Good lord this episode was painful to watch. Not because it was depressing or because I was overwhelmed by emotions, but rather how boring and annoying it was to watch. Mei in particular, was driving me nuts. It also didn’t help how this episode felt like a total waste of time. There are only three important points you need to know: Ougai is currently writing a romance novel (The Dancing Girl), a ghostly-woman named Elise appearing besides him, and Mei is apparently able to stay in this timeline for as long as she desires to.
Frankly, I was stunned when Charlie told Mei it is okay for her to remain in this period. But truth to be told, I wonder if that’s really the case. Are there really no consequences if she stays for longer than she should have? Perhaps not, I suppose it all varies on how she affects the timeline, but there’s also a part of me that wonders if this is actually all some crazy dream Charlie had crafted. Should the intro of the first episode play out as planned, it seems to allude something or someone will prompt her to return home. Or else maybe we’re in store for something else altogether.
And if I may be so blunt: With the way Mei is haunted by the last of her present world memories, it makes it feel more like Mei is running away from her problems instead of facing them. She has become comfortable in this era because she feels like she fits in the society, made friends and even fell in love with someone who loves her back. I suppose what makes this situation rather unusual was how this was part of Charlie’s intent. But apparently her newfound desire to stay in this world was not something he had initially anticipated (a debatable claim to say the least), so it’s really hard to say whether or not it is as convenient and straight-forward as he claims it to be. However, while he tells her she is permitted to stay as long she she wishes, he also lets her know she can just call him when she wants to leave. This certainly implies Charlie knows a lot more than she does of what’s going on, and in particular of Ougai’s history. Either way, by offering her a form of “insurance”, Mei make the most of the present, and should things go south, as long as Charlie keeps his world, she can always return home.
As frustrated as this episode left me, I would be lying if I said I weren’t a little curious about who Elise is, and her ties with Ougai. In the preview, we hear Ougai talking about being unable to face his past and present. Most noticably it seems Ougai is deathly afraid of Mei disappearing, which leads me to wonder if his heart had been scarred by someone dear leaving him, be it going somewhere far away, or because of death. If that’s the case, then it’s possible this woman, Elise may be that very person. It’s a curious thing that Ougai can see her after he has claimed he cannot see spirits. Perhaps it’s because she is showing herself to him, or maybe it’s simply haunting him in his head?
Next week, since Mei no longer has to sulk about the looming deadline of returning home, hopefully next week will be a bit better. That of course, depends on how Ougai (who is still under the impression that Mei might be leaving him in the near future) will be. We already saw him sulking today and is in a writer’s slump, but it looks like with the ghost appearing, Ougai has another problem he needs to face. Anyhow, I suppose it’s good that it looks like we are finally going to learn more about the guy. He really needs to be fleshed out.
TOTALLY AGREE! This episode just felt so meh and a waste of time considering its almost to the end…it is my least favorite thus far. The only kinda highlight was when Syunso’s art teacher (forget his name) showed up and gave some life and energy to this episode. This point I am over the Mei/Ogai relationship but resigned to see how they tie it up in the last few episode :(.
Kinda wondering though since the next episode will probs focus on Ogai, like are we ever going to find Syunso’s black cat…we been talking about since episode 2 and its been brought up several times in multiple episodes by different characters…Idk they made it seem so important? Maybe I just want my best boy to get his time since he been third wheeling since episode 2.
In the game,
Spoiler: Route Progress
the choice of staying or returning will affect the ending you get with your love interest. Staying means you stay alongside your new crush; returning means the crush will follow you to the future. Both are considered the good ends.
If you haven’t built up enough affection with your crush, you’ll return to the future alone – that’s the closest you get to a bad end.
The true route is a bit different, since the return choice there is the best ending that explains Charlie’s motivations and why he sent Mei back in time. Staying will not answer the mystery.
“The Dancing Girl” is an actual Ougai novel, which some scholars suspect is a semi-autobiography of his time as a student in Germany and subsequent fling with the titular dancing girl. It’s a pretty bleak love story.
https://japaneseculture-muticultural.weebly.com/agnibhos-analysis-and-biography.html
Interesting progression for the routes, as for the true route, it definitely makes a whole lot more sense.
It doesn’t look like they are following that one for this, which is a shame since I think it would have been more beneficial for the story if they had. Of course it would be spoiling it, but I think it would have been way more interesting than what we got going on here.
But hey if I’m wrong, I’m all for the twist! Still three episodes left lmao!