First Impressions / Ikoku Meiro no Croisée

「音楽会 Récital」 (Ongakkai)
“Recital”

Wow, if this bonus episode was any indication of what the producers were saving for the BD/DVD releases, I sure hope they have another one in store. This particular episode is slated to be released on November 25th with the third volume, but was streamed online for a limited time, saving me from a long four and half month wait. Featuring songs by both Tooyama Nao (Yune) and Macross Frontier star Nakajima Megumi (Anne), it depicted a bittersweet story about how music can span the globe and connect people. The song “To a Distant You” was left behind by Anne’s grandfather when he was separated from her Japanese grandmother because their relationship was frowned upon, and is beautifully sung by both Yune and Anne as the ending theme. The brief revelation on how Yune’s sister Shione (Noto Mamiko) likely learned the song from Anne’s grandmother put a really interesting perspective on things too, showing that the song managed to bring people together two generations later. However, as much as it instilled hope for future generations, I actually like how the song resonated sadness — a sentiment that Camille seems to share.

Camille’s relationship with Claude was recently hinted at in episode six, and while I already had the idea that it goes back to their childhood, it’s nice to get some visual confirmation. In relation, the flashback fits the suspicion I had about them being torn apart because of their difference in social status. I dare say I’m almost content with the “explanation” the song provided, since their situation was depicted in a way that mirrors Anne’s grandparents, but Camille’s approval of Anne living her life freely and only forming a bond with (i.e. marrying) a person she loves did leave me with hope that status differences won’t keep Camille and Claude apart forever. What’s more, rather than shooting down Anne’s ideals, Camille was in support of what she couldn’t do herself. From that, I didn’t get a sense that it was enough to make her go against her parents’ wishes, but I did get the impression that she may reconsider abandoning her own desires altogether. While I can’t say I’m really expecting much in the romance department, the subtle implication she made about birdcages in the sixth episode seemed to suggest that all of this isn’t in the past already.

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure what to make of this episode when it started out with Claude warning Yune about Bohemians. I was partly expecting Yune’s kindness to be taken advantage of again, so I was kind of relieved when Alice came into the picture with her Japanese fanaticism and suggested otherwise. Once that possibility was ruled out, I got completely absorbed in the songs — which included three inserts. Much like the normal ending theme, Tooyama Nao’s singing in Ikoku Meiro still surprises me with how different it is from Kanon in Kami nomi. It could very well be that I instinctively associate her singing with Yune here, but I’m tempted to say that her voice is much more suited for slower songs. In any case, hopefully we’ll see more episodes of this caliber in the upcoming weeks, because this one set the bar pretty high.

 

ED2 Sequence

ED2: 「遠く君へ」 (Tooku Kimi e) by 中島愛 feat. 遠山奈央 (Nakajima Megumi feat. Tooyama Nao)
Watch the 2nd ED!: Streaming ▼

33 Comments

      1. Tbh, it feels like it’s one sided and from Camille’s end too. Oh, well. As long as Yune and Claude continue having their endearing brotherly-sister relationship, idrc about the rest.

        marolala
        Reply

    2. I agree all this talk about camile and claude…I don’t see it yes they had a childhood together but I get the feeling its more on camile side than claude. She is the one always referring to it. Claude on the other hanf avoids that family as much as he can and is happy with his life. I love seeing the interact between him and yune so i hope things remain the way they are.

      liz
      Reply

  5. I forgot to add in this episode I loved how claude was worried about yune and waited for her to come home and even went to get her himself at the end and that is when the ending credits start ^_^ I loved it!!!!

    liz
    Reply

  6. Finally caught up with this episode and I must say it’s really good. Nakajima Megumi singing was the cherry on top and I hope we do get to see more of Annu in the near future.
    While it was pretty apparent from episode 6 that Claude x Camille was on the table, this episode does provide some new revelations. Claude’s hostility towards the Blanche family might very well stem from his bitterness towards this failed relationship. I think Yune has a back-story yet to be explained as well since we don’t really have a concrete idea on why she was shipped all the way to Paris and I’m now more curious than ever with Shione clearly missing her sister as she gazes into the sunset and it seems like Oscar is hiding something as well.

    Seishun Otoko
    Reply

      1. Well, there has to be more to the story of Yune then just her wish to travel the world. It seems quite likely that her family expects her to marry Claude eventually. This also fits in with the custom of the grooms family essentially adopting a future bride.

        znail
        Reply

      2. ^ Except that it’s very unlikely Yune’s family has ever even met Claude, let alone know enough about him to warrant marrying off their daughter. What’s likely is that her family acknowledged her desire to broaden her horizons, and Oscar was at the right place at the right time to fulfill it.

        salty
        Reply

  8. Watched this episode several weeks back and I still find myself going back and listening to “To a Distant You”. It really resonates with the soul, and the bittersweet story-line made it even better. Yune sings really well too, I hope she sings more often!

    T.K.
    Reply

  9. “Wow, if this bonus episode was any indication of what the producers were saving for the BD/DVD releases, I sure hope they have another one in store.”

    I almost thought you meant this episode was really, really bad.

    Triton
    Reply

  11. Good that I managed to get the raw, watch it that way and enjoy it, then reading Divine’s blog to make sure I didn’t miss anything…
    The music was very nice to listen, and I’d really like to have more episodes close to this…

    Djisas
    Reply

    1. Just waiting for a demotivator poster saying something like “Mugi’s ancestors – so they were french cigans” or “Mugi’s Ancestors – music is in their blood since the XIX century”. :3

      Cassidy
      Reply

  13. I reckon Claude also likes (or liked) Camille, but with her family being a wealthy upstart, she was expected to behave more appropriately as befitting of her ever-rising social standing, in parallel with the family’s increasing prosperity. This might explain their separation and Camille’s “birdcage” and “crossing the ocean” rhetoric. For Claude, given his lower social status, it’d make sense if he was left in the dark as to why Camille vanished from his life at the time, and being the kid that he was, might’ve interpreted it as her not wanting to be near him anymore. This compounded with the fact that her family is overshadowing the gallery businesses with department stores could have caused Claude to resent them, as well as feel betrayed by Camille herself. But I get the feeling he still has a soft spot for her; it’s just buried beneath all that resentment.

    Also, isn’t it “Anne”, and not “Annu”? In Japanese, “nnu” (ンヌ) tends to be used to pronounce the “nne” ending portions of French names and words. Example: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%8C%E3%83%BB%E3%83%89%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%83%AA%E3%83%83%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A5

    salty
    Reply

    2. no. . .I only agree with half of what you said. From my own opinion by reading the manga and watching the anime which I am sure they will dive more in-depth to the relationship between claude and camille. . .it isn’t camille who disappeared it is claude who chose to separate from camille because he didn’t want be be a “stray cat”. . .That is all I can type for I don’t want to spoil too much of the story.

      paj
      Reply

  18. The subbed one is finally out. It was an amazing episode and I can’t believe this was on the DVD and not one of the regular episodes. Storywise it showed alot of insight into some of the characters in the series most notably Yune and Camille.

    Karmafan
    Reply

  19. good songs !
    I just regret that hard “croi-ser-les-doigts” not well said… Usually the french part is well done but not this time.
    Anna should have said “je croise les doigts pour toi” (I hope you the best) ou “croisons les doigts” (let’s do our best) instead of that robot-toned infinitive sentence.

    clubescar
    Reply

  20. I just watched this episode (hak!) since the subs was just released (on Ayako at least). Very, very beautiful episode indeed. I almost cried while hearing “Tooku kimi e” even though I can’t understand some of the lyrics. That’s how MOVING it is. And the guitar instrumentals, ahh~ I just hope the official soundtrack will be released sooner!

    Anyway, can someone tell me please what are the titles of the Japanese songs that has been played in the guitar by Mugi Anne? I only know the first one is Sakura.

    nagi
    Reply

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