Zetsuen no Tempest – 20
Back to the island we go
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Another great episode! I guess now that Hakaze’s learned time travel, she can just use it whenever. …Provided she has military grade weaponry around. Oh and the ending of the episode… that was great in itself. |
I admire Hakaze’s amount of dedication to Yoshino and all of that, but for someone who doesn’t seem to have had nearly as much angst as the other main characters, that line sounded like something you’d find in a tragedy. She’s perfectly willing to become the villain for her ambition. If this kind of thinking came from anyone else’s character, the self sacrifice here would seem stupid, coming from Hakaze though, the idea seems… kind of noble. It’s needless sacrifice, but she’s doing it all for love. Which is probably where I’m drawing the whole Shakespeare tragedy feeling from since all of his characters seemed to like doing things in extremes (something that’s carried over to Mahiro and Yoshino too. …Aika probably counts as well, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about her yet). I guess her actions kind of feel necessary too since everything in this anime likes to relate back to fate. Having something happen for no real reason seems almost unfathomable since they’ve put so much emphasis on the fact that everything that’s happened has been interconnected.
So into the past she goes, and now every other character (or at least Yoshino and Mahiro) has to sit around and wait for her to reveal the truth before they can move on with their part of the plot. I’m kind of wondering where she got those clothes once she got off the island, but it’s not that important to the plot overall. What’s more concerning now is the truth behind Aika’s death.
…But before we go into that, Genesis’ convenient plot device that got Hakaze off the island turned out to be even more convenient since it means that she could use Samon’s extra sacrifice to get herself across a near ridiculous amount of ocean in a very small amount of time. It’s handy now that Samon is on her side too since otherwise, she’d have to search for Samon’s hidden piece of technology. Even though she’s not really under as strict of a time limit this time, it’s still handy having Samon there. Who could have thought during the time she was on the island at the beginning that Samon would one day be willingly working with her.
There’s a distinct possibility that she might kill Aika though, which means that they all might not be on the same side still at the end of this. Everyone’s motives are showing how different they are again. Mahiro still wants his revenge and has no problems with killing Hakaze. Yoshino still wants Aika’s death to have meaning and a happy ending, so he’s going to stop Mahiro if that happens. Hakaze seems to want to make things right again, which is why she’s so okay with killing Aika for Yoshino and Mahiro’s sake and also why she’ll atone if it’s still somehow Genesis’ fault. It’s a strange relationship that they have that they can openly declare all of this to one another, but it’s that allies instead of friends relationship playing out again.
…Which brings us to the ending. Yep, Aika is the Mage of Exodus. I’m way past surprise since I found this out around the midway point for this anime, but maybe a few of you were. Were there hints about this beforehand? …Er, other than Aika way of talking like she knew everything that was going on, the hints in the OP and the fact that she’s been extremely important for unexplained reasons, the hints haven’t been too obvious. I think the plot twist here was pretty damn good. Looking back though, she’s always been a rather omniscient character. She seems to have thought about her death based on Yoshino’s flashbacks (the one with the two of them at a festival). She was also the one to state that everything that happens has meaning earlier in the series, which turned out to be a rather large, if not THE main idea behind the plot and the Trees. There are still questions about her death in general, but I’m sure those will be answered the next episode. …And then I can finally talk about her Shakespeare counterpart. It feels like forever since I’ve talked about specific plays of Shakespeare in Zetsuen no Tempest, even though I think I talked about Hamlet and the Tempest’s endings not too long ago.
So another great episode from Tempest and a bigass cliff hanger. What could this mean for the other characters? Well, Mahiro always seems to be in a position where he’s been left out of the loop by Aika, but in Yoshino’s case, I’m curious to see his reaction. Another question I guess I have is ‘why Yoshino’? I believe that she really did like him in that odd way of her’s, but did she also have ulterior motives due to the whole Heart of Exodus thing? …Though that Heart thing might just be baseless speculation to lead us away from the truth in general. Aika seems to know exactly what the future was going to hold. It will be interesting to see what insight she has to add to Tempest’s plot as a whole.
So let’s see how it gets to this
About Karakuri
University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Things are coming full circle. It would definitely be something if Hakaze actually was the one who killed Aika and Yoshino would have his hopes of her not being the killer crushed. After all, the talisman Mahiro used in the mansion did detect Kusaribe clan magic. With Aika’s death, it makes sense how Megumu became a Mage exactly a year after. The Tree of Exodus chose a new candidate after she died.
After all this time, Samon has told a joke. I don’t know whether or not I should be disturbed by that. Going back in time is a huge gamble. Hakaze could cause a serious upset if she makes a wrong move, like what would happen if the past version Samon who wanted her gone saw her by accident.
Protesters suddenly protecting the Tree of Genesis after all that’s happened proves that in the end, people really don’t know what they want. First, it’s seen as an oppressor and now a savior. What a paradox. If it’s managed to suppress war and crime to the point of near non existence, then I think it’s a good deal to keep it around (It’s not the Sibyl System. That’s for sure).
I’m hardly surprised Aika turned out to be the Mage of Exodus. A few weeks ago, that possibility was part of a theory I had and I needed something to confirm it (Fourth paragraph of my comment). Her being such a pivotal figure even though dead had to have meant something significant. You don’t see much deceased characters getting the kind of attention she got. Looking at that huge sword she brought out with little to no effort, I assume she’s the most powerful Mage in her clan’s history.
Side note: On the chance that you’re not aware yet, Blood-C: The Last Dark is out and subbed. Here’s the link for the download.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
There’s plenty of people in the world with different opinions. The people who are supporting Genesis now were probably supporting it before, and different from the people who opposed it before. It’s helpful to always remember that “people” isn’t ever a single thing. 🙂
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, *I* was surprised that Aika was really the Mage of Exodus. And that she seems that powerful, far more than Hakaze has ever seemed in a ‘battle’ sense.
Since seeing this episode my hypothesis has been: The Mage of Exodus is not dead, and Yu-chan (that we’ve never seen Yu-chan is the biggest loaded Chekhov’s gun in the series) is actually Aika. Hanemura is able to use some small part of Exodus’ power that Aika / Yu funnels to him somehow, similar to the way Yoshino, Mahiro, and Evangeline use the talismans to use Genesis’ power. And from here, Aika and Hakaze are going to work something out between girls as to how to deal with both of them being in love with Yoshino, and how to get the world to the point that it is in the story.
One question is how will Yoshino react to Aika being alive? Was the farce of ‘killing’ Aika not only to galvanize Mahiro into being in the position to help Hakaze, but also to get Yoshino unfocused on Aika so that he could fall in love with Hakaze? Has Yoshino in fact fallen in love with Hakaze? Or would he go right back to Aika if she turns up alive? OR, if Aika turns up alive, would she go back to her actual love: Mahiro, who is now able to admit how much he loved Aika, conveniently freeing up Yoshino to be with Hakaze and everyone to live happily.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 21 comments
Is that blood?? Looks dam cool!!!!!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
You mean the picture at the bottom of the post? You better believe it that it’s blood and it’s spread out in a very artistic style. Not to mention that Aika’s body is displayed in an elegant posture for a murder victim.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, that whole setup of the body is what has made me think that Aika’s death was a complete setup for the entire length of the series, and that it’s not what it seems (even as a ‘death’). It was an artistic killing, but with no motive, no suspects, no anything. And the bloodletting happened there, so either she was killed by other means and set there, or she died without a struggle in that position.
Come on happy ending!
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Oh yeah, I remember you mentioning that alllllll the way near the beginning in a comment. Good early call there.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
The blood wasn’t that designed in Mahiro’s flashback, so I think that might be some artistic liberty there. But her positioning was the same.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Aika’s body was presented in such a way that one would think she was a life sized doll. And her blood looked like it was spread with a paint brush. A deranged person might call this art but at least it’s not the kind of “art” like the plastination victims at Rikako Oryo’s hands from Psycho-Pass.
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 22 comments
I figured out Aika was the Mage of Exodus after Hanemura said he gained his powers the same day Aika died. It was too coincidental and this anime has been good about saying that nothing is coincidence. It was still a great twist none the less. I am really excited to see what happens next. I always love a good paradox when it comes to time travel.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Oh see, I didn’t even notice that he got his powers the day after she died (though at that point, I was already spoilt on that plot point, so I wasn’t even looking for connections).