I was half-expecting a “you’ll float too” there for a minute.
The bar is high, but this arc may be the best run of episodes Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun has had in anime form. The sense of import is palpable, because we’re cutting very close to the bone where the core premise is concerned. But beyond that these eps have simply been unbelievably good. If the balance has shifted towards the darker end of the tonal spectrum, so be it – these are some grim matters the narrative is pondering. And even if Hanako himself hasn’t been prominent in the narrative, he’s still the figure at the center of everything that’s happening – and Ogata Megumi is still getting a plenty good showcase.
To be precise, I suppose one should say Amane and Tsukasa both are at the center of everything. And Tsukasa more directly of course, as he’s prominent on-screen though most of these events. He seems quite obsessed with love – whether Amane loved him, and whether Nene does (“I’m more neutral”). When she relents that she “likes Amane – kind of a lot!” (which is very hard for Kou to hear) he relents and agrees to tell Nene and Kou the story of two brothers and how this one got where he is. He shows the pair their old bedroom, and how the the whole wish thing got started. And it’s incredibly creepy and unsettling in how matter-of-fact it all is.
There are a number of questions roiling here. Among them is the identity of whatever it is that’s underneath the Red House – or indeed, is the Red House itself. Is it a Kami, as Amane suggests? Its focus on sacrifices strongly implies a connection to the Akane oracle sacrifices, especially as Nene met a bunch of them when she and Tsukasa were separated. One presumes that any being capable of granting wishes is one of extraordinary spiritual power, God or not. And given its approach to the matter it seems pretty safe to call it evil.
Of equal importance is the matter of Tsukasa(s) himself. And he’s a mysterious tyke in any form, to be sure. In the first place I think it’s becoming extremely clear that the “real” Tsukasa – the one who made the wish and exchanged himself for his brother, if that story is true – was a very odd little boy. His worldview even then seemed strange, and I think Amane’s feelings towards him were complicated. But above and beyond that, how do we reconcile the Tsukasa in the “present” – who looks 13 and acts as an agent of chaos for the Broadcasting Club – with this four year-old toddler?
Kou constructs what seems like a pretty plausible theory. This is the “real” Tsukasa, and the one they know from their world is a fake. That would mean that Amane never actually killed his brother, and in fact might have killed the being he did because he was a fake. So if they could get chibi-Tsukasa back to their timeline, that could change everything. It does seem feasible, but the more one considers it the more it seems like the sort of theory a sweet and naive kid like Kou would construct. Based on it, he and Nene declare they’ll take this Tsukasa back with them, and the Red House reacts in violent fashion to stop them.
Nene and Kou do manage to fight their way out once Tsukasa suggests that fire is the house’s weakness. But Tsukasa isn’t with them, and when they turn to look back the house is a burned-out shell. Tsukasa, it seems, always knew how to get back but felt he “shouldn’t”. That was before Kou spilled the beans about Amane’s fate, though. And that seems to have changed his mind. Tsukasa’s attitude here suggests that in fact he is the Tsukasa we know from the outside world, though if that’s the case there are still things that would require explanation (such as how he grew up by nine years).
Not bringing Tsukasa with them is a disappointment, but Teru-nii points out that given the facts, there’s nothing they could have done for him anyway. And in fact Nene’s magical mystery tour suggests that the Red House – husk or no – is likely connected to the other side (most likely through that old well). So a trip to the Boundary seems to be in the cards next (well, after pizza) though I suspect Teru is going to try and leave Nene and Kou behind, forcing them to try and follow on their own.
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