hontou ni
10Jun/075

When the journey is the destination – Takeshi & Mayuko's tale

While I found Takeshi/Mayuko's tale in Sola 09 to be flawed in its execution (bulk revelations almost always equal lazy storytelling), there was ample material for empathy and character love. Never mind how 2 hapless kids survived on their own or where Takeshi learnt his peerless kungfu, their's is a story of growth undergirded by an unchanging love. Perhaps even more taboo than siscon, Takeshi/Mayuko's love takes on the facade of loliconism given Mayuko's ageless appearance, coloring their relationship with a prohibitive taint. But sweet is that love (Man, I'm just weak to pseudo-forbidden love in anime XD) and sweeter is that journey of self-discovery.

I particularly enjoyed how Mayuko realised that happiness is not in the distant future with Matsuri's death but here and now with Takeshi. It's probably a men's thing. I generalise but men are mainly goal-oriented while women put a great deal more emphasis on the process. This explains why men suck at foreplay, take 6 mins to buy something they decided on and tries to offer solutions instead of a listening ear during times of solace. It was a huge irony for Mayuko in her loli-form to point that out to the much older Takeshi and embracing him as a mother would to a child. Looking at the society now, more parents need to take a more balanced view like Mayuko and not drown themselves in work, believing happiness is the ability to send your child for overseas education when quality family time in the living room is what these kids actually yearn for.

Anyhow, with the conclusion of Mayuko's arc, the series seem to be pointing to Matsuri's eventual demise as a clean solution to both Aono and Mayuko's 'problems'. Who knows, Matsuri may give up her life so that Aono/Yorito and Mayuko/Takeshi may live happily ever after. Now to decipher what Matsuri means by "let's disappear" in Sola 10.

Related posts:

  1. Sola – Missing the mark
  2. 15 random thoughts on Sola 04-05
  3. [Series aftermath] ef ~ a tale of memories

Posted by

Filed under: Sola Leave a comment
Comments (5) Trackbacks (0)
  1. Sherman, the Ramni
    June 13th, 2007 - 14:18

    Takeshi became so obsessed with saving Mayuko that he forgot something essential: the only thing she wants is to be with him. That’s all.
    Even as a yaka? Yes, Takeshi, even as a yaka.
    Stripey, that about parents and children is a nice and well-applied parallel with Takeshi/Mayuko. Kudos for reading a nice lesson between those lines.
    Aaand… my guess about Matsuri is kinda fuzzy. She won’t kill herself with the sword (standing under the sun would be enough and effortless) unless she wants to use the sword’s power to save someone; in that case, saving Aono might be meaningless because of Yorito (Aono no more a yaka -> no more magical power -> Yorito’s death), so it has to be Mayuko.
    Killing Aono to save Mayuko is not a choice either. I think it’s Matsuri who will die and her life will complete the sword’s power to save Mayuko. What will happen to Yorito, I don’t dare to tell. But I’m pretty sure he and Matsuri will share her last days.

    ( REPLY )
  2. Stripey
    June 16th, 2007 - 08:29

    I just saw ep 11 and I have a very bad feeling about the ending. ▼ Show

    Discounting Mayuko/Takeshi, looks like everyone loses in this show XD

    ( REPLY )
  3. Sherman, the Ramni
    June 16th, 2007 - 09:26

    Ahhhh… how the heck do you hide spoilers in WordPress?
    Let’s try something…

    I forgot that Mayuko is not really interested anymore in coming back to life. So, Matsuri and Yorito suicide -> Sword power -> Saving Aono… maybe.

    ( REPLY )
  4. Refugee
    June 19th, 2007 - 18:26

    I’ve only seen episodes 8 and 9 (don’t ask) and I have to say, although I found them mostly boring, I was gobsmacked by this sequence. For me, it came across as a beautiful little self-contained story, and I can only wish that the rest of the series is as tight and compact as this. I’m going to have to go back and start at ep. 1 now, and I hope I’m not wasting my time.

    ( REPLY )
  5. Stripey
    June 20th, 2007 - 09:48

    Sherman, the Ramni: it’s a spoiler plugin just enter

    <spoiler>type spoiler here</spoiler>

    For Aono to be saved, Yorito needs to be alive. Not necessary the current Yorito but a Yorito. It’s tragic that Aono continues to live a delusion. But I have to admit that if her creation is so powerful to have his own will and motivations outside of Aono’s programming, Golem-Yorito is every bit as good a sentient living creature capable of bringing Aono real happiness. Provided Aono’s magic comes with life-time warranty XD

    Refugee: Aono and Matsuri have interesting tales too only that the revelations are diluted over more eps. But I guess this grants more time for building character love though. If you enjoy character interactions, I think you wouldn’t be disappointed. :)

    ( REPLY )

Leave a comment

(required)

No trackbacks yet.

» «

Search Hontou Ni

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Series & Themes

Maki Maki Blogroll

RSS Danny Choo

@ZylZaku

Meta