Impression:
It would appear we have come to that all important metaphorical crossroad. Our group of middle schoolers is more divided than we’ve ever seen them, the group almost forcing the their superficial unity upon themselves. Chisaki is now nervous around Kaname; Hikari and Manaka can’t talk to one another; Tsumugu is destined to die… you know, this is a pretty messed up situation for these children to be in? Kaname and his “modest resistance“, I mean, what’s up with that? Sure Kaname’s the ultimate man after confessing to Chisaki so nonchalantly, but there has to be something underneath that charming posterior – what are you hiding Kaname? The depth of each character (barring Tsumugu) is almost astounding, none of them having yet shown us their true colors and all of them still growing, still developing. We’re almost at the half-way point and it feels like the end… what does this mean? This felt like a penultimate episode… but I digress.
“Looking back at it now“… What’ up with Hikari’s reflective tone? This episode had a distinctly melancholic aura about it, the premise being the rift between the children and the rift between land and sea. But the way Hikari was speaking at the beginning of the episode… it does not bode well for the fate of our characters. When has there ever been a series in which the main character narrates in such disparaging way that the series ends ‘well‘? They’re doomed. All of them. Doomed.
You know what? The first three quarters of this episode spewed melancholy. The saltflake snow continues to fall, and fall, and fall… Miuna, the cute little thing, tried to save Akari by scaring her away… Thier Ena is beginning to thicken, they still fear not waking up together (despite their issues) and the art/animation looked really odd in some parts… like, seriously, I couldn’t take a lot of the scenes seriously because the characters were so poorly drawn… But I forgive P.A Works because the story is strong enough to overshadow those issues (thank God). Depressing side notes aside, are the group actually eating? I mean, sure they say they are, but we haven’t actually seen them eat on screen yet. Have they started eating already? Or are they making preparations? Pardon my ignorance… (I just Googled it and yes, they are eating… my bad) The Ofunehiki! They’re finally ready to go but shall it all be in vain? After 12 episodes shall they finally realize the futility of it all?
No, probably not. They really do love building that statue don’t they? Akari and Itaru are getting married, although that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise in light of the impending events, and I can’t help but wonder… is something going to happen Akari? Remember the end of episode 7 when Hikari asks Uroko-sama why he’s trying to stop them? “Because of a promise“, he says, “I have to protect you both as you are his descendants“. I think it’s safe to assume that Uroko-sama is talking about the Sea God and the ceremony in which young maidens are sacrificed in order to oppose their lord, master and forefather. They’re all descended from the Sea God, right? I’m guessing that Akari is going to be consumed by that son of a bitch? That would be quite the plot twist… It’d be awesome though…
All in all episode 11 was pretty darn good, failing to build much on last episode story wise however. The most important thing about this episode though was… did Chisaki say she was going to confess? Yes! This is the moment I’ve been waiting for… don’t disappoint me Hikari! Also, Kaname, don’t kill Hikari… Oh! And Chisaki… don’t wimp out on me, okay?
Preview: