Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora ep.5-6

March 4, 2006 | 7 Comments

In general, I think the series ended well. However, I can't say that I really enjoyed it for many reasons. To begin with I find most of the characters to be extremely annoying. Rika and some of Yuuichi's classmates are probably the only exception to this for me. I especially find Yuuichi to be one of the most boring characters in anime series and Natsume is just unbelievably schizophrenic without good reason. The story is also quite slow and feels stretched out more than is necessary. Problems and conflicts pop out of nowhere without any good grounding and end as quickly as they appear. The thing is, there were so many opportunities to explore this conflict over a longer period but instead the writers decided to focus on several unnecessary scenes that ended up causing the series to be uneven in general. In the end, the only thing I think I will remember from this series is the pleasant opening song by Nobuko.

Episode 5 begins with Rika being taken into surgery, worrying Yuuichi in the process. Akiko asks the boy to wait outside and promises to let him know about her status later on. A few hours later Dr.Jekyl, I mean Natsume, tells Yuuichi that Rika is okay for now but then turns psychotic as usual and asks Yuuichi why a jerk like him keeps pestering the poor doctor. Later on, however, Dr.Natsume gets the much needed flashback that explains his multiple personality disorder. Well, not really. Apparently Natsume used to have a kind, dutiful wife called Seiko who gave him a cigarette lighter even though she didn't want her husband to smoke. Well, birds of a feather always flock together, I supposed. Meanwhile, Akiko decides to play 'good nurse' to Yuuichi. By that I didn't mean that she's giving him a sponge bath but rather she allows him to sneak into Rika's room so he can touch her face for one minute and Rika can ask him to read Les Thibault.

After Yuuichi one minute is over, the focus returns to Natsume, who once again, is having another flashback while smoking what he claims to be a chocolate cigarette. In the flashback, Natsume's wife suddenly falls unconscious after experiencing a chest pain. Seiko was saved but the doctor informed Natsume that her heart is not good any longer and therefore it is impossible for her to recover completely. Meanwhile in the present day, Yuuichi tries to read Les Thibault but ends up getting bored and decides to go out for a walk. He ends up meeting Misako, Akiko's old friend whom they picked up from a train a few days ago. Before you know it, Yuuichi already gets into her car, comes to her house, and gets laid by the older women. Well, almost because before they can go too far, Akiko suddenly appears outside the house demanding that the two open the door. She then proceed to punch both losers before taking Yuuichi back to the hospital.

Inside the car, she warns Yuuichi not to say a word to Rika or else she'll kill him. Natsume, who also has come along, suddenly remembers how he too had an affair with another women while his wife was sick. The next day, Yuuichi's friend comes to the hospital to give a school uniform to Rika. Once Rika is admitted to the operating room, however, he finds out that her mother is not that happy to see him so he decides to sulk in a corner. Akiko decides to cheer him up by telling him that Rika was very happy when she gave her a picture of Yuuichi when he was a kid. Yuuichi decides to go to the rooftop and read Les Thibault and finds out that Rika has replaced the name of the character's initial with her own, making it sounds like she's the one saying the word to Yuuichi. Yuuichi then cries when he realises that Rika is taking the chance with the operation for the possibility of being with him.

Episode 6 begins with Natsume coming out of the operating room telling Yuuichi that the operation was a nightmare. He tells Yuuichi that this will probably become the worst ending for him. Despite this, the operation was a success. Yuuichi becomes confused upon hearing this and ends up waiting in front of the ICU asking Akiko about Rika's condition. Akiko looks as if she actually wants to tell Yuuichi about Rika but after a while decides to not say anything. Yuuichi ends up going to the rooftop as usual and gets to see Natsume again. Yuuichi tells Natsume that he's going to university in Tokyo or Nagoya after he graduated and therefore wants to know if Rika can live normally after the operation. Natsume tells Yuuichi that unfortunately this is not any of his business. He knows that Yuuichi is close to Rika but he is still not her family. Akiko tries to persuade Natsume to let Yuuichi know about Rika's condition but despite her threats, he refuses to do this.

He claims that Yuuichi is better off not knowing about it. Moreover, RIka's mother has now ordered him to keep Yuuichi off the East ward, especially Rika's room. The reason is because he too Rika out twice without other people's knowledge and these were seen as serious threat to her health. Yuuichi becomes depressed after this and even pretends that he no longer cares about Rika to one of his friends. Meanwhile, Natsume is seen telling his own sob story to Akiko pretending as if it is actually the story of his friend. He reveals how he and his wife were happy until she suddenly were diagnosed with inflamation of heart muscle. Her chance of living apparently wouldn't go beyond 5 years. Back then, Natsume had a choice between living a promising new life as a Surgeon or being by her side. He felt that even if he's by her beside, she won't be around for much longer. Unknown to him, the entire conversation is overheard by Yuuichi.

Yuuichi decides to do a daredevil stunt and enter Rika's room through her window. In order to execute this stupid and dangerous exercise, he decides to recruit the help of his friends. At one point his stunt almost costs him his own life if his friend was not fast enough to react. Yuuichi then remembers what his old man used to say about taking good care of the girl that he likes. Predictably, Yuuichi finds the strength within to reach Rika's room. He then bangs on the window loud enough that in the end, he still has to face her mother's wrath. Rika, however, interferes and allows Yuuichi to get in. Yuuichi then pledges the rest of his life to be with Rika. At the same time, Akiko points out to Natsume that even if it's only for a short time, at least Rika is at her happiest when she's with Yuuichi. Yuuichi makes a comment about how the moon that night was half-mmon, making the only association to the title. The episode then ends with Rika and Yuuichi leaving the hospital and living a normal life.

Impression:

First of all, I am sorry picking this series apart because I know many people actually like the show. However, I just find this series too problematic for me to enjoy. These two episodes themeselves provide enough annoying examples to make me dislike the series. To begin with, the entire scene between Yuuichi and Akiko's friend just came out of nowhere. She suddenly went from Akiko's acquintance to some lecherous older woman looking for young virgin to bang. I would not have mind this if they have properly set her character up right from the start, showing a little bit of her story. But they simply jump from Akiko picking her up from a train station to her picking up Yuuichi for some good fun. And why the Hell did Yuuichi decide to take a ride with her? I know the writers were trying to draw some kind of parallel between his story and Natsume's but in Natsume's case, he had no one to turn to and everything in his life including his job fell apart.

Yuuichi has perfectly good friends, is not in danger of losing his job, is not dying, and for God's sake, he's only met Rika for a couple of weeks and all of a sudden he acts as if it's the end of the world. And if he does care for Rika to the point of wanting to dedicate his life for her, then his action with Misako is even more unfathomable. Now, if he's the only problematic character in the series, I might have enjoyed the series a lot more. However, Natsume is an even more problematic character here. Yes, he lost his wife and now sees a parallel between his life and Yuuichi. However, I find his behaviour to be extremely unrealistic for a story that takes place in a realistic setting. If a man has abused someone the way Natsume has abused Yuuichi in this series, he'll surely be reported a long time ago. So the question is, why didn't Yuuichi reported him? One may claim that he wants to ensure that Rika gets a good doctor to treat her.

Even if one assumes this to be the case, I still see no reason for Yuuichi to continue being friendly with Natsume. No normal person will take a beating from someone then smile at that said abuser a few hours/days later. Unless, of course, Yuuichi suffers from Stockholm Syndrome. What's more annoying, however, is Natsume's tendency to switch his Dr.Jekyl and Mr.Hyde persona on and off like he's suffering from a serious case of MPD. I personally think it is one thing to have an abusive character and it is quite another to show someone who goes from "Please take care of Rika" to screaming around like a nutcase. Then there is a problem of conflicts suddenly disappearing as soon as it appears. Yuuichi's confrontation with Rika's mother came out of the left field and ended as quickly as if it wasn't a big deal to begin with. Then, there is the use of literature materials such as Night of the Galactic Railroad that, in the end, didn't lead the story anywhere.

Those literatures had been used, at best, to mislead the viewers that the series will end in a tragic manner and to tug a few heartstring every now and then. However, I felt that it was too manipulative for my taste that I'd much rather read the actual Night of the Galactic Railroad, which on a glance, feels more genuine and emotionally satisfying than this series. In the end, I can't help but feeling that this is one of the most disappointing series I've seen this season. I think the ending wasn't too bad considering everything else and the opening song is quite good (see the full lyric below if you're interested). But apart from that, I am generally disappointed with its story, characters, direction, and even animation, which is no match to the light novels' illustrations. And once again, I'm sorry for the very negative review but I can't pretend that I enjoy the series when I really didn't have a good time while watching it.

Aoi Koufuku
Performed by Noboku

Aozameta machinami yureru boku no kage
Nibui ashidori wa yuku saki wo shirazu
Kawaseru omoi

Kimi no hitomi no naka utsushidasu mono wo
Uketomeru tame ni hashiri dashiteita
Sashidasu sono te wo hodoke nai you ni nigiri kaesu

Hanbun no tsuki no yoru wa bokura wo terashite
Oikakete kita jikan wo boku wa furikitte
Hanbun zutsu no bokura wa egaku saki made mo mieru hazusa

Aoi sora no shita yureru kimi no kami
Hokoronda kokoro tsumugi awaseru you ni
Tashika na omoi e

Nani ga matte iru ka wa mekuru pe-ji no saki
Kimi ga nagekaketa egao no katasugi
Afureta kotoba no uzu wo nandomo yomikaeshite

Hanbun no tsuki no yoru wa ashita wo terashite
Tooku made tsudzuku yami wo boku wa kechirashite
Hanbun no tsuki no shita de bokura wa arukidasu zutto lalalala...

Hanbun no tsuki no yoru wa bokura wo terashite
Oikakete kita jikan wo boku wa furikitte
Hanbun zutsu no bokura wa egaku saki made mo mieru hazusa

© memento 2003