sola - Episode 13 Discussion / Poll

[octoberasian]

Originally Posted by Tatiana Razajev

Granted I'll need to re-watch later, but over all right now I can say I'm rather happy with the way it ended. It's been a rather nice series from start to finish and hopefully it will be licensed by a decent company.

Spoiler:

The main thing I'm happy for is the fact Aono now has a chance at true happiness as opposed to the fake happiness she was experiencing for awhile. Plus thanks to both Kyori and Mana she won't be lonely. Aono is interesting. I went from finding her boring at first. Then I became rather bitter at her. However in the end I ultimately started feeling sorry for what she went through. Which is why I'm glad things turned out the way it did. Also on another note I like Mayuko's new outfit.

Spoiler:

I agree, towards the end of the series you start to feel really sorry for Aono. She had to live her entire life being alone, hence the title Sola, which I think now refers to her moreso than Matsuri. She had her life turn upside down because of Matsuri. She wouldn't have been a sacrifice to a Yaka if it wasn't for Matsuri. She would have lived a long happy life with Yorito if it wasn't for them meeting Matsuri. So, it seems Aono was the real victim, the real protagonist in this series. I think that would be the twist in this episode: Aono's the hero/protagonist rather than Matsuri/Yorito.

By the end of the episode, Aono changed completely, she's become a much more likable person. She's learned to move on finally. And, she can finally start a new life over again with Mana and Koyori, and know real happiness rather than an artificial one. So, after all the speculations and theories many of us came up with, the series ended on a happy note. Although a tragic and probably fitting end for Yorito and Matsuri.

[Kenji_Chaos]

Originally Posted by octoberasian

I have seen the series from beginning to end and been reading what's been posted in these forums about the episodes.

Spoiler:

It's just that the sight of the two empty cans of Tomato Juice is a bit of a mystery, well to me. It just implies that Matsuri and Yorito aren't dead, or figuratively speaking, they may be dead, but they're still there.

And, the 2 DVDs, they could be anything at the moment... Aono's new life as a classmate with Mana would be more interesting to watch. Like you, I'd prefer it as well. Plus, Aono in that school uniform looked really cute.

l

Spoiler for End::

olz yeah i think so too
i am glad it has a nice happy ending XD
issit me or wat that mana is into taking picture of the sky now?
but well at least aono has both mana and kyori with her ^^

[Tatiana Razajev]

Originally Posted by octoberasian

Spoiler:

I agree, towards the end of the series you start to feel really sorry for Aono. She had to live her entire life being alone, hence the title Sola, which I think now refers to her moreso than Matsuri. She had her life turn upside down because of Matsuri. She wouldn't have been a sacrifice to a Yaka if it wasn't for Matsuri. She would have lived a long happy life with Yorito if it wasn't for them meeting Matsuri. So, it seems Aono was the real victim, the real protagonist in this series. I think that would be the twist in this episode: Aono's the hero/protagonist rather than Matsuri/Yorito.

Spoiler:

Well when you explain it that way it definitely makes sense that Sola ultimately centers around Aono. Sola seems to be one of those series that has an initial main and a shadow main. The initial main is the main who more or less starts the story. In this case Matsuri/Yorito. While the shadow main is the one the story truly revolves around. In this case it would be Aono.

In any case the battle in episode 12 and 13 was an interesting combination of awesome and sad. Awesome for the way the fight went. Sad because instead of the usual hoping for the character to get the crap beaten out of her, you were hoping for her to be saved. Even if that meant saving her from herself.

[Deathkillz]

the end is beautiful...so much so i can even burst into tears of joy ^.^

Spoiler:

well as predicted in the end yorito and matsuri dies but the important part of this final ep lies within the epilogue and what happens after...

as stated previously theres a real change in aono's personality and i personally love it! being already an aono fan this could only get better ^.^ what we see here is a change of personality as aono is given a second life...she is finally released from the bonds of obsession after yorito's death and also perhaps how matsuri also dies...she is touched by matsuri's words and so chooses to live on a normal life from then on...quite poetic in a way if you think about it

however not long that i think aono has even adapted matsui's personality...just look at the way she kicked that can machine in the end...together with the new caring, cheerful and erm...a more "talkative" attitude towards both mana and koyori ~ perhaps she wishes to live like matsuri because she feels that it is matsuri who has been trying to live life to the full and imitating her could bring aono herself true happiness and joy...

i really do love the touch of "reunion" after the separation...ofc no one has any memories of her but i just cant help but feel that deep inside a part of mana's and koyori's soul do know who this "aono" stranger is :3 it is just lovely and subtle the feeling that are given out by their actions...looking at how they slowly become friends and growing their bonds...

for koyori we have already seen the origami bond forming pretty quickly but for mana its a surprise to see her common bond with aono is the sky...

and speaking of mana i guess it is also a happy end for her...with her memories about yorito gone she can only lead a normal life again...but the twist is that she remembers hating the sky in the past for some unknown reason...but now she has grown to love it as well with passion...that of which can rival yorito's passion for the sky...and again i am seeing this "adaption of personality traits" comming over from yorito to mana...

again this is just lovely...the ending seems to show how aono and mana fits into the role of matsuri and yorito (yay yuri! )
*cough* but seriously this is a great way to end the series...

and not just that we also get a bit from takeshi and mayuko (yep they arent left out after all )
what can i say about this love hate relationship? mayuko saying "saite" and the slapping takeshi is just priceless...but you just have to know that this is the slap of love ^.^ yep no cure for mayuko seen as that life was given to aono by matsuri but really they dont care...as long as they have each other they will lead a happy life ~ and i cheer!

and finally the meaning of the 2 tomato juice cans on the table...it is a hypothetical "what if" ending to yorito and matsuri...ofc we all know full well that they are gone but this gives us a sense of hope and perhaps makes things all the happy...
i prefer to take it as a spiritual meaning...in that matsuri and yorito are both up in the heavens together and being happy...the cans symbolizes happiness and a pair of them point to both yorito and matsuri together...

[felix]

Originally Posted by octoberasian

Spoiler:

It's just that the sight of the two empty cans of Tomato Juice is a bit of a mystery, well to me. It just implies that Matsuri and Yorito aren't dead, or figuratively speaking, they may be dead, but they're still there.

There's no mystery..

Spoiler:

Those are the cans left from when they were still around It's a nice way to remind us of how they were in the begging

[TougeSil80]

Spoiler:

Just watched the final ep. It's good, but it didn't have quite the emotional impact that it should. It shouldn't be Aono that kills Yorito, I think that if they let Yorito and Matsuri watch the sunrise it would've been much better. And it seems like Aono retained her memory, I think that's pretty painful for her, to always remember all the things she went through. I would've prefer if they wiped her memory as a yaka. And I don't really agree that Aono is the protagonist/victim here. I think what they went through is just fate playing with them. I give this ep. a 9, but over all an 8 for the series.

[Pellissier]

Originally Posted by TougeSil80

Spoiler:

Just watched the final ep. It's good, but it didn't have quite the emotional impact that it should.

Spoiler for episode 13 and latest episodes:

I think the emotional impact has gradually been lost on the previous episodes (except 11, which mainly portrayed Mana and Koyori though), so as the attachment to the main characters.
I can't compare the Matsuri of the first 6 episodes with the Matsuri of the other ones. Even Yorito was more interesting in the first part of the story. Aono was a controversial character, probably the one we should sympathize with the most, but given the fact that they gave too little disjointed background and they provided it too late, it's difficult to really "love" her. Though I must admit that my feelings towards her did change and I'm glad that she got to be somehow happy at the end.

Speaking of the lovely earlier Matsuri, I got the idea that after all the one teaching her to smile at life and having that carefree attitude, has been Aono.
The Aono of before the sacrifice, so cheerful and happy. So I'm not sure if at the end when Aono kicks the vending machine she's imitating Matsuri, or if it isn't the other way around. Yes, I think that Matsuri has been the one apprehending those bizarre yet funny behaviors from her.

[saihamaru]

oh no, looks like i'm the only one who haven't watched it!!!

[kct]

Spoiler:

As for me, it's good to see that the twist is a surprising one, given that everyone has been at 'all 3 of them die' or something similar. Aono is definitely appreciating this chance at a renewed life, as she have learned to move on from the events of the past, as opposed to the very Aono we see earlier.

Matsuri might be a little bit selfish and everything towards the end in trying to finish everything off, but she gives her all in trying to correct the situation, in which she finally did (at least to me).

Finally the TV airing of the anime ended, now all we can look forward to now is th DVD-only episodes, and hopefully they rectify some of the complains about the animation brought up by some of the people here.

[lightbringer]

Spoiler for ep 13:

Well, well. Aono, whom I wanted to die, lives on, and Yorito and Matsuri, whom I wanted to live, die. The cans of juice are most likely just there to bait the audience into uncertainty. I've hated Aono ever since the hospital episode, so I ended up being disappointed with this show overall

[Skane]

Just chipping in to discuss a bit about the Tomato Soup Cans before I go back to my Ep12 write-up. You guys have forgotten one little niggling detail.

Yorito despises the stuff.

He did mention that he might come to like the stuff in time, but we have never actually seen him finish a can by himself. Well... there is the possibility that Matsuri drank for the two of them, but that scene is probably just a symbolic gesture on the existence of Matsuri and Yorito.

The pair of them had rather "depressing" beliefs about the state of their existence and how they feel that they are merely illusions that everybody will soon forget once they are gone. By showing those cans and letting us know that Aono remembers and that Mayuko remembers, and how Mana inherits certain traits of Yorito due to their past friendship, the series is letting us know that Matsuri and Yorito did not totally and utterly disappear, but that their existence continues to live on in the form of memories and such. They have not been totally forgotten.

If you notice, we are not suppose to wholesale swallow everything that Matsuri and Yorito says, and that the two of them have been wrong on many points before. They are not always right, and we have been questioning them for the past few episodes. Those cans also symbolises how they were wrong, for the better, once again.

Did I say I was just "chipping in"? Why yes, a lot of chips in this case. Writing the "Overall Series Impressions" is going to a timesink. Thankfully... sola has less main characters than Kanon(2006).

Cheers.

[cshard]

Nice ending to a good series.

Spoiler for finale:

Another nicely executed battle sequence, with Aono channelling Renji from Bleach as well as UBW again. Back in some of the earlier posts, people were wondering what would happen if Takeshi was on the receiving end of Aono's ire... I think we can safely state that we'd have one paper wrapped zombie for Mayuko to pick up...

Although I found the whole "walking to meet each other on the battlefield" thing to be a bit cheesy, I found it a bit ironic that the two girls were once the best of friends, and may still be in a sense, and there they are beating each other senseless. It's a wonder Aono didn't have her inner chibi form block her path again, but anyway... It's also a bit strange how we went from poor Matsuri to poor Aono, but after all this, I can't bring myself to hate any of the characters anymore. The scene after Yorito gets his second stabbing was quite heartwrenching to see, and finally dispelled my "hate Aono" thoughts.

And in the end, Aono accepts Matsuri's apology and her last satisfied smile. I guess Matsuri did get to see the sky with Yorito's help after all.

Takeshi really needs to work on his comebacks.
Mayuko 01 - 00 Takeshi
SAITE~~~!

Poor kid btw.

Mana seems a lot more introspective now, while her friends seem to be the same. It's good to see some of them going to Koyori's defense though - chibi defense brigade FTW! Koshimizu Ami still does her great airheaded voice too - so much for her Hige Dandy...

Love Aono's instinctive reaction to Koyori saying, "Mana-san".

It's a wonderful wrap up to the series, with all the little touches they added at the end.

Hmm... I wonder if this is considered the "True End" for the Matsuri x Yorito & Aono x Mana x Koyori path? I sure hope the game will have a "Good End" that realistically lets Matsuri and Yorito survive.

[Skane]

In response to cshard,

Spoiler for just because:

Well, that is one of the advantages of this series. It has no obligation to follow any precedence. Two out of three of the main characters are deceased, and even though it is all but certain that Mana will be a playable path in the game, she was utilised as a secondary character instead to great effect, since there is no pressure on them to "flesh her out" properly.

I do not know how Mayuko is meant to be used in the game, but she got a fair amount of screentime in this series and got half an episode dedicated to her and Takeshi (I still consider it to be one of the best).

Cheers.

[cshard]

@ Skane

Spoiler for just because:

Given how most Visual Novels go, I won't bat an eyelid if Mayuko is considered a viable path in the game - but I certainly hope they never include Koyori as a path... -_-'

I kinda wonder how Mana's path will adapt to the Yorito paper effect though... Aono's path is pretty much set in stone, unless they include some provision to eventually return him to flesh... which would also clear up issues for Mana, as well as Matsuri's paths.

Hmm, I still have a little animosity for Takeshi it seems, but after giving up that sword, he seems to have changed for the better. Plus, his interestingly worded jokes to Mayuko kinda lend an endearing side to him

Speaking of the yaka sword, I notice that for most of the series, it's technically an instrument of death, but in the final episode, it gives life back to Aono. Also, Matsuri's subtle personality change occurs only after she lays hands on the sword, not to mention that Takeshi was a villian for the early half while still wielding the blade. I wonder if there'll be something more to be told about it, or is it just me looking too much into things?

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by Skane

He did mention that he might come to like the stuff in time, but we have never actually seen him finish a can by himself. Well... there is the possibility that Matsuri drank for the two of them, but that scene is probably just a symbolic gesture on the existence of Matsuri and Yorito.

Cheers.

well just for completeness sakes i would like to believe that they are a symbolic in that yorito and matsuri are now finally together...but this would mean that aono had to watch matsuri burn to a crisp which is a bloody bad thought O.o

Originally Posted by cshard

@ Skane

Spoiler for just because:

Given how most Visual Novels go, I won't bat an eyelid if Mayuko is considered a viable path in the game - but I certainly hope they never include Koyori as a path... -_-'

oh hell if that happened...

[cshard]

@ Deathkillz

Spoiler for a particularly orange coloured sunrise:

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

...but this would mean that aono had to watch matsuri burn to a crisp which is a bloody bad thought O.o

Let's hope Aono got blinded by the sunlight. -_-' Then again, I think I've never seen Matsuri ignite in flames before - only Mayuko did that after all. Hopefully, she slowly disintegrated into pretty sparkles at the least.

... meh. I can't believe I'm actually saying that.

[Skane]

Well... somebody did predict that the-

Spoiler for why not?:

- pretty sparkles in the OP were the dust of a disintegrated Matsuri. I wonder if the game producers will be morbid enough to make that event into a CG slideshow.

In terms of effects, Matsuri decays into pretty sparkles, Aono gets charred, and Mayuko is flammable.

It is a long shot, but I really hope that the game will get licensed for an English release. I am willing to settle for a fansub patch though. I am really, really peaked to play the game at this point.

Oh, and a license announcement for the anime series as well of course.

In other news, I have finally posted my write-up for Ep12. Ep13's write-up will come shortly after the fansub release by [Doremi].

Cheers.

[cshard]

Spoiler for combustibility:

I wonder if the combustibility of a yaka determines their combat power?

If that were true, Mayuko should be watched with extreme caution. And Takeshi REALLY needs to watch himself. XD

I'm definitely very much excited about playing the game as well. Although my wish is in vain, I kinda hope that there won't be an LE version of it when it releases. Goodness knows my wallet is already screaming under the weight of trying to get as many sola goodies.

...




...heck, what am I kidding myself for? I can't wait to see the extras an LE PS2 sola would bring.

[kron]

i quite liked the ending. especially the little touch in the end with the 2 cans. and am i the only one who loved the finale ED? can't wait to get hold on the full version.

p.s why's everyone putting spoiler tags in the ep 13 discussion post? shouldn't people have seen the ep before reading the thread unless they actually want to be spoiled?

[Deathkillz]

Spoiler for ways to blow a yaka up:

unlike what the tag says i dont think the way they disappear is determined by their power...imagine aono...she should have ben turning into paper when the sun shone on her then instead of charring...and while it seems to work for matsuri we havent even seen mayuko's powers (which is something im disappointed about) ~ heres wishing that takeshi gets many more years of love and pain

"saite!!!"

Originally Posted by kron

p.s why's everyone putting spoiler tags in the ep 13 discussion post? shouldn't people have seen the ep before reading the thread unless they actually want to be spoiled?

for insurance purposes ofc ~ and it has been a common rule to continue using them til when the subs are released