Thank you for pointing that out. I was under the impression that Maria was a Latin-derived import. I suppose I should have looked at what characters they were using to spell her name ^^

That being said, her name does strike me as a bit out-of-place compared to the other characters. Especially if they have been living in a closed society for so long one would think that such names would have fallen to the wayside in favor of more traditional (and simplified) names. Considering that she has been singled out for having something to do with . . . well, something unfortunate . . . makes me think that although I could be perfectly wrong, haha.

Well, the reason that I say it came out of nowhere is because there wasn't any hint that they would pair up in the earlier episodes. From the very first episode we were given clear signs that Saki and Maria were very close, but I can't think of any overt examples of Satoru and Shun sharing a similar bond. On the contrary I thought they Shun was a bit annoyed by Satoru, and Satoru was put-off by Shun's position in Saki's eyes. I mean, if they're just pairing two people up based on a shared sexed orientation then they could have easily paired them up with [Insert Any Other Random Guy Here].

Of course, I understand why it was necessary to lump Satoru and Shun together for the sake of the story. It makes sense plot-wise. It just felt a little contrived, a little too easy, for my personal tastes.

@Rosa...: They skipped some and toned downed a lot more background events and info (IMHO)... now whether that happened in order to make certain viewers feel more comfortable or due to staff's incompetence is debatable (as per our boring posts earlier)... or not according to some posters who don't like discussing that topic and insist on criticizing teenage gays of a fictional dystopian future :p

@Kuromitsu: You are worse then Solace making me download the novel (and not waiting 10 days to buy it), instead of just spoiling the crap out of the novel subjectively ;)

Well, it's 1000 years in the future, what is "traditional" for us is pretty much ancient for them... Besides, the name "Maria" is not something extraordinary even now (Christianity having a pretty long history in Japan), I imagine in 1000 years it will be even less of a big deal.

:rolleyes: As I already told you... The whole Satoru x Shun thing happened during the timeskip so we never actually saw it develop. Saki being the first person narrator means she can only talk about things she witnesses or has knowledge of. Given that the novel is written as a sort of memoir she has hindsight, and of course she's not stupid, but it's not like she can talk about 12 year old Satoru and Shun doing stuff in private unless either of them tells her about it. Also, they were TWELVE. Little kids with little kid mentality. Even Saki's own feelings for Shun amounted mostly to a crush. Satoru and Shun were good friends, and we can assume that the two boys also did the whole cuddling/petting/kissing thing because everyone did it. After the summer camp adventure there was like one or two pages talking about all the changes that happened during the timeskip (physical changes, hormones kicking in, etc) and this is where Satoru x Shun is first mentioned. "What changed the most during these two years was the relationship between Shun and Satoru [insert detailed description of their earlier friendly relationship that we barely saw anything of, and how it changed into Satoru being totally in love and how Shun took it, Saki's own feelings on the matter, etc. etc.]" I think the anime could've spent more time on Satoru being like a kicked puppy for a while after Shun dumped him, and the bad animation didn't make it clear how much it hurt Shun to talk to Satoru like that, but other than that... *shrug*

Well, it's not like 10 days will make much of a difference (2 cours show, remember?) but if you're so into pointing out (real or imaginary) differences between novel and anime it would certainly help to at least skim the novel first....... :heh:

... Ok, I'm usually not one for Shonen Ai, but... DAUM, that was just sexy ._.

This episode fills me with conflicting feels. None of which are about the overall quality of the episode, which I thought was stellar.

Wow now thats a time skip!!

The scene with the head monk and Shun was great, really interesting to see what Shun was up to with that look that only Saki saw. As it's been echoed already, not surprised he went away after that.

I forgave the animation quality since I once again had that "No! It's over?!?!" response when the credits rolled.

I also love that this anime has no OP.

For the new story arc, here it ccomes a two-year time skip that begins to describe the kids changing of their experiences as they pass through puberty from children to teens.

In summary, Satoru's suspcious behavior at class leads me to come up with two possibilities:

A) Just as Saki, the narrator, implied the warning from the previous episode, and teen Satoru sheds his suspcions to teen Saki at the end of this episode, the village elders already knew all along what they did and found at the summer camp from two years ago. Although they've been delaying the punishment for those five involved, Satoru feels that the adults have begun making their move.
The incident at the class where Kaburagi came to visit either-
1. Satoru shielded his mind as an act of defense from Kaburagi's intrusion or
2. Satoru drew suspicion only to himself so as the elders would focus their attention on him, leaving the rest of his friends alone.

B) This is more twisted. Satoru might have been start showing symptoms of going rogue with his Cantus.
It is left ambiguous for the time being whether the grin he let out was on purpose or unintentional, as Saki became sharp enough to notice. This happens right after Kaburagi tried to contact Satoru so close with his Cantus but was non-violently rejected by a similar reaction.
Long after Kaburagi left the classroom and when was time for class to be dismissed, Satoru fell off his desk whether could be from strain or fatigue; usually, the death feedback happens on those with Cantus when they attempt to deliberately murder or harm another human just to take notice.
Maybe or not, Satoru had a killer intent on Kaburagi, but he was helding himself back.

Good story and the plot is thickening! The fan service is nice and I read that people are turn off to the series due to homosexuality orientations. Poor them, good for me! :>

I wonder if grew in a society like that, would I turn to my buddy due to sexual frustration?

I'll make sure my buddy is a girl and not a dude!:D:heh::eyespin:

I have nothing about homosexuality, but somehow i felt this episode was forcing it a bit, violently rubbing it on my face. Seriously, 4/5 characters are now gay?

I understand it was explained by comminty of love and all that, but at least i felt they were building slight romance beetween saki and satoru, and i liked that. But then suddenly everyone's gay and all that was lost in instant. It just feels forced.

Good show though, going to keep on watching