Previous episodes

• Eps. 1 – 3
• Eps. 4 – 6
• Eps 7 – 8

Impressions

Episode 9

• Berceuse = a lullaby or something similar. Had to Google that.
• It’s interesting they render the fox cry as “auu!”…hmm? *raises eyebrows at where this is going* Also…is it just me, or does young Yuichi treat the parting with the fox like he would a parting with his first girlfriend? It gives me more kitsune vibes. (Hmm…notably, I’ve been on the fence as to whether to italicise “kitsune”. If I italicise it, that would be the Japanese word rendered in romaji, but if I don’t, it should refer to the fox-like creature…I guess it’s safe to italicise it for now, since we don’t know yet if Makoto is a supernatural fox or just a normal one given human form by some miracle, but I might drop it in the future based on developments.)
• I know this development of Yuichi brushing Makoto’s teeth is plot-relevant, but still…it almost vaguely whiffs of the toothbrush scene from the Monogatari series…just less horny.
• Hmm? Why is it bad for Makoto to remember that she’s a fox?
• …is that a double bed? Or else how would two people fit on it? (Well, it could just be a very cramped single [bed], based on the fact Yuichi has to lay on his side for Makoto to fit…)
• Ohhhh! He got rejected by Amano! (<- immature blogger…I’m partially kidding about that. There’s probably a reason he didn’t get a response.) Update: There doesn’t seem to be a reason, now that I’ve finished ep. 10.
• Did Makoto knock? (<- was reminded of a time they didn’t knock on a shared room door during camp, which led to a falling-out between friends and them…which led to opening doors for everyone at the next camp)
• …Y’sure it wasn’t dementia or some degenerative disease, Amano?
• I keep getting the feeling from this anime that Yuichi is taking care of a child, rather than a fox-turned-human-girl and that seems vaguely insulting for some reason…maybe it’s because it reduces Makoto’s agency for the sake of tragedy?
• What was that shot of the eye for…?

Episode 10

• Requiem…oh gosh, no. Makoto’s gonna die…Normally I see “requiem” written in katakana, not the kanji 鎮魂歌, so the title card surprised me a bit. (Then again, these title cards keep using complicated kanji versions of the songs they name and then they put the word into English underneath and the katakana reading above the kanji, so you can figure out what they’re saying anyway.)
• With her uguu eyes, Makoto seems more like an imprinted baby duck than anything right now. I get the feeling we’re meant to find this adorable…or sad since we’re anticipating the eventual outcome…
• …that’s some Gaussian blur…
• I’m guessing in 1999 purikura were the cutting edge of technology, so for a 2006 anime it just seems slightly backwards. However in 2020, I would think most anime fans have heard of purikura, even without having taken any. You can even rent portable purikura for weddings and stuff.
• I wonder, if Makoto hasn’t been going to her job at the nursery centre…then what sort of job does Mrs Akiko have? Does she have a job or is it her husband who’s working and sending income home? Or else how would Akiko afford the groceries and all the manga?
• …are they…both underage…? (Please don’t say yes, please don’t say yes…)
• Maybe…Amano’s friend was “Makoto”? Update: Seems not, although it seems Amano has managed to bounce back from her own trauma with Makoto’s disappearance.
• …so they’re not worrying about indirect kisses with this manju?
• Hey, you let the bag blow away, Yuichi! You wasted a perfectly good bag! Update: I was kind of joking with this comment…but it begs the question, did Yuichi pick up the bag after he was done on the hill?
• …*stares* Look at how each blade of grass is animated…
• “…just a little worried.” – Just a little? You sure you’re not more worried than “just a little”?
• You can’t call it “Sad Girls in the Snow” if there’s no snow…
• …spoke too soon.
• …I wonder, will Makoto disappear from photos as well? Isn’t that what normally happens when you try to erase a person’s presence in stories?
• I seem to remember there was this thing I used to say. It was something like “I want to make my mark on the world before I leave it”…it was so sombre I remember I was moved to write about this statement at least once, but then dissuaded myself from doing so. I guess my strong presence in certain fandoms and blogging is my way of ensuring I do just that – to ensure people don’t forget me, long after I’m gone.