Sora no Method – 08

How does she grant wishes?

Welcome back to Saucer Town everyone. There are several things to love about this show. My first impression, as always, is how it wants to pace itself, and how much it is willing to give away. I’ve always felt it like has been a continuing conversation; the need to step forward and back. But really, the lasting impression is the characters.

What she believes

Noel to the rescue?

While watching this episode the first time a random thought struck me. After the make-up Shione has with Nonoka, I got the feeling of a snake shedding it’s skin. Not that Shione is snake like, but in that she has rid herself of this bulky armor she has worn for so long. She grew out of it. But by episode ends, the thought came back as she returned to form; she is as sensitive as some snakes are after a shed. Part of her feels new, given the revelation she has about Noel and the saucer, but she still has to feel it out on her own. It does make me wonder what exactly is going on up in her head. It does seem rather foolish to consider still, after all these years (and so many episodes) she could still bear ill feelings towards her old friend. In considering the idea further, I am thinking she might have forgotten a great many things herself, just as Nonoka has.

The above scene brought to mind a few bits and bobs from Matt Smith’s run on Doctor Who. Especially the episode, The Girl Who Waited, and indeed the character of Amy Pond herself. How much charity towards a fellow can you have after stewing in your own sense of loneliness there…

But for some good friends

Reluctant Shione Get!

There are perhaps a great many reasons why Shinoe plays along, at first, with the Hokubi Festival routine. It was one thing to blind side here by making her think that Koharu wanted her to join up, as she doesn’t especially hold anything against her. But it’s another for her to extend herself as much. She knew nothing about what they were doing going into the shopping trip, and it’s in here character to just ditch if it doesn’t interest. Is part of her tired of being alone? Or is it something deeper than that? I’m going with the first question, as the second doesn’t have much to it yet.

But once it comes around that this is all an idea hatched by Nonoka, she has even more reason to cut out. Perhaps this is where is gets a bit deeper. She affirms, as she always has, that Nonoka is a liar. Even though we know full well the situations in the past are out of Nonoka’s contro,l does Shinoe? It feels to me as if the meteor shower coming in a couple of weeks is just a detail. And like I mention last week, Shione is looking for Nonoka to either fudge or forget the details. She has a long running bias…..

And what it has to come down to…

Mark I is ready for action!

Since they went ahead with the full planetarium idea, it brought Shione’s mind to the old observatory. She probably hasn’t been back there in quite some time, and probably never when Noel was there. But that familiar hum draws her in. From Nonoka’s mother to Nonoka herself to Noel and it strikes a heartstring in Shione at long last. I’ve called Noel a facilitator in past coverage, and she is no stranger to that role here, being quite insistent that Shione should perhaps be more forgiving. First person on the list should be herself. Holding a grudge that long has got to be exhausting, and she is happy to see it go. With that, her reunion with Nonoka is as light as it should be.

So what happened? Shione didn’t exactly end the friendship, but she does put the distance back into the relationship. And all that starts with Noel’s talk about not being able to get away from the saucer for long. She is the saucer, after all. A plot point we’ve yet to mine completely, along with how she came to be in the first place. But given that Shione spoke of a book many episodes ago, I wonder what memory turned over in her mind….what is she using as armor now? And what bad things happen when Noel is away for long, it’s going to be a puzzle piece for Nonoka, maybe even for the rest of them as well, as they have a token in the deal. She needs one more ticket to that Festival!

A few extra bulbs

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I knew this should couldn’t leave well enough alone, especially with four more episodes to tell the story in. With these last few puzzle pieces, I hope we can get more of the picture in focus. We’ve only got enough chunks to make half the border, and they still keep us guessing on a few more details. Is Souta preparing to leave town to study or isn’t he? What bad things, if any, have happened with the Noel Saucer Anti-Proximity Danger Zone thing? Is this something she knows on instinct, or is it what she knows from experience? Did she try to find Nonoka soon after her family left? Did that cause some of the events in the past? Souta’s accident, Shinone maybe forgetting things herself? Oh, I like this sort of game…

Preview

Look out behind you Shione!