Hm. Kayano, Taketatsu and Mori? That's an interesting combination.
Kayano and Taketatsu are both involved with IAE and the Observation Project, but the disappearances Mori is investigating may be related to the OMOIKANE one. Shinoseki Adachi is (was?) comprised from a lot of souls, and I suspect that's where they came from.
Since a few of them exhibited criminal tendencies (from lockpicking to murder and arson), I guess Juuzo wasn't shying away from experimenting on convicts.
It would be interesting to see if we still retain the voices, or if they stayed with Seiji.
Although... that 12 people went missing in 2012 simultaneously suggests that it was a part of the same project that we are partaking in now.
I'll just dump everything that we know here, along with the questions we seek the answers to.
Maeda told us that the Observation Project was Taketatsu's, and he is the CEO of Epicsoft, a Japanese company. It is likely, though, that he is just a puppet and that Kaimei is the one pulling the strings.
The Observation Project didn't go far until Bryan Cooper from IAE - an American researcher from a European company - brought some vital information from his partners.
Maeda said she was surprised the Epicsoft got funding for their project. It is highly likely that the money came from Kaimei and Shinohara Juuzo directly.
Maeda said that the last thing she heard about Shinohara Seiji was that he went overseas to study.
Shinohara Seiji expressed familiarity with IAE and called Kayano Rina 'sensei'. He also flat-out called her a triple agent and implied she was working for his grandfather.
Taken together, we can see that there are two companies who are likely pursuing different agendas working on a joint venture. The IAE Corporation, represented by Cooper and Seiji, and Epicsoft with the financial backing of Kaimei, represented by Taketatsu and Juuzo (and Usui, but we've seen how well it ended for him). Probably with all the industrial espionage that such a relationship entails.
I wonder, though, what is the third side Kayano is working for? The government? Some underground syndicate? The gods? 'Sensei' could mean that she was a researcher or at least an instructor of some kind, but seeing how she non-chalantly kicked Sawada's ass, it is more likely that she is an agent who received special training.
I wonder when the OMOIKANE project took place and how it was terminated. I can only assume that that's where the roads of Juuzo and Seiji went completely in different directions.
I also wonder when it was that IAE gave Epicsoft the information necessary for the Observation Project. Was it before or after the disappearances in 2012? Was it before or after Ikei was constructed? It looks like the hospital was built with that purpose in mind.
When was it that Seika disappeared? Can't be more than a year that Seiji has known her. I mean, she is Uehara's twin and would be 17 if she were alive by now. Seiji is not into lolis.
Seeing how Seiji's and Seika's first meeting occured in Ikei, I assume that IAE and Epicsoft association was well underway by then. Seiji and Juuzo were working together for some time (that's what Mori was alluding to). Was it the girl's disappearance that drove them apart? But then, Kayano said that Seiji was considered dead, too, and Uehara said that they disappeared together.
So... a murder attempt? Removing a business competitor, perhaps? But Juuzo does not look like someone who is driven by money. What else then could possibly prompt him to get rid of his own grandson?
I got a vibe that Kayano was involved in this. I don't know how else to explain her fear and hostility. But what were her motives? If she felt resentment for what happened with her family, why did she target Seiji on behalf of Juuzo who is much more directly responsible for this?
