Crystal Tokyo Anime Blog

      This episode picks up with Fumi wanting to leave Yasuko’s house after being told by Yasuko that she can no longer be her girlfriend. The family is concern about Fumi because it’s raining really hard, Fumi finally accepts a ride home from Kuri. During the ride, Fumi’s suspicions are confirmed that Yasuko was/is in love with Kagami, and she also finds out that Kazusa is marrying Kagami.

       The next school day, Akira tries to quiz Fumi  about her visit to Yasuko’s house during their ride to school, but Fumi’s is extremely quiet, and Fumi invites Akira to a movie after school. Meanwhile, at Akira’s school, Kagami and Kazusa’s engagement makes the newspaper and the news spreads like wildfire throughout the school. Later, Kyoko figures out the Kagami -Yasuko/Kazusa triangle and confronts Kagami in the hallway. Kyoko tells him that he lied to her about not knowing Yasuko, and asks him if Yasuko loved him? He tells her she has to ask Yasuko if she loved him, and why do you care about Yasuko so much? Kyoko tells Kagami that she loves Yasuko, and she asks him if he finds that strange?

       After Akira and Fumi watch the movie, Fumi tells her that she got dumped by Yasuko. Later, Akira confronts Yasuko on the way to school, and after a tense couple of minutes Yasuko grabs Akira and they leave the train. Yasuko takes Akira to a sweet shop where Yasuko tries to dodge the subject at hand, but Akira won’t let her off the hook. Akira demands to know why she dumped Fumi. Yasuko’s says that’s not what happened. Then Akira drops the bombshell on her, she asks Yasuko if she was in love with Kagami? Yes. Akira then asks Yasuko if she stills loves Kagami to which Yasuko says, “everybody asks that question”, and Yasuko tells Akira that she’s scary. Yasuko goes on to say that she fell for her sister’s boyfriend, and when they got engaged she never thought it would hit her so hard.

       After Akira finishes her meeting with Yasuko she sits alone for a long time thinking and decides to skip school and pay a visit to Fumi who also cut school. When Akira goes inside Fumi’s room she rushes up to and hugs Fumi, and she tells her she’s so sorry. As they’re hugging, Fumi asks Akira why should she be sorry? Akira tells Fumi that she confronted Yasuko because she felt what Yasuko did to Fumi was mean and cruel. Later, Akira laments about how she got involved in this problem, and Fumi tells her she’s too kind for her own good.

      As the days pass, we see everyone seeming to be getting along with their normal routines; Fumi hangs out with Akira and seems to be getting along nicely with her classmates, Yasuko continues to practice basketball and be surrounded by her mob, and Yasuko’s family continues to prepare for Kazusa’s wedding.

      As summer vacation approaches, all the girls talk about what they’re going to be doing, Kyoko invites Akira to hang with her and Kou at their summer place. When Akira seems uncertain about how to respond to the offer, Kyoko tells Akira to invite Fumi and the other three girls that helped with the play. By mistake Akira lets it slip that Fumi and Yasuko broke up to which Kyoko says that it might be uncomfortable for she and Fumi to see each other. Well, Akira says she’ll run it by Fumi anyways.

      As Yasuko is leaving the school she sees Kyoko waiting for her, Kyoko tells her that she heard about her break up with Fumi, and Yasuko guesses Akira must have let it slip. Well, Yasuko walks over to Kyoko and asks her if she thought that she’d date her next? Yasuko blows her off by saying, forget that, and see you later. Kyoko begins to follow Yasuko and tells her that yes, she’d thought that Yasuko would date her next, and Kyoko asks the same question that Fumi did, do you still love him? Well, Yasuko gets angry and tells Kyoko that no one likes a pushy girl and is quite forceful in rejecting her once more.

      Later, that night, Akira tells Fumi about the invitation to Kyoko’s place, and after some goofing around Fumi tells Akira that she’ll go. Akira tells Fumi don’t start a rejected by Yasuko club with Kyoko, and Fumi claims that she barely has feelings for her anymore, Akira claims that Fumi’s just putting on a act. Later, that night, Fumi thinks to herself that the reason she was able to get through this was because of Akira.

      A few days later, Akira, Fumi, and Kyoko are at a cafe talking about the upcoming vacation and Akira excuses herself from the table leaving Fumi and Kyoko alone to talk. Kyoko asks Fumi if she still loves Yasuko, but before she can answer Yasuko says not only does she love Yasuko but Yasuko now hates her.  Kyoko calls herself an idiot, and Fumi tells her she’s not, and soon both Fumi and Kyoko share a cry-fest together. Well, that’s all for this episode.

        Well, even after seeing the cliffhanger ending to the previous episode I really didn’t see the Yasuko/Fumi breakup coming. I thought that Yasuko would have come to the realization that her sister is marrying her unrequited love and there’s nothing she can do about it, so she decides to get on with her life. But, it looks like it’s going to take Yasuko a lot longer to get over her first love than it took Fumi to get past her first love. Hell, it should be alot easier for Yasuko to get over Kagami than it was for Fumi to get over her lover because as far as we can tell Kagami never returned Yasuko’s affections with anything other than kind words and a smile while Fumi relationship reached the sexual phase before their breakup.

       Also, I found Yasuko’s behavior towards Kyoko to be quite mean and cold, I had figured Yasuko to be the quiet, strong, and mature type but in the end I guess she’s as much a broken hearted schoolgirl as Fumi was when she got dumped by her first lover.

       I really like how Fumi is starting to mature and gain confidence as the series is progressing, if her breakup with Yasuko would have happened at the beginning of the series she would have been depressed for weeks. Even if Fumi still has feelings for Yasuko she’s matured enough to tell herself that there’s nothing she can do to fix the current situation other than give Yasuko time and space.

       One thing I have to mention is that Akira rocks in this episode; Akira really knows how to comfort and stick up for a friend. I have to agree with Yasuko that at times Akira can be downright scary when she thinks a friend is getting a raw deal. I also have to point out that Akira’s relationship skills have improved greatly. At the beginning of the series she knew nothing about relationships, and now she almost like counselor. Akira knows the right time to give a hug, and she now understands when she should get two people together to talk out a problem in private.

Now to some smart-assed comments about the next episode.

      Well, we’re going to have one hell of an interesting summer vacation episode. One summer house, six girls, maybe seven girls if Yasuko shows up, with two of them being broken hearted lesbians + maybe one lesbian/bi-sexual girl (maybe she’ll figure out what she is someday) add to the mix four straight girls plus one college guy who doesn’t know his future waifu is a lesbian and we could get one heck of a H-dojin.

       But, seriously, the only thing that would make me want to pull my hair out is if Yasuko keeps trying to pawn off Kou off on Akira; it’s almost like she’s too much of a coward to just tell Kou that she’s a lesbian, and she would rather be dumped by Kou leaving her guilt free. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Yasuko show Akira to her room, and when Akira looks around she sees a couple of bottles of Saki on the nightstand, some chocolate kisses on the pillows along with a couple of condoms, and Yasuko tells her by the way you’re sharing the room with Kou, so enjoy.  

       This episode begins with us seeing Urin and Marin playing a game of hide & seek when they were little, and then we’re treated to a pre-opening animated clip of Marin and Urin frolicking under the sea as kids set to music.

      After the opening song we see that the blast has knocked Marin out cold, and when she revives she wants to go to Urin again. The Turtle Elder and the others counsel against this course of action. The Turtle Elder speculates that Urin was brought under Sedna’s influence when the ring she was wearing reacted to Sedna’s vibrations and because Marin can’t transform right now the Turtle Elder suggests that the Sky Maiden return to the surface world for the time being.

        While this is going on we see that Kojima has stopped by Kanon’s house to check on her, and her mother says that Kanon must be out training. Kojima begins to get worried about Kanon and tell Ooshima that they should split up and search for her; needless to say, Ooshima isn’t too happy about hearing the phrase ”split up” being mentioned, or having to look for her rival in love, Kanon.

        As Warin escorts Kanon back to the surface she tells Kanon about how the sea dwellers are born and about their family relationships; sea dwellers are born from sea shells and both Marin and Warin where born from extremely pure shells. Sea dwellers don’t know their parents or siblings when they’re born, but, both Marin and Urin where attracted to each other from the beginning. Back at Urin’s location we hear Marin tell the Turtle Elder that she’s sure that Urin is waiting for her to come save her just like before. Back with Warin and Kanon, Warin tells Kanon a story about how when she, Sam, Marin, and Warin were on a trip, Urin became lost. While they were searching for Urin, Marin hears Urin’s cries and she rushes to find and embrace a tearful Urin, and a short while later Urin calls Marin sister for the first time, so that’s how Urin and Marin became sisters.

       When Kanon finally returns home, her mother tells her that Kojima stopped by looking for her, and she tells Kanon that they seem close. Later, in her room, Kanon checks her cellphone to find that Kojima has left her several messages, and when she goes to reply to his messages she gets a angry call from Ooshima. Kanon hangs up on Ooshima, but she calls back a few seconds later, and this time she takes the call. After listening to Ooshima’s angry call Kanon meets with her by the ocean, Ooshima tells Kanon to just dump Kojima instead of leaving him hanging. Kanon tells Ooshima that she was the one being dumped, and she says that she thought that Ooshima was going out with Kojima to which Ooshima says that if that was the case she would have never called her. Kanon tells Ooshima that she thought that she was dumped because Kojima spent less and less time with her and called her less often but when Kanon thinks back on her and Kojima’s last meeting she just assumed that she was being dumped.  Ooshima yells at Kanon calling her a fool, and saying she doesn’t understand why Kojima likes this girl. Then it all comes out, Ooshima and Kojima aren’t really dating, and when they’re together all Kojima talks about is Kanon this, and Kanon that. Ooshima asks Kanon if she still likes him? When Kanon says nothing, Ooshima says this has to be a bad joke; am I not good enough? Ooshima starts crying and asks why does it have to hurt so much because you like someone? Soon, Kanon starts crying, and Ooshima tells Kanon that she’ll tell Kojima that Kanon is back to her old self. But, Ooshima says that she won’t lose to her as she walks away.

I found Ooshima’s facial expression so great I just had to add lots of caps.

       Meanwhile, under the sea, Marin goes towards Urin saying that if she can get Urin to remember the time when she got lost she’s sure that Urin will come back to her. When Marin gets close to Urin she finds a barrier surrounding her, and Marin attempts to break through. Urin can sense her sister, and calls her name. Marin tries to break through the barrier but gets stuck, Warin rushes to her aid but also gets stuck, and finally Sam is able to pull them free. Later, Marin wants to try again, but Warin warns against it saying she needs to get her powers back, and the Turtle Elder tells her that since the eclipse the Sea Maiden’s heart has been blinded by darkness. Warin suggests that they return to Kanon’s place because Kanon’s heart is surrounded in darkness and she can still transform, so Marin might be able to learn from her how to transform again. The group soon heads off towards Kanon’s place leaving Urin behind.

       As the group departs, we hear Sedna’s voice telling Urin that they left her, Urin says that they came for her, and Sedna tells her that no one is ever coming back. Urin says she hates being alone, Sedna tells her that sadness follows loneliness, and she tells her that no one is worthy of forgiveness. Well, the episode ends with Urin trapped, alone, in the energy cocoon with Sedna whispering to her.

        Well, I found this episode very interesting for several reason. First of all it seems that we’ve come to the conclusion of the Kanon, Kojima, and Ooshima love triangle with Kanon finally figuring out that her relationship problems were all in her mind or at least created in her mind. When Kanon thinks back to the day she thought Kojima dumped her she realizes that she assumed that Kojima dumped her when he never came out and dumped her. This goes back to the problem I pointed out about Kanon a couple of episodes ago, and ever her mother told her several times that her evil aura was going to cause her problems. Well, it seems that Kanon’s feelings about how she perceived Kojima’s feelings toward her were tainted by her self-loathing and the delusion that she didn’t deserve to be loved.

      I also felt a great deal of sympathy towards Ooshima for all the effort she put into trying to get Kojima to feel some attraction for her; it’s a real bitch loving someone that you know doesn’t love you back.

        This episode really tore me up having to watch Urin helplessly call for her sister, and having Marin be unable to help her. Since Sedna has been dead/sealed for a long time she needs a physical vessel to transfer all her powers into and she has to totally break Urin’s mind to make the process complete. I found watching Sedna slowly twist and pervert Urin’s spirit about as painful as getting some teeth pulled, Urin’s only sin was wanting some power so she could fight along side her sister. In many respects this part of the story arc reminds of the black lady arc from Sailor Moon R, after all,  Junichi SATO was involved in the Sailor Moon series.

       In the end, Marin is the only one who can save Urin, but she has to get her heart right first. Marin must forget about the present and fill her heart with all the love and happy memories she has for her sister then she’ll be able to transform once more and bring the child of light back from the darkness that surrounds her.

      This episode begins with us seeing Maria and Rosa together before they head to the island, Maria acts quite bratty and Rosa overreacts by slapping the crap out of her. Then we see that servants getting ready for all the visitors that will be showing up and we see most of the family gathered together waiting to head off to the island. Later, we see everyone walking up the path to the house when time freezes and Beatrice and Battler appear off to the side, Beatrice says that this is a game that we can repeat over and over again until Battler admits defeat and accepts the fact that witches do exist. Battler tells Beatrice that he’ll never give in, so Beatrice tells Battler let the pain begin.

      The scene picks up with everyone walking towards the house and Maria mentions the witch again, Rosa stops her, and starts beating the crap out of her, Maria cries out for her mother to return and defeat the witch. Later, Kanon goes out to check on Maria asking her if she’s alright, Maria goes into crazy Maria mode and babbles about knowing Beatrice and that she’ll even play with her later. After a few minutes, Rosa realizes what she did to Maria and rushes outside to get her, she apologizes to her and Maria says it’s not her fault because she was possessed by the evil witch.

      A few seconds later, Beatrice appears before Maria and Rosa looking different from how she appeared in past episodes? Beatrice fixes Maria’s broken candy and hands Maria a letter and tells her it contains her invitation to the golden land. Then Beatrice hands Rosa a letter and tells her to open it and read it to everyone once they’re all gathered together.

       Inside the house, we see Beatrice messing with Kanon by making him kiss her boots or she’ll kill Shannon. Then we see Beatrice messing with Shannon telling her that she only sparked the love between her and George so she could twist it. Shannon tells Beatrice that she’s not going to let Beatrice control her fate any longer, she controls her own future. After Shannon leaves the room Beatrice says that she’ll kill both Shannon and her lover.

       As the family is enjoying dinner Gouda gets asked if the special guest will be joining them, and he tells them that she wishes to eat alone. When someone demands to know who the guest is Gouda tells them that it’s Beatrice. This answer causes quite a commotion between the family members and they demand that Genji comes and answers some questions. The adults excuse the children and the doctor to retire to the guest house where the doctor tells them that Beatrice was once Kinzo’s mistress but he’d never met her, and he’s sure she died long ago. Then we switch to the garden where George gives Shannon the ring and proposes to her and this time she immediately accepts his proposal.

       Back inside the main house we see all the adults meeting with Beatrice, they all accept and acknowledge that Beatrice does exist and she is a witch. Well, that’s all for this episode.

       Well, this was quite an amusing episode, it looks like Battler’s and Beatrice’s test of wills has begun in earnest. After, a few moments of back story showing Maria and Rosa before the island, and seeing George preparing to ask Shannon to marry him, it seems that Beatrice has hit the reset button and changed how things progressed from pretty much the moment everyone left the boat. If this is truly a battle of wills between Battler and Beatrice, with Beatrice trying to convince Battler that she and witches do exist, I don’t know how this method of attack will settle anything. I think that if Battler truly doesn’t believe/or refuses to believe in witches it really won’t matter how many times Beatrice forces Battler to relive the events of the past couple of days. I think that in the end Battler may win this fight because no matter how many thousands of times Beatrice replays the past you can’t convince someone to believe in something they refuse to believe in.

In closing I’ll offer Battler a little wisdom from one of my all time favorite novels, Dune.

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.

—Bene Gesserit Litany against Fear, Dune