To Your Eternity – Episode 5

MARCH ;____; They lured me into a false sense of security! I thought at most I’d get teary eyed, but then they just kept bringing it up or showing us something to essentially twist the knife in the wound. Any time I thought the tears were done, there was just something new to tell me that I’m not done crying yet. Which of course means that any time the events of this past arc come up again in future episodes it’s going to sting just as hard as it did today. (And I mean, the mid episode card still hurts me after everything we went through in episode 1).

But before I get into talking about the entire second half of the episode, I just want to say that the first half was also very enjoyable! And quite frankly didn’t hurt nearly as bad! If anything, it makes care about March even more than I have in the past few episodes and I already really liked her a lot. I loved that she pushes back against Parona from taking some of the bear’s hide. She’s not willing to let the bear be a sacrifice even if it’s already dead. And her childish stubbornness is what makes it more impactful. All while the whole time Parona is trying to convince March that it’s okay. Which led to two pretty impactful moments! The first when Parona tries to offer a toy to March in order to get her to play along. I was actually surprised when March just threw it to the side. But the second was when Parona told March that she wasn’t grown up enough to understand, and you could just see how much those words hurt in March’s eyes. But in the end, the bear’s body is not carved up and the group manages to escape.

The escape sequence was also pretty fun for a while! I loved when their wagon was literally on fire and they were acting as if nothing had happened. Or at the very least they made sure that March didn’t know what was going on for at least a good while. Props to them for making her not notice the burning cart. But then… oh man it really went down from there and by that, I mean everything got more emotional from there. As soon as March found out what was happening, she sprang into action to save Parona. And let me tell you, I was not expecting that wound to cause as much damage as it did… but hoo boy it sure packed a punch. And I kept telling myself that everything was going to be okay. They were going to bring March home and she’d get to live a happy life with her family in the village… but boy did they prove me wrong.

And this is just where things started to get painful. On the one hand we have Fushi who has now transformed into the bear causing damage to Yanome to take out the guards as a means of taking revenge on the soldiers who did this to March. But… we also have Parona so kindly trying to coax March even after she passed. When she took the thank you food after the flashback that stung so much, it really shows just how much impact March had on Parona’s life. And it was just a spiral from there. The fact that she smiled all the way until she found the blade near Hayase. And god, I was 100% ready for Parona to take out Hayase… I hope she gets the chance to do so in the future. I will take her out on my own if I have to.

But the moment that probably hurt the most is seeing the spirit of March. In that spirit / dream like state we got to see her growing up and living out her dreams of becoming a mother! It wasn’t until after I finished the episode, but I realized that the same thing happened with the unnamed boy. When they passed, they both had a segment where they get to achieve what they wanted most. For March, it was being a mom and growing up. For the boy, it was meeting new people and learning about the wonders he was told about. And boy that was a double whammy for me. But the real kicker is when March realized what was going on along with the spirit of the bear. He spirit’s conscious was able to see what Parona was going to do. Just watching her run up to Parona punching and screaming trying to get through was painful. But then for her to run to Fushi… and Fushi to stop Parona with the absolute saddest face that was reminiscent of March aaaaaaaaaaaaa. I can’t even find the words to describe how I felt in that moment. I was both relieved but also pained. But has there been an episode so far where there hasn’t been pain?

And the ride just keeps on going as Parona arrives back in the village. Just hearing here say that she was doing nothing for a year and a half hurt. I wanted to reach through my screen and grab her by the shoulders and shout “you didn’t do nothing!! you were doing your best to save March!!” But… I suppose… in the end she was unsuccessful in that endeavor. But it certainly made the letter delivery so much more painful.  But then… having to say goodbye to Fushi because Hayase is still on their trail… and his face… I hope that Parona and Fushi can reunite again in the future. And then of course, the kept that ride going until the very end with the narrator and final scenes. “In meeting with its mother and parting with her, it’s humanity increased. It set out on a journey with her”. March your dream was realized!! You got to be Fushi’s mother!! ; _______ ;

I made the mistake of watching in this during an extended break today thinking it would be on par as the previous episodes. I was definitely wrong because I had to teach a course after just finishing that episode. And boy oh boy you could tell that I had been crying. Note to self: remember to give yourself buffer room. They really don’t hold back. I’m going to need to make sure I have water ready from now on when I watch this anime. I’m getting dehydrated from crying too much. But with that, one arc comes to an end and next week it looks like we’re joining back up with Pyoran so it’s time for another wild ride.