Subculture Anime Blog

OP: A bit of color was added to parts of the OP. I wouldn’t be surprised if this happened progressively until everything was complete, much like the studio did with the Zetsubou Sensei opening during its second season.

Summary:

Past:

Yuu picks up a paper airplane on the ground outside school, realizing that Yuuko is on the rooftop again. Yuu runs into Akira on the way up the stairs, who repeats his wish to see him create images. Of course, Yuu again denies his interest in the subject. Yuuko meets the two on the way down, annoying Yuu as she seemingly refers to him as her older brother. Yuu soon learns that she is actually referring to Akira, however, as Yuuko reveals that she currently has the last name of “Amamiya.” Akira leaves afterwards, but while watching Yuuko follow, Yuu sees that she does not have any shoes on. Yuuko simply explains that she could not find hers in the morning, but Yuu is unable to let her walk around the school in such a state. Telling her to wait in one spot, he runs to get a temporary pair of footwear for her. When he returns, Yuuko thanks him for his kindness.

Akira has Yuu meet him in the art room later, asking him about his past relationship with Yuuko. In response, Yuu makes it seem as if they were not as close as Akira suspected. Akira then requests for Yuu to tell Nagi not to draw herself in the nude anymore, but Yuu simply takes his leave without actually answering to this request. Yuu meets Kuze afterwards, getting into a conversation with him about the types of women he knows about. Nagi soon shows up as well, wanting in on their conversation. Yuu eventually gets to the point by asking Kuze to learn more about Yuuko’s condition, but Nagi seems to realize something before then.

When the three reach the entrance of the school, Nagi points out that Yuuko’s shoes are actually above the lockers. Yuu notices that Nagi is barefoot when he picks her up to get the shoes, but when she reveals that she had just come from drawing herself as usual, Yuu awkwardly realizes that she is wearing nothing but one layer of clothing above him. When Yuu wonders how Nagi knew the location of the shoes afterwards, she reveals that she had once lost her shoes in the same way. Kuze then tells Yuu that he should return Yuuko’s shoes right away.

Yuu returns Yuuko’s shoes when he finds her in an empty classroom that night, but becomes angry when he sees the condition of one of her books. He is further concerned when Yuuko reveals that this is a common thing, as she is a seemingly ideal target for abuse from other students. Despite this, Yuuko later believes that not all things are bad about pranks. This is because she is able to go home with Yuu. When Yuuko looks into her shoebox, however, she finds that her shoes have been burned. This angers Yuu even more, making him want to find the culprits immediately, but Yuuko states that such things are small. After all, this is what humans are like.

Present:

Kuze wakes from a dream where he is playing his violin on stage, but is shot down by his other self. His mask falls off in the process. At the same time, Mizuki wakes from her usual dream where a flower falls apart in the darkness. Mizuki later knocks on Kuze’s door, but even though he hears it, he refuses to answer. Mizuki enters the nearby church in curiosity, seeing Yuu sitting on a high platform. When Mizuki suggests that existences such as god would be angry if he did that, Yuu denies that such existences are there. He instead claims that the adult world deals with many things, but this makes Mizuki suggest that this makes it seem as if he is claiming that there is nothing in a child’s world. Yuu agrees that there could be more to a child’s world, but he has forgotten about his own past. He also adds that adults are simply children who have gotten bigger. Mizuki eventually gets to the point by asking about Kuze, who she previously had a promise to meet with. Yuu denies his knowledge about this subject, but warns Mizuki not to become involved with Kuze.

Traveling across train tracks later, Mizuki sees Chihiro at the abandoned station. She quickly reintroduces herself to her in excitement, and is happy when Chihiro remembers her as well. The two notice how much the each of them have grown, and Mizuki takes it a step further by expressing how beautiful Chihiro is. After embracing her, she expresses her belief that it is a waste for Renji. On the other hand, Chihiro believes that she is the one always causing trouble for Renji. Mizuki then expresses her envy towards those who have such great love, again wondering what has happened to Kuze. With a look through her diary, Chihiro finds information about Kuze that may help Mizuki. She first asks if Mizuki loves Kuze, however, bringing up the helpless feelings that one in love would have. When Mizuki seems to confirm the similar feelings she has, Chihiro allows her to see what is written in her diary.

Kuze meanwhile meets Yuu, who notices how bad of a condition he seems to be in. After learning from Yuu that Mizuki has been searching for him, Kuze reminds Yuu that he cannot have someone claim to love him. Leaving the church afterwards, he expresses his determination to erase everything that night. After all, it has been decided that he is going to die. Mizuki fears this fact when she reads it in Chihiro’s diary, and Renji shows up to further reveal exactly what is wrong with Kuze. This deals with a heart condition; one that Kuze had even collapsed from during one of his performances in the past. Mizuki wonders how Kuze was able to spend time with her despite having such a condition, but Chihiro reveals from experience what humans are capable of.

Chihiro visits Mizuki that night, relaying information that she had heard from Yuu. If she wanted to hear Kuze’s violin, she should go to the beach. This would probably be the last time she would be able to hear it. When Mizuki makes it to the beach, she certainly hears Kuze’s elegant violin playing. However, she is is shocked to see him light the violin on fire after he finishes. Unable to accept this, Mizuki quickly runs to put the fire out. Mizuki is successful in saving the violin in its casing, but when Kuze urgently asks to see her hands afterwards, he sees that they are scorched as he expected. Kuze attempts to scold Mizuki, but she only claims that it is not time yet as long as they are still alive.

Impression:

Man, it really feels like I am writing about two episodes each time I watch this series. It helps that I enjoyed both arcs this week though, especially with Kuze/Mizuki’s story showing a lot more impact than it did in the last episode. I’m pretty sure everyone will be talking about the burning of the violin this week, which felt a lot like some of Hiro/Miyako’s scenes from the first season. The studio really does a good job in creating suspense with these moments, especially with the great soundtrack. Even though I have already been comparing this season’s arcs to those of the first season’s, Kuze and Mizuki’s interaction is really becoming more and more like Chihiro and Renji’s. The only difference would be a switch in roles for the genders and the addition of a musical theme that ties into the series’ title. But while on the topic of previous characters, I was very excited to see Chihiro return this week. It was hinted that she would show up again, but this episode still seemed to give her that epic time skip return that we all love in anime. I can only wonder if we will see more old characters return, or if this would have to wait for yet another season (maybe it’s a little early to be thinking about this…).

Although not as dramatic, I enjoyed Yuu/Yuuko/Nagi’s parts just as much. My appreciation for this arc came from more subtle things, like Yuuko’s talks about human nature. It was definitely interesting to see Yuuko’s indifferent reaction to her ruined shoes, which would probably cause a lot more stress to a less insightful individual. I also wonder how much her relation to Akira will impact the overall story (if it will). It is notable that her name has not changed in the “present time”. And on the topic of time, I am really loving the overtones of the very theme that the series as a whole has right now. The shifts in the episodes themselves obviously illustrate this, but things like Yuu’s talk in the church also displayed the same ideas. His statement that “adults are only children that have gotten bigger” easily caught my attention, even if it might be a theme that has already been used in various other media. It will be nice to see how everything ties together by the end, especially after already having seen how much characters like Yuu and Kuze have changed since they were younger.

Also, Nagi needs more screen time. (BOKU~!!!) That is all.