This week’s episode was quick to catch me off guard, adding another twist where Subaru had lost her magic. At first I was a bit puzzled, but then I recalled Minato’s experience and figured it must have been due to similar circumstances- and sure enough, that was the case. Upon losing her magic, Subaru had also lost her ability to see our charming little alien, who proceeded to explain it was because Subaru was ‘becoming something’ and was no longer has an undetermined potential. Unable to participate in the mission to retrieve the final fragment, Subaru been trying to keep herself together and ultimately keeping her despair to herself. It hurt her to be told she has changed when she feels like she hasn’t, and it’s what really sets her off. But the funny thing is, while Subaru has a difficult time acknowledging it, she has without a doubt undergone some major development. I am going to take a riddle and its answer from Go! Princess Precure because it really fits the situation: “Everyone sees this differently. Every day, it changes bit by bit.” that is, “Your reflection in the mirror.” We have all been in Subaru’s and the other girls shoes at some point. Being told that we have changed as an individual, but we don’t necessarily feel that way or are willing to acknowledge it. Up until this point, Subaru’s inner conflict was failing to have confidence in her ability to change/grow. But she now she believes, and vows to herself to never give up.
At one point in the episode, Subaru was transferred to what appeared to be her origin world, based on a memory only she has. This is important because the memories we have seen of Minato and Subaru were all from Minato’s memories. Only today we were able to see their true encounter. During the time when she had hung out with Minato at the hospital, she made him a paper star and he was happy to have it since he treated it as a special star. In return he gave her a star (a real one, but it also kind of looked like one of the shards of the Crystallized Potential since they were both orange… but lets just stick with the Star). It was after she remembered that and questioned whether or not Minato had truly disappeared and stepped out of the Astronomy Clubroom (where the door shut on its own) is when her new-found magic bloomed. As result, she was able to open the door with confidence it would take her to where she needed to go. And surely enough, it led her to Minato’s hospital room where there he has her paper star in his hand. (No joke guys, the minute I realize she was in his hospital room, I started to cry.) This was important because it provided the validation for Subaru and Minato, ensuring neither of them nor their bond were based on illusions. I liked how the chain reaction unfolded, and I like to think of it as Subaru successfully connecting the dots of their constellation.
I find it interesting how Minato’s true self was in a white outfit, and now Subaru with her new magic is in a black one- much like the one he had worn as the Dark Star. So now the only thing I am wondering is, what is going to happen to Subaru now? She vowed to him that she will open as many doors as it will take to find him again. Like I can’t quite wrap my head around it because we know of the consequences Minato had gone through, and yet after all that drama from last week we meet- you know what, forget it. I have to stop the thought here. My brain can’t handle all of this information, data overload.
But I will say this: This particular scene cracked me up because Minato sees her and then acts SO SERIOUS with the whole explanation how he doesn’t have a choice: he lost his potential to choose in the beginning, that’s why he was gathering the fragments and then intends to disappear from the world. Hearing this I’m like, “Dude, why so serious?”. I also found it to be a bit bizarre. I expected a different reaction when he saw Subaru- I mean, the last time we all saw him, he was impaled by the fragment in order to save Subaru’s life! Subaru didn’t really care though, she was just like, “NO MATTER WHAT, I WILL FIND YOUUUUUUUU~!” At least that made him smile.
Finally, I am relieved they have addressed the issue I had brought up last week about the rest of the girls on the path of being cursed. The Alien pointed this out when he decided to call off the mission to retrieve the final fragment. The reason why he did so was because they could never catch up to it, and it was probably because their wishes, deep in their hearts doesn’t want to leave this universe/world they are in. The alien adds, if that is the case, it would be his mistake to make them magic users. (Look at that everyone, a magical creature who bestowed girls magic admitting his error of judgement!) But then the girls were like ‘Screw that, we are able to do this because of our strengths, not our wishes- we will get the fragment and then go home!’ Anyhow, while I did sense a bit of contradictions in this particular conversation, so if there were it didn’t bother me that much since it’s something I can shrug off at this point in the story.
Next week will be the final episode, I hope everything will be wrapped up nicely and as clear as possible because let’s be honest, this show has been quite confusing for many of us.
I demand a happy ending for everybody! None of this “they all go back to their own worlds when they’re done and never see these versions of each other ever again” nonesense.
I think the difference between Subaru’s new found magical power and Minato’s Dark Star power is the way they approach the world and their goals. Minato wants to get the engine parts so he could change his PAST, while Subaru wants to find the fragments because she’s looking AHEAD to help her alien friend. Both of them have strong desires and a goal; Minato to find a world where he could have a life outside the hospital, and Subaru because she wants to help the President and to find Minato. Minato rejected his present self while Subaru seemed to have embraced her present self as someone who is changing. That’s why Minato, who had a negative outlook, ended up cursing himself, while Subaru’s desire granted her her own magic power. Even though her costume is also black, unlike Minato, I don’t think Subaru is cursed because she’s come to accept herself (that, and all the smiling and assertive “I will find you!” on Subaru’s part just makes it seem like she isn’t falling under any sort of curse).
One thing I’m wondering about is if Minato, by changing into a white costume, now has the potential he’s been seeking thanks to Subaru giving the star back to him. It makes sense, since it’s pretty likely that the star she received from him as a child was one of the Crystallized Potentials he’d collected. The little alien did say the reason why Subaru could no longer transform was because she’s begun to move on from someone who was “nothing” and of “undetermined potential” to a person who is “something”. Having the potential to become anything while at the same time be nothing seems to be the key qualification to being a magic user for the little alien (sorta make sense, since their race had given up the ability to choose). What Subaru has done is to give Minato the undetermined potential to be become something (and he in fact remains “nothing”, since his true body is still comatose in a hospital and he can’t do anything in that state), and having that potential allows him to transform.
One thing that threw me off though was why the other girls still couldn’t catch up to the last engine fragment despite multiple attempts (though I cocked an eyebrow at the monitor when they started talking about using dark energy to travel faster than the speed of light >_>) if they say they want to find it and return home. Are they, in their deepest heart of hearts, still not ready to find the last fragment even though they say they are? Or maybe they really will need that fifth, or possibly even sixth person to get that engine fragment, especially now that Minato is wearing matching outfits with the other girls, which implies he’ll likely become part of the team (we’ll get all six stars of the Pleiadesian star cluster together at the end and it’ll form a Subaru (c) logo)? Or maybe the real reason is that the producers are stalling the plot for a final climactic chase through the universe?
Uhg, I’m gonna stop here because my head is starting to hurt too after thinking and rationalizing so much. @_@
Here’s hoping for a happy (if not completely Gainax Ending) ending. As a collaboration with a company I kinda doubt they’ll go down the tragic route at the last minute. After all, that might affect how people feel about Subaru cars. :p What I will say though, is that subliminally this anime is working as a car commercial on me: I’ve begun to notice the Subaru cars around me a lot more than before I watched the show…