So close yet so far.
Impression
Remember how the first season started off with the opening scene from Moon? And then Kotarou was killed, which prompted the start of the Kagari route? It’s almost like everything the anime has shown us so far has in reality been part of the Moon route, and that the Kagari route was just a particularly long and well-detailed dream recalled by Kotarou after one of the numerous deaths he suffered at the hands of Kagari.
I’d like to pause at this point for a gentle reminder, once again, that this adaptation is catered almost purely towards those who have played the VN. Even in this episode alone, each one of Kotarou’s deaths was followed up by a scene from a couple of the five character routes in the game. Watching the anime as a stand-alone experience is asking to have the majority of the game spoiled in the most unceremonious way possible. Not to mention how the two routes to be covered in the current season, Moon and Terra, are only unlocked (i.e. understandable) once you’ve played through the five character routes, which the anime largely didn’t touch. If you thought the first season was inaccessible, this one will be even more so. Even the OP became Journey.
Anyway. Each route is, of course, a failed branch of the theorem that Moon Kagari has been working on for an endless period of time. Every single branch has been a failure up until now – even the ones where salvation is never triggered, because the planet’s energy was dying out to begin with and so humanity’s survival wasn’t a possibility regardless. It’s just a matter of whether it occurred in the short or long-term, and the latter was preferable as far as Guardian are concerned. I still feel like Rewrite should have gotten a proper, high-budget adaptation with each route given the right amount of detail they deserved, but I’ll take what I can get. At least, I was really happy that the longest scene was given to Kotori, because (as I’ve said before) Kotori is the softest. The more important justification is that Kotori plays a role in Terra, and even if everyone watching is aware of what goes on in her route, it’s still nice to articulate and foreshadow the difference between Kotarou and Bond. It’s an even sadder route when you re-read it after going thought Terra, because the way Bond treated Kotori compared to how Kotarou did is like the difference between heaven and earth. That became the basis of why Kotori kept rejecting Kotarou’s advances as she grew up, as she believed that he was her familiar and so was only in love with her because she was, in turn, in love with him and was thus subconsciously influencing his desires. Kotori’s such a good girl. Look at that dango daikazoku.
They only included Shizuru for the feels. I cried pretty hard to Koibumi. Scattered Flowers and Daisy make me feel nostalgic, but listening to Koibumi almost makes me stop breathing. I think there was some stuff from Harvest Festa as well – at least, I’m pretty sure I would have remembered the Doki Doki Maid Party scene involving two Lucias if it had happened during her route. Other delightful timelines involved making babies with either Kotori or Akane. I firmly believe Kotori is for marrying and settling down with, but Akane… just look at her. She’s so sexy even when she’s sleeping.
Moon feels a lot more straightforward than I remember it being. It might be because the really deep existential monologues were cut out, or because they haven’t happened yet, but it was definitely more surreal in the VN. I remember thinking it was bizarre for Kotarou to have spaced out for months and started growing into a tree while watching Kagari do her homework. The concept of time is totally different, as is the concept of existence – the Kotarou in this episode is the culmination of all Kotarous in all branches of the blueprint, converging into one ‘Kotarou’ in an unidentified location with a being who, despite looking like a cute coffee-addicted girl, is an entity so fundamentally different to his that their system of verbal communication can’t be perceived by each other. Kotarou can’t understand her (for now) because his brain isn’t advanced enough to do so. The same applies to reading the blueprint. And yet he’s here with her, and they have a task to fulfil together for the next two or three episodes before Terra begins and Kazamatsuri Bond can finally take the stage.