[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Ray the Animation episode 2: Transplant ethics and mind-reading
The series continues as Ray pays a visit to a Shinoyama, a friend of hers who knows a thing or two about making medical gadgets - there’s a little romantic tension there but it could just as easily be Shinoyama’s cheeky sense of humour! She initially wants to check his progress on an electric scalpel, but he’s also been working on something more ambitious (below). Cut to…
A patient at the hospital is suffering from a terminal heart condition but her sister is willing to donate her own. A rather bold move perhaps but when we learn of their circumstances it’s easy to understand the sister’s altruistic gesture. Unfortunately the would-be recipient’s condition has hit her hard emotionally and she is not the easiest of patients to work with; Ray’s blunt, no-nonsense approach is necessary and surprisingly effective here. Imagine an attractive female version of Hugh Laurie’s character Dr House…with x-ray vision, obviously.
Aside from this, Ray visits the young lad Kenji (above) in his hospital room. This character is worth a bit of extra attention I think: he’s obviously important to Ray in some way and she seems to show a sisterly affection for him that is quite unusual for her. In this episode they speak of someone called Kouichi (who seems to be a relative of Kenji’s), as well as Kenji’s own mind-reading ability. Perhaps it is his ability that causes Ray to feel that she and Kenji share a common feeling of ‘otherness’ and isolation…or she could just feel sorry for him because he is separated from the outside world by a pane of glass. Either way it’s an interesting theme to keep an eye on in future.
Overall this episode suggests that Ray: the Animation is going to take on a ‘case of the week’ format with frequent but gradual forays into the lead character’s past thrown in. The supporting cast are likeable enough and Ray herself is complex, intriguing and downright cool; the opening theme, called ‘zero-G’ and by Masami Okui according to the ever-helpful ANN, is a brilliantly energetic rock track that kicks the action off really well. I can’t help but feel that this series isn’t really getting the attention it deserves.
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