ananaimekid

This will contain spoilers! Read at your own risk!

This anime is an emotional masterpiece. Coming from someone who had difficulties showing their emotions, I cried in a good chunk of the episodes that I watched, and all I can say is, if you ever have a desire to watch this, please, please do.

From the very first episode, I was hooked on discovering Fushi and watching his character development as he progressed. I think the idea of a "God" creating Fushi and studying him is so incredibly interesting. I have to admit, it took me a few weeks to finish it all, but that is also because I knew what would happen to some of the characters, and that made me sad. 

I will admit, after a while of seeing each character die, you kind of get an understanding of who will die and it is less impactful. Joaan and his master's death probably hit me the most. Even though they were only, sort of, "background" character's who were truly mentioned, the fact that their deaths didn't even phase Fushi because he didn't even fully understand the word death at this point broke me so, so, so much. I hated watching him just end up walking away from his body and never turning back because he didn't fully understand anything yet. I also was deeply affected by March's death as well, because she was just a small girl and didn't even get to live her life, but it was ripped from her. And Gugu as well, was suffering from such a young age, and just as soon as he was able to confess his love, his life was also taken from him. And even though Fushi tried to heal those wounds, those around him still suffered from his loss. Fushi as well suffered because it was the first time he had to drag himself away from a family he finally had gathered. The deaths of Uroy, Oopa, and Mia weren't as personal to me. Like, I will say that their deaths were very sad because they were just children, and I did break down a little as Uroy was talking to Mia and Oopa right after he died (like the image of them walking away), but because we were more focused on Tonari, I didn't feel as deep of a connection to these characters. Also, depending on how Tonari died, I'm not sure if I would've felt anything for her either. However, as I watched Fushi take care of Pioran and then her tell him to get the food so that she could talk to The Beholder and die without him seeing, broke me. I knew the moment that she sent him away, that she had plans to die, and I just couldn't bear to think about how Fushi would feel afterward. And then, watching the scene where his nose is all red from crying all night and then reading Pioran's last words, I just lost it. I knew she was going to die before the show ended when The Beholder started talking about their situation, but it still was so sad to see how broken he was.

Another thing is, at the very end, The Beholder had said, "A few decades passed" or something along those lines, and it makes me emotional to think about these people that Fushi has held dear and learned dot love and grieve will only be remembered through him. That's evident through his new look (because he is immortalizing this "nameless boy" who he first picked up) as an older person. He is clinging on to the last moments he had with Pioran and with Gugu and his family that he had developed all of these years. He's learning to fight the Nokkers with this aging form I think to cling on to those cherished memories from the past. And, if The Beholder doesn't want to or doesn't feel the need to, he will continue letting Fushi grow up in this world where no one will ever stay with him, and that, I think, is entirely too difficult for him to handle, which is also why he hasn't decided to change forms, just sort of like growing up and aging with everyone else. 

Regardless, I highly recommend the series, and I already cannot wait for the second season to come out next fall (kinda crazy that it's already been scheduled).