sola - Episode 11 Discussion / Poll

[octoberasian]

Originally Posted by Nemesis2124

I think it does still work though. Even if she loses her memory, it wouldn't erase her feelings regarding the original Yorito, and she could very well just kill herself again. Something else would still need to be done for her, and that may have to do with why they're leaving town.

EDIT: Has anyone noticed on the official site, that Aono seems to have another outfit that we haven't seen? As far as I know, all the ones they've shown on there have been used at some point in the show. And while that doesn't 100% indicate anything, my suspicions are raising more and more that the upcoming confrontation won't end with her death.

I've noticed that outfit as well. It is an outfit I haven't seen Aono wear that is shown in the anime from Ep.1 to 11.

Hmm... what is it they're hinting at?

[Skyfall]

Most likely means Aono is not the one to die...at least yet If we go by the theory that Aono indeed survives and gets turned back in to a normal human (and loses her memory), that might be the outfit she is going to wear as a normal human

[deviousj]

An episode truly deserving of a 9, it was an excellent, heart wrenching episode. Why just a 9? Well, I have a nasty habit of deducing the pivotal tenth point for the most insignificant reasons; even episode 11 of Gurren Lagann only received a 9 even though it's one of my favorite episodes in anime. That's the psychological reason anyways; the one pertaining to the episode was that Yorito's face looked very strange for a few seconds during the first rooftop scene – he look somewhat like the weird president from Genshiken.

The Mana/Yorito and Koyori/Aono scenes were utterly depressing. Mana ran so hard and even jumped a wall to reach him, but in the end it was futile. He disappeared, and her memories of him faded. She stood alone on the rooftop, crying for a reason she couldn’t determine. The Koyori and Aono scene was even more heart wrenching. Koyori, just a small child, is losing her dear friend. She tried to hide her sorrow when she asked Aono to teach her origami, the activity which originally brought them together, but she couldn’t maintain the façade and broke down crying.

About the future, I'm fairly certain that Matsuri will sacrifice herself by the end of the series; whatever else occurs is just pure speculation on my part. Of course, the glaring inconsistency with this assertion is that Yorito and Matsuri agreed on the course of action, and Yorito wouldn't allow Matsuri to sacrifice herself. This would seem to invalidate my assertion, but the support for it is adequate despite this inconsistency. First, it is consistent with Matsuri's character to sacrifice herself. Second, it is inconsistent with Matsuri's character to kill Aono; she, a pacifist for the entirety of the series, wouldn't kill Aono. Third, Mayuko said that if she said she would try to prevent Matsuri from executing the plan; Mayuko, having no relationship with Aono or Yorito, wouldn't try to prevent the execution of Matsuri's intended course of action unless it would cause harm to Matsuri. The most likely scenario, given this statement, is that Matsuri is intending to sacrifice herself to make Aono human. Another possibility is that Matsuri's action will bring her grief, but the other outcome seems more likely to prompt Mayuko's comment. Fourth, Mayuko stated that Matsuri’s face shows doubt whenever Yorito's name is mentioned. If Matsuri intended to commit suicide, this comment makes perfect sense because she is having second thoughts about suicide because she's grown close to the present Yorito and thus wants to be with him. However, this contradicts the statement she made about disappearing with him. If Matsuri is indeed sacrificing herself to make Aono human, the only way the event would be consistent with that statement is if Yorito dies as well. In this context, my fourth point also makes sense because she could still doubt her intended course of action because she may still want to be together with Yorito. If Matsuri is indeed the one erasing people's memories, even more support for my assertion would exist. The death of Yorito would surely inflict immense suffering on Aono; however, if Matsuri could truly erase memories, then the scenario of the double suicide would be more likely because they could disappear together as she said, and Aono can have a human life without having to live with the pain of losing Yorito. However, it's not confirmed whether or not Matsuri is the one erasing the memories of the townspeople, or even if she is even capable of doing so; therefore, that last point is moot. In summation, Matsuri probably is going to sacrifice herself and Yorito will likely die as well; by consequence of Matsuri's sacrifice, Aono will be human again. However, this is still speculation, and given Sola's unpredictability no one knows what will actually happen. Looking back, it seems as if this paragraph was one huge mess. Well, have fun picking it apart.

[Nemesis2124]

Hm, ever since the idea of Aono losing her memory was brought up, I've had an idea formulating. Imagine how interesting it would be if Yorito's words to Aono end up being completely true and in the next episode we find them having moved somewhere far away. The catch would be that she'd be human with no memory of the Yorito she created, and thus could possibly mistake the created one as being the original. From a certain point of view, that would accomplish returning things to the past. Then from there, Yorito could potentially use this scenario as leverage to try and correct her obsession with "him".

Ridiculous, I know, but still...

EDIT: @deviousj

A mess indeed, but frankly, that was pretty much a perfect rendition of my jumble of contradictory thoughts regarding this.

[zyrxdark]

Originally Posted by octoberasian

Spoiler:

Now... hmm... this episode was just one tearjerker after another.

It looks to me, that Aono is doing a mass altering of everyone's memories, erasing any existence that she, Yorito, and Matsuri ever existed. I don't think it's the work of Matsuri, since I don't think I've ever seen her manipulate anyone's memories.

wontaek said is true: "I always believe that things are better revealed instead of being hidden in the long run, as you can't tell a lie forever." You simply cannot keep telling a lie forever. Eventually the truth will be revealed. Yorito knows he isn't real, and I know that he can't continue going to school knowing full well that he can't age. It would bring up too many questions once suspicions arise. And, it seems that the best route is for all Yakas-- Matsuri, Aono, and Mayuko-- to disappear from the lives they've encountered in this town.

The first people to have their memories altered were Yorito's classmates, then Mana and Aono last. It was just sad watching this happen. But, I guess this is the only way.

It looks like now to be Matsuri killing Aono. And, if Yorito's existence is tied to Aono, then he, too, will disappear. There are still two more episodes to go. Most likely the fight between Aono and Matsuri takes place during Ep.12. The death of one or both of them ends in 13.

The suggestion that somebody else stated that all three will disappear (Aono, Matsuri, and Yorito) seems likely, and maybe Matsuri is the last to die. The OP sequence is perplexing though: It still shows Yorito (most likely due to the sleeves shown) as closing a photo album of Matsuri. It's the one thing that someone else pointed out in the other thread that I can't figure out.

I'm, then, reminded of both the OP and ED songs as I reread the lyrics. I think the first now refers to Aono and the ED is Matsuri's. It seems to hint at what might happen in the end.

The story has just gotten sadder and sadder. It seems all three will disappear.

Lastly, is it just me or did anyone think that possibly Mana really did like Yorito and was about to tell him before sunset? In the end, she couldn't even say "Goodbye" and he just disappeared.

hmm do yo know the title of last episode is "Sky"

can you guys give more prediction about the ending.

[Nemesis2124]

Heh, that doesn't really effect speculation much. I think a lot of us have been expecting it to be something like that for a while.

[wontaek]

Well, I can dream of a world where a Yaka can reveal their identity without fear of persecution.

[Deathkillz]

which will only remain a dream...mana is a special case to be so accepting but others will raise pitch forks and chant "burn ye witch!"

[Mentar]

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Atmospheric, touching, and oh so well-developed. Like a bottle of excellent highest-quality dry wine (9 for this episode). It's not sweet and inherently pleasant to the tongue, but you can gradually marvel at the developing flavor.

Sometimes you do want to have something sad and bitter, but nothing crude or overly melodramatic. If this is what you looking for, sola is delivering now, very very well.

Prediction: Matsuri will try to kill herself (and probably Yorito along with her) with the sword to revive Aono. Probably that's undoing what she has done in the past before - using her powers to turn Aono into a Yaka.

More revelations to come, and I'm going to savor every minute of this show.

[Areguzanda]

as always.... my heart breaks everytime someone looses important memories...
I hate it....
as much as it makes a great part of the story.. I hate it...
I just can't see it as just to anyone...anyone at all in Anime or in real life to loose precious memories...

as how Sola will end..I do not know...
what I do know is that Sola is a great Anime that I think have captured the eye's, hearts and souls of many.

my heart shed tears in this episode, but I suspect real tears will come from my own eye's in the next episode.

no matter what, Sola is an Anime I can really say i love

[Nemesis2124]

Ok, so I'm sitting here watching the Lunar release, and finally I notice some glaring continuity errors. If you look at the flashback of when Yorito first comes home from the aftermath of episode 10, it's night still. Something that makes zero sense considering he's shown to be out till daybreak in the previous episode.

And that's not the end of it either. In the scene at the school early in the episode Mana thanks him for going back home to Aono yesterday. If you listen to the rest of the conversation, it's clear they're talking about the part in episode 10 where him, Aono and Koyori were eating breakfast. Problem is, the pre-OP portion of 11 shows that at least a day has passed since the park scene; which means that the episode 10 scene couldn't possibly have happened the day before.

So, am I overlooking something?

[Sorrow-K]

Good ep. Good, not great, but one of the better eps in this series.

I find it hilarious that, just last episode, I complained that this could have been a better series had it been told through Mana's point of view and, huzzah, that's what we get this episode. Its unquestionable, though, that a story is much more interesting when a sympathetic, relate-able character takes centre-stage, and there's none more in this series than Mana (literally, since the two lead characters are really bland and the other is "evil"... inverted commas emphasized). There's nothing new or innovative in this episode, but we got emotion that was really missing in previous episodes, ignoring the unsubdued melodrama.

Matsuri killing (or even trying to kill) Aono is too out of character to happen. I saw nothing in this episode that made me think that Kyuusai's speculation all the way back in this post in last episode's thread isn't the most likely thing to happen (serious reps if that does turn out to be right... assuming he did say it first, and I'm pretty sure he did... right?) As far as the memory loss is concerned, I think Matsuri's analogy to dreams pretty much explains it, ie, no one forced people to forget Yorito, just, the fact that he is an illusion means that he'll just naturally fade out of people's memories with time. What I don't get was how he disappeared from right in front of Mana, and how she forgot him an instant later. I think we'll just chalk that one up to the writers sacrificing continuity for coolness.

Good ep, but not enough to change my overall opinion of this show so far... just curb it slightly. Kinda ruing that they've virtually written the most likable character out of the story now.

[JediNight]

I don't think I'm going to like the way they end this. There is something deeply wrong with erasing someones memories. Especially ones as heartfelt and powerful as Mana has. It's extremely selfish using someone like that and just setting them aside then.

[yura`]

Another great episode. The BGM is outstanding, as someone mentioned earlier in the thread, but I also thought that the absence of music in certain scenes contributed to the atmosphere of the episode as well - especially when Mana finally finds Yorito on the school's rooftop as evening falls. (Can't wait for the OST to be released!)

I probably can't add more to the theories and speculations which abound here beforehand and I honestly can't see how it's going to end. I still find it hard-pressed to feel any sympathy for Aono, despite this episode displaying her in a more sympathetic light. As others have mentioned, it comes too late for us to root for her.

As JediNight says, I find it almost cruel, the way the character's memories are erased. It's unfair - despite Yorito and Aono ostensibly leaving, (and assuming that Aono is behind the mind-wipes), isn't it better to leave Mana and Koyori with pleasant memories of their happier times together rather than leaving them with altered memories whereby they never existed at all? I really hope that this isn't the end of Mana and Koyori's roles in the story, and I fervently hope we will see them again, at least before the last minute of the last episode.

Again, I honestly can't predict which way the story is going. And if Matsuri is going to (or compelled?) to kill Aono ultimately, there has to be a good reason for her actions (a reason which I feel can't contradict her character as we've known her to be thus far).

[Nemesis2124]

It's doubtful that Aono caused the mind-wipes considering how open she was with Koyori about them moving. If it was Aono it would've made more sense to just wipe her memory and avoid all the tears. The only feasible causes are either Matsuri or a supernatural phenomenon.

On a related note though, it dawned on me that the memory loss and the way it was portrayed is a symbolic reference to Matsuri's, "Why people sleep," monologue back in episode 6. She states that people throw away their negative feelings into the darkness at night. Mana was enveloped in darkness when her memory vanished, and Koyori's presumably vanished when she fell asleep. Kind of neat.

[andiyar]

A very beautiful episode. I loved the tone set by the music, and the actual characters came out perhaps the most powerfully in this of all episodes, especially where Mana and Koyori were concerned. It's also interesting to see how Yorito has changed since the revelation that he doesn't really exist. The facial expressions and the basic calm acceptance of everything that is happening in the episode are, to me, very moving.

I'm still expecting an ending much as I wrote about in the last episode thread. Who knows, they might yet surprise me, but the mutual disappearance of Matsuri & Yorito (together, at last), and the renewal of Aono as a human, but without regret, are some things I see definitely coming in. It's also interesting to note Aono's connection with Koyori here - I think she's seeing Koyori as far more the needs-to-be-protected younger sibling than Yorito, at the moment (ref. origami scene). That might be something they can play with, at least as a matrix in which to insert Aono assuming she does return to life.

9/10. Well deserved.


-Andiyar

[JediNight]

I was thinking that a possible ending might be that Matsuri kills Aono with her, and somehow she's able to make Yorito human. Yorito would then be a "new transfer student" to Mana's class where they would start over/meet again, but Yorito also wouldn't have any memories.

Or maybe just like how a human dying can become a Yaka, maybe somehow a Yaka dying can become human and they all start over with erased memories at the school?

[Deathkillz]

if it was that easy dont you think that matsuri would have tried being human already?

also im still not convinced that killing a yaka can turn a person into a human...and also considering that yorito isnt a yaka but a golem makes that logic all the more weirder @_@

[pinoymutt]

Sorry, if I already missed this comment earlier in the threads, but does anyone know about the content of the recently annouced eps 14 and 15?

I read that they will be DVD only, but I wasn't sure if they were (a) true continuations or wrap-ups to the story; (b) "extra" middle episodes; (c) prequel type of episodes; or (d) complete side stories.

I just don't want to watch ep 13 and then sit around for several months to get some closure.

[Telliamed]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

which will only remain a dream...mana is a special case to be so accepting but others will raise pitch forks and chant "burn ye witch!"

Would they? I think a lot of that attitude is based on preconceptions of how demons are treated in other stories. There was the song the children were singing in episode 1, but the tragic event of the past was a natural disaster even though some speculators (myself included) expected something else.

The only person to show anger towards Matsuri is Takeshi, and that was just because he thought he could help Mayuko. And then he just stopped. Looks to me like the yaka are much more afraid of the humans than the other way around.

Originally Posted by Nemesis2124

EDIT: Has anyone noticed on the official site, that Aono seems to have another outfit that we haven't seen? As far as I know, all the ones they've shown on there have been used at some point in the show.

I don't keep flash installed on this machine, so I can't see it. But I did notice something in the picture book that I haven't been able to find mention of anywhere else.

Spoiler for Yorito:

His name is given as 赤澤　依人 (Akazawa Yorito) not Morimiya.

Originally Posted by Skyfall

*cough* 3) - onsen ep! *cough*

We at least know there won't be a beach episode. Unless Matsuri can get her hands on some SPF 10,000.

Then again, given some of the popularity polls, they may just show Koyori & Mana. There was that Megami pic, after all.