I guess I’m pot-committed to Fumetsu no Anata e at this point. I mean, almost two and two-thirds seasons in it would be tough to drop it, and it’s generally at least perplexing even when it’s not good. But Sundays are the new blogging Hell in anime this decade, and when next season heats up it’s going to become more and more of a chore to psych myself up to cover eps like this one. The digest compromise is always an option I suppose, but we’ll have to see how the new season plays out.
But boy, Fumetsu is one frustrating show. After a couple rebound episodes we’re right back in the tank again here. This wasn’t so much hilariously bizarre (as To Your Eternity can sometimes be) as mostly boring. And puzzling (as To Your Eternity is most of the time). I mean, the whole Fushi as Funa thing was just an extended ramble, kind of out of the blue. And I’m still not entirely sure why I should care about Funa, or indeed Mizuha other than finding her just as irritating as the rest of her clan.
The bit with Mimori was better. It was a healthy reminder that Fushi didn’t really fix her problems. In fact he generally doesn’t fix anyone’s problems that he helps – he just kind of gives them a reset. Mimori is still a gloomy girl with no friends who makes mud balls as her only passion in life. This leads to a reflective moment for Fushi – often among Fumetsu’s best sequences. Fushi’s innocent bafflement that anyone could want to die in a world with so much plenty is genuine and in-character. Nothing is harder, of course, than for a person who doesn’t want to die to understand why someone else would.
That was a genuinely profound passage, and that this series is always capable of those is a major reason why I’m still watching. The rest of it is the reason why I’m usually wondering why. I do think this season is going to drill down to an interesting point – is Fushi really in the right in his quest to eliminate the Nokkers? Are they just flu medicine, as Mizuha calls them, or are they a genuine menace to society? And most crucially, are Fushi’s friends really any better off – or happier – because of their association with him?
