Parona, March, and Fushi finally escape the prison but Hayase is following close behind them. Will they be able to reach Ninannah? “To Your Eternity” episode 5 is titled, “Those Who Follow.” Buckle up folks, this is one roller coaster ride of an episode.
Episode 5 begins with Parona, March, and Fushi escaping the prison. Grandma, the fake shaman, also comes along with them. Before they leave, Parona attempts to take Oniguma’s eyes as proof but March shouts to stop. Parona tries to reason with her, but March feels sorry for Oniguma. Parona yields and they escape the prison by carriage.
On the ride through the city, March starts to talk about the things she wants to do when she gets back home to Ninannah. March says, “I just want to learn everything I don’t know. Growing up means knowing everything, right?” She even tells Fushi that they’ll grow up together! Parona assures March that her dream will definitely come true.
Suddenly, Hayase and a group of Yanome soldiers attack their carriage. March is anxious about what she can do to help as Parona bravely fends them off. However, Hayase —this evil woman —aims an arrow at Parona. March jumps to shield Parona and the little girl gets fatally injured. With much dismay, Fushi transforms into the beast Oniguma (the new vessel!) and claws at Hayase. A scene with so much intensity, I can’t express enough how emotional that moment was. I am angry at Hayase, satisfied with how Fushi clawed her, but also very heartbroken for March. “To Your Eternity” episode 5 is giving us suffering, I’ll tell you that.
While Fushi rages through the city, Parona desperately tries to tend to March’s wound. Parona finds March’s surprise snack for her, and she becomes emotional as she remembers their memories together. The flashback shows us a young March receiving a doll from Parona. March gifts back mudballs, and they become less lonely— a “family.”
In March’s final moments, she tells her older sister to be “a mommy for her.” Still in emotional anguish, Parona wraps March up and carries her towards where Fushi is. She tells the beast to stop fighting for March. At this point in “To Your Eternity” episode 5, I am already so emotional. The sight of a horrified and badly injured Hayase comforts me a bit, but it’s not enough to make up for the pain that just crushed my heart.
There is an instance where we see a happy adult version of March but as soon as she remembers Fushi, she comes back to the present. She bursts into tears shouting how she doesn’t want to die. A distressed Parona picks up a blade so she could follow March. The little ghost girl becomes hysterical, crying and begging her older sister to stop. As if hearing her cries, Fushi stops Parona with a pained and sad expression.
Fushi transforms once more to Oniguma and they run out of the city. Apparently it has been half a year since they left Ninannah. Parona safely reunites with March’s parents and delivers the hand-print letter. They share an emotional moment as they come to accept March’s death. The Yanome troops arrive, and Parona hurriedly bids Fushi farewell. Fushi expresses sadness again, and then leaves in his wolf form.
I’m honestly very annoyed with Hayase and how quick she is to hunt Fushi after everything that has happened. However, I do feel satisfied again when Parona snipes at Hayase and hits her palm. We see Hayase’s face and it is horribly scarred. You could even say she has crazy eyes—from calm and collected to insane real quick! Perhaps that’s her character development? I really don’t want to see her anymore though.
“To Your Eternity” episode 5 comes to a close as the narrator tells us how the orb doesn’t part with its mother, but rather, it goes on a journey with her. At this point we see the orb walking in March’s form with a trail of eaten fruit left behind.
Undeniably, “To Your Eternity” episode 5 was an intense and emotional episode. Altogether with its stunning art and animation, masterful direction, and its beautiful soundtrack— it was a remarkable and impactful episode. It was so heart aching and painful to watch these scenes where we wanted to deny and bargain that it wasn’t happening. I knew I had to brace myself because the previews were worrisome, I just didn’t know I had to prepare for this. I am so heartbroken to see our precious March gone. It was also so sad to watch Parona try to kill herself. Fortunately, Fushi stopped her and even gave her courage to live on. Fushi displayed a lot of human emotions this episode. Now he has anger, empathy, and even an understanding of the value of life.
Though it was painful to see his expressions, it was nice to see his emotional growth as he becomes more and more human. (But really, at what cost?) I like to think Fushi will mold his identity from the experiences of love and care he received from the nameless boy and March. I also can’t help but think about “what if they were both still alive with Fushi?” With this, I truly hope Fushi finds companions in his journey that he can keep soon.
The next episode of “To Your Eternity” is titled “Our Goals” and it will air on Monday, May 17 at 10:50 PM (JST). It will be available to watch on Crunchyroll, though in selected regions only. If you enjoyed (or cried in) this week’s episode of “To Your Eternity”, make sure to vote for it on our weekly poll! Furthermore, you may read all our other “To Your Eternity” articles on the site.
“To Your Eternity” is an anime adaptation of the manga series written by Yoshitoki Ōima. It follows the story of a mysterious orb sent to Earth. It has no identity nor emotions, but through time it learns to take different forms. One day, it acquires the form of a boy and gains consciousness. The boy, Fushi, sets off to travel in search of new experiences, places, and people. “The journey begins.”
All images via Crunchyroll
Source: To Your Eternity Official Website
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