English Dub Review: To Your Eternity “Awakening”

Overview

Just as Gugu and Rean come to understand each other, the Nokkers emerge, causing panic in the party hall. Fushi and Gugu are forced to fight…


Our Take

Another heartbreaking episode, but it certainly won’t be the last. The animation here was stunning, even if the opening hinted towards the death of a specific character. The pacing kinda dragged a bit for me in a lot of places. But at the very least, it has pretty much paid off completely. When it hits, it hits hard, and this episode is no exception.

Now that Fushi has grown as a human, this is the first time he has actually really experienced a death of a loved one. The show is so good at making the deaths both painful & impactful. And If I wasn’t invested in the characters of this particular arc then I wouldn’t have really felt anything by the end.

The ending is a bit weird to me, lying to Rean about who lived and died like that just seems like it should bring her even more pain. Luckily I guess she figured it out anyway. At some point, they will have to drop this recurring formula. But for now, I appreciate that they give them meaning and make us feel something for the characters that die, unlike other shows with the infamous track record of not giving the audience time to feel something for the characters they kill…