「果ツル空」 (Hatsuru Sora)
“The Sky that Ends”

Oh my. I asked for some development on the Uzume/Chiho front, but I didn’t mean this drastic turn of events! I was thrown in for a whirl with the progression as well, given how it started off with a scene about Chiho losing her parents to a plane crash and people coming in to take all her family possessions. It was a heartwarming story depicting how Uzume had no desire to participate in the Sekirei Project and questioning why she was born, while Chiho was looking for a reason to continue living now that she’s lost everything that matters to her. What that called for in my mind was Minato swooping in with his six Sekirei and freeing them both from the evil clutches of Higa Izumi, not Uzume sacrificing herself to protect Musubi from the two Sekirei brought in for underhanded clean-up — No.16 Toyotama (Okada Eimi) and No.18 Ichiya (Nakamura Tomoko).

While they made it pretty clear that Uzume was expecting to fight a losing fight against Musubi and Tsukiumi as her form of atonement for deceiving them until now, I really didn’t think that was any more than some character development to redeem herself in their eyes. Tsukiumi was too proud to get involved in what she believes should be one-on-one fights and stayed out of it with her arms crossed like Vegeta, leading to what appeared to be a non-fatal victory on Musubi’s part. When that happened, I figured it was the perfect opportunity for Uzume to be finally freed from the burden she’s been shouldering for Chiho’s sake, join up with Minato, and take her fight to Izumi directly. Instead, what we got was Uzume diving across with no concern for her body to save Musubi from Toyotama’s sneak attack. I didn’t sign up for that. Can’t we go back and change that outcome? Please?

Objectively speaking, Uzume’s defeat here does propel the plot forward much faster than I was anticipating. As far as this sequel is concerned, Minato’s promise to Uzume to take care of Chiho in her absence pits him against Izumi almost immediately. There’s no more beating around the bush either, as Matsu sent an electronic attack to the East Sekirei’s company and its subsidiaries’ computer systems and their stocks to show her disapproval of how he messed around with Uzume and Chiho. He pissed off Sekirei No.02, so now this shit is on! Izumi didn’t look all that worried with that 72GB SD card he’s carrying around, but that may change once he starts duking it out with an Ashikabi who can rival his own flock of Sekirei. Out of all Minato’s Sekirei, Tsukiumi seems to be the one most bothered by Uzume’s defeat even though she refuses to show it, so I imagine she wants to give Izumi a piece of her mind too for his underhanded tactics. Kazehana and Homura seem to be handling it the best on the other hand, and even Miya came by to show her respect to Uzume by sharing a drink with them rather than chewing out Kazehana for drinking.

The one good thing to come from this is the really lovely song by Hayami Saori in remembrance to Uzume, which is titled “I’ll Remember.” It was about this time in season one that we had a one-off ending theme and sequence by Saori as well, so it’s a very nice addition even it’s under less than ideal circumstances story-wise. More so than this ending theme, the slow piano version of the normal ending theme played during Uzume’s passing was even sadder. :'(

 

ED2 Sequence

ED2: 「おぼえているから」 (Oboeteiru Kara) by Hayami Saori (早見沙織)
Watch the 2nd ED!: Download, Streaming ▼

Preview

58 Comments

    1. Matsu can essentially read the minds of machines. Thus she needs a computer to actually make another computer do something, but she can ‘read’ any passwords needed, back-doors etc. This obviously makes her the best hacker ever.

      Znail
  1. Damn… they are not following the manga.

    This is the second time Sekirei aired and I thought they will finish things properly (like FMA Brotherhood), but they are doing some irreversible changes… guess there is no Sekirei 3rd Season! What about Musubi vs Karasuba???

    Lectro Volpi
  2. Yea. This was certainly a curveball but it is possible that the people behind the manga and the anime coordinated. It is entirely possible that at the end of the anime series and with a few more chapters they will line up relatively in the same spot albeit with a few changes. That’s not the worst. However if they don’t well that sucks. XD

    Rinat
  3. It came as a surprise. I don’t read the manga but I thought Uzume was still in the manga? I got to admit I was teary eyed. Uzume is one cool girl in my books…Disappointed to see her go but then again, if Musubi said to Chiho is true, the Uzume/Chiho duo can be back if Minato’s side wins?

    Shinjiro
  4. If you guys just want everything to go like the manga, you’re probably better off never watching an adaptation of anything you’ve read. It’s not often that an anime stays as faithful as FMA’s remake did. Also, an anime adaptation is generally produced to promote the manga, not the other way around. It has to work as a standalone series with no expectation of a sequel. It’s not for manga readers to see exactly what they’ve read with moving pictures and voices.

    I have a small gripe with people who get so upset because a series doesn’t go exactly like how they’ve read it to be, hence why I suggested the editorial topic that Natrone wrote about a couple of years ago.

    1. Ah, but it’s not about sticking with exactly what happens in the manga, that they aren’t doing right now for sure. But the question is if they killed off a character in the anime that stays alive in the manga. It might get a bit weird for follow up seasons if that character sticks around and do important stuff. That they are skipping some parts now that they may later come back to is smaller matter compared to losing a fairly important side character.

      Znail
    2. The thing is that if Uzume is suppose to die in the manga as well.. well.. that means that the anime did an awful spoiler to the manga readers.. it was just weird that 20 episodes into the series was pretty much true to the manga that a sudden switch would either mean that budget or extension was not there for a season three…

    3. I’m just a bit put off by the fact that this signals an anime original ending……………. that will end in 4 more episodes. How can they finish this without a huuuuuuuuuge rush job? And if they aren’t finishing it this season then why did they feel the need to take out such an important character at such an odd time?

      Jaysus
    4. Its not so much I have a problem with the fact that they changed it, more like I wonder how they will salvage the plot after this PARTICULAR change(s). Maybe it was just to get rid of the Uzume plot thread in order to have more time for stuff, but to change Uzume’s first meeting with Chiho to “I got this weird feeling, she pushed me off a building, and we fell in love” doesn’t make expect anything good if they do this in the future.

      Da5id
  5. Matsu = electronic warfare apex predator.
    Alas poor Uzume. We hardly knew ya.
    I hope Minato takes good care of her Ashikabi.
    And Izumi vs Minato war would be extremely intersting to watch, given they have really powerful Sekirei flocks at their disposal…

    ewok40k
    1. Minato is a bit of a softy when it comes to clashes,he should start acting like an Ashikabi when he goes to war with Izumi. As for the power balance,atm they seemed to be evenly matched,but I think Minato would easily own him if he uses his cards.All of his Sekirei are something not to be trifled with,especially if Show Spoiler ▼

      decided to help Minato.

      fluidity
  6. No… I’ve lost all interest in this show now. The episode itself was good, but really? We are at the end of a successful second season. Why come this far just to make an anime-original ending? Of course, if there is no chance at a third season, it won’t really matter.

    The wings were made of cloth. T.T

    AuroraFlame
  7. imo i don tthink this ending will ruin any possibility of season 3.
    they just skip all the blooding fight in the manga and go straight to this part where the manga is at atm.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    dunames
  8. I’m calling this BS, not because is not following the manga, but that it feels like a Bleach-like filler just for animation purposes. Even worst, Minato isn’t the decided Ashikabi that is seen in the manga and this arc is a poor replacement of the current Chiho rescue arc (the first offensive op. from Minato’s pasrty, mind you)

    Moreover, we’ve missed a couple of epic engagements just for… this? I thought that Pure Engagement was made in a hurry, but this poor direction is really hurting the animation. Even if Uzume is still taken out in the manga, if Minato manages to recover Chiho from Izumi’s hands, Uzume will be fine at the end, as Chiho’s well being is all that matters to her.

    If Minato don’t put Higa out for good at the end of PE, just stick to the manga.

    SeedStriker
  9. Fist I want to make clear I love this series…but

    / Rant
    I felt since episode 6 that Uzume’s arc was taking a turn for the worst. But killing her to save Musubi?! No!!! I can’t accept that; maybe for Kusano but for Musubi wtf? I want a wrestling caged match with the following:
    1. producer and director this was total crap, I won’t accept it as canon until she’s gone in the manga. The way the manga is looking she is going to die saving minato (evil guess) if she dies at all.
    2. The mangaka why he allowed this crap! I want to break a chair on his head.
    3. Tsukiumi for being so self righteous and stubborn. This is the second time she messes up. (First was in first season when she stayed behind in the scape plan). How she dare stop Minato for trying to break up the fight.
    4. Minato another chair to the head, well is ok you treat your sekirei good. But he needs to give them some tough love (slap some sense to tsukiumi!). Also in the manga he’s the one that decides to rescue Chiho. This anime version of Minato is tamed down and he gives vibes of a lame lead when it isn’t in the manga. Also in the manga he is calling mom to save chiho wth is this crap Matsu said about Chiho is not qualified for MBI help?! boooo !!!!
    5. Toyotama neck breaker suplex to her; so much for sekirei honor
    6. Minaka sleeper hold then chair to the head. What kind of lousy game master is he? That kill was low so damn low he should call that out and void that fight. Also in the manga he has more control over that events than what is show here.
    7. Myself – dead by hanging – for getting so worked up for a show that’s not even real. Only got 2 hours of sleep due to this dead; I got so work up that I want to get into a street fight even knowing I ‘m going to lose.
    / end rant

    Still here ? 🙂
    So I did 20 sun salutations and meditate. Looking at the episode as a stand alone work of art if the crew wanted to stir the audience, they truly had a big success. Killing a has to be a well planed event (I still don’t accept it) and they set it up for a while. There is enough material in the manga to avoid this event at least for the moment. For instance Seo’s fight for his piece of the gem. Minato’s fight for his piece of the gem (he truly shine on that one). So now is an anime original ending and hopefully they won’t twist the story much. RIP Uzume 🙁 I will cry for the whole week; can’t even comment on the other shows threads… why why!!!!

    @divine if Uzume dead stands I want to nominate it for January RC awards under Dead category.

    Island Esper
      1. quoting Musubi in this episode: “honto ni, honto ni, honto ni sure?” 😛
        For some reason I though she was of Homura gender LoL

        But thanks for pointing it, out that dropped “s” made a whole world difference 🙂

        Island Esper
  10. I had a damn crush over Uzume and they treat her poorly. *tears up a little then holds it in* Okay, I knew from the very start when Uzume had death flag all around her since she was with Chiho’s but even the case that manga will state it soon that Uzume may die but the manga can change in very different ways. It would be amazing that Sekirei can passed powers to their fellow Ashikabi. Man, I would be tripping balls Chiho’s will become a Sekirei to kick ass and chew bubblegum, yes Duke Nukem is back kids.

    Now back to reality, the anime is supposed to make it’s own path over the manga, I wouldn’t be shocked that Sekirei will continued for the next five to ten years because this manga-ka has gotten herself a future franchise by making this kind good harem anime even people would blow it out of proportion.

    Highman
  11. I am a bit confuse I thought when a SEKIREI loose a battle and lost the mark they just go back to sleep and get retrieve back, they don’t really died unless the wound is very very serious which in this case doesn’t seem like it. Plus MBI have the technology to revive almost any sort of fatal wound I would think.

    mike
  12. What the heck is wrong with everyone? You guys obviousely misundetstood something. Why does everyone think that Uzume is dead? She is not dead. She only got herself unwinged by getting stabbed in the back, but it wasnt too serious. She got defeated and was taken back to M.B.I. Minato made a promise that he will bring Chiho and Uzume back together. Come on ya. Wake up!!!!!!!!!!!’

    Oh if you guys noticed that through the entire season 1 and season 2, nobody dies, except for Yume, becasue she gave her soul to Musubi whan she was kidnapped.

    yahiko03
  13. Folks need to just chill out. I can tell you that its just about a sure thing that Uzume will meet her end in pretty much the same way in the manga. Its probably been coordinated that way and maybe the artist ran late with the newest manga episode and so the anime beat them to the starting line with the defeat of Uzume. Its not the end of the world folks. Most likely they will move all that Jinki battle stuff into season 3 of the anime and at some point the anime and manga will be back on the same path.

    Karmafan
    1. We’ll Uzume may have some hope left in her there is a rumor that the third party attack MBI is still lurking and may strike soon. I have a feeling Chiho maybe become a Sekirei and passed her power from Uzume. I have a feeling this could happened.

      Highman
  14. Since we dont know exactly what is the reward for winning the Battle Royale, we can assume that bringing every defeated Sekirei back to their Ashikabis is an option, and one Minato would probably take gladly. As for Minato being “softie”, it is his refusal to accept the brutal rules of the game that makes him so different. He cares not only for his own Sekirei, he is a deeply empatic man who hates all the suffering involved with the Sekirei plan.
    Higa showing with the flowers in a hospital doesnt strike me as exactly belligerent, though – he might seek armistice of sorts, with a lifesaving procedure for Chiho as bargaining chip (no pun intended). He seems to be a player that would avoid unnecessary risk involved with frontal confrontation with one of most powerful Ashikabis out there.

    ewok40k
  15. good action in this ep, but i’m still confused about the whole.. sekirei gets defeated thing? death?? fight another day?? the comments seem to help.

    btw- mi like how Higa is the SAME HEIGHT as minato. usually the bad dude is taller

    BROOKLYN otaku
  16. Also I think defeated Sekirei fll into 2 catergories… Those that are simply defeated and lose their crest (and can probably be saved) and the ones that get destroyed by the Disciplinary Squad lady that is murdering other Sekirei.

    Karmafan
      1. Can anyone tell me what the difference between being terminated and dying? Because except for Musubi, everyone who has gotten terminated has not shown up again, plus their marks go away when the die (I.E. when Musubi punched Katsurgi’s lights out), whether their mark gets touched or not.

        Da5id
  17. Sekirei are never referred to as being “dead,” but merely “stopped functioning” 「機能停止」 with varying degrees of severity. Unless one of them gets decapitated, I’m still under the assumption that M.B.I. can revive them somehow.

  18. BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW COULD THEY DO THAT TO UZUME?!?!?!?! *cries in a dark corner*

    Anyway, as said, Uzume technically isn’t “dead”. Currently, just “terminated” from the game (with a Level 4 severity wound according to Matsu’s computer. 5 being the highest and most lethal). The only “dead” Sekirei we know of right now being Yume (#08), but that was by her choice from what we know (from the anime and manga) and it was more of implanting her “soul” into Musubi or something and not a physical “death”.

    So far, even in the manga, it’s unknown what becomes of “terminated” Sekirei that get picked up by MBI.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  19. If you guys are looking for a series that stays true to the manga. Then watch one of the ‘big three,’ but even they deter from the plot from time to time.

    Anyway i can understand why somethings would annoy viewers who’ve read the manga; Certain characters live/die, an enemy gets way in one version, but is captured in the other, or the MC is more of a wuss in one version and an ‘almost bad-ass’ in the other.

    Yeah these can be frustrating, but you can’t expect everything to stay true in an adaption. The producers have a creative license on these and can do them how ever they see fit. (Once they have the rights of the license anyway.)

    Though i will admit that on more then one occasion, i’ve wanted to back hand Minato and tell him to stop being such a pansy and man up.

    [/rant]

    As for the episode goes, i was a bit surprised that the story was kicked into high gear this far into the second season. Maybe they aren’t getting a third season and are going for an anime original ‘sub-plot’ and ending. Which is find, but they could done things a bit differently. Rather then introduce a bunch of minor characters, only to be picked off as cannon fodder for the plot.

    Snicket

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