Moé Moé Rabu

Just as Matsuri was about to stab Aono, Aono manages to push Yorito off and only get cut in the shoulder. Just as Aono preapres to attack Matsuri, Yorito is standing in front of Matsuri. Since he refuses to move, Aono escapes from the theater and discover her wound won’t heal. Matsuri is heavily injured from stabbing heself, but has to find Aono, so Yorito decides to carry her on his back. Along the way, Matsuri remembers the sky when they first met and begins to list the type of skies. Yorito apologises to her for not being able to show her the real sky, but Matsuri feels that he’s shown her the sky through his eyes. It is then Yorito stumbles over and Matsuri realises that Aono’s Yaka powers are weakening.

As Matsuri and Aono walk to their final battle, the two remember the time Aono stayed with Matsuri as a sacrifice to calm the Yaka. Aono had given some berries to Matsuri and also taught her on how to smile when eating something good. The two finally come face to face and Matsuri thanks Aono for teaching her about a person’s heart. Aono thinks that this brought a lot of pain and sadness, but Matsuri feels that it’s better than not knowing. Thus the two girls begin to fight until Matsuri is knocked to the ground. With Aono’s powers weakening, she grabs Takeshi’s sword and charges at Matsuri. But she soon realises that Yorito stepped in and taken the attack. As he begins to disappear into pieces of paper, he thanks his sister.

As Aono is grieving for her brother, Matsuri doesn’t hesitate and hugs Aono as she stabs her. Takeshi’s sword then begins to glow and disappear as Matsuri’s life goes into Aono. As the sun rises, Matsuri remembers the time that Aono and Yorito had painted the sky on the cave ceiling and the three of them looked up at it together. Somewhere else, a boy discovers Mayuko in a box and runs out in fear. Takeshi comes in and comments on Mayuko’s bad fashion sense, resulting in a slap. Mayuko then asks why he didn’t run away, and he answers that there’s no way he would run away. Thus the two move onto their next location hand in hand.

It is now springtime and Koyori is making origami in front of Mana. Mana is with her friends at the restaurant where Sae is crying over how it’s been a year since Takeshi and Mayuko left. Koyori is at a bookstore trying to reach a book but is helped out by a stranger, who happens to be Aono. The two are sitting at a park with Aono watching Koyori make origami. Aono even almost hits Koyori out of reflex for calling her sister Mana-san instead of onee-chan. When the two part ways, Koyori asks for her name, and Aono responds by telling her full name. Sometime later that day, Mana is at school to pick up a notebook, and looks out through the window. She goes to the rooftop to find Aono standing there in the school uniform. Mana thinks she is a transfer student and notices that she was admiring the sky.

Mana comments how she comes up to the rooftop after school to look at the sky. She doesn’t know why, but she loves it. Hearing this, Aono admits she loves the sky as well since it joins the people, the ocean, the town, and the night. Mana then yells to the sky that she loves it and the two girls run off hand in hand. One early morning, Aono, Mana, and Koyori head out to the waterfront so they can take a photo of the sunrise. Koyori is having trouble with the vending machine so Aono helps by kicking it. When Koyori thanks Aono, the two hear a noise and look up at the gazebo only to find two empty tomato shiruko.

Impressions

So it turned out the way I thought, but given the circumstances with the previous few episodes, it was expected. We had plenty of action in last week’s episode but this week we’re still going on but I like how they still kept going back to the flashbacks as it shows how close Aono and Matsuri were back then, but it was nice to see the two become friendly again in the end. Plus with Matsuri remembering the three of them looking at the sky painting was a very nice touch to the end of the flashbacks.

With a year passing since Aono turned back into a human, I find it a little strange how she manages to live on without Yorito, or even Matsuri around. But I think it’s because she knows that Mana and Koyori are there are despite what happened with them losing their memories, Aono will remember and still considers them her friends, as well that she can start over again. Plus Aono looks like a completely different person now that she smiles more, and that shows that she has moved on and accepted the fact that Yorito and Matsuri are gone.

Mana has changed a lot over the year and now she does the exact same things as Yorito, which I find really weird. I knew Mana had liked the time she spent with Yorito, but to inherit his obession with the sky is creepy. But of course I do feel that this represents how Mana didn’t want to let go of her memories of Yorito and that she is still hanging onto them in her heart.

Having included Takeshi and Mayuko was nice as it shows they are still living on and with each other, as that’s all that matters to them. And I laughed when I saw Mayuko’s new outfit, she’s now going for the Souseiseki look. Anyway in the end, this seemed very much like an Aono x Mana x Koyori ending, but they still hint that Matsuri and Yorito may still be alive with the two tomato shiruko cans. Now all I can do is wait for the DVD only episodes to come.

First Impressions

Before the start of the season, I only new that sola was written by an ex-Key staff member and character designs by Nanao Naru. It was definitely a series I would enjoy greatly, but this totally blew beyond my expectations. The development of the story just grew and grew with many plot twists that made me want more and more each week. Some very nice choreographed action scenes with the intertwining stories made this one of the best series for me this year.

At the beginning, I didn’t think of Aono as a very likable character, but as the story moved on, her character began to develop more and for me, Aono feels to be one of the best characters in sola. At first she looked to be the bad guy, but as the back story began to reveal itself, I felt very sympathetic towards Aono and I began to like her more and more. But Matsuri is still the one who stands on top for me. Her personality is great and she is one tough girl. She can go from being playful and a tease to serious at very random times and that is what I love about Matsuri. Nakahara Mai did a splendid job as Aono and it’s rare to hear her in a quiet and stoic type of role, but as Aono grew, her emotions began to come out and Nakahara Mai was wonderful. Mamiko Noto was just excellent as Matsuri and I feel that it’s her best role to date. She has that alluring voice that matches well with Matsuri’s character.

Mana and Koyori were wonderful as support characters, but Mana is definitely the winner. I loved how she played the role of Yorito’s support and that she is the one who joins the different characters together. Honda Youko did a great job as Mana and I haven’t heard her since Uta Kata. Koyori was just the cutest thing ever. So polite and friendly and I wish all kids were like Koyori.

In the end, this was indeed a very enjoyable series and it is one that I would highly recommend to anyone. Having watched sola, I now find myself looking up at the sky and enjoying the beauty that Yorito sees in it, even taking a picture if I have my camera on hand. So don’t think I’m weird if I start posting photographs of skies in my photography posts. Rewatch value on this is fairly high for me and since I’m buying the DVDs, I can’t wait to see the DVD episodes.