Subculture Anime Blog

Pinky promise!

Summary:

Watanuki is forced to pump water for Yuuko and the others who are enjoying their cool summer day. He complains as usual, but is interrupted when the Neko Musume falls from the sky on top of him. The Neko Musume quickly asks Yuuko for a favor, presenting an egg to her in exchange. Of course, Watanuki is put up to the task. Watanuki soon follows the Neko Musume to a location to draw water for her, but he is surprised when she points out that it is within a home’s boundaries. Before Watanuki begins to draw water from the well inside, he looks up to see a person seemingly looking down at him. He first fears that he has been found, but then suspects that he and the Neko Musume have not been seen. When Watanuki returns to Yuuko, he expresses how surprisingly difficult it was to carry the water back. Yuuko sees that Watanuki has been troubled, so she has him explain to her what had happened. She wonders if Watanuki had called out to the person he saw, but he is unable to give a solid answer. Yuuko soon tells Watanuki to obtain even more water, so he then wonders if there is anyone who could help him.

It turns out that Doumeki is the only one available to assist Watanuki, so he accompanies him to the house the next day. The Neko Musume also follows, and when Watanuki asks why, she states that she is interested in something. When the group reaches the well again, Watanuki again notices the woman watching him from above. He finds it strange that she is still in the same spot, and is even more bewildered when he sees that she is wearing clothes that usually wouldn’t be worn in the summer. Watanuki has Doumeki confirm that the woman is not a spirit, but he still has a cold feeling when he observes her. After drawing the water, Watanuki notices something within the well. He puts it off as nothing, however, before returning with Doumeki. When Watanuki and Doumeki talk with Himawari at school the next day, Doumeki finally expresses that he feels as if the woman they saw was familiar to him. When Watanuki speaks with Yuuko again that night about the woman, she only observes Watanuki as he puts it off as nothing again.

Himawari asks if Watanuki would walk home with him after school the next day, but he denies because he must draw more water for Yuuko. When Watanuki denies Himawari’s help, she only has him promise to her that he would not push himself. The two share a pinky promise, but Watanuki notices something strange when they touch. When Watanuki and Doumeki travel to draw water again that night, the Neko Musume suggests that this would probably be the last time. Watanuki finishes drawing water, but a pain in his finger makes him lose one of the cloths that covered the water containers. When the cloth flies into the room where the woman is, he suggests that they should probably get it back. Watanuki and Doumeki attempt to ring the doorbell to the house, but they find that no one answers. Finding that the door is actually open, the two decide to enter the house. In the meantime, the Neko Musume looks into the water well to see that her predictions were correct.

Watanuki is put in fright as he and Doumeki walk through the household, and he wonders how anyone could live in such conditions while looking around. He loses Doumeki because of the dark for a moment, but when they meet again, they travel upstairs to the woman’s room. When the two finally see the woman, the wind knocks her over. As she isn’t moving at all, Watanuki suspects that she was a doll all along. Yuuko suddenly appears, however, suspecting that Watanuki is a bit wrong. When she tells Doumeki to explain, he expresses that he has seen this type of body many times in his childhood. The woman was, in fact, a corpse. Watanuki is unable to believe that a corpse could look at all like the woman does, but Doumeki explains what he had learned from his grandfather. Unlike in the past, people currently eat many foods with things such as preservatives in them. Because of this, the bodies to not degenerate as quickly and remain in such normal looking forms for quite awhile.

After learning of the true situation, Yuuko directs Watanuki’s attention to the Neko Musume who has finally been able to approach the now empty well. Inside was the body of a young cat. When Watanuki speaks with Yuuko later that night, she tells him that everything should have been taken care of when they contacted the police. He is still uneasy, however, as he felt even more worried than when seeing ayakashi while observing the woman. Yuuko wonders why Watanuki had entered the house to find out the woman’s true identity, so he tells her what had happened to his pinky when he lost the water container’s cloth. Yuuko makes Watanuki realize the connection this had with his promise with Himawari, but Mokona appears to interrupt before Watanuki can think about this any further. The Neko Musume approaches Yuuko when she is alone, thanking her about the kitten that they were able to retrieve earlier. Yuuko expresses that she had properly received the payment she needed, suspecting that the egg would be used in the future. The Neko Musume then wonders what is wrong with Watanuki’s finger, but Yuuko does not answer.

Preview: More haunting….now with bells!

Impression:

What an awesome episode. This was one of my favorite stories in the manga, but the anime made it better by adding an even more haunting atmosphere. When I look at this arc, I can only wonder what went through Clamp’s minds while creating it. When looking at xxxHolic, it almost seems like they grew up being big fans of ghost stories or something! Of course, I still believe that this series is the perfect one to touch on such themes. After hearing the explanation about the woman’s body in this episode, it just makes me look at what has happened to humans in this day and age. I honestly don’t know enough to say if what this episode presented was actually true, but it is certain that bodies are taking in much different things than they have in the past. It’s just simple things like this that make me think and enjoy slice of life stories even more.

Chiba Saeko returned as the Neko Musume in this episode, and it was a welcome addition to see her get more screen time. I’ve really been enjoying Chiba’s work recently, especially after shows like Nagasarete Airantou, Shugo Chara, and Shigofumi. Comments about the changes the made in this episode when compared to the manga will probably be brought up by others as well. Again, I can only see the additions as positive. I really love what is done in the adaptions, and it’s not as if Prod IG is just going crazy with it. Some will also notice the items this episode shared with the recent TRC: Tokyo Revalations OVA, but I’ll keep away from any spoilers. In other news, the OP single finally came out. I’ve been listening to it lots, even after already doing so with the PV. Shikao’s work is solid. Next week is another haunting-like story, though I probably don’t like it as much as this week’s.