It’s official, season 2 of To Your Eternity has been announced! It’s currently scheduled to air in the fall of 2022 so we have some time to rest up our weary hearts. Because season 1 was quite the ride. We laughed, we bawled our eyes out in our living room in a less than graceful manner, we got slightly annoyed at certain arcs, we really went through it all.
If you had told me a few weeks ago that the second season was scheduled I’m not sure what I would have thought. Wait, that’s not true, I definitely would have promptly added it to my To Watch list but less enthusiastically than earlier in the season. But now…
This was a good episode. At least I thought it was. I thought that Fushi constantly running back because he was unable to leave Pioran behind was just plain charming. It made me smile and warmed my heart. I thought the peaceful time they had travelling together was the perfect palette cleanser after all that island nonsense. h and I decided that the person in the shack on the beach is Hayase. I have absolutely nothing to base that on but at this point, who else is left?
So the first act was great. And for a moment I thought, huh will they end the season on a happy episode. Now that would be uncharacteristic but also smart. A tonal evolution to go along with Fushi’s growth. Also, I like happy stories. I have the RQ of a toddler.
But of course not. To Your Eternity just couldn’t let one slide. As if the idea of Fushi having to come face to face with natural death wasn’t sad enough, he had to get a crash course in senility and the ravages of the mind. Now that is honestly terrifying. More so than anything the show has thrown at us so far.
We didn’t get to see it because everything had to be crammed in half an episode but the voice-over did tell us the change was slow and gradual. It probably came and went as well. Although it is less effective to have the entire experience condensed, I’m grateful for it. I’m not sure I could have born it all drawn out. Having my hopes dashed every time there’s a moment of clarity.
But you know what, they gave Pioran her dignity at the end. Heck they even gave her her beauty. There is no doubt in my mind that Pioran was indeed a noblewoman and what’s more, she was a great Grandmother to Fushi. That’s a way kinder fate than To Your Eternity has allowed for a lot of the cast.
So when I was once more tearing up next to Fushi (it’s been quite a while since I’ve done that), it felt earned. Potentially for the first time. Pioran story wasn’t exceptional, and unlike the rest here, it wasn’t tragic. She did what she wanted and sometimes it worked out. What more can you ask for. So when I was sniffling and getting annoyed at myself for having forgotten to buy Kleenex, I thoughtt, this is a good sad. This is the type of sad I respect and even, in a certain way, enjoy. I can get behind this kind of sad.
I figured the production team already knew they were getting a second season. They must have. That’s why they added in the last-minute preview of what’s to come. It seems next season Fushi is going to become a strung-out mercenary bro, hunting down Nokkers for giggles. Well, that’s going to be a change. Also, he managed not to change form for a really long time. He must have gotten pretty good at fighting in his boy form!
So now that I’ve put season 2 enthusiastically on my To Watch list, the only question that remains is, am I going to spoil myself and read the manga?
If I take a step back and push away all the side stuff. The hussle of reviewing every episode. The ongoing thoughts of my readers, the expectations of anime fans all over and the sometimes uneven praise from more mainstream publications that kept calling it a Ghibli-like production? Have you guys watched this show? Have you watched any Ghibli? The heck… Sorry, I got distracted. When I take away everything other than my personal experience with To Your Eternity, I enjoyed it much more than not. If I could have binged over the last arc so that it was less drawn out, I would probably not have even been that annoyed by it. To Your Eternity season 1 was a great watch, I will recommend it to friends if they ask.
Previous Posts
- To Your Eternity ep. 1 – Forever
- To Your Eternity ep. 2 – Precocious
- To Your Eternity ep. 3 – Manners
- To Your Eternity ep. 4 – Pain
- To Your Eternity ep. 5 – Orphan
- To Your Eternity ep. 6 – Maker
- To Your Eternity ep. 7 – Dreams
- To Your Eternity ep. 8 – Freaks
- To Your Eternity ep. 9 – Home
- To Your Eternity ep. 10 – Flamethrower
- To Your Eternity ep. 11 – Confession
- To Your Eternity ep. 12 – Rebirth
- To Your Eternity ep. 13 – Empathy
- To Your Eternity ep. 14 – Arrow
- To Your Eternity ep. 15 – Return
- To Your Eternity ep. 16 – Freedom
- To Your Eternity ep. 17 – Promises
- To Your Eternity ep. 18 – Mercy
- To Your Eternity ep. 19 – Dato
That was pretty much the episode I expected, except I didn’t expect the onset of senility. It made immediate sense when it happened, and it’s good that they thought of it. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed seeing it, but it was supposed to be unpleasant. The pacing was great. The now-I’m-leaving-now-I’m-not was hilarious and relatable at the same time. This episode was everything that made the show great in the first place. Yes, the animators knew there’d be a second season, as there was a post credit scene that ended with the announcement.
I, too, think that Hayase was in that shed, but maybe a Hayase/Nokker hybrid. Nokkers are probably learning to be sentient? I mean if Fushi can, so can they.
Also, I really loved the perplexed-wolf look after Pioran hit the guy over head with her walking stick.
Looking forward to season 2.
Personally I find the ideas of Nokkers as an aimless mass of destruction instinctively driven to kill everyone around Fushi much scarier than a sentient enemy. You can reason, trick or bribe sentient…
I’m looking forward to 2 as well. We have some time to rest up before it comes