Haruko tells Misuzu that she thinks everything that happened was a trial for her to become her real mother. It allowed them to do everything from the beginning. Misuzu begins to feel pain again. Haruko becomes worried and tries to help her. She asks her where it hurts and she says that it’s her wings. Haruko remembers what Yukito told her about Misuzu and tries to convince herself that it was all a lie. She tries to cheer Misuzu up by asking her if she’ll go to the festival. Misuzu says she wants to go to get a baby dinosaur. Haruko replies that there’s probably a store selling the chicks. She says they’ll go tomorrow and have a fun day while pleading for Misuzu to get better. On the morning of the festival she wakes Misuzu up. However, when she looks out the window she finds that it’s raining. She take Misuzu out anyway, even though she doubts they’ll be holding the festival. Still, she prays for a miracle. She gets frustrated because Misuzu didn’t do anything to deserve this and she waited patiently. As the two sit outside under a shrine roof, she remembers the last time she went to a fair with Misuzu. She couldn’t make her happy that time either. Misuzu asks where the dinosaur babie are. Yukito/Sora begins to chirp, getting Haruko’s attention. She sees some things sitting in the shrine including the blue dinosaur toy of Misuzu’s that she threw. She wonders why it’s there. She wakes Misuzu up and shows it to her, which gets her excited. Haruko tries to help Misuzu reach it, but she says she’s getting too tired. She tells Misuzu that her friend (Sora) is there as well and that they should all be happy together. She agrees to try harder and is able to get it. Haruko tells Misuzu that it’s a birthday present from her and asks if she’ll accept it. She does and really likes the present. Haruko thanks got for it. Later they go back home. Misuzu sees Haruko sleeping and realizes that she hasn’t slept in a while for her sake. When she wakes up, she apologizes, but Misuzu tells her that she can sleep. Haruko asks if Misuzu’s pain will get worse when she dreams. Misuzu says that doesn’t happen anymore. Haruko is pleased. Misuzu wants to sleep so she can recover. They both go back to sleep. When Misuzu wakes up later, she silently apologizes for lying because it was the only way to get her to rest. She thinks about Yukito and decides to write in her diary. When Haruko wakes up the next morning, she finds Misuzu asleep at her desk. She asks if she’s in any pain and if she remembers her. Misuzu replies with a good morning, relieving her. Haruko looks out the window and sees that it’s a nice day. Misuzu tells her that she had a dream. Haruko responds with the same question about her hurting in her dreams and Misuzu tells her again that its alright. She also says that it’s the last day of her dreams. After confirming Misuzu’s health, Haruko is incredibly relieved. She cries tears of joy. Misuzu tells her not to cry in a mock imitation of her. Haruko agrees since there’s nothing to be sad about. While Haruko does her hair Misuzu explains her dream. This time it’s about a dinosaur with wings. It was flying around saying “gao.” Misuzu was flying even higher then it with her pure white wings. Haruko is glad that she had a nice dream. But Misuzu says that it was the saddest dream in the world. She’s now happy that her dreams are over and she’ll be happily by her mother’s side forever. They go out for a walk (well Misuzu’s in her wheelchair) and take in the scents of summer. Misuzu says that it smells a lot like her mother. Haruko thinks that would be a bad thing. Haruko asks Misuzu if she wants her to guess what she’s thinking. Misuzu agrees to that. Haruko’s guess is that she wants juice, which is correct. She wants that Peach drink that she likes so Haruka buys it for her. She wants to get one for herself too so Misuzu recommends the Gel-lun juice. She buys it and attempts to suck it out, finding it to be pretty disgusting. Misuzu tells her to drink it by squeezing and she likes it a bit better that way. Misuzu then asks her to go on ahead by herself and to take Sora. She wonders why but goes anyway. Misuzu then tries to get out her wheelchair and walk to them, worrying them both. She says not to come no matter what because she’s going to do her best. She’s doing a good job. Misuzu asks if she’s done enough because she’s done her best. She’s starting to feel pain again. She still tells Haruko not to come. She’s busy freaking out, hoping Misuzu is lying and she’ll recover. Misuzu apologizes and says that she’ll end her goal today. Haruko doesn’t want their life together to end. Misuzu says it’s enpugh because they’ve done everything that she needs to be happy. Haruko won’t accept her answer because she still wants to do more with Misuzu. Misuzu says that her goal this summer was to be happy and she’s glad that she tried her hardest. She wanted to be happy and didn’t want to be alone. She says she’ll now go to her goal and looks up at the sky. Haruko refuses and Misuzu hugs her, saying that she reached it. Haruko starts to cry and thinks of all Misuzu taught her and all the things she could’ve done with Misuzu as Misuzu dies. She begins to temporarily live with Misuzu’s father and eventually runs out of tears to shed. She says she still lives with Misuzu but tells him that he probably doesn’t understand what she’s talking about. He says that he does. Haruko says that she has faith that she’s Misuzu’s mother even though she’s not a great one. She now works at a daycare center so that she can be surrounded by families. As summer ends, Misuzu’s father has to go back home. She sees a crow and asks if it’s Sora. She says if it is she’ll have to scold him. She tells him that he has to go to the sky because he has wings. She says that it’s an unreachable place for humans so he has to go there. She explains that people’s dreams and wishes go to the sky. She feels that people can live peacefully that way. She hopes that they’ll be able to meet again and wishes the crow luck as she leaves. It turns out that the crow is Sora/Yukito. He looks at the sky and notices that it’s always been filled with a sad blue color. Misuzu returned there and is still alone so he’s going to search for her and someday bring her back to welcome a new beginning. He takes off into the sky. The little boy on the beach remembers the story of the girl in the sky. They realize that the sun is setting and go to check what’s beyond the shoreline because the girl wanted to know for a long time. She doesn’t remember saying that, but the boy says that he had a felling that she was thinking it. She says that it’s true. Misuzu and Yukito are sitting on a ledge and Misuzu waves to them. The boy waves back. He thinks to himself that those two had cruel times but they can start a new beginning. He runs after the girl and takes her hand. That was a very good ending. It was rather sad, which was to be expected, but it was also quite helpful. Amazingly, I understood most of what was going on, but the one thing I didn’t get was the very ending. How exactly did the little boy know the story and read the girls voice. I presume he (and possibly the girl too) is some sort of supernatural being. I also don’t get why Misuzu and Yukito were there. Maybe the boy was just imagining them, as the girl didn’t seem to acknowledge them and he did say something about having a vision of the past. That’s something that we’ll probably never know unless a sequel is released.

Afterthoughts: Air was easily one of the greatest series ever made. I had heard a lot of hype about it for my Newtype magazines, but then again they tend to hype anything, so I passed it off as just another bishoujo game turned anime. I did find the artwork to be quite impressive though and saw that it was a rather short series, so I picked it up to blog. The first episode totally blew me away. The opening theme was incredible, the animation was great, the storyline was distinctly original, and Potato was impossibly cute. As I watched each week, the depressing yet hopeful plot moved me and constantly put more questions into my mind. Though in the end it still fully didn’t make sense, I’m very satisfied with what I got. As for favorite characters, mine was of course the ball of fluff Poatao. In the lines of actual human characters though I’d have to go with Haruko. She really interested me from the beginning. I didn’t really respect that her character would redeem herself, so I was really glad when it happened. As usual, I wind up growing attatched to the character who like the main character has to overcome an adversity within themselves yet their’s is overlooked because they’re not the main character. Haruko always truly wanted to be a good mother to Misuzu but was so scared that her father would return that she instead avoided her. She was hurt that she wasted so many years that the two could’ve spent together. I’m so glad that she was able to try and savor her time with Misuzu. Misuzu really needed it so it helped them both find happiness for a while. Of course the real key to Misuzu’s true happiness is Yukito. Hopefully some day he’ll find her, and possibly he already did. Once their life begins anew, Misuzu won’t have to worry about being alone ever again. Though Air’s ending was merely bittersweet, I greatly enjoyed it. This is a series that I recommend to anyone and everyone.

Maharu returns to Earth and attempts to get Yukinari back. She winds up wreaking havoc though and taking out anyone in her path, causing a big scare for Tomoka and meganekko Koyomi. She eventually returns to Seiren though. Maharu is such a fun character. It’s a shame she couldn’t have stayed for more episodes. I used to not like her, but this episode was great after two lesser episodes in a row. I like that we’re getting back to the main plot, which is poor Yukinari getting tortured by girls (not to say that mahjong tournaments and Cat’s Eye parodies can’t be amusing.) The preview for next weeks episode makes it look pretty funny. Miharu gets to lash out on Yukinari. Yep, he gets tortured even worse then Shiratori.

Wah?! Somehow, while transferring it, my first cap got destroyed, thus it’s been removed.

When Misuzu wakes up in the morning, she remembers the events from the night before. She tells Sora that she dreamed about someone she loved and wants to assure that Yukito really came back, that he gave her something important, and that she can’t give up. She says that she can do her best on her own. She decides to try and go outside even though it hurts her to walk. She needs to take a rest but buys some juice first. Haruko comes up from behind her. Yukito remembers that she lived with them but not who she is. He watches her walk off with Misuzu. When they get home, Haruko comments that Yukito’s gone. Misuzu says that if he has nowhere else to go he’ll come back eventually. Haruko tells her that she was having a hard time as well trying to make it possible for the two to stay together. She tells Misuzu that because she’s not her child, someday she’ll be taken to the Tachibana residence. She explains that that’s why she ignored her. If she loved her then she wouldn’t want them to be separated. She’s now realized that that was pointless because she really does love her. She wants to officially make Misuzu her child. Misuzu replies that she didn’t have to do that because she wants to try and do her best by herself and not bother anyone. She then collapses. Haruko takes her to her bed and tells her that she didn’t realize how sick Misuzu really was. She’s surprised that her feet can’t even move. She plans to take Misuzu to the doctor, but she says it won’t help. She explains how she and Yukito discovered that she has her illness because her other self in the sky is carrying a burden by herself. This made her body freeze. Haruko thinks that’s just a fantasy. Misuzu tells her that they should go back to living without bothering each other. Haruko doesn’t want that. She asks Misuzu if it’s because she’s angry about her leaving her alone for so long. She says that Misuzu doesn’t have to go to the hospital if she doesn’t want to and she’ll take care of her and that they can do their best together. However, Misuzu’s already asleep. The next morning, Haruko makes her breakfast, but she doesn’t like it. She assures that next time she’ll do better, but Misuzu says she doesn’t want any because her cooking is never good. Haruko explains that children always grow up eating their parents cooking, whether it’s good or not. Misuzu starts to cry and tells Haruko that she’ll get sick too if she’s friendly with her. Haruko asks if that was a dream as well. She then tells her that she’s not scared of getting sick and would in fact be happy. She gives Misuzu more to eat and she likes it now. The next day, Haruko cuts Misuzu’s hair. They discuss that she’s young for a mom. During an open house at school when all the parents were there, Misuzu tried to answer a question she didn’t know to be cool. When she got it wrong she cried and Haruko hit her. She explains that she hit her because she said “gao.” They discuss that Misuzu’s grown up a lot since then and says the phrase much less. Then she falls asleep again. Haruko messes up while cutting Misuzu’s hair, freaking Yukito out. When she’s done it comes out pretty short. Misuzu is surprised when she wakes up. She says that she feels like a small child again, Haruko’s child. They plan to start their relationship from scratch now. Misuzu talks about all the places she wants to go; the summer fair and the beach. Haruko agrees to do fun things with her and says that they can fill her diary up with things. Before going to bed, Misuzu tells Haruko that she’ll remember her smile. Haruko doesn’t know what she means, but Misuzu’s asleep again. In the morning, Misuzu winds up waking up first. When Haruko wakes up, Misuzu asks her who she is. She tries to tell Misuzu that she’s her substitute mother, as all she can remember about her real mother is that she went far away. As she watches Misuzu play cards, Haruko decides that she’s going to try and make Misuzu remember her. She doesn’t care that she has to be “Obasan” for now. She gets Misuzu a wheelchair so that she can go outside. Misuzu replies that she’s having more fun playing cards by herself. Haruko encourages her that this is fun too so she agrees to go out. While they’re out they meet up with the man from last week’s episode, Misuzu’s father Keisuke. Keisuke is mad at Haruko because Misuzu can’t be in large crowds. Haruko tells him that she’s her child. She got permission. Keisuke argues that Misuzu is his and Ikuko’s. Haruko is mad at him for dropping Misuzu off with her just because she was too much trouble and then coming back for her. He says that he can’t leave her here where she’ll get sicker. Haruko is mad at him for being so formal. Misuzu is scared by her yelling. Keisuke misinterprets Misuzu using “Obasan”. He goes over to Misuzu and tell her to thank “Obasan.” She does so. Haruko pleads that he doesn’t take Misuzu. She knows that it’s both their faults that Misuzu was alone for so long so now she wants to take care of her. She asks if he’s still going to push her around because of their arguments. She tells him that she’s sure she wants to be with Misuzu more. Keisuke asks Misuzu if she wants to keep living with her. Haruko asks if he can give her three days to make a decision. He agrees, but Haruko secretly doubts if she can regain their lost time that quickly. Haruka watches Misuzu play with her dinosaur cards again and asks if she likes dinosaurs. Misuzu shows her the Maiasaur, which means “good mother dinosaur.” Haruko laughs and says it’s like her. Misuzu then shows her the velociraptor, meaning “speedy thief.” Haruko compares it to Keisuke but wonders if she’s really the thief. They soon go for a walk to the beach, though Misuzu repeatedly says that she doesn’t want to. Haruko gets angry and leaves her on the middle of the road. The heat is making Misuzu dizzy so she tries to turn around the wheel chair to o home. However, she winds up falling out. Yukito frantically calls so Haruko runs over. She takes Misuzu home and realizes that she’s not cut out to be a mother. Then she hears Misuzu and Yukito again. Misuzu wants her to get a cicada out of her room. She gets it out, makes sure Misuzu is okay and decides to go. However, Misuzu hands her the deck of cards. Haruko asks Misuzu if she can stay and Misuzu says yes. She then decides not to ask for too much as long as she can stay with Misuzu. She plays with Misuzu and takes care of her until the third day finally comes. She asks Keisuke if she can take Misuzu one last place and he allows it. They go to the ocean. Misuzu’s asleep so she doesn’t know this, but Haruko continues to talk to her. She regrets that they didn’t do this more often. Keisuke then shows up and takes Misuzu. He thanks Haruko for helping her grow. She gives Keisuke Misuzu’s favorite stuffed animal and juice. Haruko asks Yukito if he has to follow her but then sees Misuzu waking up and trying to leave Keisuke. She does her best to walk back, calling Haruko, Mama. Haruko runs towards Misuzu and hugs her. Yukito watches Haruko and Keisuke discuss the matter. He understands that Haruko was the person who was by Misuzu’s side all this time. After all this time only one episode of Air remains. I’ll only be writing one more Air essay. This was a particularly great episode. I’ve always been a fan of Haruko (regardless of the fact that I always forgot her name) and secretly hoped that she wasn’t the terrible person that she was shown to be earlier on. I always wanted her to be a real mother to Misuzu. This episode settled all that. Now Misuzu really has someone to care for. From the preview, she seems to be enjoying her new life, but without Yukito, I wonder just how satisfied she is. As long as he’s in Sora he’s with her, but I’m betting the real Yukito will make an appearance sometime next week. Other then that, I can’t make any predictions since the preview barely told us anything.

Fukuyama makes a movie of Cat’s Eye. For those of you who are like me and have no idea what Cat’s Eye is about, I copied this bit of information from Anime News Network.

- The Three Kisugi sisters: Rui, Hitomi and Ai are running during day a small cafe with the name “Cat’s Eye”. To discover the whereabouts of their disappeared father, the artist Michael Heintz, Hitomi and her sisters are making robberys on art gallerys as the smart and mysterious thief “Cat’s Eye” in the hope that his works can give them clues about his Vanishing. The crucial point is that Hitomi has a relationship with Toshi a police inspector who has sworn to catch “Cat’s Eye” and of course he has no idea of the double life of Hitomi.

This was a pretty funny episode (as usual) and the movie was surprisingly mild, considering who wrote it. Yukinari’s evil laughter had to be the funniest part. Next week Maharu comes back, which should certainly lead to some trouble.

Ichigo and co. go to meet Shiba Kuukaku, an acquaintance of Yoruichi. However, they’re stopped by the next two guardians Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko. Instead of fighting them, they take them to their destination because they know Yoruichi. They’re all very surprised to see that Kuukaku is a woman since Orihime thought she would be a cat and Chad and Ishida thought she would be some old man. Meanwhile, the days to Rukia’s execution are growing shorter. She learns that she’ll be executed by two tools called Soukyoku. She’s moved to a tower so she can gaze at them and repent. Renji also tells her that it’s rumored that Ichigo and four others are in soul society. Kuukaku doesn’t trust the kids, but she agrees to help Yoruichi, especially because Urahara is involved in this. They’ll have to take along her little brother, Ganju though (who looks older then her for some reason.) Renji walks alone, contemplating the fact that Gin probably killed Ichigo. He decides not to tell Rukia that. A guy named Aizen comes up to him to talk about Rukia. Since Renji’s known her, he wonders if he really wants her to die. He’s also curious about some things in Rukia’s sentence. Getting back to Ichigo, he and Ganju take an immediate disliking to each other and begin to fight. They accidentally break Kuukaku’s pipe, which makes her extremely mad. She easily stops them both. She then thrashes Ganju for causing damage to her house but lets Ichigo off the hook. Kuukaku then leads them to a room. She’s going to get them to where they need to be with a giant firework rocket. Okay, this was just a somewhat interesting episode. Ganju seems like a very boring character, though I didn’t expect to like Chad and he’s pretty cool. I liked the parts with Renji. He’s becoming an interesting character. Also, this episode was screwed up by bad animation. They must be saving the budget for some big, upcoming battle. Battle’s are boring, so they should’ve used it now. Anyway, I’m not blogging Bleach anymore. I need room for the new season. If there’s a particularly great episode though, I’ll make an exception.

Misuzu tries to think of a name for the crow and eventually decides on Sora. She shows Sora the place where she always gazes at the sky and sees Yukito sitting there. She goes up to him, says hello, and taps him but he doesn’t respond so she sits down next to him. She comments that it seems like they’re friends when they sit like this. She watches some kids play in the sand and wishes that she had someone to play with. When they leave, she waves goodbye (I’m guessing these two kids are the ones silhouetted on the opening theme, considering the way they have their hands when they’re walking home.) Misuzu’s mother is now back and wonders what Sora is after Misuzu brings it home. Misuzu tells her that he can’t fly and he followed her home. Her mother is amazed that it became her friend. Misuzu tells her that she named it Sora and is going to keep him, but she’s told that she can’t. If she wants a pet she should get a cat or a dog, because a crow is too depressing. Misuzu doesn’t agree. She thinks it’s cute. When she has him say hello, he pecks her mother in the eye (and I burst out laughing.) Obviously, she’s angry. Misuzu decides to secretly keep Sora in her room for the night and tells him that they’ll apologize tomorrow. The next day is the day before summer vacation. Misuzu’s considering asking someone from school to play with her but decides to practice with Sora first. After she’s done, she tells Sora that she’ll be back at noon and to wait for her. Potato shows up (at very long last!!!) and seems to freak Sora out. Sora flies into the school, causing a big ruckus. After making it out, Sora is discovered by Kano, who’s playing with some bunnies. Kano tells him to stop pecking with her scarf because she still can’t take it off. If she does, she won’t be able to use magic as an adult. She moves Sora off the road so it doesn’t get hit by cars. Later, Misuzu comes out of school crying. Sora’s made it back to their meeting place. Misuzu tells it that she’ll be alone this summer. Nobody wants to be with her because they no she’s not normal. She tells Sora that she’ll find something fun to do by herself. She wipes away her tears and decides that for her free assignment she’ll make a diary and write about everything that was fun. Misuzu sees Yukito again at the same place where he was yesterday, now sleeping. She seemingly doesn’t remember him but decides to go up to him because she doesn’t want to be alone. She plans on asking him to play and tries her best to smile and act natural. Yukito wakes up, screaming about Ramen. This scares away all the birds who were sitting on him. Misuzu asks him if he’s alone. They eventually go back home, and her mother, who doesn’t remember Yukito either, isn’t too happy that Misuzu bought someone else home. Yukito is rejected as well. However, she eventually lets him. She sits outside with Sora and mentions that even though Yukito is being friendly toward Misuzu, she hasn’t had any attacks. She wonders if the two could become friends. Because of her illness, she hasn’t had any. Misuzu gives Yukito a new shirt to borrow and when everybody leaves, Sora is left with the house. A man comes to the house and is surprised that there’s nobody home. The man leaves and Sora follows him. Misuzu’s mom finds Sora on the street and almost kills him with her motorcycle. She grabs Sora and takes him with her. She mentions that there will be a festival soon. It will be the tenth festival since a time when she took Misuzu to one and she talked to chicks saying “gao.” She thought that if she bought up a chick then it would turn into a dinosaur. She says that a chick bought at a fair isn’t even likely to grow up and she had to try and drag Misuzu home. She explains that even though Misuzu was raised to be obedient she just stared at her longingly that one time and said, “I want this.” It’s revealed that Misuzu’s real parents weren’t married and always fought. When her real mother died, her father gave away Misuzu. It was troublesome, but when she raised her, Misuzu’s ways made her happier. In some ways, she doesn’t want Misuzu’s real father to come back because then she’d have to live in solitude again. The reason that they live separately in the same home now is so that it’s not as painful for her if Misuzu has to leave. She hasn’t even been able to give her presents and pretends to forget her birthday every year. She throws a random dinosaur toy and declares that it’s too late for them to ever become a real family. Yukito remembers seeing something similar to his current situation before, but he doesn’t know what. Meanwhile, Misuzu is making a mess of things in the kitchen. A young girl is with her mother, praying that her sister Saika gets better. She asks her mother if there’s a god and she assures her there is. Sora flies over to the dinosaur toy. The mother says that God is watching over Saika and Maika now and he’ll definitely grant her wish. She notices the dinosaur toy moving but didn’t see Sora pushing it. She believes God made it move by itself. They decide to put it in the shrine. Sora flies away. Tohno finds Sora and wonders if it’s running away. She comments that Sora’s a pretty smart bird. She wants Sora to come to the station with her and meet Michiru. She says it can eat as much food as it wants. Sora runs away and Tohno realizes that he has somewhere to return to. She tells Sora to do its best so that someday it can fly. Misuzu’s mother takes her home from school because she had another attack. She’s a bit annoyed that she always has to pick her up. Misuzu apologizes. Her mother asks if she’s always fine when she’s with Yukito and is surprised that she’s not better. She then has to go back to work. Misuzu tells Sora that though her mother was angry she always comes to pick her up. She figures that Yukito is waiting for her and is probably worried. She decides to go back to him and pretend she just forgot to come sop that Yukito thinks she’s a normal person. Seemingly though, she doesn’t go because she’s sleeping at her desk when Yukito gets home. When her mother gets home she hears Misuzu crying. Yukito doesn’t know what to do, being that he still doesn’t remember anything. Yukito leaves and Misuzu angsts about it to Sora since she wanted to spend more time with him. She’s a bit happy that he’ll still walk her to school though. Misuzu’s also been getting weird back pains. Yukito fights with Misuzu’s mother about taking her in and not giving her love. She says that she’s known it was a bad thing for a long time. She decides that she’ll go to Tachibana’s house and negotiate to make Misuzu her child, though she lies to Yukito and says that she’s going on a hot springs tour. Yukito gives Misuzu even more bad news when he tells her that he has to distance himself from her. They both say that they had fun over the summer and then he leaves. Misuzu is once again alone. She realizes that she won’t be able to do her best anymore and becomes desperate. Then she realizes that she should go on a voyage as well. Yukito doesn’t want her to come but tells her to do her best. She says that she will because she’s a strong girl. However, as soon as he leaves her loneliness begins to hurt her badly. She knows that even if she tries her best she’ll just cause others pain. She thinks that she should’ve given up before and not loved anyone. She starts to cry and then goes to sleep, not caring if she ever wakes up. Yukito’s puppet does wake her up though. Yukito realizes that he was happy being by her side and seeing her smile so he returns. Sora then comes to a realization that he was once a human named Yukito Kunisaki. Misuzu says that she’s healthy again and calls for Yukito to come back. Sora reverts to his original form. The two are happy to be with each other again and hug. Misuzu tells him to stay by her side forever. He tells her that because she’s a strong girl she’ll be able to reach a goal that nobody’s ever reached before. She tells Yukito that she doesn’t want to go anywhere but he replies that he’ll be by her side forever and he’ll never forget her. Misuzu’s confused by his words (as am I.) His memory is then starting to blur again. Misuzu asks him to wait, and he tells her that they should both try their bests. Misuzu agrees with him and they hold hands as Yukito disappears. She gets out of bed and Sora watches. Just wow! This was another incredible episode. It was rather painful to see Misuzu and Yukito go through the same suffering twice. Hopefully they’ll soon be able to find happiness, though I’m not counting on it, considering what happened to Kanna. All the insight we got on Misuzu’s “mother” who’s name I can never remember was quite interesting. She has a very screwed up life as well and a lot of similar fears to Misuzu’s. Also, I take back what I said about Misuzu being weak. She’s physically pathetic and very emotional, but like Kanna, she’s very strong willed considering the terrible situation she’s in. She’s definitely stronger then her mother, because though they both have the chance of eventually being alone, at least Misuzu attempts to form relationships. I wonder what will happen now that Misuzu’s father is being put into the picture. I’m extremely curious as to what will happen if she chooses to go with him. Form what I’ve heard, I’m pretty sure there’s only two more episodes. This means that the incredible Air is coming to an end. I’ve grown quite emotionally attatched to all the characters in such a short time, so I must once again wish them the best ending they can have. Still, I suggest keeping tissues at hand for the probable upcoming heartache.

I hate having to do a speed entry for Air. It amuses me to make them ridiculously long. Oh well. Kanna, Ryuuya and Uraha leave with Kanna’s mother, who gets shot by an arrow. Before she dies, Kanna wants to show her how she progressed in her beanbag game. However, she keeps messing up, which frustrates her. Her mother tells her that she’s good. She believes that anything her mother says is true and wants to keep trying just so she can truly be good. When her mother dies, Kanna recieves the same curse she has. The three are forced to leave. When they’re sitting together, Kanna asks the other two if they have any wishes. Ryuuya wants Kanna to escape alive and Uraha wants to live with Kanna and Ryuuya forever. Ryuuya agrees that that’s a good idea and the two fantasize about what it would be like. Kanna breaks the mood by saying that her dream was fun. She tells them not to move no matter what and to live happily forever. She kisses Ryuuya and heads into the sky, flying for real. She’s shot and vanishes. Ryuuya and Uraha obey Kanna’s orders and go live together. One day, they use magic to find out what Kanna is dreaming now. She dreams of Ryuuya’s death, which desrves them. Uraha knows that some day Ryuuya will have Kanna’s curse. She could stop it with her magic, but he couldn’t. They decide to have a child so that one of their decendants can inherit Ryuuya’s will. That decendant is Yukito. Wherever he is, he can’t remember what he was doing, only that he was with someone very important to him. Somewhere in (I’m pretty sure) that same world, Misuzu discovers a bird and decides to keep it. Yep. That was very short for my Air entries. It was quite a good episode and everything is now making sense. The origin of the puppet is known, as are Yukito’s objectives. I also now see where the events of the Kanna arc fit in. Now I’d love to know where the heck Yukito is supposed to be. By the way, Potato comes back next week. Everyone can celebrate!!!

The gang goes to a game convention full of otaku. Yukinari… er Yukina is forced to dress up as a girl and put on a show. He has to play games against Fukuyama. Needless to say, Fukuyama is very disturbed when he finds out that it’s a guy that he’s been trying to grope all day. Quite a funny episode. I liked all the insertion of other animes. There was a chocobo on display and someone cosplaying as B.T. from dot hack. Also, the yellow outfit that Yukinari was wearing in the fighting game was reminiscent of Kill Bill. I’m curious about that dancing game that he was playing. It’s kinda like a cross between DDR and Twister. Is it real? On another note, Koyomi was actually in this episode for more then five seconds. She didn’t do much, but she was there. Next week is a mahjong competition. It looks to be a ridiculous episode.

Ichigo and the others run through the gate and are about to get crushed to death. Luckily, Orihime creates a shield to protect them. They all get sent flying and wind up in souls society. The gates all fall down and Ichigo runs up to them but first has to fight his first opponent, an ape man. He tells Orihime, Chad and Ishida not to interfere and stops the thing by breaking his axes. He gets really sad and starts crying. Ichigo comforts him, which makes him very happy and he lets them all through. However right away they encounter the next guardian, an unnaturally cheerful looking guy known as Ichimaru Gin. This begins the soul society arc, which is supposedly painfully long. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s still going in in the Bleach manga in Japan (I’m not following it so I could be wrong.) One thing that interested me about this episode a lot, probably based on the fact that I’m been learning about it in English class, is that this arc of Bleach is an almost perfect representation of the hero’s journey. We’ve got a hero (Ichigo) joined with helpers (Orihime, Chad, Ishida) and a mentor (technically Urahara but since he’s not with them now then I guess the cat would work.) There was a call that sent them away (to rescue Rukia) and they’ve crossed a threshold to the unknown (Soul society.) They now have to begin facing their tasks. As expected, the first one was quite easy. They didn’t even have to defeat the ape man. I’m curious as to how they’ll fare against this Gin guy.