having a life. After the shocking display of death the classroom witnessed, many fled from Yomiyama, around half the class. The ones left are familiar faces who for some reason can’t make the rational decision to leave the cursed town and run for the hills. One of them is the main character, who mistakes self-preservation for running away. Also, it seem as though proving his existence is more important than keeping that one he might have.

It is not illogical for Kouichi to begin questioning his existence. Misaki clearly mentioned that the deceased isn’t even aware of his own nonexistence. Not to mention that everyone’s memories were altered in order for the deceased to function normally in the world of the living. It can then be concluded that no one can truly prove they’re alive, except for Mei, because she’s danced with death before and knows its face. Akazawa brings forth the theory that Kou might not have even been born since his mother died pretty closely to his supposed date of birth. Although she later reveals that she was teasing him and tries to convince Kouichi that he’s alive since his hand is warm and not deathly cold. She also mentions that she has a feeling that they might’ve met before. Something that wouldn’t be surprising since Kou’s father mistakenly placed him in Yomiyama 1.5 years ago. It then becomes a possibility that Kou could have died 1.5 years ago and now has returned as the extra student. All these theories are thrown in to the garbage bin when Misaki uses God’s power to determine that Kouichi’s is alive and kicking. Mei’s all knowing capabilities come from her artificial eye and near death experience. She’s probably able to differentiate the dead from the living or something close to it. If that’s the case, the question becomes, why hasn’t she used said power to find who the deceased student is in the classroom?

Oh the calamity! How to prevent it failed, how to stop it half way becomes a life or death race with very little time left. Such an occurrence happened once before 15 years ago. Yet no one seems to recall the details of how that class managed to halt the phenomenon. Kou’s aunt is in that group and even though the key to survival lies in her memories, it’s been locked deep inside her mind. The only details known are that the class went on a class trip that included a visit to the Yomiyama shrine. It appears that simply visiting the shrine won’t prevent or stop the calamity so other actions must’ve taken place during that trip. Kouichi and gang find out that there’s someone who seems to recall what happened during the trip. However, that person refuses to speak about it and even remembering brings a lapse of insanity. It can be theorized that whatever class 3 did 15 years ago, it wasn’t something they’re proud of or want proliferating. Also, it is odd that the extra person did not become evident during that year. Furthermore, it was unusual for the records to not show Kouichi’s mother’s death. Was it something Reiko hid from the class? Or is there something else….

The story seems to be stuck in a ditch, it doesn’t advance forward at the pace it did before. However, the fog of mystery that filled the show is lifting leading us to different roads we originally thought Another would take.