And with episode 9, we are shown yet further that Yuuki has definitely
passed on
, and thus this marks the beginning of the end for Mirai. I am quite surprised though at the “good” turn at this episode, but figured it was just to be expected when they showed those scenes in the first half of the episode. Again, I am doing this all on my own before reading others’ posts.
Now I believe the real Yuuki would hardly have gone all gaga over this particular machine – it is not even a robot in the first place. Thus, this is a sign that something is off with Yuuki. It is not difficult at all to see that Mirai superimposed her memory of Yuuki onto this image of Yuuki, and thus led her to a simplification (and idealization, as we shall see later) of Yuuki, thus leading him to do and say all he does in this episode.
Another sign that something is wrong – Yuuki has never once used the term robot otaku and was against Mirai using it against Kento in the first place, so the only way Yuuki could have said that was if Mirai had indeed projected her image and memory of Yuuki and her version of the experiences they had throughout the series.
Notice how Mari, again, only looks at Mirai, and never notices Yuuki. Further, though there is no contextual “you” or “me” used, the ambiguity of the second sentence Mirai responds with (in the second screenshot) cannot be missed. It is quite likely that her body and speech is responding unconsciously to the fact that Yuuki is dead and thus says such things. However this is currently pretty thin, since the translation can go another way; neither Yuuki or Mirai herself get mentioned in that sentence, nor was there a “we” or “I” in actual fact.
Again, I would like to touch on perspective. From Mari’s view, she already knows Yuuki is dead, so she can only see Mirai (when we see it from her point of view). Mirai, however, is in a delusional state, and thus when we see the series from her point of view, we can see her projection of Yuuki. A nice touch by BONES.
This question is significant in two ways. The first is that Mirai and Yuuki were not walking far from Mari, certainly not to the point of Mari being unable to hear both of them if they spoke. Why then does Mirai have to repeat the question to Mari? The second point is how Mirai, without hesitation, proceeds to ask Mari the same question that Yuuki poses to her. She does not pause for thought; she does not think Mari heard it, because if Mari had, Mirai would have just asked something simpler or not repeated the question until Mari turned around. She does it very naturally, and this suddenly becomes a point easily missed in the flow of things.
In other words, Mirai’s subconscious is again helping her, for it knows Yuuki is no longer around and thus Mari could not have heard Yuuki ask the question, necessitating the need for Mirai to repeat the question in full and to do it right after Yuuki asked Mirai herself.
Again, Mari only looks at and talks to Mirai.
It is sad indeed about the man and his daughter, and like Mari said, the news only reports what should, or rather, can be reported. The truth can sometimes be far darker.
After all the neighbors’ and people’s explanations I was really inclined to believe that Hina and Mari’s mother, Reiko, had passed away, as per my prediction in the previous episode. Yet the way they kept showing the scene, how the fake Yuuki kept giving Mirai hope, gave away the eventual result. Well, I was gratified and sad at the same time at this point – gratified that my prediction had seemingly come true, while sad that Mari had lost her loved ones.
Again, the self-blame attached to the situation, reminiscent of what Mirai felt during episode 2. It might have been true that had Mari reached home earlier without helping the kids, she might have been able to save her loved ones, but it again could just have been as untrue.
Yuuki, in this episode, says “Please” a total of three times. Correct me if I am wrong, but he never once said “please” throughout the entire series up till this one. This really does not seem like Yuuki, and how can he be so optimistic or sure that Hina and her grandmother are alive? I felt this was entirely suspicious. If it were indeed Mirai’s conscience acting, then she might have felt guilty and used her projection of Yuuki to try and make amends, hoping against hope that a miracle might occur yet.
Again, Mari only sees Mirai and not Yuuki, when we see it through her point of view.
Mari’s reluctance to lift the veil off what is supposedly her daughter’s face is understandable, but somehow it made me suspect at this point that Hina at least might still be alive.
It does not help that the fake Yuuki keeps drumming it into Mirai’s head either.
It is only while I write this post that I realize just how aptly named both Mirai and Yuuki are for this series, and it is regrettable that we only see it now. Yuuki means “bravery” in Japanese, while Mirai means “future”. Indeed, Yuuki is giving courage to Mirai in her projection of him, leading the way in the search for Hina, and setting her on the path of determination to try and eliminate all other possibilities before accepting Hina has passed on. As I see it, Mirai will be the “future” at the end of the series, though what that future is, remains uncertain at this point.
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