As I mentioned over Twitter (and now mention here for the benefit of our readers), there was a very interesting article in Time about how people survive disasters. People actually can and do behave well in the face of calamity, though some can freeze up and go into a state of catatonia. The difference is calm, decisive leaders who can marshal people to evacuate and to not panic. I guess we’ll see whether Tokyo has enough of them to help the people weather a disaster of this magnitude in episodes to come.

I also think that you did well to point out the general good behavior of the disaster victims as a whole. I’ve had commenters on my posts on this show remark at the apathy of bystanders to the needs of certain people. While the ‘bystander effect’ is a plausible explanation for this behavior, I think that if this is the worst thing that the people of Tokyo exhibit, they’re exceptionally well-behaved as a class of citizens.

What this does, in my view is allow the narrative to concentrate on the minutiae of concerns that give such nuance to the show. The characters don’t need to, or at least haven’t needed to deal with external threats (human malice/desperation) save for the physical threat of the earthquakes.

Thus we are treated to an examination of the nature of indignity in the fourth episode. I think shit is one of the indignities we are most ashamed of because it is a constant in our lives and we are so intimate with it. Mirai going through what she did in the first part of episode 04 was an effective set-up to a breakdown extreme even for her notable irritableness and emotional negativity.

So yes, I think your observation on the relatively good behavior of the Tokyo citizens have played an important part in the integrity of the storytelling.