It has been quite a while since I have been so touched by an episode. In fact quite possibly the last time I got so moved was during Kaiba. This time round we are shown the strength of an old man as he sets an example despite his own painful loss, hence the title, “Painful Glimmer”, where despite the pain, hope may still shine in times like these.
We are shown directly at the start of the episode the symbol which was so prominent as a theme in the previous episode – the collapsed Tokyo Tower. But just as the short airtime it had during this episode might suggest, there is no more point dwelling on what has already happened. Is it perhaps why this particular segment only had less than a minute of emphasis? Perhaps.
Mirai brings out an important point here – no matter how much you renovate an old building and make it look as good as new, the concepts behind it will always be old, indicating a weakness perhaps? Or a classic for the romantic? In this case though, if we were to refer to them standing up to quakes, it might be that the show is trying to tell us the old concepts may not be able to stand up much to a really major quake. Yet there is a contradiction – the renovations could help, as in the case of TM8.0, to strengthen the old concepts and thus even if the concept is old, they may have strong basis and all we have to do is build on them.
This is actually a lesson that is also taken from Zhi Nang (zhi 1st tone, nang 2nd tone), a well-known Chinese classical gem that touches on wisdom, written in 1626 by Feng Menglong in just two short months. I only read the comic form, condensed into its sections and taking selected stories, and it was in English (unfortunately my Chinese sucks). However I can still recount the tale for you.
Cao Shen of the Western Han Dynasty drank (wine) all day and night after becoming the Prime Minister. People who tried to remonstrate with him ended up drunk instead. When the Emperor, Hui Di, asked Cao Shen’s son to attempt to persuade him, Cao Shen punished his son instead, for which the Emperor reproached him angrily. Cao Shen then asked in the same audience with the Emperor, “Your Highness, how would you rate yourself against Emperor Gao, the founder of the Han Dynasty?”
“I wouldn’t dare compare myself to him.” Then Cao Shen asked again, “Who do you think is stronger, Emperor Gao’s Prime Minister Xiao He, or myself?” “You can’t match him,” the Emperor replied.
“When Emperor Gao and Prime Minister Xiao set up the dynasty, they made the laws and laid the foundation for a good government. All we have to do now is follow the books and we’ll do just fine,” Cao Shen said.
The book then says that, by adapting upon the existing laws and refining them for the times, Cao Shen’s strategies were certainly not inferior to those first drafted by Emperor Gao and Xiao He. Is this perhaps what TM8.0 is demonstrating in principle? There are certainly many examples of such principles in life that are good and sound in basis and only requires adaptation and refinement to make them work for the contemporary situation. Too many people believe in “creativity” and “originality” too much and end up being frustrated or coming up with something that “is lacking” in effort. In truth, do we really need to go that far?
Certainly there are things that demand creativity and innovation – the world nowadays in fact almost seems to thrive on spreading the word on both and preaching them. But the lesson we should take home is that we must know whether the original basis for certain principles and fundamentals are good enough and that all we need to do is tweak a little to adapt to the current situation, instead of making things worse by trying to come up with something completely new and failing to solve the problem at hand.
The above anecdote was taken almost directly from Asiapac Publications‘ Gems of Chinese Wisdom, illustrated by Wang Xuanming and translated by Leong Weng Kam.
Mari, of course, as a mother, would know exactly how Mirai’s mom felt at the time when she fell down during the entrance ceremony. It was especially more so when her daughter made it into the school she had wanted to go into when she was younger, but could not. Mirai too, on her part, remembers the incident clearly, though she has not much idea why. Perhaps she remembered it for her mother’s bad mood, and the embarrassment that her mother caused her.
I wish she had unconsciously remembered it because she knew deep down that her mother was angry with herself, but the realization part right after Mari told her how she would feel if she had done the same seems to indicate that Mirai did not feel that way. Of course, that made Mirai also comprehend that her mother really cared for her back then, despite her current apparent attitude nowadays.
And of course, in both shots before and after the first encounter with our hero for this episode, Furuichi-san, Mirai illustrates how a disaster can turn even the most familiar place into something unfamiliar through a twist of events. Her school, once a place for learning, has instead become a place for shelter, for rest, for solace. The dramatic change should not be underestimated as to its underlying symbolism and meaning.
No matter how many hospitals and sufficient staff you might have in an urban area like Tokyo, a major disaster such as this can easily overwhelm any medical facility in the area, on a large scale at that. It just goes to show we should help where we can and perhaps, when living in such an area, we should at least pick up some first aid skills that might be vital to saving one’s life or delaying death until help arrives. You never know.
The huge contrast between what Mirai wanted to show Yuuki, and what is actually revealed to them, is, in itself, full of impact. The beauty and serenity of the stained glass that Mirai wanted to show Yuuki is now the place of despair and death. Perhaps it is, in the minds of some, a fitting place practically – it has space for the dead and the aggrieved. Yet the serene surroundings and the candles now add to the stained glass’ sense of peace, making it a symbolic place of rest for those who are unable to carry on.
In a sense, I wonder if the “stained glass” also refers to the people who continue to survive – their glass has indeed been stained with the color of the blood of their lost ones.
The sadness and helplessness of Mirai here, I am sure I can certainly empathize with. Mirai sees an acquaintance of hers, no matter how distant, gets wrecked by the same disaster, in the form of certain death for her mother. Mirai sees the sad face and realizes that even if she only knows Megu superficially, she still wants to do something for Megu, who has certainly already lost someone precious to her. Mirai may too be wrecked by the possibility (not finely indicated here) that her own mother may have died. Yet she still wants to do something for Megu, but finds that she could not, aside from just crying for her. Yet…
Mari puts it best – there are times that we find our own abilities are limited, even if we want to help. What exactly can we do, indeed. There is only so much that we can do. However the best part about this is right after, we are shown the possibilities of what we can do with the appearance of Furuichi-san.
There might be a psychological effect related to this – you look into the water and experience a sense of calm, and thus lead you to be more peaceful. And when your mind is at ease, you no longer feel the heat as much as you did. It is similar to a case of mind over matter, but the emphasis here is on how the pond might soothe the broken hearts that are brought here.
As we shall soon see, “just an old man” is not the strongest thing about Furuichi-san, and that indeed, he is already trying his best, setting an example for Mirai which I hope she will follow.
So now we know where the title of Soul Eater’s OP2, PAPERMOON (sung by Tommy heavenly6) came from – it was referring to the crescent moon that is shown in the night skies in the series. Interesting how you can learn about other anime series or songs, sometimes things completely unrelated to the anime itself, through a show, be it a movie, drama series, or anime. Media is not always about the sex and violence after all, if you only know where to look.
The appearance of Misako probably raised a few questions, even in Mirai’s head. After all, she kept glancing at Mirai and Yuuki and talked as if she knew them personally. Yet the true impact of this is not known until later, though we can already guess at this time what has probably happened.
And as the volunteer reveals, both Furuichi and his wife lost their grandchildren in the major quake yesterday. Of course, this immediately makes Furuichi-san himself appear much stronger, as we now know that he must deal with the loss of his grandchildren, whom had just happened to come visit him and his wife at that, and still be helping out as a volunteer.
Awesome expressions are awesome. Even in the seriousness of the situation surrounding our protagonists, the show still makes a light attempt at humor that is carried out successfully in a manner that does not deplete the impact of the overall circumstances. And there is also another lesson hidden in Mirai’s disgust for the milk being added to the curry udon.
Do not be picky with your food in times of disaster – it may be the only food you can get. Plus, Mirai suddenly finds the soup delicious after all, when she finally drinks a bit of it. So do not be picky if the same thing ever happens to you.
I suppose humans do band together in times of difficulty, precisely because we are frail as single entities. Some of us take that frailty as a weakness and fall to it, like the woman who kept screaming that she could not take it anymore during the aftershocks, while there are many who take it in stride, move on, and help out where they can. Furuichi-san can be said to be the exemplary example of the latter.
Mirai also finally realizes that there may, after all, be something she can do. Perhaps Megu’s situation sparked such a change in her attitude. Truly, disasters change people the most when they affect the people closest to you.
This particular part emphasizes the different ways adults and kids deal with the same situation when it comes to other people’s pain. Mari tactfully avoids the topic of Furuichi’s grandchildren, saying that “it’s difficult for all of us” in order not to remind Furuichi of the pain he is going through, yet Mirai looks at Furuichi and cannot help crying and wondering at how painful it is for him even while he helps others who have suffered losses like him. Indeed, Furuichi is showing that what has happened has already happened, dwelling on it too much will not help the issue. Instead, helping others is a way of getting his mind off his grandchildren’s death, and at the same time, helping others to get over their own losses. To be able to do that little bit more to help, to prevent such a thing from happening, even if it all was a matter of coincidence, that is what Furuichi wishes for.
This part as regards to Mirai’s expression was very well done IMHO. The seiyuu work was of course good too.
Furuichi feels that he is in some part responsible for the death of his grandchildren, of course. Who would not be? Even if it was all a coincidence, what happened, happened at the same time he asked them here, especially when if they had been back at home, they would have been safe. This certainly adds to his grief, and shows us how much stronger Furuichi really has been to continue giving out help where he can, despite his pain.
Despite the obvious part that Furuichi’s wife will always view upon them as kids, there is another hidden message here. Indeed, now that they have passed on, they will always be kids. The double meaning implied here is very sad indeed.
This would be Furuichi’s greatest regret – that his grandchildren died, their bright future lost to them forever, while he, who has lived out his life, continues to survive them. No matter how big the loss, what happened has happened – all that remains is to remember them and continue on living past the sadness. A lesson that perhaps, he wishes to convey to those who have lost loved ones during the disaster, and one we will do well to remember, after the mourning, that we are still alive, and are able to do something, to make something of our situation, even as we remember our lost loved ones.
And so Mirai learns her lessons – despite knowing that she might have been able to do something, she could not, and more importantly, did not even try. Yet after Furuichi’s example, maybe in future episodes she might indeed strive, which is something that I hope she will do. She may also have learned that there are limits to what one can and cannot do, but that it also never hurts to at least try. As Michael Jordan put it, “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”
A fitting point to bring home – the simplest things are the things we can still do and enjoy even in times of crisis, as we end the episode with the soft night overhead.
General Impressions
As I mentioned already, this has been the most touching episode so far in the series. The strength of Furuichi as he shows his maturity in years and the pain he has to grapple with, it really brings out the tears in me as I watched the episode. There can be no words to express his emotions even as he continues to help others, and be reminded at the same time of his own grandchildren each time he sees Mirai and Yuuki, the same way his wife gets reminded.
Certainly this episode is, despite the slowness and the “softness”, a high point in the series. We might yet see a better Mirai later on, if this episode is any good indication.
And now for further reading. Note that I only read these posts after I finished mine.
ghostlightning asks, “Is it ok to like Mirai now?” Is this indeed the same Mirai that we know from early on in the series? His is another in-depth and personal read on the situation of Mirai and the meaningful circumstances that they are led through in this episode.
Hanners agrees with me and has the same reaction of being reduced to tears. I reproduce the last paragraph of his post that is deeply impactful:
“It’s a reaction like this that really says it all about Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 – Just like real life in a genuine time of crisis it isn’t relentlessly depressing and there are still moments of wonder and humour, but all of that is set against a tale of absolutely tragic human loss; a state of affairs which this series has managed to build up so believably (despite its occasionally suspect animation) that I can’t help but be moved by it as though I were watching it on a nightly news broadcast. Thanks to the emotional nature of some of the scenes depicted, this episode almost felt like living within someone else’s nightmare, and it’s one that I can only hope never comes to fruition in my lifetime.”
Mike points out the passage of time in the show and in reality, and how it connecst to the viewer - “Time has actually progressed slowly in this series, which has been airing for 5 weeks now; it was all too easy to think that more time has passed in the show than in actuality.”
msdzero prefers the new Mirai and hopes more people will start liking her from now on.
Rednights “never noticed the music till now, but the selections they played were really nice and did a good job in setting the cool night atmosphere”, to which I certainly agree, the music choice for the series has never been more prominent than in this episode for the series.
psgels notes that “It’s amazing considering how much this series has already done in only FIVE EPISODES so far”. Yes indeed, much like Kaiba, which established its prominence and the amount of effort that was really put into the show’s plot in just 3-4 episodes.
Gene feels that “the sense of loss was really present here with the church scene and the story of how those old people lost their grandchildren.” and “With that I can’t help but think that nobody’s waiting for Mirai and Yuuki back where they live”, a frightening and sobering thought.
tekky99 notes that “The closer Mirai gets to home, the closer the tragedy strikes to the heart”. I wonder if this was indeed an aim by BONES.
Finally, on a completely different view, The Fin believes “nothing happened” in this episode. Perhaps you prefer action-based series, Fin, and not ones that dwell on human nature and mankind like this show.
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Topspin on 
Good job once again. Very comprehensive.
ghostlightning´s last blog…Unwelcome to the NHK: Light Novel is So Heavy