Man this episode felt super foreboding and I’m actually really worried about Hitomi’s fate. However, before we get into the really serious part of the episode, can we all just appreciate how adorable baby Kohaku is? The fact that she performed magic with a magical girl wand was freaking precious.
What I found interesting is that they didn’t start the episode off where it left off last episode and immediately just dove right in. Which isn’t a bad thing and I actually did appreciate what they did. Especially since we already saw her confess her inability to see color to Yuito already and we already knew that the others would accept her, I think PA works did a good job at not rehashing a similar scene and move on with the plot.
But man, Kohaku was literally the MVP this episode, especially since we may be delving more into her character arc, which I am super excited for because more Kohaku means more greatness. I love how hard she’s trying to help Hitomi dispel the magic she casted on herself, even if her methods were hilariously unsuccessful. The face that she made after Hitomi told her what happened with Yuito when she was able to see color was great. Especially when she told Hitomi she was expecting them to have at least kissed lol. Kohaku pls. And then I got second-hand embarrassment when Kohaku had Yuito and Hitomi interact to see if that affected Hitomi’s ability to see color to no avail. I was also dying when Kohaku had Hitomi call Yuito by his first name, flustering both of them.
When Kohaku isn’t harrassing Hitomi and Yuito in interacting (by literally trapping them underneath a desk lol), she’s at home practicing her time magic. But DANG, Kohaku. She is a BEAST when it comes to magic, especially when it shows her reverse the time on her grandmother’s rose, bringing it back to life. Even her mom is blown away by this and she has every reason to be. Kohaku is just a teenager and her magic prowess is just phenomenal. However, it’s also because of how hard she’s been studying and it’s certainly showing.
And as much as I love Kohaku, I also just really love Kawai. Like Kohaku is towards Hitomi, Kowai acts like an older sister towards the younger group members. It was interesting to see that Asagi picked up on the chemistry between Kawai and Fukazawa and seemed genuinely surprised that Kawai is fine with how things are between them. Showing a contrast between Kawai and Asagi. While Asagi is personally not okay with how things are between her and Yamabuki (despite claiming she’s fine), Kawai is perfectly fine with just leaving how things are with Fukazawa. Though I have a feeling that part of it may be because she’s a third year and will be leaving soon. Kawai’s moment is subtle, but I just love how she provides Asagi with silent comfort.
And I know I touched on this topic last episode, but I just can’t get over how much Hitomi has changed from the first few episodes. She genuinely seems like she’s having fun with everyone and is also much more expressive. She’s even smiling a whole lot more. Even Yamabuki mentions how she’s changed as she’s taking more pictures of people lately and is more concerned with the lighting. Yamabuki knows what’s up.
Speaking of Yamabuki, he certainly seemed a little perturbed when he and Kawai happen to see Kohaku conducting her research on Hitomi and Yuito. I find Yamabuki’s feelings for Hitomi quite interesting. They’re not in your face like a lot of anime, but it’s very subtle. Anyways, he happens to overhear the question that has been dangling in the air for some time when Kohaku asks Hitomi straight out if she wants to return to the future. We don’t hear Hitomi’s answer and I don’t think she did answer at that moment, but when Yamabuki was helping Hitomi with her photos, he seemed determined to ask her answer. Though I admit I was panicking a bit when he started attempting to ask since it was framed as if he was going to confess to her. I was honestly like: Oh no… OH NO IT’S HAPPENING! But nope, false alarm. Which is probably a good thing since Hitomi probably hasn’t considered Yamabuki as a viable choice due to her attention always being on Yuito.
The episode takes a foreboding turn when Kohaku returns home to find that the rose she had brought back to life was shriveled up again. Her magic wasn’t strong enough to keep the rose and Asagi’s camera alive for a long period of time. My immediate thought was: IS HITOMI GOING TO DIE?! But I don’t think that’s the case. However, I do think something bad is going to happen to Hitomi if she continues to stay in the past for a long period of time. Especially when Hitomi tells Kohaku that she’d much rather stay in the past with everyone. And I saw this revelation from a mile away. Hitomi is actually happy with friends in this time period, something she didn’t have in her present. I don’t blame her for not wanting to go back.
Judging from Kohaku’s reaction to Hitomi’s confession, this can definitely turn out to be very bad. Especially by how so many of the shots invoked a lot of feelings of dread from how the shadows fell over the characters after Kohaku realized her magic wasn’t able to sustain the objects. I actually went and looked up what a dead rose represented since the camera focused on it for an agonizing moment. From what I can conjure, a dead rose can represent sadness, an end to a relationship or something broken which could very well relate to what could happen to Hitomi and her decision to stay in the past.
I was already feeling anxious and worried for Hitomi, but this episode definitely put me on edge of what could happen to her. Especially when Kohaku comments how she wants to make everyone happy with magic but doing so is extremely difficult. Kohaku knows that Hitomi is happy here, but isn’t sure if it’s the best thing for her. I have to wonder if Kohaku may have to force Hitomi to leave, which could cause a great amount of tension within the group and may even cause a rift between Kohaku and Hitomi. Which would be absolutely terrible because their bond is so important and precious. At this point, it’s going to take something big to get Hitomi to go back to her time. I also feel really bad for Kohaku. She’s been trying her absolute hardest to create strong time magic to send Hitomi back, only to essentially render her efforts basically worthless now that she wants to stay in this time period. Which becomes even more crushing when Kohaku’s grandmother even reassures her that her future self knew her current self would be able to figure out a way to send Hitomi back.
UGHHHH MY HEART… I just want them all to be happy. T^T
