Sora no Method – 09
Saucer-san, Saucer-san, please grant our wish
Welcome back to Saucer Town, everyone! This week we get just so close to the heart of the matter right before the dramatic episode end. What are these kids up to?
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The Meaning of Goodbye
Not quite the Lovecraftian twist I was wanting…
Every now and again I am reminded of the obvious. And like many folk, it’s not the easiest of things to slap yourself on the head and say, “Geez, what was I thinking?” This episode caught me with my attention down. So, what was I thinking? Before I get to that I do want to break down a few things that I feel are very much worth mentioning in the show. I really do like that they have kept Noel’s deeper identity and her exact function occult-ed for most of the run, and that the orbits the characters trace across the landscape keep us from seeing what is her full luminescence. I’ve loved how she became a very deep facet in the lives of all the cast members, not just Nonoka and Shione, two of the mains she has felt the most pull towards.
Too see it all through together….
So at the heart of this we have a story of children, both when they are unbridled young imagineers, and that awkward stage of being grown but not quite grown up. And even though I felt that I had a handle on that, that really is what I missed regarding Shione and her feelings. I got very very suspicious of the writers wanting to stretch out the drama to a fine fine line; a suspicion that I don’t feel goes unwarranted. But all in all, this is how the proceedings must break down. Upon realizing that Noel will disappear once the wish is fulfilled, and the are all truly smiling with each other, Shione pulls the self-sacrifice card. Everyone means everyone.
That smile lasted for the briefest of moments
But while I may be suspicious of some of the finer points, I have to admire how they let the characters flow with these points. When there is something immediate to be done, everyone locks into character mode, and it feels very natural at this point. Yuzuki races off, and her brother has to follow. Nonoka races off with no real clue where to go. Koharu stays calm and does the simple thing of making a phone call to keep the lines open. Shione…well, it feels like she has had to make this decision for quite some time. She’s waited. And what she is waiting for will never happen for her. That’s why she stayed in town after her parent’s left, after all. Is she right or wrong to wait?
I do wonder what goes on in Noel’s mind. Did she know this would happen? If so, did her collapse happen sooner than she thought. We’ve seen wishes get reversed and cursed in other shows, and I couldn’t help but feel that we are seeing something of the same here. I also get a feeling that she knows much more than she lets on, and has been waiting for all the pieces to fall into place. In the life of the show, we always get a cut back to her, atop that observatory, almost like the LOLi mistress of her domain. Perhaps taking in the larger view the Saucer could offer her. Well, with her being the Saucer, that isn’t so far fetched.
…and then there were these two…
Fresh from Tama-ya!
So yeah, slap me on the head a bit. This has gone from a point where I was about ready to dismiss it, to finally letting it sink in. Which I look at as a net gain. This reminds me of why I watch these sorts of stories in the first place. That everyone, no matter the age, has a story to tell that is worth listening to if told well. While I feel, on a personal level, that some of the points in characterization could have been told with a touch more clarity, I cannot argue that it hasn’t been a road that I don’t want to be on, and a road that I am happy to see continue. So how are you?
Next Time
Flashback or real time?
Oh, before I got. I got a tiny little Mini-Manga Rec. A LOLi, an observatory, the word Sora?
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Where is the bloodpainted summoning circle and dripping candles? I expect a scantily clad LOLi demon/succubus/vampire on that summoning circle.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
We both know that never was going to happen. We don’t get moody eldritch pieces, just moody teens….
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
T_T *drowns disappointment in Lotte no Omocha and Kojika*
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Oh noes! Spammy consumed the LOLi Daemon!
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Now I can fell sympathetic towards Shione somehow… I can’t still forget what she did before, but seeing her distance herself from her friend for the sake of Noel… But it’s not like Noel is going to disappear right? She said herself, that she’s going somewhere else, to make other wishes real.
But damn, things were finally going the right way.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
In retrospect, things could be seen as always going the right way; depends on your viewpoint.
If Noel goes to make other wishes real, she is as good as gone to this group of friends. That’s the read I have on it. Yeah, she’s not going to some unreachable place, but to these characters, some other part of the country or another country….well…
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
That could kind of count as egoism… “Noel’s all mine!” You can’t just claim possession of LOLis, they are for all LOLi defenders in the world.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
It is very very kind to share…
With that in mind. HANDS OFF MUH LOLiS! 🙂
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
That’s bad habit, skylion… ¬¬’
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I have to admit, I have no clue what that funky looking character means…
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Note to myself: not use this emoticon here.
Well, it was kind of hard to explain so I searched all around google for an appropriate meaning (it’s not like I don’t know, I just don’t know how to explain in english since I’m not native). And god, 4chan has a lot of weird emoticons… Anyway, in this site, it’s listed as ¬_¬ meaning dissatisfaction. Weird that you don’t know since they sometimes appear on anime as well.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
It’s horizontal slit eyes looking to your right. The typical “Yeah rrrigght” response.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I have to admit, even being from the dinosaur age of the internet, I’ve never taken well to emoticons. Dunno why really. I suppose I could be elitist and say that Words and Roman Characters suit me just fine. But that doesn’t quite suit me.
So, I guess I just have to continue abusing…ellipses…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
All your traps are belong to skylion.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 261 comments
Damn, It feels to me that this show make me a little cringe due to a lack of…Logic…
Okay Something like, Why are those kids then want to summoned a saucer…What, They want to grant some wishes or something (OH THOSE KIDS, WHAT A…oh wait They are just kids after all!)
and…Oh Come on at least they really want it to know about Noel and the Saucer!….or maybe it’s just me!
MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE IN A VERY FAR PLACE, SOMEONE IS INTENT TO STEAL NOEL AND TO MAKE SOME HARSH EXPERIMENT TO HER!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Shioooneeee T_T I wish she could explain the situation to Nonoka, but that would just lead to friendliness and she’d be all the more likely to fulfill their wish and make Noel disappear. It’s a tough situation.
Super interested to see more about Noel (like if she really is more omniscient than she seems, as you said) but I’m in no rush. This is one of those shows where I don’t care what happens, I just want to see how the gang reacts to it.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I’d love to know more about Noel as well, but they haven’t been curious about her thus far, so I can’t see them plunking down an infodump about her…something cute and sad is in the works….that’s all we need.