Quote:
Originally Posted by Sol Falling
Anyway, as I said I'd even completely forgotten the scene by the end of the episode, which kind of emphasizes how completely seperate from the rest of the show that scene was, to me. But just on a completely objective level, based on the amount of time they spent focusing on that frame, I think the intended purpose really must have been fanservice.
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I don't know, I read it differently. The separateness is there, but I think what is being emphasized is Konata's separation from the people of the town. Before this, she is an observer; after, she seems to be taken in as one of them. This can be seen as more of a baptism/ritual cleansing that is needed to bring her into the community. You can read a darker connotation, but I think that is being read into the scene, rather than emerging from it.
Just my opinion, but then this scene syncs with her later immersion in the river: the first drenching being symbolic of the latter. In cultures both East and West, passing through/being drawn out of water is often seen as representative of the death/rebirth cycle. In this case her "death" as an outsider is necessary for her "rebirth" as a member of the fire-maidens.