I thought this was going to be a happy, slice of life style episode with everyone living out their post war lives together. Sure, we do get the post-war lives of some people, but I am just quickly reminded of human mortality. I really feel for every one of Fushi’s companions. They have been following him for so long and now it seems like he’s quick to abandon them. I know there are things that Fushi still has to do to keep the world safe… but couldn’t they all adventure with each other a little bit longer? Just a couple of years?
The tonal shift this episode went through was very dramatic. We get the joy of the war officially ending. Kamu is able to be revived and see his friends once more, barricades are taken down, a mother is reunited with her son, and Fushi gets to eat a feast with all of his companions. I would have loved to just see them explore the world together, or even just live peacefully around each other for a while. But slowly, as Fushi started to reveal his future plans everything just started to hurt. It starts out small like saying he won’t bring Bon back because they are waiting to save his other forms from Kahaku’s nokker. This is fine since Bon still gets to hang out with us and Fushi can still see him. Then we have the announcement of Eko’s death and I’m really bummed that she had to have an off screen ending! But still, I’m happy that she’s able to be seen again and gets to partake in the feast even if she is no longer alive. That part was sweet. But probably the most devastating part of all of this was just watching March, Tonari, and Gugu all realize what Fushi was going to do. All three of them having to process that they just got him back only to lose him again hurts a lot. I don’t blame them for trying to fight back.
Gugu and Tonari were able to hold back their emotions, but March absolutely loses it, and I can’t blame her! He is so important to her (and of course everyone else), and March doesn’t have anyone else in the world or even just knowledge of the world to rely on. Everyone else has a lot more life experience than she does. What else is she supposed to do? She could potentially live with one of the others, but I think her grief about the whole thing is just so strong. Even her fighting against his wishes required the man in black to step in. There was absolutely no way she was going to let him go through with it. A third person needed to step in and put an end to this… which of course leads to the bittersweet ending of the series.
Shortly after Fushi goes to his ‘grave’ we get to watch as everyone follows. March is the first to go. All she wanted was to stay by his side and grow up with him… and she’s able to stay by his side for such a long time. However, that does require Tonari to provide Hairo with a poison to kill her. March doesn’t get to grow up with Fushi and instead dies to stay with him at the grave. This triggers how we learn about everyone else’s life and death. Surprisingly, the first death we learn about is Kahaku’s through his actions with the church of Bennett. Honestly, I kind of forgot that the church was a significant threat since they weren’t really present for the second half of the season. Initially, I thought we were prepping for the next season with them now having Kahaku as an ally. That would have been really scary, but it turns out that Kahaku would never abandon Fushi and is loyal to him until the bitter end. Kahaku really went out with a splash and a bang. I won’t forgive him for what he’s done this season, but man… this exit was respectable. And it’s a bummer for him too! He’s always been fighting a losing battle! His elders don’t believe in him because he’s a male descendent of the bloodline and it’s clear that he only hurts Fushi. But willingly preparing his death, cutting off his arm, committing suicide, and taking down the church? Damn. Kahaku, you really proved yourselves to those elders.
Since Fushi is able to regain his remaining forms after this death Bon is able to return to life and then we just quickly speed run me crying over everyone again. Bon is able to live a happy life with his family as the right hand of the king, his brother, and dies peacefully in the castle with Fushi holding his hand. Tonari continues the work she did when she was alive by writing more stories about Fushi and his deeds before eventually dying in Jananda and her body is laid to rest with Fushi. Hairo, who earlier in the episode spoke about wanting to bake bread and have his own bakery (and I really hope he was able to do that, because he deserves happiness too!) is assassinated for spreading the word of Fushi by an anti-Fushi member. Kai is able to work as a blacksmith for the remainder of his life before succumbing to the same illness as his father – it seemed like he died alone, but I hope he was able to make more connections again with his renewed life. Messar dies of over indulgence. He was a man who lost everything and only receives a form of joy through pleasure. It’s an unfortunate end for him, but he had nothing else to fight for. Gugu joins Kamu in protecting Fushi’s grave and keeps that role until also taking a hit from the anti-Fushi faction. He joins March and Fushi in the grave. And all of this just hurts !! I know they need to live out their lives, but I can’t believe I’ve had to watch them die again. And most of them died so unceremoniously. I hope Fushi is able to keep his promise and introduce them to the future.
Which brings us to the very end. We are in modern day. So many, many, years have passed since the war at Renril. It’s an event that is probably in everyone’s history textbook and they can’t even fathom that life used to be that way. But, Fushi has done it. He’s protected the world and seen it grow into what it is today. But to really close out the end of the season, the unnamed boy finally gets to experience the world he dreamed of.
I really can’t believe it’s all over.
Final Impressions
Well, we’ve made it. The second season of To Your Eternity has finally come to an end and naturally we didn’t make it through the season without spilling any tears. The formula it took this time around was much different than the first season, but it was wonderful to see all of Fushi’s professional growth. Unfortunately, I wish I could say this season surpassed the first, but I can’t. However, it was still an enjoyable watch and I’m glad that I stuck around to the end.
The first season of To Your Eternity we watch Fushi become something out of nothing. We watch him learn how to speak, interact, and be human with others as part of his journey. But this time around, despite being separated from the rest of the world he’s as close to human as an immortal can be – so where does he go from here? Fushi starts to evolve into a genuine immortal / god with the salvation of humanity on his shoulders. He is still meeting new companions that ultimately shape his view of the world, but this time he’s starting to get upset and frustrated that he’s lost everyone he’s ever been close to… and do I blame him? No. But boy does it make for some really frustrating situations.
This season can be boiled down into two major events: Dealing with the church of Bennett and the war on Renril. Well, there’s actually a third event that slides between the two where Fushi learns to become one with the world. But while that one was cool for his development, I don’t personally have a lot of additional things to say about it other than, “Wow! Look at all these new abilities Fushi obtained that can help us out in the future”. Also Eko was introduced. But speaking of introductions, aside from Fushi and Eko, the two most prominent characters that we met this season were Kahaku and Bonchien La Tasty Peach Uralis and they were absolutely fantastic additions to the cast regardless of whether or not I liked them in the end. For Kahaku, I really wanted him to be different. I wanted him to break the Hayase obsession cycle with Fushi. And for a while, it seemed like he was behaving himself. Sure, he wanted to dedicate his entire life to Fushi, but we hadn’t reached the level of creepy that made Hayase such a scary villain… but then Fushi appeared as Parona and ever since then Kahaku continued to spiral downward. But despite all of this happening, I really liked that Kahaku still acted as our ally. Of course, as time goes on we realize that he is only Fushi’s ally, not an ally of everyone on Fushi’s side. He doesn’t care about Eko, the immortals, or Bon despite spending the better part of the season with them. All that matters is Fushi. Which, of course, backfires with the Nokker completely taking over all of Fushi’s form during the war, ultimately traumatizing him more than any of the other crimes he committed. That being said. I did not like Kahaku by the end of the series. But it wasn’t in a “This is a bad character and he shouldn’t exist sort of way” rather it was “He causes a great deal of harm to the protagonists of this series, ultimately putting them in more danger” type way. Good to have, but perhaps things could have gone better if he separated … or was killed by Fushi sooner. However, his final act of dedication to Fushi was really impactful on that final episode. In a single moment he took out the Church of Bennett and the final Nokker. So, kudos to you Kahaku.
If you’ve been following my entries you know that I am a big fan of Bon. Aside from Fushi, I think he had the most significant character development and I loved what he brought to the story. Bon, at first glance, seems like a hoity toity royal who has never done a single day of hard work in his life and therefore cannot relate to Fushi on any level. But in the earlier episodes we slowly start to see how he both embraces that identity and tries to prove us wrong. Typically when we meet a character like that, people are constantly talking behind their back and commenting how horrible and terrible they truly are. They are obnoxious and things would be better off if they were not involved. But for Bon, it seems like the people of Uralis genuinely care about him. At no point is there a moment where people of his kingdom want him dead (there are people who want to kill him, but no one who he’s actually impacted). There’s a kindness that he has within all that selfishness that people want to support. Iris follows him for as long as she can. He knows the name of every soldier. He deliberately asks questions in certain ways to protect soldiers from entering the war on Renril. He tries to help Chabo (despite Chabo rejecting him for a long time). For as selfish as he is, he cares deeply about those around him. Sure, he falters and gives Fushi up to the church of Bennett which causes a good deal of problems including his own arrest, but he grows. After many, many, days in the floating cage he is given the same opportunity to denounce Fushi and call him the devil, but instead he responds in the opposite direction claiming that he loves Fushi. Good for you Bon. Become an enemy of the church. And get executed to be made an example of. His growth and development of his character is fantastic. And that doesn’t even talk about the war in Renril. Bon is clearly the brains behind the entire operation. Does he do things perfectly? No. But he is doing it for everyone else and not for his own selfish gain. He keeps Fushi’s revival abilities a secret because, for a time, he knew Fushi would just bring them all back and then disappear, abandoning all other humans. Were there times where I wanted him to just tell Fushi his plans? Absolutely. But I still think Bon made a good choice in how he went about it. Even though it seems like he’s withholding information that would help Fushi, he’s not trying to harm the immortal. He has been on Fushi’s side from the beginning and stays loyal (except for that one moment with the church) and ultimately ends up dying to save the immortal.
In short, I loved the characters introduced this season.
Story and animation wise… there were some fantastic episodes and then there were others that felt like a chore to get through. If I based my entire experience off these last 4-5 episodes, I would be giving this season stunning reviews. But I had to sit back and remember… No, there were moments where things were incredibly slow and I was very frustrated with the pacing and storytelling that was happening. The first season gave us very clear narratives with each new person that we met. It had clear structure that by the end we would be able to figure out how the story was going to go. Again, not every story was a home run, but it was still enjoyable. We would meet a new person and they would be fundamental in Fushi’s growth. Then, typically due to Hayase or the Nokkers, or both. Fushi would end up losing his companions or friends he made along the way. Heart wrenching, but we get to see him grow. This time around, rather than Fushi learning how to be human, he has to make the decision of if he even wants to save the humans. He becomes selfish. He hates the suffering that the humans go through, but he hates it more for himself and the fact that he has to experience it. Earlier in the season he wants to just disappear and never have to deal with all this grief and completely separate himself from humanity. However, by the time we reach Renril, he’s made a promise to protect all humans. Granted, that was equally frustrating to me because he wanted to do everything by himself. He didn’t want to rely on anyone else… which honestly… did not work out in his favor. But he’s growing and I’m proud of him for that.
And then of course there is this ending. You’ve already heard my thoughts above, but I feel like this season ending was both empty and satisfying. Empty because we went through all these hardships with these characters, brought many back to life, only to watch them die again … some in rather unfortunate ways. But at the same time, it was a very definitive end. This story has reached its ending, the characters that we grew to appreciate and enjoy throughout the course of the series have had the opportunity (save for March) to live out their lives free from the war against the Nokkers. It’s bittersweet, but not everyone gets a happy ending. The tears shed for everyone’s final moments were certainly different from the sobs of season 1. But, sometimes just being able to cry over characters is good enough. Currently, it looks like we get to look forward to another season of To Your Eternity. This time, things are going to be taking place in a modern era and hopefully with a good set of the cast that we’ve already collected.
Now, comes the hardest part of any Final Impression: The rating. Personally, I can’t rate it as highly as I did the first season despite really enjoying the final few episodes of the season. Just like season one, there were incredible high moments, but there were also some pretty significant, boring, and bland moments. So overall, I think this season gets a solid 7.25/10 from me. As for all the reasons laid out above, there were a lot of things that I loved, but a lot of things that missed the mark for me. It doesn’t quite capture what I loved about the first season, but knowing that it’s not trying to tell the same story as the first season allowed me to separate this new adventure from the previous. But either way, I’m looking forward to seeing where the next season will take us!
