Episode 27: Fallen to Hikara
Summary:
Erin wakes up in a strange fog. A mysterious ship passes by and she sees Soyon on board. Running towards it, she calls out to her mother but wakes up in her bed. This is only one of many recent dreams she’s had about Soyon.
It’s still summer break at Kazalm, as indicated by the school’s eerie silence. Esal-sensei is concerned about Erin waking up late to feed Lilan. She wonders if things are okay, and Erin says she’s just short on sleep. Afterwards, Erin hangs out with Lilan and recalls her conversation with Esal-sensei about how it can never return to the wild. Lilan takes her straw hat and throws it in the distance; as it runs after it, Erin sees visions of her dream. She wonders what could be gained by experiencing this. When she looks down at some bees, she recalls one of Jone’s statements. She expresses her desire to see Jone again to Lilan, and wonders if he’d enjoy a visit. However, Erin tells herself she’d be a bother, and further adds that Lilan would be lonely without her. She figures she can just write him a letter, and explains to Lilan what that is.
That night, Erin prepares her letter. She walks out and overhears Karisa telling Nukku and Mokku not to walk in some place filled with fog. Apparently, a mysterious light travels through there and drags wandering souls down to Hikara: a place bad people go when they die.
Later, Erin huddles on her bed and happens to spot a red light in the distant forest. She hears her mother’s voice and walks into the foggy area. Erin tells herself she must be going crazy but spots an approaching red aura. She suddenly wakes up in her bed. It is now morning. She wonders how she got back here, since she passed out in the forest. At first Erin thinks it may have been a dream, but knows she was there. She returns to the forest (during the day) and discovers several beast-lord statues. A teacher tells her that those statues are actually graves, and while he talks she thinks about how Lilan will be here until death. At nighttime, she huddles next to Lilan in its cage and continues to think about how it can’t live as a wild beast-lord. Regardless, she’s still resolved to raise it her way. She wonders if her mom felt the same way about Touda.
As Erin dozes off, she finds herself again in the dream. Mysterious voices talk around her about Soyon and how she committed the crime of letting the Kiba die. They say how it’s natural that Soyon was sent down to Hikara. They start chanting to take Soyon, the wrongdoer, away. This is too much for Erin, and she eventually collapses.
Lilan welcomes her back as Erin awakens with tears, and she wonders why her mother was taken down to Hikara. She blames herself for not being able to save her, and wonders what to do. Her face brushes against Lilan’s fur as she says how this situation is the same: she can’t do anything for Lilan. She dozes off once again.
A younger Erin finds Jone beside her in the dream. She expresses her concern about Soyon and Lilan, saying she doesn’t know what to do. He helps her with his own question: what does she want to do? He further tells her that she’s always put everything into what she’s done and that he respects that part of her. Erin answers with how she wants to save her mom and raise Lilan as if it were in the wild. He tells her not to hesitate, for she can achieve these things. Jone decides to take her to where Soyon is, saying he was in the middle of a journey on the boat beside them. As they sail, his theme song plays and Erin experiences his signature fart. The song ends as they reach the ship. He helps her onto its deck. The present Erin appears and thanks Jone for his help. She stops in the middle of her statement and calls him “dad” with a smile. He grins and compliments her smile: it’s great no matter how many times he’s seen it.
As she walks on deck, Erin looks around and finds her mother tied up near the front. When she calls her, Soyon silently looks back. Back in reality, Lilan watches Erin’s internal struggle. The mysterious voices begin chanting again, and as she’s about to withdraw, Soyon’s voice informs her that hesitation has created this dream. Erin wonders what she’s talking about, and a beast-lord’s visage appears. Soyon explains that her heart, with its feelings of sadness and dereference, made this fog; Erin is using it to avoid facing her mixed feelings about Lilan’s situation.
Erin then finds herself in the lake of her mom’s execution and sees the approaching Touda. Soyon tells her not to forget everything she’s felt up till now. Erin follows her advice, remembering Lilan and the wild beast-lords. She proceeds to swim towards the center of the lake, racing against the Touda. Lilan’s figure appears and transforms into Soyon; the two reach out for each other, and Erin manages to arrive in time. They appear together on a sunny coastline, foreheads together, tears down their cheeks. Their short time together feels like a valued eternity, marked by Soyon’s bittersweet smile.
Erin wakes up next to Lilan with Esal, Karisa, Nukku, and Mokku on the sidelines. They wonder if she’s alright, and she tells them things are fine now. Erin also tells Lilan that she’ll always be by its side, no matter what. Karisa reveals that she was the cause of the glow in the forest the night before: her lantern emitted the red aura. The tale about Hikara was also made up. Nukku and Mokku protest her past remarks, and Karisa argues with them. With a cleared mind, Erin resolves to do her best for the sake of her mother and Jone.
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My Thoughts:
This episode came with many unexpected things. First, I didn’t think we’d actually see Soyon again. As her mother indicated, the dream was symbolic of Erin’s own doubts on how to handle Lilan’s situation. I understood its purpose more through Jone: he told her to follow what she wanted to do, and put her best foot forward. He also reminded her of how she’s followed this philosophy in the past. One particular example is when she tried to save her mother. She gave it her all, and though things ended horribly, I think she would have felt worse if she had just let events pass and kept on living in Ake. She literally repeats this effort in her dream, though Lilan momentarily takes the place of her mother. Though she may feel an equivalent fear of not being able to help Lilan like Soyon, she still plans to do her best, as in the past. Thus, like she tells Jone, Erin will try to raise Lilan as if it were in the wild.
We also got to see how Erin still regrets not being able to save Soyon. This is realistic in the sense I don’t think one could completely get over such a traumatic event. I’m glad we were able to see the current Erin with her mother, and I thought their scene on the shore was heart-warming. Whether that was actually Soyon’s spirit talking to Erin versus her mind’s portrayal is up to debate– though I think it’s not the latter. When I saw Jone in the dream, I thought, “only her mind could be doing this since he’d have to be dead to actually show up.” However, it turns out (according to next episode) Jone has passed away. Also recall how he mentioned he was in the middle of his boat ride when he stumbled into her, which correlates to his recent death. In that case, the Soyon and Jone in her dream is more likely their spirits versus her mind’s portrayal of them. Based on that assumption, I’m glad we got to hear Soyon speak to Erin post-death, since they were separated so suddenly. The scene where Erin finally calls Jone “dad” was also touching.
Speaking of next episode: they sure aren’t subtle, eh? I feel for Erin. It looks like Esal-sensei may be helping her get through the loss, so that’s better than simply being alone. Talk about getting through with one issue and facing another. In any case, see it all next time, on Kemono no Souja Erin: “Death of Jone.”
Tags: anime, fantasy, heart-warming, Kemono no Souja Erin
