It is rather a shame that Fumetsu no Anata e is only 20 episodes. Well, for a lot of reasons, but especially because this arc (which already feels like longer than 20 episodes by itself) is going to take us almost right up to the end. When mediocre series are mediocre it’s not that big a deal really – what else would they be? But when a series that’s shown it can be really, really good is mediocre, you’re acutely aware of that quality gap. And that’s painfully the case here.
There are elements of this arc that do have some traction – mainly as it concerns Fushi’s continued emotional development and his relationship with Pioran. But apart from that very little of this is working for me. Tonari’s inevitable redemption is flat as a pancake, because it’s both predictable and hollow. Hayase is just a flat-out freak, to the point where her grotesqueness plays as cartoonish. And the logic of these events is really odd – so many things don’t even make sense, but seem to be happening for the sake of plot convenience.
As to what Hayase’s actual deal is, it would help if the narrative gave us a little more insight into her motivations. What’s with all the licking, for crying out loud? And what’s her endgame with Fushi for that matter – wealth? Power? Does she want to make a baby with him and sire a line of immortals, or does she just want to know what it feels like to jump an immortal’s bones? Who knows – she just does evil stuff and freaky stuff and vamps for the camera.
She’s clever, certainly. She knew just what to say to get the bumpkins of Jananda all riled up, and that bit about ceding the leadership to Tonari was the perfect way to take a potential enemy out of commission. She also buys off the right person in Skyfish (isn’t it bad luck to name your ship after yourself, or something?) because Skyfish is perfectly positioned to help her execute her schemes. As to Tonari’s decision to allow only children 7 and under on-board when the ship leaves, it’s actually rather cruel – though from her perspective it probably doesn’t seem that way.
I know this much – I’ve never been happier to see the Nokkers that I am now. They can’t arrive too soon for me, and Fushi can’t get off this island fast enough. I’ll grudgingly concede that Creator is right, there are elements of this arc that are important in Fushi’s development. But I really don’t want to see any more of any of these people except for Fushi and Pioran, and that’s too big a hole for the arc to climb out of. I guess it’s been so long since Koe no Katachi that I’d forgotten what a frustrating writer Ooima Yoshitoki can be.
Snowball
August 10, 2021 at 11:07 pmThe artwork has been noticeably goddamn awful this week, which would have been fine if the narrative was competent. Too many unnecessary events, I mean, what was the point of the excessive licking and knocking out Tonari and crew when they were about to board the ship and head for the same destination. Hayase’s attempted rape scene was hard to watch. And frankly, none of the newly introduced characters have been emotionally engaging.
Of the three shows I’m carrying into a barren summer season Kingdom has been the most impressive whilst Fumetsu has frankly been annoyingly disappointing.
Kinai
August 11, 2021 at 12:21 amI don’t think that saying that Hayase is a little crazy, unhinged and has a crush on Fushi; would be a spoiler any more. So, what is her actual deal? Well, that she is crazy, unhinge and has a crush on Fushi. Easy! 😉
Kim
August 11, 2021 at 8:44 amI think the arc is just fine but the manga is just better. There is just little the anime adds to this series. It’s just a very boring straightforward adaption without the uniqueness of the manga art
Ranma undemi
August 11, 2021 at 10:00 pmI think you’re too hard on Tonari. She’s been made look unlikable but really she’s not worse than Pioran as a person. She isn’t a killer and hasn’t hustled parents to sacrifice their children. I know Pioran wasn’t free when she played shaman but she’s still responsible for her choices and Tonari also isn’t free on that island. She was very shocked to see her pops turn into a killer and she’s very loyal to her group of friends. I don’t dig her seiyu and her personality but I can understand it now that her past was shown. True enough Pioran has been with Fushi for a very long time and has been good for him. Tonari we only just met a few days ago and she’s already changed her attitude toward Fushi and helped him. She didn’t bring Fushi to the island to be a jerk, she was tricked by that biatch Hayase. I think if this arc didn’t have so much other nonsense Tonari would also come off better. It’s not fair to hate her for bad execution of everything else. Pioran maybe was like Tonari when she was younger, she’s no stranger to hustle for sure. Tonari could be like Pioran when she matures but I doubt she’ll live that long. This reminds me about what you’ve said before and I also don’t agree about March. March was no worse than Gugu if we consider their age and how long Fushi spent with them. So what if she was on the moe side, she was also very cool. The problem wasn’t her but that her part came after the perfect episode and was a let down from that. I don’t like to put characters down for what’s not their fault.
Yukie
August 11, 2021 at 11:13 pmTo think the writer could make Hayase an even worse person after last episode’s depiction…now she’s a r*pist? When Fushi traded himself for the others, I groaned. Those scenes made this episode really hard to watch.I had hoped Fushi would be off the island this episode. Throughout this episode, I kept waiting for Ligard to die (sorry owl) , so Fushi could just literally fly away.
I wonder if the animators were fed up with this arc as well, since the drop in animation was quite noticeable. There’s only three episodes left, and we haven’t seen purple hair girl from the intro, so I wonder if this arc will end next week followed by a 2 ep. mini-story as a closer.