Listeners – 03

「ユー・メイド・ミー・リアライズ」 (Yū meido mī riaraizu)
“You Made Me Realise”

The story is finally giving us something to sink our teeth into which is reassuring. I was only a tad bit worried the story would zigzag without any real direction, but the journey Echo and Myu are embarking on is proving to be more than satisfactory.

At the beginning of the episode, it’s probably been a little over 30 hours since the kids left Liverchester. And in that time they’ve encountered new foes as well as comrades, the Valentines. Bilin Valentine (Mizuki Nana), a veteran Player, steps in at the right time to ‘rescue’ Myu and Echo. They are transported onboard her floating vessel which makes up Tremolo Technologies’s headquarters, also home to her and her partner Kevin Valentine (Yamadera Koichi).

Just writing that was a load full, so let me break it down. Bilin and Kevin were teamed up 10 years prior to the events in this episode and worked together to battle the Earless. Bilin was a Player and Kevin, her counterpart, just as Echo is to Myu. The thing is though, at this point in time, Kevin is no longer her partner, not in life, love, or war.

Kevin thought it too difficult to watch the woman he loves battle her life away against the Earless. Creating space between himself and her was the only means he had to protect himself. This gives me very little hope for the two younglings who are currently taking on similar challenges.

That said, Myu is experiencing feelings akin to Kevin’s, but towards Echo. Even if she’s known the boy for mere days, her feelings run deep and she cares for him. The thought of losing him, or him being harmed because of the danger she represents, is unimaginable. But Echo perseveres and gets through to her that it’s his choice to make, meaning he won’t be going anywhere. Just a few days into the adventure of a lifetime and Echo is turning out to be a fine young man with promises of becoming an important ally, friend, or more to Myu.

Perhaps not the episode, but the two adult characters pay homage to “My Bloody Valentine”, an 80s rock band, by quoting titles of their songs to one another, as though they have hidden meanings. One thing I couldn’t put my finger on though was ‘Chelsea Girl’, the nickname Bilin gave Myu as soon as she saw her laying on the forest floor. The only thing I could decipher, and I might be wrong, is that Myu’s character design looks much like Nico, vocalist for Velvet Underground, who had a single named: “Chelsea Girls.” But that’s all I’ve got. Does anyone else have ideas?

Moving on from my tangent there, I think the episode did a great job at creating a parallel between young rookies and adults with experience, while also offering a twinge of hope for the mission ahead. The couple-like interaction between Myu and Echo pushed out a couple of belly laughs, especially during the “Top Boost” scene, the new name he’s given to Myu’s ultimate power. Overall, the comedy aspect, which is mostly romance-centric and embedded with sexual innuendos, is done well. It’s a good complementary to the characters we’re slowly getting to know and the overall tone of the story.

But now, it’s the mystery of this lost rogue player from Liverchester, Jimi Stonefree, guiding our heroes. Bilin tasks them with finding out the truth behind his power, a power that Myu now carries around her neck. And perhaps, in finding the truth about him and what happened 10 years ago in Liverchester during the Fest, will help Myu find out where she comes from, and why she has now inherited a power that almost destroyed the world so long ago.

 

ED3 Sequence

ED3: 「Borders」

Preview