Man Satoru is such a bloody idiot. You’d think he would be a bit wiser, to look into the whole matter more carefully, but nah, he’s so blinded by his hatred towards Anothers, that the consequences of what would happen if an Another were to fail to provide an offering to the Gods in Izumo flew right over his head. Without proper investigation of what the silk cocoons were for, he got not only himself but his entire crew in world of trouble that would have blown out of control, so thank god they stripped Satoru of authority! Arata’s intervention to stop Satoru from adding fuel tot he fire was the only thing that spared them of death and chaos. The Silkworm Princess Manari was understandably furious about her dear children being killed/burned, and intended to kill as many Humans in return of those she had lost. To make matters worse, without the silk, she would have nothing to offer to the Gods in Izumo, and the price she would have to pay would have been her life without the power of the sun.
Arata made a gutsy move by offering help complete the task with a very small time frame to finish it. Luckily she had accepted, and he was also able to get help from the Tengu and Angels who both owed him one. And yet despite being in his debt, the Tengu did not readily jump to his aid, after-all it was the Humans that got them into this mess. But they ended up agreeing to do so because they and other Anothers who live in the area would also be affected by Manari’s fury. Better yet, Tarabo (the Tengu) also used this opportunity to return the favour to Arata, but taking him to the Angels to ask for their help as well.
My favourite part about this interaction was when Tarabo acknowledge Arata as himself, rather than his predecessor Seimei that most Anothers refer him to. It goes to show a start of Arata’s forming his own unique relationships with Anothers, as he has decided he wants to embrace his ability to understand them, and serve as someone who can communicate with Anothers to help relieve the tensions and misunderstandings between them and Humans. And it was truly a beautiful moment to see Humans and Another work together for a common cause. It really warmed my heart.
Also it was super satisfying to see Arata come flying in with the Angels, along with the fact Manari made it clear, the only reason she will ‘forgive’ them is for Seimei’s sake. I am sure Senda is having a field day over this because he wanted the City Hall to be in his debt, and whether Satoru likes it or not, he is now also owes Arata big time. Nevertheless, the guy is dead set on hating and purging Anothers, so while they were able to keep him in check for today’s operation, that’s not going to stop him from killing them when he follows other missions— which is unnerving when you think about it.
Next week is the final episode, I am curious to see how that will play out given this event has more or less been resolved. Perhaps Kohaku amd Yuki will bring back souvenirs from Izumo? HAHA! Just kidding.
Mangaupdates lists Mayonaka’s source manga as targeting “a female demographic with a male lead”, and runs in shoujo magazine Asuka.
In your opinion, do you find the series having any appeal for women so far?
In other news, it seems the 2020 season of Free! will not be a TV series, but a movie. And there’s one semi recap movie, Road to the World (opening early July in Japan) to bridge S3 and the 2020 movie.
Hmmmm….. It’s hard to say since I can’t speak for everyone and I just watch it for what it is. I don’t think about the labels and how it appeals to certain genders. That being said, I really don’t see how it’s supposed to appeal to women in particular. It’s a confusing tag.
As for Free! 2020 being a movie instead, to some extent that makes more sense, but honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if they go ahead and make another season regardless haha! xD