Summary:
While Sakura dreams of her grandmother, Aisia stands in the forest looking happy that she’s succeeded. In the morning, Junichi finds Aisia still gone and goes out to look for her. He instead sees Suginami and Kudou doing research, and they point him and follow him to the shrine where Tamaki is. Suginami notices that something is up when Tamaki and Kudou both start to tug on Junichi. Meanwhile, Kotori’s friends, in reference to Junichi and Nemu, tell her that a little sister and a lover are different. Kotori finds something strange about that statement, but her thoughts are interrupted when Nemu passes by on her way to deliver a boxed lunch to Akishima-sensei (at Miharu’s request). At the urging of her friends, Kotori heads to the Asakura home, but when she thinks that Nemu is just a little sister, she also wonders about all the times she’s felt sad around Junichi. After hearing Sakura wake up, Kotori ends up asking her if Nemu and Junichi are only siblings. Sakura is about to answer that they’re lovers, but then she sees a few sakura petals float by. Realizing that people’s memories have been turned back, she rushes to the old sakura tree to find it alive again.
Sakura pleads for the tree to go back to sleep, but it just continues to bloom. After Junichi and company arrive onto the scene, Sakura sends everyone off to find Aisia, saying that she underestimated Aisia’s power. She explains to Junichi that he and Nemu have returned to being brother and sister after the tree reacted to Aisia’s wish, which included giving everyone an equal chance after starting over. Suginami, Kudou, and Kotori find Nemu instead of Aisia, and urge her to go to the old sakura tree where Junichi is waiting. With the magic is wreaking havoc on Junichi’s mind and memories, Sakura tells him not to forget his true feelings. A frantic Nemu runs onto the scene, and hugs Junichi. He promises never to separate from her, and the two share a kiss. However, the sakura trees are still in full blossom…

ED2 Sequence

ED2: 「記憶ラブレター」 by CooRie
New ED sequence shows Aisia plus the two girls who weren’t in the first ending, Nemu and Sakura. The vibrating string is still there, and Nemu’s is incidentally colored red, ie. the red string of fate.

Aisia looks positively evil from her smirk during the first minute of this episode. Her wish has finally come true, and everyone has apparently forgotten about Junichi and Nemu being lovers. Well that is, except for Sakura and the two lovers themselves who, with the power of their love, know their true feelings and actually end up kissing (finally). That sounds corny, but that’s basically what happens.
The way this episode ends (a shot of Hatsunejima with sakura trees in full bloom, and then the image and sound of a TV screen being shut off) completely blew my mind the first time I watched the episode. My thought process at that point went something like “Ok, they just gave us something which could almost resemble the end of a series. What now?” And then they do that, which I suspect may indicate that the reset is complete, whatever that may lead to.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with this episode, though the art is shoddy at places. Next week is 「ダ・カーポ」 (Da Capo), which could end up meaning any number of things. We’ll just have to wait and find out. 🙂

57 Comments

  1. What was the big drama?
    What the hell are we going to see in the next 2 eps?
    A happy jun’ichi/nemu relationship? Just thinking about it makes me sick
    What was the point of this season? to make me, a kotorifan, suffer even more?

    Searcher
  2. I haven’t watched an episode since Nemu came back into the picture. Thankfully the series is almost over so i can watch it all at once then put it aside like I did the first season. Poor Kotori. 🙁

    I wuld have been fine with the first ending the way it was left, but the way they gave us Kotori fans a slight chance of hope… So so damn cruel.

    JustinStrife
  3. Hmmm….I still say Kanae ftw! (just kidding, you know that…(s)he belongs to Suginami…)

    Kotori, while now having 0% chance of winning, has still been given hope in the hearts of most English-speaking watchers of DCSS. (The reason it’s going towards Nemu is only cuz the Jap peeps watching this like Nemu more than Kotori…no joke)

    *sigh* Mataku…kore kore…

    Now what?

  4. Wow people, give it a rest already. I thought we were all sure there was NEVER going to be Kotori x Junichi ending. If you are a true Kotori fan, you would now start cheering for happy end for Kotori as well instead of declaring that you will stop watching this series. As much of a Kotori fanboy that I am, even I realize that she wouldn’t be happy in a fake relationship made thanks to the magic.

    But them showing close up of Junichi x Nemu kiss was a big nono. Two scumbags kissing…Sickening! And what’s with lots of animes showing kiss scenes lately? Shakugan no Shana, Shuffle!, and now D.C.S.S? What’s next? The stupid random character and Elise kissing in Canvas2!?

    Rasmiel
  5. There was always that 1% of hope.
    Why are everybody saying that i should hope for a happy ending for kotori?
    There is no “happy” ending for kotori, just an ending where she moves on. Just like in season1.
    So in effect i have got an rerun of kotori’s ending, Yaaah. Me so happy.

    So the moral of this season is you can have a relationship with your sister and don’t care about what everybody thinks (including their parent, friends etc.). I would love to see jun’ichi call his parents and say “i am going to marry my sister”.

    And yes i know that nemu isn’t his blood relation, but they grew up when they were young. So their first feelings would always have been brother/sister feelings.

    Searcher
  6. More GSD vibes? Aisha is now the main villain? Sakura is the main heroine who opposes the ebil that is Aisha? Everyone else caught in the middle? lol

    Next ep = “Da Capo” = “From the beginning”… Looks like even with that kiss Junichi X Nemu might still be no more next ep. Though they’ll probably overcome this anyway.

    Punko
  7. >This isn’t the ending I’d like to see, but hey, maybe some random guy will appear and steal Kotori’s heart.

    The thing with that is that is more of a “WTF” ending. If it was open-ended then it would leave more room for assumptions (of happiness). A 5-minute prince-charming would put off a lot of people.

    >The japanese like the sister-brother thing waaayyyyy too much.

    There are a few girls who call me “brother”. Childhood friends and all that. I like it =)
    (It gives me hope~)

    Decagon
  8. It’s no surprise I’m a Kotori fanboy but at this point, I actually want Junichi X Nemu. It was becoming pretty obvious that there was just no way in hell Kotori X Junichi would happen w/o some unbelieveable BS. Now that Aisia has basically “reset” everything, I’m honestly rooting for Junichi X Nemu.

    There’s just no way I can accept Aisia’s ways of trying to “fix” everything. Her narrow point of view of “magic will make everyone happy” is total BS. Sakura pretty much nails it a few episodes ago saying it’s just not possible for everyone to become happy via magic. There’s just no way “everyone can win” without some unrealistic shit that no one will like. It’s just as simple as that. This ain’t no Futakoi Alternative 😉

    Now that Aisia thinks she has “won”, it’s gonna be fun seeing her “victory” get torn when she realizes she’s only causing more problem and pain for everyone. Because as messed up as Junichi and Nemu’s relationship is, at least they honestly love each other. To forcefully tear that apart just because Aisia thinks everyone else is lying to themselves (about their feelings for Junichi) is just plain wrong. Aisia came in late in the game but to think she really understands the situation just doesn’t cut it with me. In reality, it seems like Aisia is doing this more for her own sake as a way to displace *her* feelings for Junichi than anything else. Any sane person would have understood the fact that Junichi and Nemu love each other no matter what (that deep kiss this ep for example) and no force, even magically, will stop that. By Aisia giving everyone else false hope (in their thinking Junichi and Nemu are siblings and not lovers), she’s only creating more heartache for the girls for when Junichi will have to let them down. At least before, everyone accepted the two’s relationship and dealt with it as best as they could (however boring that was).

    I really can’t wait until everyone finds Aisia. I’m hoping there’ll be a verbal (or physical) showdown as someone seriously needs to put some sense into the girl. Secretly I’m hoping for Junichi to give her a good slap… that’ll probably do the trick 😉

    BTW for people complaining about the sudden change in ED, they did the same thing in Da Capo. I don’t know why anyone would honestly complain about a new OP/ED, as it can be a way to set the mood for the current or future episodes. Plus you never know what new kick arse songs/animation might be used! I actually prefer the ED used for this episode as it really helps to set the tone as we reach the climax of DCSS.

    moyism
  9. (I haven’t watched an episode since Nemu came back into the picture. Thankfully the series is almost over so i can watch it all at once then put it aside like I did the first season. Poor Kotori.)

    So we are even. HA! Remember me?

    Paracelsius
  10. Yeah!! moyism xD

    You made a good comment 😀

    Maybe that way people would quite and complaining about the ending or how there is no more chance for kotori to get together with Junichi. Because its really annoying =.=;

    i wanna watch the episode now, i love coorie’s sonzai song for DC first season ^^

  11. This serie is becoming as illogical as shuffle, first aisia brings jun’ichi/nemu together and now she breaks them up by wishing that they forget that they are lovers. Maybe aisia is sent by jun’ichi parents!

    I thought aisia would wish for that every girl would be more honest with her feelings, not this!

    Searcher
  12. “I thought aisia would wish for that every girl would be more honest with her feelings, not this!”

    Thus why they showed those scenes with all the girls blushing — thus they start to express more care (ie. Tamaki nudging him & Kotori visiting his house).

    Saga
  13. “There was always that 1% of hope.
    Why are everybody saying that i should hope for a happy ending for kotori?
    There is no “happy” ending for kotori, just an ending where she moves on. Just like in season1.
    So in effect i have got an rerun of kotori’s ending, Yaaah. Me so happy.”

    What did you hope for then? Kotori get in relationship with Junichi with Nemu still in his mind? Please, if that’s the case, I would rather see a remake of Kotori story from the first season.

    “And yes i know that nemu isn’t his blood relation, but they grew up when they were young. So their first feelings would always have been brother/sister feelings. ”

    Does that go for childhood friends as well? You can’t have a romantic relationship with someone just because you grew up with them? My girlfriend was my childhood friend. Oh no, please don’t eat me? What’s with west and their brotherly/sisterly feelings morality that’s strict as hell?

    I expect to see a confession show next. All girls re-confess to Junichi, not knowing he already has a girlfriend.

    Rasmiel
  14. is this series even worth watching anymore? it’s finally been established that kotori has been royally screwed over and that it’s junichi x nemu forever, no matter what. what more could really be said at this point? the only thing that could possibly change this ending would have to be something tragic happening to nemu, a.ka. she gets hit by a truck (one can only hope).

    firebrand
  15. I like your comments, moyism. They match some of my thoughts.

    I thought it was weird, too, that Aisia is forgetting she helped get Junichi and Nemu get back together. And then she wants to force them apart. She doesn’t like the sort of unhappiness of Kotori and the others, but ignores the happiness of Junichi himself (the one Aisia seemed to focus on the most)?

    Who’s the purple haired chick (don’t tell me that’s a guy)? Is she the one from D.C.P.C. intro that flashes on briefly?

    Anyway, although I like Nemu , and I like a JunichixNemu pairing (really, only because they both care for each other and clearly do love each other, but I also really liked the emotion in the Nemu returns arc), I’m not sure of what to think about where the series is going. Forced apart, to be resolved the next episode… maybe? I mean, they were broken apart on episode 23, they get back together in 24. What’s 25 and 26?

    I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen, but I wonder if it will get as intense as I think it should. I mean, Aisia is almost turning into an over-the-top villain. Will there be a real fight of some kind, over what she thinks is right? Will there be any resolution with the harem and their feelings? Will the tree become sentient and attempt to take over the world? Will there be a rift in the space-time continuim that will threaten the island? Something’s got to happen. Aisia’s going to have to get a splash of reality. And hopefully the harem too.

    MonkeyBrains
  16. haha searcher ur upset because is nemuxjyunchi. well me too man. soo gay. whatever.

    well when nemu came back i was like wtf. soo gay. but i said hmm, maybe kotori still has a chance maybe maybe. but know i dunno, no hope anymore. LOL.

    and…

    maybe jyunchi will really realize that kotori is very important to her and ect…soo she might still have a chance. but…2 more episodes left…sooo i dun really that the ending will really be with jyunchixkotori. oh…it reminds me something…well the last title of this season is…The Bell of happiness…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..damn….now im really sure it will be nemuxjyunchi T_T. but why that that freaking guys said “im in ur whole dept ect…” pff they r trying to torturing Kotorifan! what a shame! LOL!

    and Da Capo is OK! not really good not really cheap. it would be good if it was jyuchixkotori MATAKOU!!

    about siblings…well ya even though they r not blood related…i dunno is just wrong man…nemu and jyunchi THe heck i cant explain this. whatever.

    hmm i say…..the next episode it will be….aisha and…sakura…maybe they will have a fight.

    happy ending with kotori….are u guys bluffing or what? kotori will probably say “im happy, if he is happy to be with nemu”…impossible that kotori will try to go on another guy! ok i shut my mouth now. lol

    AznSoulBoy
  17. Well, I just watched the episode, instead of just reading this. (The purple haired chick is just one of Kotori’s two sycophants/friends. They hadn’t shown up in so long I forgot about them).

    Anyway, it was INSANE. INSANE.

    First off, the evil grin of Aisia at the very start of the episode. Wow. That was crazy. That should be in the thumbnail summary above, it is so evil.

    They start it with her, and then they end it with her, again, very evil, and the weird television click-off type animation. Creepy.

    That was an intense episode. I really liked it. For a lot of reasons (Sakura was particularly good). If only I understood Japanese well enough, dang it to get even more out of it.

    I can definitely see (as if it wasn’t obvious from when Nemu returned) that this series is all about Aisia. And now that she’s the supervillain, I’m very curious how she will be fought. Because I was not expecting a supervillain. But that creepy smile. The “TV power off” animation. Man. I’m looking forward to the next episode now more than ever.

    I can’t help but wonder, though, how it will all resolve. I still hope that harem is forced to resolve their feelings for Junichi. I always liked the idea that DCSS would be a sequel that would force the issue of “the harem” in these types of shows, where the harem is forced to question why they follow the guy they do, when they know he has eyes only for another. Is that really happiness? It’s been touched on throughout the series, and Aisia has been the wildcard thrown into a situation she did not understand. After all, she did not experience the events of 2 years ago, as was pointed out in episode 16, where Alice and Miharu explain it to her (at least, as the explanation for the Support Unit existing). So I can imagine the fight will have to do with Aisia being fed up with everyone’s attitude’s towards Junichi. I could be wrong, though.

    MonkeyBrains
  18. you know, I was honestly thinking thoroughout the whole episode that there’s nothing like a good old chainsaw that could solve the problem. 1 chainsaw + 20 mins = 0 Magical Sakura Tree 😉

    Stupid cast of DCSS trying to work out their problems the *hard* way! hehe

    moyism
  19. This serie is becoming as illogical as shuffle, first aisia brings jun’ichi/nemu together and now she breaks them up by wishing that they forget that they are lovers. Maybe aisia is sent by jun’ichi parents!

    Heh. Da Capo was never meant to be illogical. Call it a mind-shift. When Aisia tries to fulfill a goal, she focuses only on that goal and doesn’t do much about most others.

    Does that go for childhood friends as well? You can’t have a romantic relationship with someone just because you grew up with them? My girlfriend was my childhood friend. Oh no, please don’t eat me? What’s with west and their brotherly/sisterly feelings morality that’s strict as hell?

    Aww….how sweet!

    I expect to see a confession show next. All girls re-confess to Junichi, not knowing he already has a girlfriend.

    I don’t think so. While I know that’s the expected route, I don’t think a “starting again” would consist of an immediate transfer. It would take time, which leads me to hope against a Yumeria-styled reset.

    Who’s the purple haired chick (don’t tell me that’s a guy)? Is she the one from D.C.P.C. intro that flashes on briefly?

    That would be one of Kotori’s friends.

    the only thing that could possibly change this ending would have to be something tragic happening to nemu, a.ka. she gets hit by a truck (one can only hope)

    Show Spoiler ▼

  20. nice post thenightshadow, I was thinking along the same lines. its not a matter of NemuxJuunichi being right or wrong, its the underlying principle that they are with the one they care the most for.

    also after watching the latest subs and raw, comparing Aishia from ep 16 and ep 24, there is a HUGE difference in character development there.

    Adun
  21. But them showing close up of Junichi x Nemu kiss was a big nono. Two scumbags kissing…Sickening!

    Ahaha, my exact thoughts when I saw that.

    Well, at least they got them out of the way. We may see more of Kotori now. 🙂

    Ale
  22. Great post thenightshadow. That’s been my issue with those pimping KotorixJunichi as well. You may like a certain character better, but which does the male lead like more, and which fits with the journey the male lead has made…

    MonkeyBrains
  23. Offtopic Spoiler Thought/Comment for Mahoraba:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Saga
  24. Wow, the kiss scene got even MORE sickening as I watched the episode. The whole melodrama between Nemu and Junichi was just too melodramatic that I thought I was going to throw up. Yuck. I mean, dammit, I absolutely HATE the part where Junichi screams out for Nemu, and the “I WON’T FORGET YOU!!!111!!!!” part. Even sushi didn’t taste so good as I ate while watching the scene X(

    I don’t think I can take any more of that garbage.

    Rasmiel
  25. To Ramiel, I think there is a big difference between growing up with a friend and a sister!

    My prediction of the rest of the 2 eps is:

    Jun’ichi and nemu have completly forgotten that they love each other and will find each other during the 2 eps. The writers will probally screw me over once more, because jun’ichi will probally date kotori and nemu the doctor. Until there real feelings come back and they will end up in each other arms and me barfing on the floor.

    Searcher
  26. “and why the kiss scene makes u even more sick?”

    I don’t hate a kiss scene; I just hate it when scumbags kiss each other.

    “To Ramiel, I think there is a big difference between growing up with a friend and a sister!”

    What difference? I’ve always thought of my childhood friend as a sister before. We used to spend time together like real siblings. There’s no blood connection between us. Doesn’t that put us in the same situation as Nemu and Junichi? The only difference between us is that we don’t have the same surnames and that we don’t live in the same house. Do I deserve to burn in hell now because I fell in love with my unrelated “sister”?

    I just realized the last screencap may confuse some people for Hatsunejima going Supernova XD

    Rasmiel
  27. LOL supernova haha.

    “My prediction of the rest of the 2eps is:

    Jun’ichi and nemu have completly forggoten that they love each other and will find each other during 2 eps. The writres will probably screw me over once more, because jun’ichi will probablly date kotori and nemu the doctor. Untiel there real feelings come back and they will end up in each other arms and me barfing on the floor.”

    lolllllll. ya maybe maybe.

    AznSoulBoy
  28. Response to rasmiel:

    You said it yourself, the only difference is we don’t have the same surname and we don’t live in the same house.

    nemu and jun’ichi did since they were little. Would that mean that jun’ichi never had brotherly feelings for nemu? If not, than he is even more sicker than i thought.

    Searcher
  29. Omni, let me add my thoughts onto your blog since mine’s not public:

    Show Spoiler ▼

  30. i mean the series should have just ended at season 1…season 2 is just showing more of junichi’s and nemu’s relationship which is uncalled for.. i mean we all watch season 2 for the fact we thought kotori was the main character no??? at least i did…

    cyw1988
  31. yah i did it too. i was like YAYYYYYYYY KOTORIII WOUH!! NO MORE NEMU! KOTORI WITH JYUNCHI. and then episode 1 was soo nice i was like addicted. and episode 6 when nemu came back omg…i was soooo down man LOL. they want us to suffer more T_T

    AznSoulBoy
  32. “The way this episode ends (a shot of Hatsunejima with sakura trees in full bloom, and then the image and sound of a TV screen being shut off) completely blew my mind the first time I watched the episode. My thought process at that point went something like “Ok, they just gave us something which could almost resemble the end of a series. What now?” And then they do that, which I suspect may indicate that the reset is complete, whatever that may lead to”

    ohhh interesting ;P

    AznSoulBoy
  33. thenightsshadow, not sure that I’m able to respond to everything you said, but a few main things.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    relentlessflame
  34. You want some news?

    Spoiler regarding D.C. White Season and D.C. Summer Vacation.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Kotori scenario:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    More to come later.

  35. Sorry for the double post, but rewatching a subbed episode let me see something about the “red tie of fate”

    I’m not going to tell you what I think, just some factual information you might find useful
    – Kotori’s and Nemu’s is red, while the rest of their colors make a bigger red.
    – Nemu’s waves back and forth like it’s under strain and then breaks at about the time she opens her eyes…
    – Aisia’s wavers the least if measured by waves vs. screentime.
    – Sakura’s and Miharu’s are the same color; yellow.

    – Kotori -> Red
    – Mako -> Green
    – Miharu -> Yellow
    – Moe -> Turquoise
    – Alice -> Pink
    – Nanako -> Light Green
    – Tamaki -> Blue
    – Aisia -> White

    – Red and yellow bind first, then green, blue, and pink bind from the top while the light green, turquoise, and white bind from the bottom.
    – Binds become unified looking exactly like a rainbow before becoming one bigger red bind; the bind of fate.

    – As the fates are of girls, where are Yoriko’s, Misaki’s, Izumiko’s (the big pink bear “girl”), Kudo’s (first name’s Kanae), or that night girl? I…forgot her name.

  36. Didn’t realize that the fact that Koyomi-sensei was pregnant counted as a spoiler (well or that W.S. and S.V. could count as “news”). After all, they did show her child in episode 2. :p (Keep in mind that, timeline wise, D.C.S.G./S.S. is supposed to take place after Four Seasons, but it’s not as if there’s a real solid timeline to those side stories – they’re not really meant to fit.)

    And yeah, it’s just an ED. I would suggest not reading too much into those strings. :p

    relentlessflame
  37. I’m curious, relentlessflame, as to what you saw as the threads throughout the series… I have my own ideas, but I can’t quite write them out that well (Aisia, fate, magic, happiness).

    But, I am looking forward to where they go next with this thing. Do you really think it’s as simple as a “reset”? I guess the next episode preview refers to a reset.. But what kind? They can’t take back 2 years, per se, I would think… Not to mention that the Nemu/Junichi relationship is built on their entire lives, not just 2 years. But at the same time, a mind wipe was not working, as episode 24 showed. Does that mean false memories to wipe out the previous 2 years or beyond?

    As you said, Da Capo means repeating..

    I don’t know, with Aisia’s evil grins, there’s no question, that last episodes have to deal with fighting Aisia in some way… But who will fight her and how remains to be seen…

    MonkeyBrains
  38. Heh, now that you mention it, it is sort of tough to explain what the threads in the story are in a succinct way. But, basically, I’d say it’s like this. The primary “visible” story is about Aisia’s argument, with Kotori as the primary illustration. (You can kinda sorta think of it as a court case.) The argument is that the ending to the first season is flawed, and that there’s no way that it could be construed as a happy ending. It’s showing a complete dissatisfaction with the status quo and even in D.C.S.S. itself as a story. Kotori is the “case-in-point”; even though she tried to act like she was happy with the way things were (both before and after Nemu’s return), she wasn’t even convincing herself. The secondary “subtle” story (arguably the primary story, but it depends on your point of view) is the continuing love story between Nemu and Junichi, and resolution of the Nemu-Sakura tension. This is the story that Aisia is fighting/arguing against. Obviously, these two stories are entirely intertwined – they can’t exist without each other, and where one goes, the other has invariably followed in kind and in opposition.

    So, if those are the two interconnected threads of the story, then there are two choices for the ending: either they can resolve them both, or they can *not* resolve either of them (resulting in a “to be continued”). That being said, and you noticed it too, episode 24 is planting the seeds for resolution. Specifically, as I mentioned above, pay extra close attention to Kotori; Aisia thinks she’s “won”, but it’s crumbling in the implementation (as most her previous magic plans did). So, I think the last two episodes will see the two storylines merge completely. I think Kotori will play a key hand in show Aisia that she’s wrong (because Kotori was Aisia’s primary illustration), and I think we’ll finally see a “happily ever after” for Junichi and Nemu. The key thing to understand about Da Capo, in my mind, is that repeats aren’t the same as resets – with a Da Capo, even though it can be painful along the way, it simply makes you stronger in the end knowing all you’ve gone through.

    So, there’s no way to know exactly the next two episodes will play out, but if you pay attention to the larger themes, the subtle hints, and the general principles of storytelling, you can get a pretty good sense of what they’re trying to say. The real question is whether they manage to convince Aisia (and the audience, for which she serves as a proxy) that the ending is justified. I think they have a pretty good shot, but we’ll see.

    relentlessflame

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