Asatte no Houkou ep.11

December 15, 2006 | 10 Comments

Well, this is the penultimate episode for the series. Next week is basically the last episode for the series. I am a bit concerned about this since there are many unresolved issues in the series. I don't see how Shouko and Karada can revert back to their former self in just one episode. This episode itself presents a problem which will probably take the majority of next week's episode to solve. Oh well, I have had good time watching the series. It's one of those few series where watching the characters living their daily life feels interesting somehow. I think the problem that I have with the series is that I'm not sure where it's heading. And I don't think the writers know either since the manga is not over yet. This is kind of ironic since the title of the series is "A direction of the day after tomorrow".

The episode opens with Tetsu dreaming that he is back inside the fountain area but this time around he's with chibi Karada instead of adult Karada. When Tetsu wakes up, he finds out that 'Satou-san' has been taking care of him and becomes embarassed because of this. He then wakes up and is treated to a breakfast which was made by Karada. He asks the teacher's wife if he can borrow the bicycle again today but both Karada and the teacher's wife order him to rest a little bit more before searching for loli Karada. When Tetsu bites the Tamagoyaki, he looks like he's tasted it before but makes no mention of it to Karada. That day, Karada measures Tetsu's temperature and finds out that it's 37 degrees celcius. She wonders if he intends on looking for Karada again once he gets healthy. Tetsu confirms this and tells Karada that he had a dream of him and chibi Karada visiting the fountain area.

Back in Kanouchou, Hiro asks Toukou if he's heard from Tetsu. Unfortunately, Tetsu has not contacted her ever since he left the area but she's not worried about him since he'll be back once he finds Karada. Toukou suddenly remembers that she hits a touchy spot so she apologises but Hiro doesn't mind. Having said that, Hiro admits that he's the opposite of Toukou. In other words, he's worried about Karada. When Hiro goes out of the cafe, he notices several flowers along the street. This reminds him of the time when he and Shouko took a trip together so they can see similar flower. It was then the two of them asked another person to take their picture together. In the present time, Shouko is about to rip apart the same picture but hesitates when she overhears a little girl asking her brother to wait for her. Shouko decides to visit the small shrine and remembers what Karada said about wanting to give Hiro her freedom back..

On the other hand, back then Shouko claimed that she didn't ask to be like this but now she's not sure anymore. Back at the Pensione, Kotomi and her teacher returns with their 'catch of the day'. After the husband left, Kotomi tells the wife that they simply bought the fish from nearby shops. As it turns out, however, his wife is quite aware of this. When Kotomi enters the living room, she's surprised to see Tetsu up and playing cards with Karada. Kotomi asks Tetsu if he'd like to walk outside for awhile. Unfortunately for Kotomi, the teacher's wife asks her to help out for dinner. Because of this, Tetsu has no choice but walk around accompanied by 'Satou-san'. As the two walk together, Tetsu thanks her for the help. All of a sudden, Karada blurts out that Tetsu once came to this place with Karada as well as his sister, Hiro, and Shouko. Tetsu is shocked to know that 'Satou-san' knows this information and even more so when she claims to be Iokawa Karada.

That night, both Karada and Tetsu behave strangely so everyone is concerned about them. Kotomi decides to ask Tetsu and ends up finding out about the wishing stone. Kotomi wonders if this means that Satou is actually Karada but Tetsu refuses to believe the idea. He claims that he doesn't understand why 'Satou-san' would say something like that. Unknown to the two, Kotomi's teacher has been listening to their conversation outside the door. The guy then returns to his wife and tells her that it seems 'Satou-san' and Tetsu had an interesting conversation. The wife finds it strange that Tetsu becomes angry just because the two talked to one another but her husband points out that when they were dating, she'd get angry at him after only 30 minutes. Right now, however, she is right here with him. Meanwhile, Kotomi decides to sneak out of the house so she can talk to Karada privately. Upon finding her, Kotomi tells Karada that she's heard everything.

Kotomi tells Karada that she thinks Karada's story about how she turned into an adult while her friend (Shouko) turned into a child is interesting. Having said that, Tetsu doesn't believe her. She also informs Karada that because she was born in Kanouchou, she has heard about the wishing stone from her father. Upon hearing this, Karada tries to convince Kotomi that she really is Iokawa Karada. A flashback then reveals that a few hours ago, she tried to convince Tetsu of the same thing. She told Tetsu that when they visited this beach, she and Shouko made a wish using the wishing stone but they didn't tell him about the wish itself. Karada revealed that around that time she wished to become an adult and the stone granted her wish. She apologised to Tetsu for deceiving him all of these times but the reason is because she wasn't sure if he'd believe her. Despite this, she's glad to know that Tetsu has been looking for her.

Instead of being happy with the revelation, Tetsu became angry at her. He asked 'Satou-san' why she told him this kind of things. He wanted to know if this is her attempt to made fun of him. Karada denied this and told Tetsu that she really is Karada. Tetsu became angry and accused Karada that the reason she said it is because she believed he can't find chibi Karada. Despite Karada's attempt to explain the situation using example such as the time when they played volleyball, Tetsu didn't want to listen to another word and swear to find the real Karada instead. Once Tetsu left, Karada slumped in sadness and asked the guy to believe her words that she's really Karada. Back in Kanouchou, Shouko realises that Hiro tried to call her mobile. While she entertains the thought to call him back, her phone starts to ring. Because the caller ID reveals that the call comes from a public phone, Shouko realises that the phone call must have come from Karada.

True enough, Karada tells Shouko that she no longer knows what to do because Tetsu hates and refuses to believe her. Shouko realises that Karada is with Tetsu and tried to tell him the truth. Upon hearing Karada's words about the time when they played volleyball, Shouko also finds out about Karada's location. Karada then tells Shouko how she feels warm whenever she's close to Tetsu before hanging the phone up. On the same night, Shouko returns the phone call that Hiro made to her. Hiro finally admits to her that as Shouko accused him, he's really a coward who ran away from both Shouko and Karada. Having said that, he now realises that Karada's true place is with him so he's going to find her even though he doesn't know her location. Much to his surprise, Shouko reveals that she knows Karada's location. The next morning, Hiro heads towards the station and is surprised when he finds Shouko waiting to go with him.

Impression:

For some reason this episode ended up being unintentionally funny for me. When Tetsu found out that 'Satou-san' has been taking care of him the whole night, he looks like he's quite sure that 'Satou-san' wants a piece of him. Instead of being happy, however, he was horrified. I guess he's a lolicon after all. Older girls don't attract him but he can't get a loli out of his mind. That would have explained as to why he's pissed off with the revelation that 'Satou-san' is actually Karada. In a less amusing note, Hiro's sudden realisation that he's a coward feels a bit out of place. I realise that the writers don't have any more time to develop his story but his remorse was a bit too convenient for my liking. Well, with only one more episode left, let me know what you wish will happen on the last episode. I personally want to see the revelation about Karada's true parents but I don't think we're going to see this in the anime since it'll just complicate the story.

Preview

On next week's episode: The last episode doesn't look conclusive. :(

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