Summary:

One morning, Mari finds Michiko sleeping in at her desk and realizes that she had been working all night. Because it’s so late, Mari wakes her up by yelling, though Michiko remains drowsy on the way to school. A curious Mari eventually convinces her to reveal what she’s written, so Michiko describes her story for the entire class. In it, an ordinary girl wakes from being burnt in a fiery dream and finds herself in a dark jail cell. This was the cell that a holy girl named Jeanne d’Arc – who had been labeled as a heretic – was thrown in the Middle Ages. The girl who had suddenly appeared was called a servant of the Devil by Jeanne, and this created some bad feelings between the two. Lots of people came to visit Jeanne who was to be executed soon, and the girl had desperately tried to get them to save her. However, the people saw the girl as Jeanne and did not see or hear the real Jeanne. In learning about Jeanne, the girl started to understand Jeanne’s lonely heart. Jeanne up to that point had been unable to reveal her own feelings to anyone and carried all the pain and sorrow by herself, but she started opening her heart up to this carefree girl. She had despaired and given up, but had now refound something precious to her. Michiko’s moral is that everyone can have hope, so continuing to believe without giving up will definitely lead to something changing. She feels that the future shouldn’t be feared, and hope shouldn’t be abandoned.

To Michiko’s surprise, everyone in the class loves this story, and Mari is even moved to tears. Hagino then leads the class in beginning preparations for the play. Back on the Blue, Azanael and Tsubael are watching Hagino’s class activities via a surveillance bird, and Tsubael calls it biological research on the humans for their exploration mission. Azanael thinks that Hagino’s playing around, but Tsubael feels that Hagino’s has her own point of view. On the Novaal, Shivariel hasn’t heard back from Azanael but remains confident that Azanael will carry out her mission. Hagino and Mari meanwhile rush to board a train so that they can go to the nearby city to buy some stuff for the play production. On the way there, Mari admires a cruise ship in sailing parallel to the direction their train is moving, and it reminds her of the big thing she saw at the harbor. She realizes now that it was Hagino’s ship, but she mentions that she doesn’t think it’s the first time she’s seen it. Hagino doesn’t react specifically to this and instead asks if Mari wants to see it. Mari’s excitement surprises Hagino because she thought humans would be afraid of aliens, but Mari then admits that it’s not just the ship – she feels that she’s known Hagino for a long time too.

Once they get to the city, Hagino tries to buy the supplies they need, but Mari easily gets distracted by all the cool stuff. At the end of the day, Mari convinces Hagino to join her in a Ferris wheel ride, and it is during this ride that Mari suggests they walk back to school instead of taking the train. She claims she wants to because she hasn’t been getting much exercise lately, and to her surprise, Hagino agrees. Watching the two girls walk back while chatting happily, Tsubael mentions to Azanael that she thinks Hagino might be searching for something. When Azanael asks, Tsubael confirms that Mari is related to that incident and may have special abilities. Unfortunately, Mari slows down when the blister on her foot breaks, and it puts her in great pain. To make matters worse, it starts raining heavily, so the two girls are forced to take shelter in a nearby abandoned restaurant. Mari also accidentally leaves one of their bags behind, and it gets soaked in the rain. She blames herself for all this and curls up in a ball, so Hagino pulls out a sheet to cover the both of them. Hagino then starts talking about her own planet and how there are only women. Reproduction is still possible, but her people realize that they’ll be finished if they don’t do something about it – that’s why they came to Earth.

Mari doesn’t hear any of this because she’s already fallen asleep, but that doesn’t stop Azanael from reacting to how Hagino is giving away military secrets. Tsubael, however, still believes in Hagino and parallels it to how Onomil believed in Hagino too. Shortly after Hagino falls asleep, the Blue detects a change in her brain wave pattern, and Azanael associates it with telepathic contact. Hagino is actually dreaming about the night of the incident when she had surveyed the death and destruction on Kamiokijima, all while the Blue’s Emil Force drive had been acting up. Hagino had rescued a girl who was drowning – Mari – but an explosion had enveloped the Blue shortly thereafter. Mari sees this same dream and wakes up with the realization that it was Hagino who saved her. This quickly moves her to tears, and she hugs Hagino because of how thankful she is. Onboard the Blue, however, Azanael is simply shocked to find out that Hagino had saved Mari and had thus left Onomil to die without helping.

 
 
 

This episode is finally bringing to light both why Hagino’s people are here and what happened during that incident. I assume Hagino saved Mari because she was the only survivor left (as opposed to specifically because she knew Mari had special powers), and Hagino felt guilty about all the death. I’m still not entirely clear, though, on where Mari’s special powers come from, and there’s still some mystery about how all that death came about, so hopefully those will get explained later. Regardless, none of this will make Azanael feel any better, and if her reaction is to be believed, then this’ll probably drive her to try to do something rash to Mari or Hagino in retaliation. She’ll likely get her chance next week when Hagino apparently brings Mari onto the Blue.

46 Comments

  1. hehehe! I hate people that make these type of comments, but I guess i need to hate myself by also doing it. I had a lot of hopes for this show after I read the manga, but I guess it is just loosely based on it because, YAWWN YAWWN BORING! The fanservice is the only thing that has kept the show going for me. I still watch it because it will be a waste to just skip ship after watching so far, but it is a big disappointment.

    golthin
  2. Could the yuri-lechers please leave and go play in heavy traffic? The whining of not receiving fanservice is really grating on my nerves. Download some hentai and get off the Blue, willya? Thanks.

    For those with more control over their libido, this was an awesome and very intense episode which explained around 2/3rds of the mystery of the accident. Also alot of Ekaril/Mari character development. Well done! For me personally, the most-anticipated raw in the week. I definitely want to see episode 10 right away…

    Mentar
  3. I’m with Mentar on this one. I’m really happy this isn’t the standard yuri-fest or fanservice show. There’s enough of those out there already.

    I like Blue Drop because it’s like a slice-of-life show, but with an edge to it. It’s fun to see everyone adapting to the situation and still stay true to themselves. As far as the shows that are on right now, it’s pretty unique, and that’s why I like it.

    kdp
  4. I don’t know about everybody, but i am liking the moments between Hagino/Mari’s relationship. Everybody is starting to notice that there is something going on between the two leading characters. If you look closely Mari always blush when somebody talks about Hagino-san, but then again everybody blushes now and then in this series. I was giddy when Hagino comment about she look so cute when she is asleep and you know she was not talking about the baby. I wish someone sub this episode because I only seen up to seven of the anime.

    seeker4life
  5. Parody summary of the play:

    Our jolly earthling protagonist (whom we will call Maria) is unfortunately met by a surrogate alien princess (we’ll name her… Hagina! Because they don’t share any similarities between Hagino and Mari at all, Micchi swears!), and they don’t get along because neither can decide who gets the top bunk in the plush 500 square foot suite.

    Their bickering angers Prince Sigurd the Third, who imprisons the both of them. Despite Maria’s pleas, Sigurd III ignores them and goes off to enact his evil plot to rule the kingdom he just cooked up ten seconds prior, even though he’s already the ruler. Why? Who cares, it’s getting in the way of our yuri-fest! After angsting for over 9000 hours Hagina begins to talk more about her past and her completely irrelevant ability to control plant life. Maria thinks this is romantic, and thus princess and earthling head off to go stop Sigurd the Third’s supposedly evil plot, hoping to crush it with the might of their love! The end.

    Oh, and I liked this episode too.

    Sin Ansem
  6. How clueless people can be? This show has such a wide range of intense emotions going on, it’s so rich in meaning and human interaction, and that’s not enough for some. They want to see fanservice, preferably of the lowest kind. The viewer is driven to be completelly involved with the powerful emotions at stake in the story and yet people want to see half naked people and such. As I said before, go watch Bible Black, instead.

    quex
  7. That’s because the anime is set in 1998, whereas one of the manga series (the Bokura manga) is set in 2009, and the original Blue Drop manga is set in 3027. Despite this, all the stories belong to the same universe and time line.

    Kazu-kun
  8. There’s something about a good story. *Everything* you need to know about it, is in the story itself. You don’t need to go elsewhere to follow it. You don’t need a handbook with jutsus and clans and women in swimsuits.

    quex
  9. Aotatsu – Actually, if my Japanese hasn’t totally let me down (it has before- be warned), Azanael is surprised that Ekaril/Hagino saved Mari *instead* of Onomil. The story seems to be that Tsubael called Ekaril back to the ship when everything started to go screwy (she’d been off in her little flier thing previously), but Ekaril spotted one last survivor about to drown in the water, and chose to rescue her rather than go back to her ship, despite everything. I’m guessing that Azanael is not going to be terribly happy about this… 😉

    Great ep. Lots of lovely development on lots of levels. Good stuff. Can’t wait for the next one! Blue Drop remains the only show this season where I will actually *watch* the torrent downloading because I want to watch the ep the second it finishes coming down the wires. Brilliant.

    Haruchin
  10. *where I will actually *watch* the torrent downloading because I want to watch the ep the second it finishes coming down the wires.*
    Sheesh, I am not the only one who does that? I feel more normal, now. XDXD
    Thanks for the preview bit, Haruchi-san.^_^

    quex
  11. It’s interesting to see how this telepathic link between Mari and Hagino works. Everytime they touch when their guard is down, a flood of images flows between them. I’d imagine that Hagino has to be very careful not to touch Mari unawares, otherwise bad things happen.

    Kieli
  12. I think bad things are already happening. Hagino is overwhelmed by guilty and emotionally very fragile. Mari is between fascination/admiration/gratitude… Not the mood for romance at this point. I see Azanael dumping even more guilty on Hagino and taking advantage of the whole mess. Besides, Mastah Commandah *knows* that she has a mole inside the Blue.
    Mari needs to grow up like ten years in ten minutes to deal with all of this.

    quex
  13. I wouldn’t say that Hagino/Ekaril is emotionally fragile. Quite the opposite. If she were emotionally unstable, I’d say worse things would have happened in short order. Mari, however, is acting like a typical teenager, wildly vacillating between moods. It’s rather endearing *chuckle* Azanael won’t be dumping guilt; more likely she’ll be ramming a pistol in Ekaril’s face and renewing her vows to kill her, skipping the Mastah Commandah altogether. Why bother with one’s superior when one has an opportunity to do away with one’s enemy without interference?

    Kieli
  14. Although the last five minutes are summarized just fine, unfortunately I’ve got no clue on what’s going on in the play.

    …and I so want to know ;_; Prince Sigurd the Third is just not cutting it.

    Sin Ansem
  15. I think Ekaril spent the last 5 years feeling guilty. Why did she go so easy on Azanael? She didn’t seem very happy, when Mari mentioned her ship in train, for one.
    I think Ekaril did no wrong. Onomil is responsible for her own death. Tsubael was in the ship and couldn’t save her. If Ekaril had come back both Mari and Onomil would have been dead.
    I think what tarnishes Commandah image is the fact that she didn’t tell the Mastah Commandah what happened right away. She procrastinated and pretty much she still procrastinating at this point, avoiding to deal with the issue. She made Azanael wait, fine, but the more she waits, the more irritated she will get. IMO, Ekaril is innocent on the accident, but she did wrong in not facing facts right away. The Blue was fixed and she *needed more time to think* remember? Azanael is wrong. But even if she were sane, she deserved an explanation. She waited 5 years for Onomil and nobody bothered to explain her death right away. I don’t think it’s a fatal flaw, but it’s likely to cost Ekaril.
    Her procrastinating is making things worse. Azanael had the chance to see Onomil saying I need to save Commandah’s ship *and* see Commandah having a great time with the horume she saved. That’s rubbing in, and I wouldn’t do that to a person in Azanael’s state of mind. She is only getting more time to get angrier. I don’t think she can pull a gun inside the Blue, but can make Ekaril feel very bad.

    quex
  16. If one has never experienced a truly traumatic experience where one is possibly the cause of said experience (which I gather from your explanation above that you have not), then one cannot understand the difficulty of merely “owning up” to the truth. Ekaril isn’t doing this out of straight up procrastination; I think she’s still coming to grips with the trauma of thousands of lives being snuffed in the blink of an eye. Added with the fact that she really can’t explain to the MC about the accident because even she is still unsure about what really went wrong, I can imagine her hesitation. Seriously, what do you think she could say? She wasn’t even on the ship when it exploded! “Oh sorry, MC, we dropped out of warp, then things went to hell in a handbasket. Oh and by the way, Azanael, Onomil is dead because she got herself killed playing hero. Oops, my bad.” Do you honestly think that would fly? Not hardly. Before I told anyone ANYTHING about something that huge, I’d want to have all of the facts, all of my ducks in a row so that I could present a clear case. Despire Hagino’s calm facade, she’s got one hell of an inner war going on inside her. She knows she’s going to have to face the music sometime; but she’s displaying very human traits in balking when it comes to the hard stuff. I can’t really blame her. This one is no small thing.

    Kieli
  17. Do you people realize that Azanael is *literally* reading Ekaril’s mind? Do you how how totally freaking dangerous is to let your enemy read your mind and figure your weakness and your next move? How careless can they get? If that is not letting one’s guard down…
    Ekaril isn’t doing this on purpose, but she is doing exactly what Japanese bad guys say they will do: Watch what I am going to do while you sit there sucking your finger. Watch me having a great time with this cute horime who has made me smile for the first time in five years, while you, Azanael, sit there sucking you pendant. I think I ain’t insane, but if it happened to me I’d be very aggravated.

    quex
  18. And, Kieli, I am not blaming Ekaril, for heaven’s sakes.For me, Ekaril is god, well, goddess. I am trying to figure out what’s going beyond her facade. I totally understand her grief and how it affected her actions. She is not the rock she appears to be. That’s why I said she was emotionally fragile. She is vulnerable, not insane. And that what made her avoid confrontation. It’s NOT wrong but in practical terms, it may cost her.
    I am trying to figure out what her challenges will be!
    Besides, things got to get bad before they get better. Otherwise, we won’t appreciate the happy ending as much!

    quex
  19. Do you people realize that Azanael is *literally* reading Ekaril’s mind? Do you how how totally freaking dangerous is to let your enemy read your mind and figure your weakness and your next move? How careless can they get? If that is not letting one’s guard down…

    Actually, Azanael is viewing Ekaril’s thoughts through Blue’s interface but that’s splitting hairs. We’re not stupid Quex so have a care, your comments are reaching the point of insulting our intelligence. Try to keep a grip on yourself, eh?

    I personally don’t think Ekaril intended to be purposefully careless. She’s letting her feelings for Mari affect her judgment so some extent. I think her own memories regarding that event were clouded and her contact with Mari in the last episode just sent everything ramming home. She tried to Azanael humanely and make her see that they are not enemies; however, that plan backfired and Ekaril probably now realises that she’s way more culpable than she first thought.

    Kieli
  20. Have you ever tought that Mari can see Tsubael maybe because she was holding hands with Ekaril during the Emule Force explosion. This may have caused a transfer of Ekaril’s Arume abilities (as seeing holograms, etc) to Mari.
    And I think also that the scene of crying baby Mari is after she was saved by Ekaril, before Ekaril leaves the isle with the ship provoking the tsunami…but it’s unclear how Mari wasn’t affected by the tsunami.

    Selene77
  21. Ah, and Ekaril-Mari telepathy ability is another consequence of the Emule Force explosion. Infact I think Mari was a normal child without any ESP powers before the explosion.
    We will see soon if I’m wrong!

    Selene77
  22. Next episode it appears Mari gets a grand tour of that ship after all, and the preview does say Hagino is still suffering massive guilt. I predict massive conflict between Azanael and Mari.

    Oh, and the play? It’s largely character exploration between a random girl and… get this… Jeanne d’Arc. The latter is angsting about not being understood, but opens up to the former after they talk/argue/bicker.

    Sin Ansem

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