Summary:
Natsume doesn’t remember anything about what happened the night before, and tells Yuuichi about his own teenage years. As Yuuichi is leaving, Natsume yells at him to value Rika as much as possible. Rika visits Yuuichi’s room sometime later, but he’s lying in wait to peg her with an orange. She gets angry at him, but then notices the scars on his face from being beat up by Natsume. She’s quite worried about him, but then changes the subject and requests that he take a photo of her. Because of that, Yuuichi tries to sneak out so that he can go get his camera from home, but Nurse Tanizaki catches him. She decides to drive him there after hearing his story, and on the way, Yuuichi asks her about Natsume. Tanizaki finds it weird that Natsume is at such a small hospital like theirs, but says that there was a rumor of him hitting the school’s dean.
After Yuuichi gets the camera from home, Tanizaki drives him back to the hospital, though she picks up an old friend first. The next day, Yuuichi is on the roof with Rika and his camera. Rika becomes camera shy, but Yuuichi keeps taking pictures of her. She notices some kids in their school uniforms below them and tells Yuuichi that she’s never been to school. As a result, Yuuichi gets a uniform from his friend Miki and brings Rika to school in it. His friends come along and even manage to help out when they get caught by a teacher. Miki and Rika get away, but Rika wants to go back to clear things up since it’s her fault. The two start to talk and Rika tells Miki about her condition and the chance that she’ll die while Miki talks about Yuuichi’s relationship with his father. At Rika’s request, the two enter a classroom. When Miki asks Rika if she’s afraid of dying, Rika responds that although she used to not be, she’s recently been a little afraid. Rika then recites a line from Night on the Galactic Railroad about not being scared and finding happiness for everyone.
Back at the hospital, Tanizaki punishes Yuuichi for taking Rika and leaving. After Rika joins him in sitting in the hallway, the two have one of the other patients take a picture of them. Later, on the rooftop, Rika gives Yuuichi a copy of Roger Martin du Gard’s Les Thibault. However, she tells him not to read it until she gives him the go ahead. They get up to go back inside, and Rika starts to say something, but then collapses on the ground.

The line that Rika recites inside school is from the final chapter of Night on the Galactic Railroad, right before Campanella disappears. As for Les Thibault, Brittanica notes that “The outstanding features of Les Thibault are the wide range of human relationships patiently explored, the graphic realism of the sickbed and death scenes, and, in the seventh volume, the dramatic description of European nations being swept into war.” Maybe Rika is going to allow Yuuichi to start reading during her surgery or if it’s unsuccessful? It’s at least something to keep in mind.
Yuuichi seems to be fulfilling Rika’s desires one by one with the camera and the school outing. If (or when) one of them dies, they’ll probably bring those photos out again. It’s hard to say if Rika’s operation will be successful, and it’s even harder to predict what will happen based solely on how many episodes are left since this is such a short series. I’ve got my fingers crossed for a happy ending, but I somehow doubt it because of all the talk of death we’re getting.

17 Comments

  1. I think they are both equally cute, actually…

    I suppose they are doing six episodes in accordance with the number of novels itself, so no surprises there….And it seems that just perhaps it won’t end in tragedy…Who knows? 😉

    F.A.I.T.H
  2. is it me or are most of the really good short episode series leave off with a unhappy endings… *Twitch*
    Rather, most of the really good animes leave off with an inconclusive or unhappy ending X___x;…

    Saga
  3. I wonder if the scenes from the credits or the opening have anything to do with how the story will end up. Since it shows them getting married. However, I have a really bad feeling its ending involves death of some kind.

    gx_testament
  4. Well after the one-day schooling, I’m starting to believe that scene from the ending is actually one-day wedding >_>

    Although to pull that off, the operation in the next episode has to be successful.

    Rasmiel
  5. Eh…the show practically oozes an obvious death aura, so I don’t really expect any of them to die. I mean, normally a death is unexpected or set up in such a way that it gets the viewer by surprise or makes them saddened by that character’s death. But because the show pushes it in your face that Rika is likely to die, I don’t see it happening.

    My guess is, she’ll get a transplant for whatever she needed from Yuuichi, and he’ll die, or something like that. But also, I mean, what’s the point of the marriage picture if they die before they get married?

    Kuya

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