Marebito--Into the Lair, Out with a Significant Find

Fear of the unknown compels me to open the door.

Okay so you have all these tunnels, stairs, and passageways that lead to Tokyo Underneath, as directed by Shimizu as if the city features a darkness under the surface that could rise any moment if released. The Second World War, our disturbed narrator tells us, is what Tokyo Underground represents and conceals from the Japanese modern society (unless you are one of those anti-social recluses who hide away in the underground). It also is home to quite an evil. Masuoka tells us he was “invited to the netherworld alive”, but I can’t imagine too many would want an invitation there. When he’s visited upon by the specter of the suicide victim who put a knife in his eye, I guess what is taking place is up for conjecture in regards to how real or unreal it is. Our protagonist’s point of view isn’t exactly easy to accept on face value. There’s the idea of a subterranean world in all the popular cities, access available to a select few who wish to venture there. Now, “Deros” (detrimental robots), once a work of fiction, are to be feared and not encountered. Masuoka has to experience the Deros so he can understand the terror that eclipsed the suicide victim. The suicide victim who visits Masuoka in Tokyo Underground walks with him for a spell, discussing all things subterranean, and doesn’t even know he’s dead until told. He then “turns out the lights” because he feels Masuoka should see him if he is in fact dead. Just like that, Masuoka is once again on his own, still in pursuit of pure terror. This guy is properly motivated by his madness. While on a mission, he finds “a girl”, naked, pale-skinned, and chained to a mountainous wall within the subterranean world Masuoka finds himself walking. So what does he do? He takes her to his place. Oh, yes, good times ahead for Masuoka.