Synduality: Noir – 08 – Mouth to Mouth

Ellie has a dream about laughing at something Kanata said when they were little, and him looking pained. She wakes up thinking it was an awful dream, but at least she gets to go on a date with Kanata today. Only, he kinda invited all the women he knows except Ma’am, Schnee, Dolce, and the waitress at the bar. Their destination: Satellite Aqua, a water park.

That’s right, it’s Synduality: Noir’s Pool Episode, and it wastes no time putting everyone in swimsuits. Maria, Ange, Claudia, and Flamme are determined to help Ellie succeed in snagging Kanata once and for all. To that end, they recommend she wear either a slingshot string bikini or just stickers, but she settles for a cute two-piece that he likes just fine. Meanwhile Noir, who sports a one-piece, shows off her unique, submarine-like swimming.

Kanata asks Ellie to help him swim, as he doesn’t know how, but the lesson is interrupted by a surprise concert from Ciel, who declined Kanata’s invitation because this was the errand she had to do. After her extremely popular (and profitable, at least for Tokio) show, she tells Kanata he inspired her to follow her dream and do the show. When she offers to help Ellie with his swim lesson, Ellie tells Ciel she can do it alone with him, and skulks off.

A concerned Kanata gives chase, but when he grabs her shoulder she plunges into the pool and a leg cramp keeps her under the water. Despite not knowing how to swim, Kanata dives in to rescue her, and the next thing she knows, she’s regaining consciousness after someone—apparently Kanata—gave her mouth-to-mouth. That would mean she wasn’t conscious for her first kiss.

Ellie laments that her feelings for Kanata may not be as powerful as Ciels, but her big sis tells her she shouldn’t worry about intensity, only taking advantage of opportunities to show him that she does like him. She gets than chance when Maria keeps Noir occupied, and Ellie apologizes for laughing at his dream of finding Histoire, which she knows was mean.

To her surprise, he had forgotten that she was mean to him at all, since it was so long ago, and in the years that followed, she helped him out again and again, proving her quality as a friend. When asked, he clarifies that it was Ange, not he, who gave her mouth-to-mouth, but he and Ellie end up in a position to kiss for real when Noir arrives to protect him.

All the talk of “ambushes” and “attacks” has her thinking Ellie has hostile intentions with Kanata, when in reality she simply wants to get closer to him. Considering this is a two-cour series, I’m sure she’ll get another chance or two to make her feelings clear. But since this is Kanata, she’ll have to be extremely clear.

My Happy Marriage – 04 – Getting Better All the Time

Miyo has a dream about her mother pleading for her husband to love their daughter even though she isn’t gifted, to no avail. You really have to hand it to her father, he’s a real dyed-in-the-wool piece of shit. He “could have” presumably loved Miyo…if he wasn’t the head of a supernaturally-gifted family.

Miyo wakes up in her bed, unsettled, but also determined to repay Kiyoka’s kindness by giving him a gift in return for her comb. Yurie suggests she make something he will see or use everyday, and Miyo decides on a braided hair tie. Miyo asks to go into town with Yurie, but Kiyoka gives her an amulet and warns her not to wander off.

Honestly, the moment I knew Miyo would be going anywhere without Kiyoka escorting her, I was pretty worried, because Kouji’s dad Minoru is still out there, determined to secure possession of her at any cost. We meet Kouji’s gifted playboy older brother, who would make a far better match for Kaya. Both of these families are The Worst.

Miyo picks out some lovely regal colors for the braid, but her day, and indeed her psyche take a critical hit when she spots Kaya out in public with Kouji by her side. Kaya assumes that Miyo has been tossed out and is on her own, begging on the street. But she is somewhat happy Miyo isn’t dead, because it means she can pick on her more.

Kiyoka couldn’t join Miyo in town because he had another errand: visiting her father and stepmother to declare his intention to marry her. That said, he also voices his concerns and his fundamental contempt for these creatures for the way they treated Miyo. If he’s to furnish a dowry and and cultivate a relationship with the Saimoris, he’ll need both of them to apologize to Miyo, in person.

Meanwhile, Kaya has Miyo paralyzed with fear and knows it, and brushes off Kouji’s half-hearted attempts to stop her from digging her claws in deeper. Miyo is a complete wreck when Yurie arrives to rescue her. I’m glad the encounter ends with Kaya pissed that Miyo is due to marry Lord Kudou and become a lady.

I also like that Kaya catches a glimpse of Lord Kudou on his way out when she returns home (though whether she knows this beautiful man is Miyo’s fiance remains to be seen).

That said, the immediate gratification of Kaya’s day being ruined (may they all be ruined, forever) is undercut by Miyo’s traumatic experience, which sends her into a spiral of depression and self-hatred. Even when Kiyoka assures her through her door that things will get better and he’s always there to talk to her about her troubles, she won’t leave her room or eat.

She makes Lord Kudou the braid, but doesn’t believe she has any right to present it to him. That’s when Kiyoka expresses his love and support for her another way: by tracking down Hana, the servant who was fired for defending Miyo from her stepmother’s abuse. Seeing Hana is well, married, and with a baby on the way absolutely makes Miyo’s day.

The reunion also gives Miyo the courage to present Kiyoka with the braid she made, and tell him the truth about her straight-up: she has no supernatural gifts. Of course, that he wrote to Hana means he already knows her story and the abuse she endured. When she says she’ll die or leave or both if he tells her to, he has her raise her head, then draws her into a gentle embrace.

Kiyoka, as you’d expect, doesn’t want her to go anywhere. He intends for her to become his wife. She shouldn’t see her being in his home as a privilege; she’s there because he wants her there, and wants her to want to be there as well. She does, very much so, and the two take another big step closer as a couple, with Miyo tying his hair with her braid, as if to mark him as hers.

Yes, Tatsuishi Minoru is still out there, spying on the happy couple, fuming, and scheming some kind of plan to secure possession of Miyo. But while that’s concerning, I’m confident he’ll fail, hopefully miserably. Kiyoka is no fool, and he knows he’s not dealing with good or moral people, so he’ll be vigilant.