Akanesasu Shoujo – 07

「Tu N`Est Pas Seule.」

The conclusion of Chloe’s arc comes out strong as she is able to pinpoint the way she feels about her friends. The last episode brought doubt to how she saw herself in her friend circle and addressed how she went out of her way to separate herself from them so that she wouldn’t feel empty if she were to be alone again. While she does express that she needs their help as she tries to user her fragment self’s data to shut down the White Goat server, the story doesn’t shame her for wanting to be alone.

Fortunately, her arc is respectful towards her way of life when she realizes that the comfort she got from her friends was knowing that they would be there for her even if she wanted some time alone. I am reminded of the idea that home is where you are loved, and that you are never far from home if there is warmth, love, and acceptance for who you are waiting to see you. Chloe’s shyness does make some of her friends wish she’d mingle more, but they never force her out of her comfort zone or make her feel left out since they always welcome her whenever she wants to see them. It will be fun to see how she interacts with everyone now that she’s less fearful about letting her guard down about wanting to see her friends and has a twilight form that features a bear sidekick named Nunurusu. He is a fun addition to the cast as a built-in friend within Chloe’s twilight form suit that is as outrageous and lewd as her friends can get but is also a part of the episode’s efforts to help Chloe feel more comfortable with the help she gets and the friends she makes.

The cluster Chloe has to face is a fun departure from the previous two clusters since White Goat is a computer server that runs the world’s technological infrastructure. As an Amazon/Apple/Google mashup, it represents the convenience of smartphone applications and drone shipping services, and how the general population reacts to trends with such technology. It isn’t subtle in criticizing how addicted people can be to online shopping, social media, app games, and having tech do what anyone can easily do, but with how pervasive White Goat is in invading every aspect of someone’s life, it does show a far more nefarious side of a situation if one massive e-commerce site were to gain power to a large enough scale to rule over a set of islands and brainwash the masses.

Ero Yuu continues to be an interesting part of the show as the role she plays starts to develop. This time around, her status as a rival figure is put to the test when she finds that her heart skipped a beat when she was thanked for helping Asuka and Seriousuka clear the way to get closer to shutting down White Goat. She also brought some humorous moments to the episode such as when she saved Asuka after a brainwashed Mia tried feeling around for a phone only to continue where she left off with far different motives. Asuka’s gambit to steal her friends’ phone devices was also hilarious in how she had to run immediately to avoid Mia, Yuu, and Nana’s wrath. I’d say this one ended up being amazing as it was funny, clever, fanservicey, and goofy without being too corny. I also liked Chloe as the chosen leader since her backstory and development were very interesting and the internal battle she had between her comfort from being alone and the happiness she had from being with her friends was the most understandable of the three characters so far. Knowing that Asuka and Yuu are the only two who haven’t had a fragment where they gain twilight powers, it’ll be fascinating to see where they go with both of their fragments.