From someone who doesn’t like slow pacing, for some reason I found the pacing in this episode rather calming and relaxing. Unlike Beelzebub-jou no Okinimesu mama, where I nearly fell asleep due to the slow pacing, this episode still allowed for some intrigue and gave me even more questions that will hopefully be answered in the future.
But can I just take a moment to say just how freaking STUNNING the opening is? PA works did a wonderful job with the opening animation and effects? And I absolutely love how the frames start out monochromatic but slowly fade into color. It’s so beautiful, I can’t even describe what else to say about it. It definitely makes me excited to delve further into this story and see more of these characters and what their stories are.
The episode starts where we left off from last episode and the guy, Yuito essentially just drops the bomb of how much of a crime breaking into someone’s house is. Thankfully, he was understanding enough to hear her out and that her ending up in his room was an accident. I’m glad they were able to clear it up fairly quickly and didn’t have to drag that drama out too much like some shows tend to do. I was actually kind of surprised that he accepted her story so easily. Though I did find his reasoning of “well, you didn’t steal anything” kind of funny because I couldn’t help but imagine someone breaking and entering your home but it’s okay because they didn’t take anything… actually that’s not a funny thought, that’s just scary. But in this case, it was probably for the best because Hitomi is a lost and confused child who was thrown into the past.
After that fun little interaction, Hitomi goes back to her relatives’ place and they inform her that her grandmother, Kohaku is currently in England but after she finishes her studies, she’ll be home and soon it seems. I’m excited to see Kohaku and Hitomi interact since there had to be a reason why Kohaku sent her back in the first place. Though I have a feeling a part of it has to do with Hitomi’s apparent dislike towards magic. I’m curious as to what happened, especially since when Hitomi’s great grandmother comments how Hitomi supposedly has amazing powers, the next shot shows a downward perspective on her. It even hid her expression and the shot was done in a way where the camera is looking between a couple of floorboards, which creates an almost trapping space around Hitomi. Something bad must have happened in her dealings with magic considering how foreboding that whole framework was. Not to mention when they told her that sending her back to the future may require her to learn more powerful magic, she’s completely in shadow with an uncertain look on her face. Yet another question I have to put a pin in for. I WANT ANSWERS ANIME SO I HOPE YOU’RE READY TO ADDRESS THEM EVENTUALLY.
But we simply cannot have Hitomi sit and wait for her grandmother return, and she ends up being enrolled at the same school that Kohaku attends, much to her exasperation. But MAN is the framing good in this series. Hitomi is constantly being shot in the shadows while everyone is walking around in the light, symbolising her mental state and cutting herself off from the others. Gah, it’s things like this that makes me love certain anime on a technical aspect.
At the beginning of the series I was a little confused on where magic was placed on the scale of normalcy in this world. Is it a secret? Do only a few people know of it? Is it widely known? But after the talk with the principal, it seems like it’s pretty much a known thing in this world. Though I had a good laugh when they asked Hitomi to sign a form promising she would cause property damage because Kohaku did those things. Which essentially labels Kohaku as both a problem and a wild child. I am excited for her return because judging from the opening, she seems like a bubbly person with a lot of energy. Seems like she’s calmed down in her elderly years lol.
Anyways, Hitomi is introduced to the class and is already being ostracized by her classmates. I immediately felt really sorry for her because it’s always really painful to see a character in that position. Especially when she swiped her hand across the table as if her stuff was supposed to appear. I literally covered my face and cried “OH NOOOO…”. Though it seems they are being wary of her because she’s a mage, which seems to be Kohaku’s fault considering all of the property damage she did. However, I’m glad that one of the girls Hitomi met the other day is in the same class as her. If she wasn’t there, I’m pretty sure Hitomi would be completely ignored by everyone. Though considering her personality, I’m not sure if Hitomi would care. But she did seem a bit concerned with how the other students were treating her.
Hitomi is then introduced to the main group and then misunderstandings and rumors start to spin out of control when one of the guys kept commenting on how Yuito should admit he and Hitomi are dating. Great.. These students are almost as bad as the students from Shujin in Persona 5 with the rumor mill. A couple girls start badmouthing Yuito, calling him gloomy and then a dude comments on how they all should just avoid mages. Are you guys really going to gossip right in front of them, loudly may I add. And then to make matters worse, Yuito tells Hitomi to show him her magic so that he’d believe her story of suddenly appearing in his room because of it. Not only does this put her on the spot, but it also attracts the attention of all the students in the hallway. I understand that Yuito asked her to do that to try and clear up the misunderstanding, but it felt more for his sake and didn’t take in account for Hitomi’s feelings.
But holy crap, did I get pissed off at these students since literally a moment ago they were super wary of her and then got super excited to see her do magic, especially when I saw a couple of them readying their phones in the background. I honestly hate that this is part of the culture lately with everyone trying to catch interesting things on their phones at every given moment. IT’S TOO REAL. Not to mention it added so much more pressure on Hitomi that the whole thing felt so invasive and they were treating her like a spectacle. And then when she actually does perform a little magic, everyone is so disappointed saying that other types of magic is cooler. IS THERE NO PLEASING YOU PEOPLE?!
Afterwards, Hitomi runs off but is then joined by Kawai and Asagi, who treat her to some melon milk, I think. They then introduce her to their photography club, which operates as one club with the art club since they use the same room. I can’t help but wonder if Hitomi will eventually join and somehow be able to make some great monochromatic picture pieces since she can’t see color. Since not seeing color isn’t entirely a bad thing. You’re just seeing the world in a different way. There are some great monochromatic pieces out there. Maybe that’ll be the road they’ll take and maybe not. *pins another question*
Hitomi finds Yuito on the roof in hopes of seeing colors one final time. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that Yuito immediately covers his drawing when he realizes Hitomi is there. Done like a true shy artist in high school. I absolutely HATED having people look at what I was drawing and would constantly stop and cover it whenever someone walked by. Anyways, Hitomi apologizes for not being able to do more magic (though I have a feeling she was limiting herself) and Yuito apologizes as well for forcing her to do it in the first place. Especially since he realized that he pushed her into doing something she didn’t like.
When she asks to see his drawing again, I couldn’t help but chuckle that her explanation for wanting to see it again probably confused the heck out of him. The fact she wants to see colors she forgot without any context is just asking for a “excuse me?” kind of response. But he seems to take it in stride (which he seems to do with almost everything) and lets her see it. Now, I honestly really liked the scene where she’s looking at the drawing. We don’t get to see what she’s seeing, but judging from the music, just the overall softness in the tone of the scene and her expression, she’s probably experiencing that same spectacle we got to see in the first episode happening in front of her eyes again. With the colors reflecting in her eyes, it allows us to imagine what she’s seeing but also rest in the fact in knowing that she is seeing those colors again. It was so telling and we didn’t need to actually see anything or hear her thoughts.
When she returns the drawing, Yuito goes on to say that he’d like to see more of her magic someday, saying how it sparkled much more than his art. Which I’m sure Hitomi would likely argue if she weren’t so touched by the sentiment. We then see her practicing(?) doing more magic and making even more stars in her hands that were cascading down to the floor. However, it felt a little foreboding in a way since she may not have full control over her magic and may go wild if she’s not careful. I worry for this girl… Another pin to worry about.
Holy crap did I have a lot to say in this episode. There were so many technical aspects that were so good and the foreshadowing…. It was all so good! I honestly can’t wait to see what the next episode will bring. I still have so many questions I’m eagerly awaiting to be addressed. And is it just me, or is the pacing in this show really good? This episode felt extra long for some reason but I was intrigued and interested the whole way through where I actually had to constantly check the time to see if there was more episode left. I’m sure some people will find it boring, but there are so many points of intrigue that keep me engaged and I just want to see where the story goes. Especially since there seems to be a budding relationship between Yuito and Hitomi. Though considering Hitomi will have to go back to her future who knows what will become of them… Oh look another pin.
