Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 13 (Final): Another one done

Ahh, it’s one of those endings. Rather than showing a completely happy ending, it just spends the entire episode highly suggesting it and makes the audience assume it’s going to end well. I was wondering how they’d have time to save Claire at the pace this episode was going. Honestly, I was almost expecting them to announce a full second season to save her, but we seem to be safe from that.

In all, this was a pretty slow show that ramped up pretty hard when it decided to get going. The ending is pretty mediocre and didn’t really impress me. I guess the show tried not to fully throw things in your face and tried to make you assume some things, like the RA being the mystery pilot that saved everyone (never confirmed, but highly suggested).

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 12: An extended epilogue, it seems

So Claire was the sacrifice. They sure managed to reach the End of the Sky pretty quickly after that. This episode seemed like it was a “mission accomplished” episode, but it didn’t really come across as such. It felt more like an epilogue, where loose ends were just getting tied up. I guess it felt a bit odd to me. Ignacio’s always full of surprises, though. Was he trying to suggest that he and Kal-el share a father or something?

Next week should be the final episode for this show. Based on the preview, it looks like it will involve much reminiscing and flashbacks. Of course, that might not be the episode itself, so we’ll see. Based on the final scene from the preview, it looks like it will fast-forward further into the future. It looks like a much older Ari is standing there at the very end. Does that much time really pass before Kal-el can see Claire again?

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 11: Another battle remains?

Well, that was an episode worthy of a final episode. Claire regains her powers and admits her feelings. Kal-el throws away his anger towards Nina Viento. I admit I was a bit shaky on how Noriaki and Benji would end up after the battle, but it was pretty clear they would survive when they didn’t die in the initial aircraft explosion. All in all, not too many surprises this week.

So what else is left for the real final episode? The end of the episode mentioned another sacrifice. Given the wording, I would usually assume it’s some sort of figurative sacrifice as opposed to an actual death. The preview doesn’t suggest anything too dark. Is the next episode a simple epilogue or does another battle remain?

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 10: Only four remain…

Hey, ten episodes in and we finally found out who Ignacio is. It seems he was in one of the poor families that started the revolution. Maybe he feels guilty about what he did to Kal-el? He has to be helping Kal-el for some reason. Either way, he’s a pretty good shot, the only one in the series so far.

I’m not too sure what to make of Noriaki and Benji. There are parts of this episode that make me think they’ll survive and other parts that make me think they’ll die (or at least Benji will). It looks like the preview shows them both ejecting next week, so theoretically they will survive. We’ll see, though. It’s possible Claire will finally make a move too.

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 9: Ignacio makes his move

So Claire revealed herself to Kal-el after all. As expected, that’s caused some turmoil for both of them. But don’t worry, everyone. Ignacio’s on the case! It’s about time he did something other than lurking in the shadows. When dealing with hate as deep as Kal-el’s, I’m sure Ignacio’s methods are much more effective than the sweet words that Ariel was attempting to offer.

Looks like next week, another attack will come and Ignacio will be forced to fly with Kal-el since both Ariel and Claire are unable to fly. I guess the dream team is finally together after all of this posturing with the female characters. Also, I’m sure the reconciliation between Claire and Kal-el will have that “I wasn’t actually mad because you were Nina Viento” line somewhere.

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 8: Dogfights are hell

I’m surprised they killed off two more characters so quickly after Mitsuo’s death. It’s mostly because they made such a big deal about his death, focusing on his last moments. Wolf and Fausto didn’t really get much of an ending. I’m also surprised Claire was still unable to use her powers to save Kal-el. I’m not saying I would have liked it, but it was a convenient way to reveal she was Nina Viento while presenting herself as Kal-el’s savior, which would cause a greater conflict in his mind.

Anyway, next week they mourn the dead and whatnot. It also looks like Claire may finally tell Kal-el who she is? It’s getting close enough to the end of the series that she can finally reveal herself. Or maybe it will just be more of the same. Claire will mourn her uselessness and Kal-el will comfort her. Stuff like that…

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 7: Battle is rough

The death flag last week was a little bit too obvious to ignore. It looks like Mitsuo got his chance to play the hero for Chiharu. Things are starting to ramp up now that they’ve started the dogfights. I dunno how much of a hint we got about Ignacio, but he seems to be trusted enough to be Claire’s bodyguard. I guess he’s been doing that all this time? So he works for the higher-ups?

From the preview, it looks like Kal-el will decide to take off next week. I wonder why, though. Mitsuo is already dead. Is he going to try and get revenge? What will that accomplish? From the looks of things, he’ll pair up with Ariel since Claire and Ignacio were taken into shelter. The preview shows a scene with an injured Ariel followed by a scene of a seemingly okay Ariel, though, which kinda confuses me.

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 6: Not much happening

I guess this episode was supposed to be a “calm before the storm” episode as everyone approaches their destination. I would have expected the halfway point in the show to be a little bit more exciting. As usual, Ignacio makes a brief appearance to save the day, only to fall back into the shadows again afterwards. Seriously, who is this guy?

Should I interpret that exchange between Mitsuo and Chiharu as a death flag? It’s strange to have love-ish scenes this early, and the group is preparing for what seems to be war. I wouldn’t find it all that surprising if those two are shot down next week, based on the preview. Also, is the entire second half of the series going to be a bloodbath? Aren’t they all talking about finally reaching their goal? Reaching the goal with 6 episodes left seems pretty suspicious to me.

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 5: Was that a confession?

Well, there’s a little bit of background on Claire. The most interesting part of that was the point where they said that Claire could no longer call the wind. Has she repressed her powers because of the guilt she bears for killing Kal-el’s parents? Or has she truly lost her abilities? The first possibility seems more likely, but this would mean she will call them to protect Kal-el in the future. At least she has mostly realized who Kal-el really is. She only doubts it because she doesn’t want to believe it.

I guess the fighting has sort of begun for this show. So far, it doesn’t look like anything serious. I’m still waiting for Ignacio’s story. He got pulled in for a bit this week, but not much else. I’m still trying to figure out what his connection to Claire is too. Maybe he’s just supposed to be the guy who knows who both Claire and Kal-el are.

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta Episode 4: She knows too much…she must be stopped

Well done, Kal-el. It’s only episode 4 and you’ve managed to get Claire naked. Respect. As for Claire, I really should have predicted earlier that she was really Nina Viento. I got a lot more suspicious this episode because we’ve been getting so many flashbacks for Kal-el with no real background for Claire. I suppose that’s the only way to pile up the drama on a show that has been fairly lighthearted so far.

Will we finally find out about Ignacio next week? We saw this week that he really is trying to help Kal-el (it wasn’t completely clear before). Still, the episode title suggests more that the focus will be on Claire instead. Sigh…is Ignacio really a character in this series at all? Oh well, I’m looking forward to the ending where Kal-el finds out Claire is Nina Viento and kills her in rage despite his love. That’s totally where this series is headed, right?