I can’t believe we’re so close to the end of Kaizoku Oujo! I’m going to have serious withdrawals after the last episode… T_T
A thought I had after I finished last week’s post was about the expression on Yukimaru’s face after Fena finished her dancing. “O shrine maiden, dance with abandon,” Yukimaru says solemnly. For having had such a loving look on his face only moments earlier I felt that he suddenly looked rather sad. Perhaps even a bit regretful. And it occurred to me: Maybe there are more lyrics Yukimaru knows that Fena has forgotten? Maybe there is more to the song than Yukimaru is letting on? I questioned half-jokingly in last week’s post if Fena was going to die, but what if that guess is correct? What if, in finding Eden and leading the Goblin Knights to it, Fena’s role is to die just like her mother did? It’s a sobering thought.
ANYWAYS! Onto this week’s review.
Can I just say for one quick moment how goddamned GORGEOUS this episode was?? Seriously, THIS is how you blend animation with CGI. From the stormy skies flashing lighting and thunder to the purpleish cloud surrounding Helena’s spirit, there were so many beautiful shots that I had trouble choosing screenshots for this week’s gallery.
Technically not a whole lot happened this episode. Mainly just that Abel and his soldiers catch up to the Goblin Knights, who’ve been temporarily sidetracked by all the treasure and relics they’ve found in the cavern. As the knights fight against Abel’s soldiers, Abel himself walks onwards towards where Fena and Yukimaru are. (It’s honestly not much of a fight; as usual the knights are slaughtering their opponents fairly quickly.)
Though upon looking at Abel more closely, he appears to be in a sort of trance, similar to Fena when she and the Goblin Knights found the underground cavern where they then found the hidden coordinates on Fena’s stone. Abel’s eyes are glowing red too – is this a sign of possession? Or simply how “the calling” manifests in him? Maybe it’s Cody controlling Abel?
Abel’s glowing, shaded eyes reminds me a lot of the eyes of the guys in the otome game Amnesia: Memories whenever a change in the plot caused their “dark side” to emerge.
Regardless for the reason behind Abel’s behavior, his mind is so clouded that instead of seeing Fena and Yukimaru standing before him, Abel can only see Helena and Franz. So Abel fighting Yukimaru is Abel fighting Franz – to his mind, anyways.
It’s not until Yukimaru cuts off one of Abel’s arms but is stabbed by Abel in return that Abel is able to see Yukimaru for who he actually is. However he remains convinced that he must kill Yukimaru in order for Helena’s spirit to appear.
Thankfully he is wrong and Helena appears to the trio before Abel can cause more harm. What follows is a heartwrenching but beautiful scene between two souls who only wanted to be reunited with one another.
For those who’ve lost someone very, very close to them, is this not how we wish to be reunited with our loved one when our time on this planet has come to an end? To have them appear and personally escort us to another plane of existence? To have the chance to redo any last words or clear any regrets surrounding their death?
Abel caused a lot of harm and killed a lot of people, but in the end every single thing he did was to get to Eden to see Helena again. Hurting Yukimaru, kidnapping Fena, the people he had to kill, everything. Abel’s grief had him so twisted and his tunnel vision was so focused on his one goal… it’s both pitiful and admirable. A soul drowning in its own grief and doing anything within its power to try to make that pain stop. I will say that I was glad to see Abel’s suffering end and his reunification with Helena achieved, even though it came at the loss of his life.
It was a little disappointing that Helena didn’t have more words for Helena after not seeing Fena since she was an infant, but maybe that was the point. Helena wasn’t able to be in Fena’s life for very long so perhaps she just never developed a bond with Fena. Maybe, as Cody says, they are all just “symbols” and Helena can’t (or chose not to) have an attachment to Fena because of this?
“Fena. What comes next is up to you. I’m sure you will do fine.” – Helena
I must admit, I didn’t see Noah’s Ark (or any Biblical symbology, for that matter) making an appearance in this anime, nor did I anticipate Cody’s character being so central to this series. As the episode closes out, Cody reveals to both Fena and Yukimaru that he is the “storyteller” in the tale of Fena. Is he immortal and been pulling the strings all along? Has he done this before?
Anyways, so now where do we go from here? Fena’s birth is instrumental to some big event but what is it? Must Fena still choose between blue water and storm clouds – maybe between the world surviving and ending?
I’m equally curious about both what Cody wants from Fena and how Fena and Yukimaru’s relationship will be left by the end of the finale. (I can’t help it, it’s the shipper in me.) Yukimaru looks pretty severely injured yet again, and I’m going to make good on throwing something if either he or Fena dies. Maybe Fena will try to protect him and they’ll both die in order for the world to be reborn?
Shitan looked like he found some fabled sword he was tasked with finding – was it just a one-off scene or maybe the sword will have a role in the final episode? Maybe Kei and Yukihisa won’t show up at Eden after all?
I was so excited for this week’s episode and knowing there’s only one episode left is already both exciting and pure torture. (ಥ﹏ಥ)
