Kamisama no Memo-chou 10 ~ creep guarding machine

Ayaka Shinozaki. Gardening Club president and ramen shop waitress.

I had been waiting for an arc of Kamisama no Memo-chou (God’s notebook) to be dedicated to Ayaka, who I thought was an excellent character in the first episode, but has been mostly sidelined. Episode 10 formally kicks off that arc, and it turns out to be a rather dark and tragic one.

Toshi, Ayaka's big brother is a druggie and a jerk.

Ayaka finally gets to see her brother again, but he wanders off. Narumi heads out to talk with him and Toshi says some mean things about Ayaka, and pops a pill he calls “Angel Fix”. When the NEET detectives get the word about this dangerous new drug, they realize that Toshi must be pretty deeply involved in it to have such a large bag. They try to keep word of her brother’s problem from Ayaka.

This does not look like the sort of procedure that should be applied forcibly.

Narumi upsets her anyway.

Nevertheless, a comment Toshi made gnaws at Narumi until he finally asks her about it, which offends her and causes a problem in their relationship.

Ayaka is happy again.

Ayaka as we like to remember her.

Narumi uses his computer skills to make a thoughtful gesture, and everything is coming up roses in the Gardening Club once again. Unfortunately this happiness doesn’t last for long. Ayaka overhears the NEETs discussing Toshi’s drug problem, and she gets very worried. Although she puts on a smile whenever others are around, she is obviously very bothered by her brother’s predicament.

As we watch, this bed of white flowers becomes a pool of blood.

As the episode closes, we seem to witness Ayaka’s suicide. She falls from what is likely the school roof, into a bed of white flowers. Blood is seen flowing freely out of her skull. It is night time, so there is likely none around to save her. If she dies here she certainly will be a tragic figure. I found her quite likable, and her death seems to be the result of her concern for her brother.

Of course there are many questions remaining. Was it suicide or murder? We didn’t see how Ayaka left the roof, merely how she hit the ground. I can’t believe the NEET detectives will leave this without investigating. There’s also the question of whether she will survive or not. I certainly hope she does, although there was nothing that we saw to give one hope that she could survive. Still, at this point it is too soon to say, “Goodbye, Ayaka”.