Insomniacs After School – 10 – Feeling the Spark

Ganta finds himself in Isaki’s house when he and Kurashiki-sensei come to inform the parents of the training camp. That’s how he meets Haya, Isaki’s big sister. Haya immediately sets a tone by introducing herself with a ridiculous fake name and claiming that Isaki is a clone of her. But what’s not a joke is that she’s joining them on their trip as a chaperone.

Isaki and Haya’s sibling chemistry is wonderfully complex (I’m a middle child, so it’s also relatable) and beautifully performed by the voice actors. So too his Ganta’s soft-spoken father, who reveals that his wife simply walked out in the middle of the night. He also mentions a time Ganta wore shoes that were too small because he didn’t want to trouble him.

Kurashiki’s face upon learning these things is worth a thousand words. Shiromaru’s face is a lot simpler when seeing him off. It could be she’s just naturally shy and averse to eye contact, but she could also have a little crush on her “little protégé”, who she admits has quickly improved his photography skills. Her advice to Ganta is not to get too hung up on taking the perfect photo of a starry sky, but simply listen to his heart.

If and when he feels a spark, that’s when he should hit the shutter, and when he’ll create truly great photos. As he and Isaki go shopping for camp gear in Hanazawa, Ganta feels that spark whenever Isaki is in the viewfinder. And the gorgeous, loving way she’s drawn and animated, you really can’t blame him!

Haya isn’t just their chaperon on their trip, but also their driver. When they arrive at the sisters’ vacant grandmother’s house, it’s a little stuffy, but it has an engawa that opens up to the sea, and Ganta and Isaki are able to have a quiet little moment together before Haya is yelling about toilet paper. She proceeds to act as an agent of chaos throughout the evening, getting Ganta to say Isaki’s name, and drawing on Isaki’s napping face.

But there’s a method to Haya’s madness: she drew on Isaki to delay her on purpose, so she could speak to Ganta one-on-one. Growing up, Haya was constantly being neglected in favor of the smaller, younger, and far more fragile Isaki. Resentment was Haya’s constant companion.

Haya, who is surprised when Ganta says he knows about Isaki’s heart, then asks if it’s true “what she heard” about Isaki trying to hook up with him. He answers honestly that he’s not sure he can take her words about him being “special to her” to necessarily mean romantic love. Haya is impressed by his answer, but then warns him not to get involved with her sister.

She says Isaki already knows how “different from the norm” she is and doesn’t need anyone feeling sorry for her. Ganta, turning direct and serious as he fights back his blushing, assures Haya he’s never once felt sorry for Isaki. Instead, he’s thought she was cool (which she is) and is someone who “shines very brightly” in his eyes.

Haya learns what it means for someone to shine in his eyes when Ganta invites her to look into the camera and she sees the dull podunk town she despises looking gorgeous and idyllic. Isaki then tells her sister Ganta’s pretty amazing.

The next morning, Haya is off. She says she’s going to meet up with her boyfriend, and maybe she is, but she’s also leaving because she saw and heard all she needed to know get a good measure of Ganta. That said, she still orders Isaki not to tell their folks she split, and the sisters end up waking Ganta up with their rambunctious roughhousing.

Haya doesn’t treat Isaki like this because she hates her sister; quite the contrary. As she prepares to drive off, she tells Ganta one more story: of how she watched with resentment as her shrimpy, slow sister ran in a race and was helped to the finish line by her peers. Watching her be pampered and cheered on made Haya sick.

But then Haya saw Isaki bawling her eyes out into a tree, saying “this sucks”. At no point did Isaki feel like she was being pampered, or like how she was being treated differently. So from then on, Haya vowed to be the one person in Isaki’s life who wouldn’t treat her like a pity case.

Isaki also never tells anyone about her heart problems. I doubt she’s even told her girlfriends, as close as they are. But that she told Ganta tells Haya a lot about how Isaki feels about him. There’s love, but also trust. And so in a simple little ceremony, Haya has Ganta high-five him, serving as a tag-out. She’s leaving Isaki in his care.

After Isaki appears to give Haya a curt goodbye, Haya drives off, and Isaki and Ganta are alone at last in the rural peace and quiet. Only they’re late for their bus, so they have to skip breakfast and end up in a mad scramble to gather all their stuff—an adorable little preview of their future domestic life.

Vinland Saga S2 – 23 – Someplace Not Here

Sweyn’s head tells Canute that Thorfinn is dangerous and should be killed. But when the king asks him what he’ll do, Thorfinn says he’ll simply run. He’ll run to somewhere he can’t tell Canute about, a place for people like the two of them, who won’t belong in the paradise he’s building.

Thorfinn intends to “fill the hole” Canute leaves with his methods, and warns him not to “make too much work” for him. To this Canute laughs, and not to mock Thorfinn. Rather, he’s laughing at the sheer absurdity of what Thorfinn did today: take a hundred punches without throwing a single one, all so that he could speak to him.

Canute is struck by how eloquently Thorfinn speaks now, and what a “beautiful man” he’s become, for all his scars and bruises. And you know what? Thorfinn wins. Canute decides to withdraw from the farm, ditch plans to requisition all the other farms, and even disbands his armies in England, trusting the nobles to maintain the peace.

Not only does he do these things that are seemingly in complete opposition to “the Viking way”, but it works. The English nobles acknowledge the trust he’s put in them, and the uprising that was feared never occurs. With no threat of an uprising, there was no need for an expensive army.

Floki and his Jomsvikings are disappointed, but fuck ’em. Their way only leads to ruin. Canute isn’t about that. He admires Thorfinn, and accepts that the two of them can independently peruse their paths to paradise. In the long run, Canute strengthens his reign with these peaceful moves that respect the people’s right to live.

The visual of Thorfinn, who turned a king and his vicious Viking army away with nothing but words, waking up in the same straw bed in a smelly stable as every other morning of his last few years, is a powerful one that speaks volumes. He slowly limps through the peaceful farm and joins Canute, who still tends to Arnheid’s grave.

Thorfinn tells Einar he regrets not being able to tell Arnheid that there was something more appealing than the release of death she sought after so much suffering. But now he knows what he must do: find that place that he can tell others in her situation about. And if he can’t find it, he’ll make it. He embraces Einar as a brother, and they resolve to travel to Vinland.

In another example of his selfless goodness, Thorfinn has Olmar take the credit for negotiating Canute’s withdrawal. He bids farewell to Olmar, who now wants to be strong and kind like Thorfinn, to Sverkel, who maintains he needs no thanks as he was only honoring a deal they struck; Pater, who promises to care for Arnheid’s grave, and Snake, who tells them his real name: Roald, Son of Grim, before wishing them Godspeed.

Life at Ketil’s farm continues as it had, with Olmar embracing the philosophy of tilling the land and carving one’s feelings, one’s love into it. Of building something rather than destroying. Even Snake and his men take up farm work at Sverkel’s, with no imminent enemies to fight.

Pater remains amazed that after such a long life of enduring pain and anguish, that he should come upon men like Thorfinn and Einar: strong, yet dedicated to peace. And so they go forth, a nation of just two, in search of a place without slavery and war that scarred them and so many others. They surely won’t be alone for long.

Loving Yamada at Lv999 – 11 – Runa Can’t Find Her Doughnuts

Momoko arrives a little late but still regarded as a goddess by Akane for providing much-needed provisions to beat her cold. When Momo learns Yamada took her to the hospital and watched over her, Momo asks if they’re dating now, and Akane says they’re just friends.

Momo, who has met some real cads, isn’t not sure a man would do that much for a woman he’s not in love with. That said, she knows too little about him to make a fair judgment. But it’s evident to us Akane’s feelings are growing beyond mere friendship, as she feels extreme relief upon receiving a belated text from Yamada saying he’s fine.

Feeling up for it, Akane ditches her studying to play some FOS, and ends up meeting the newest member of their guild, Tsubaki, through Rurihime. It’s clear that Rurihime, i.e. Eita, ensured that Tsubaki would see that Akane is a good, kind person who is easy to talk to and work with.

Eita also makes this entertaining for him by pitting Akane and Tsubaki, both relatively weak Paladins, against a seemingly low-level boss Rurihime could destroy with one strike. Tsubaki and Akane work well together, using trial and error to make progress even though they run out of time.

Later, when it’s just Tsubaki and Rurihime, the latter tries to offer the former some advice after Tsubaki tells him that she’s “afraid to make a move”—go ahead and make that move. Waiting for courage or motivation to well up won’t do her any good.

Just as Tsubaki ponders this advice and possibly plans to adopt it in one form or another, Akane follows similar advice she got from Momo: Timing is everything with love. Akane calls Yamada up, and they have a long conversation mostly about the game. But she also admits she just wanted to hear his voice, before quickly saying good night and hanging up, her hands trembling.

To paraphrase the Oracle in The Matrix, by taking this first step Akane has already made her choice, she just needs to understand it. Fully recovered, she meets with Momo at an adorable café she hadn’t noticed before, and it’s not long before two pushy, handsy guys from one of Momo’s group dates show up and join the women without asking.

As Akane and Momo’s luck would have it, the manager at this café happens to be Eita. He and Akane exchange nonverbal communication, and he cheerfully invites the jerks to go find another table to sit at. When that doesn’t work, Eita adopts a far sterner aura and bearing, and the flowery request becomes an order with an air of a threat. The toxic boys obey, not wanting to wait around for Eita Stage 3.

Momo is surprised to learn Akane not only knows Eita, but can engage in effortless conversation at the drop of a hat. I especially love how Eita snaps right back into his normal bubbly self when the unpleasantness is over. Momo is not just impressed, she’s smitten. Eita is indeed a hot guy, as is Yamada, leading Momo to wonder if she should ditch the group dates for a game guild.

After Eita clocks out for the day and smoothly, politely declines a karaoke invite from a cute co-worker, Eita is approached by Akane and Momo. Akane has something she needs to talk to him about. If it’s not about Yamada, both me and Momo are going to be soufflé pancake-withholdingly cross.