Finally addressing the elephant in the room, this episode gave us an intimate look into the relationship between Captain Gin and Shirase. I found it quite funny that Shirase kept insisting that she had only spoken with her a couple times, but from what we saw they’ve hung around together quite a few times for years and shared some special moments. They’re both pretty similar to each other, probably because they spent a lot of time together. They share the same kind of harshness, with a bit of awkward thrown in there, plus a huge love of penguins. It was also quite sweet that it was Gin who taught Shirase how to jump rope so well. Of course it was the disappearance of Takako that caused their little acquaintanceship to dwindle and they finally got straight to the point. Shirase revealed that she doesn’t hate Gin for what happened, and that made her emotional later on, so it’s possible for them to become closer again. Learning this backstory was sad, and it really made me feel for Gin. She had grown fond of Shirase but she was holding a lot of guilt and an uneasiness on her shoulders for a long time because she felt it was her fault for Takako’s disappearance. The assurance of being free from guilt and hatred, while at the same time hitting hard ice and making it to their destination, it was all a cathartic moment. Though there is still one thing, and it’s Takako’s whereabouts that still haunt her, and the fact that she heard her last words makes everything worse. Poor Gin.
Though I wonder why Takako wanted Shirase to get Gin’s “spirit”. Like, be as strong-willed as her? I think Shirase could have also gotten that from her mother but maybe she just wanted her best friend and daughter to become close?
In your face! In your face! Man, why couldn’t Shirase have said all that at school?! I mean, maybe that would have been a bad idea and made everyone hate her and think she was full of it, but I’m just so glad that Shirase was finally able to let out her pent-up negative emotions towards the bullies at school that made fun of her. Everyone thought she was crazy, but she did it! And I’m like a proud mother, I’m proud of Shirase but I’m proud of all of them. They all worked real hard to make it to where they are and they braved the seas and adapted to life on the ship. This anime doesn’t stop being inspirational. No matter how crazy it may seem, if you want something you can get it! It’ll be tough and it might take some time, but if you’re passionate enough you’ll be able to achieve anything!
One thing I did not care for at all was the love story from that Toshio guy. He wasn’t at all interesting to me and I felt like this sudden love was random and unnecessary. The love story was used to ease us into getting to know Gin but I think it could have been handled in a different way that didn’t have to involve an insignificant unrequited love.
I also wasn’t very sure if I should have mentioned this, but the one thing that actually made me scoff this episode was the ice breaker scene when the characters talked about Japan’s struggles with Antarctic expeditions after WWII. Because they lost the war they got the worst part of Antarctica, and the characters described it as “being bullied”. It makes me scoff because it’s hilarious that they mention being “bullied :(” even though Japan had done such awful atrocities during WWII. I don’t need to mention what they did, but their malice against other countries was on par with Germany at the time. Of course when a piece of media from a certain country gets nationalistic, they only paint themselves in a positive light, the United States does that a lot. But in this case, specifically because it was after WWII, I couldn’t help but laugh a bit. I’m not being anti-Japan of course, but because they used the word “bullied”, like they were the victims made me have a bigger reaction. It just makes it worse for me when I know Japanese schools don’t even teach Japanese students the terrible things Japan did during WWII (Rape of Nanking).
Again, that part just really stood out to me but I don’t want to have a political debate, but I felt like that story wasn’t necessary and was a little off-putting. But the only reason why I feel that way is because I’m a foreigner. Either way, this was a mostly nice episode and finally we’ll see them in the Syowa Station soon! We’ll also learn what Yuzuki’s mother sent in the email.
Side note: I think this scene was the first time I’ve ever seen Kero genuinely annoyed/angry with Sakura. See, earlier when Sakura had pulled him out to show him to Akiho while en route to school, she lifted him so that her phone (attached to his neck with the long ribbon) dangled below, and it actually started to strangle him! x__x So Sakura knows now to be much more careful when parading Kero around while he’s attached to her phone.
While Akiho is gone, Sakura and Tomoyo search the library until they find what looks like a gap on a shelf with nearly ten volumes of books missing. But when Sakura moves to touch what looks like empty space, she can still feel books on the “missing” shelf! So what gives? Sakura quickly captures the card, which is shown to be Lucid. I’m not sure how something being lucid can make something invisible… maybe because lucid can mean “clear”, it was stretched to refer to invisibility? I’m not quite sure with this card, but as with Flight, I’m sure Lucid will come in handy for Sakura later in the series.
Turns out neither Yuki or Inomata wrote the love letter to Ryu. It was just a nameless girl who we never even got to see the face of. They both freaked out at the news of him finding a letter, and while they pretended not to worry about it, they actually did. The love letter bothered Ryuichi the entire day though, walking around with a red face and acting clumsy. He was acting so strangely that Kotaro had thought his brother had caught a cold and did his best to make him feel better. In the end Ryu turns down the girl because he wants to make Kotaro his first priority. To which I can’t blame him. He doesn’t have parents to look after his little brother so he has to watch Kotaro the whole time, though it is a little sad. Ryuichi admitted that he had some interest in dating, but with Kotaro by his side he wants to focus all his attention on him. Like I mentioned in the earlier episodes, Ryuichi has to take on a lot of responsibilities at such a young age and those responsibilities can get in the way of having a normal high school life, such as making friends and finding love. He had issues with friends until Kamitani joined the club, and now we’ve seen struggles in his love life. It’ll affect him a lot but Ryuichi is smart enough to balance those things out when he wants to. But…he’s also really dense and can’t even see that he’s popular with girls. Oh well.
Kamitani, Taka, Ryu, and Kotaro all hang out at the festival and just as usual it was fun to see the boys play around together. But the drama this time was Taka accidentally losing his precious toy sword and the four of them went around the whole festival to look for it, even looking in the festival’s lost and found. Kamitani was harsh as usual, but he bargained to take Taka to the shoddy lottery stand to make him feel better. It was a lottery stand where you pull a string and you can win whatever prize pops out. Taka takes too long to decide so Kotaro grabs a string and pulls it, revealing Taka’s toy sword. Kotaro is too powerful apparently. The owner had taken it and put it in the prize box, so as a token of apology, he gave the boys the “game console” grand prize….except it was a piggy bank in the shape of the game console. Of course it is. I’ve never been to a Japanese festival but there are plenty of phony games like those over here in carnivals and our own festivals. But they got lucky. You know, it’s obvious that Kamitani loves Taka but he’s pretty harsh with him but I think he’s been softening a bit with him because of Ryu. He even said that if Ryu weren’t there that he would have made Taka give up immediately. I just wish he would be a tad bit nicer. :/
many people living in one tree… and yet she’s clearly still slightly annoyed by the company. But, life involves change, and Mikochi will simply have to get used to the fact that “their tree” is no longer just their tree. Oh well as long as their neighbours keep the noise down right?
are rewarded after the repair when Koharu is able to safely and comfortably sit on top of her new, slightly altered stool. Well I guess 1 out of 3 isn’t bad, no?
I knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of the squad started to pick up on it, but it seems for now, it’s only the boys who are curious about it. Zorome’s reaction of asking Hiro to kiss him was absolutely hilarious, and honestly completely natural since they have never been exposed to it. However during the discussion of “Kissing”, what really stood out to me the most was how much Zero Two understands the meaning behind it. It makes me wonder how she learned about it, and/or who explained it to her. I also found it quite particular how the doctor told Hiro not to let Zero Two consume his emotions. Quite a warning when Hiro is more or less in the process of actually fall in love with her. And due to Zero Two’s personality, it is hard to say whether or not she is truely falling for him as well.
But that wasn’t all that happened at the beach. Mitsuru finds an abandoned town and the team goes out to explore. They encounter many interesting things, such as an abandoned building that shares the same model of the one they live in at the Garden, books in regards to child births, and movie poster, “The Beat of a Kiss” featuring with a man and a woman about to kiss.
In fact, while I am on the subject of the character’s dynamics, I find it quite intriguing how unique each of the pairs interactions are. Mitsuru and Ikuno’s partnership is anything but a friendly one. It is strictly for business, and is more about the two “tolerating” each other than accepting one another as their partner. If Mitsuru had it his way, he would rather search for another partner. Ikuno on the other-hand, is just trying her hardest to make sure she can execute her part properly. Then we have Zorome and Miku, the duo tends to get a bit jealous of one another, typically Miku whenever Zorome steps out of line or starts ogling other girls. They are the type to have a more friendly banter, especially when we know both of them care deeply for each other’s well being. And Goro and Ichigo, being the Squad leaders’ are well, the most level-headed members of the group. They are more or less always on the same page, and have a friendly and stable relationship. But even that can be threatened, should the secret of the kiss Ichigo and Hiro shared get out.
Immediately Mitsuru criticizes him for questioning Papa, but thanks to Zero Two, Hiro is quickly starting to become a critical thinker. He is starting to think outside of the box, question the things that others turn a blind eye to. In reality, Hiro has every right to be suspicious and feel uneasy. Indeed, what caused Humanity to have to abandon the surface world and live in Plantations? What brought about the Klaxosaurs, what was the Magna Energy being used for, prior to Plantations existence? Furthermore, their roles as “Parasites”, it feels as though the majority if not all never get the opportunity to become an adult. It feels as though they are killed off before then– that or they simply can’t grow up. I think the saddest part was seeing Zorome hold so much pride being useful to Papa and the adults. How they are the the protectors who enables the adults to live in such beautiful cities. What makes it so depressing is how it seems Parasites are really nothing more than fodders and scapegoats, created to fight off the Klaxosaur. And right now, they are more or less programmed to do exactly that, and think nothing of anything else.
But when it comes to someone confessing their feelings: Hiro is currently the most oblivious guy on the face of the planet. It is rather astonishing how ignorant Hiro’s character can be whenever he’s around Ichigo, let alone whenever the girl is trying to confess her feelings to him. The way he keeps on cutting her off is quite impudent in my book! I felt so bad for her. She actually musters up her courage to properly confess to him- yet he just completely ignores her and it makes me want to scream in frustration on her behalf.
Of course we absolutely cannot forget about the blond dude we saw last week. He made a reappearance this episode, who was not given a name. He is fascinated with how Hiro wasn’t killed off. Given his outfit, it feels like he is in an elitist group, but that’s pretty much all we know for the time being. In the mean time, the higher ups want to keep a close eye on Zero two, and Plantation 13 is declared a top priority surveillance subject. Hiro is to be tasked with bringing Zero Two to the Grand Crevasse, safe and sound – but has yet to receive the order. I am both curious and nervous about what this Grand Crevasse is.
Whether it’s romantic or not, Akira and Kondo share a special relationship. The two umbrellas falling on top of each other could be an indication of something more, or maybe it could just be symbolic of them finally connecting. Because as we’ve seen before, there’s always been this awkward wall between the two where Akira has tried her hardest to try to get to know Kondo and get closer to him, but Kondo doing his best to keep her at bay. The moment they embraced was the moment for the first time where they’ve actually developed a relationship, platonic or romantic. In the words of Kondo, they’re friends, though his reaction may prove otherwise. But what I mean when I say that they share a special relationship, we have two characters that complete each other in a way. Akira and Kondo both have low self-worth but see something special in the other person. Kondo mentions his age and dismisses himself as “just an old man” with nothing wonderful about him even though Akira finds him amazing, and Akira worries that she’s a nuisance and that she may be worthless (especially after losing the ability to run), but Kondo loves her bright youthfulness and reassures that she’s just as wonderful. We know Akira is using Kondo as an escape, but we don’t exactly know what Kondo is running away from, but he seems to be doing the same thing. They both find happiness and worth in each other that they want to latch on to, and by being with each other, they feel better about themselves.
Kondo understands this, but Akira doesn’t. At least, I don’t think so. She was pretty disappointed when Kondo “friend zoned” her, but her fever dream (or wet dream?) in the end could be a little telling. I say wet dream because it seemed more like an erotic daydream for her as she went over the apartment embrace again, but naked and a little more tender. Her waking up in a sweat and a moan makes it pretty obvious as well. But it was interesting that in the dream, her ankle injury was shown right before she reached out to Kondo, the dream ending with him disappearing out of her embrace. Maybe she realizes her own emotions, or maybe I’m reading too much into it and him disappearing was the reminder that he hugged her as a friend, not as a romantic interest. Still, they’ve taken a large step and have finally formed a friendship and honestly that’s better than what they had before.
