Da Capo / First Impressions

Summary:

One foggy morning while no one is watching, Sakura uses her powers to dispel bad wishes from the old sakura tree. On her way back home, she unexpectedly runs into Junichi, but he doesn’t say anything and just uses his magic to produce a wagashi for her. Yoshiyuki meanwhile wakes up from a dream of Yume saying goodbye to him on the school rooftop, and he’s still worried after what happened the previous night. To his surprise, Yume cheerfully comes into his room to wake up him and acts like nothing ever happened. Yoshiyuki nevertheless feels bad enough to invite her out to a cafe, and he proceeds to apologize and give her the gift that he had bought. She claims not to be angry though and attributes things to fate. The two take the bus back home, but along the way, the bus makes a sudden stop on a cliff-side road. Unbeknownst to them, the reason was because Sakura had jumped out in front of the bus to keep it from crashing into a boulder that had fallen onto the road.

The boulder had been the result of another bad wish from the sakura tree, and Sakura realizes the danger that Yoshiyuki and Yume had been in because of it. It prompts her to visit the tree again, and she is surprised to find Otome there waiting for her. Deciding to tell Otome everything, Sakura reveals that the sakura tree is magical and can grant wishes, however it grants both good ones and bad ones. Since Sakura can’t use her own powers to control it anymore, she blames herself for the accidents around the island. She knows that if it withers, then these accidents won’t happen, but she feels that she can’t let it do that because it would mean that Yoshiyuki would disappear as well. The reason for that is because the sakura tree withering would mean the disappearance of all the wishes made, including Sakura’s own wish that created Yoshiyuki. Otome is at first in disbelief, and when she realizes that Sakura isn’t joking, she cries. Comforting her, Sakura promises her that things will be fine and that Yoshiyuki won’t disappear because she has one more trick up her sleeve. Up to now, she’s been using herself as an external filter to get rid of the bad wishes while keeping the good ones, but since she’s now at her limit, she intends to use herself as an internal filter by joining with the tree.

That night, after having dinner with the family, Sakura is discovered by Yoshiyuki as she’s trying to leave the house. Seeing him causes her to jump up and hug him tightly, and in her thoughts, she bids him farewell. She then apologizes to him and leaves after thanking him. The first place Sakura heads to is to Junichi’s house because she wants him to cut her hair short. He doesn’t ask why, and the two reminisce about old times as he does so. Afterwards, as night turns to early morning, Sakura walks to the sakura tree, and she thanks it for letting her see her dream and for protecting her most precious thing. She then joins with the tree in a blinding flash of light that can be seen across the island.

 
 
 

Wow, I dare say this is the best episode of Da Capo II so far. The revelations themselves weren’t too surprising (as some people have pointed out, the kanji spelling for Yoshiyuki’s name even hints at where he came from), but I thought the episode did a good job hitting several emotional notes when Sakura was saying goodbye to Yoshiyuki and when she was getting her hair cut by Junichi (though I have to say it’s a little weird to hear her still calling him onii-chan given that he looks like he could be her grandfather). I didn’t expect that she’d sacrifice herself to make it all right, but I guess it’s like sacrificing yourself for your own child since that’s what she probably saw Yoshiyuki as.

I have a hard time though believing that this is the end of all the sakura tree troubles, and I wonder what’s left in store for the last third of this series. What caught my attention during the episode was the dream scene where Yume is saying goodbye to Yoshiyuki on the rooftop of the school – could that be from the final episode? Since Yoshiyuki can see the future in his dreams, that’s the only conclusion I could come to. If that is indeed the case, then the story will likely be more focused on Yume from now on.

15 Comments

  12. Hayate said…
    Show Spoiler ▼

    And, related, here’s a little secret (easter egg?) that pretty much no one caught in the first season:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    relentlessflame
    Reply

  13. One reason why she asked to cut her hair is because she recognizes that she’s not really a “girl” anymore, and if you remember, she now looks similar to her grandmother in the first Da Capo, who also had short hair…

    – T

    Tolitz
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *