Overview (Spoilers Below): Natsuko notices that Memmeln is acting strange. In the movie, there is a scene with Memmeln that’s a mystery even to fans, so Natsuko tails her…
Our Take: If the previous episodes aren’t enough to realize just how depressing Natsuko’s childhood movie is, then this week’s episode would likely make you not want to watch it yourself. The reason is that the person responsible for the Harvest Festival incident involving the transformed Void has revealed themselves, and it’s none other than Luke’s own companion, Memmeln. Natsuko’s movie showcased that the Ultimate Void, a powerful Void capable of bringing the end of the world, was slain by Luke, but it’s revealed to be Memmeln all along. The problem is that no one, not even Natsuko, knew how Memmeln transformed into the Ultimate Void in the original storyline. That is until Natsuko and Luke took a peek behind the scenes of this questionable plot hole, revealing that Memmeln and her choir are trying to end the suffering by letting the Ultimate Void destroy the world. It’s understandable what Memmeln has gone through. However, her attempt to help the Nine Soldiers’ enemies end the world was the most foolish and selfish action that she performed, at least from a narrative standpoint. “A Tale of Perishing” was supposed to be depressing, but it’s more like “A Tale of Memmeln’s Stupidity”. If the Voids were tricking her into summoning the Ultimate Void to save her people, that would be one thing, but I feel like this episode made me like Memmeln even less due to her selfishness. Thankfully, she wound up changing her ways in the end. While not my favorite episode of the show so far, “Eternity” delivered some decent moments that compensate for this character issue, including Luke’s awful hand drawings and the gorgeously animated musical sequence from Natsuko’s creation, The Ultimate Exister. The latter alone is another reason MAPPA was an excellent choice for producing this original anime.