It’s no headline if I say Fumetsu no Anata e is one of the most annoying series ever. I mean, everybody knows that. But what’s really galling is that it’s almost more annoying when it’s great than when it’s awful (and it’s that rare show that’s often both). I mean, where the hell does it get off having a stellar season premiere after the absolute clusterfuck of Season 2? And worst of all, it always seems to spark to life just when you’re ready to write it off. I was planning, in fact, do do a “Diminished Expectations Digest” post with this and Spy x Family. I was pleased with how clever an idea that was. Then I watched the premiere, and so much for that.
I’m trying hard not to be fooled. Greatness with To Your Eternity is almost always a siren’s song. But the fact that it’s capable of it, no matter how long and deep the troughs, is one of the most notable things about it. Talent is obviously key here – Ooima Yoshitoki is gifted with it, and probably hasn’t been well served by editors over the years. But there’s something to this premise that’s powerful, and to Fushi as a character. Something that no amount of shabby treatment can totally snuff out.
So yeah, annoyingly enough, this premiere was really good. It sees us far into the future, though from where we sit it looks like the present but with a lot more roots. Fushi has been slumbering for what seems to be many hundreds of years, using his consciousness to try and create a peaceful world (through his roots). By the looks of things he may have achieved it. Things certainly seem idyllic enough at the middle school where we meet Aoki Yuuki (Han Megumi, a great boya as always). He’s vice-president of the Handicrafts Club, which seems to covertly be the Occult Research Society. And he’s a Fushi otaku, even if he doesn’t know or use that name.
Whether this world which looks so much like our own (only rootier) really is free of stuff like war and hunger I don’t know. But Fushi seems convinced, so he wakes up. The man in black pays him a visit, congratulates him on a job well done, and grants Fushi the ability to “connect” even once his tether is severed. He tells Fushi to go and enjoy himself, a reward for what he’s accomplished. Fushi normally isn’t one for such indulgences but he does start to sample what this strange time has to offer. That includes speeding trucks which smack little boys who wander into intersections, but hey – he’s pre-bandaged, and this gives him the chance to gawk at modern medical technology.
Boba tea (sorry Fushi, but yuck) in-hand, he goes off to gather his old inner circle, starting with March as she’s likely panicked about being alone here. But to his shock, March (who seems to have woken up in an anthropological museum) has found a family to live with. Not wanting to intrude he panics and turns into a fugu, and goes for a swim. Eventually he winds up on the fishhook of Yuuki, the last remnant of the “handicrafts” club fishing trip (which included Mizuha – who is surely a reincarnated Hisame, given that they have the same seiyuu – who he’s madly in-love with). He transforms, but doesn’t know what he’s getting into with Yuuki.
The scenes with Yuuki and Fushi are pretty hilarious right from the beginning. Yuuki is an absolutely adorable scamp I have to say, and he finally persuades Fushi to come home with him and meet his grandpa and younger sister. Both of them seem very cool, and while Gramps initially freaks out when Gugu (who Fushi transforms into when Yuuki insists on being carried) brings the boy home, once Fushi’s true nature is revealed he’s surprisingly chill about it. He wisely makes the kids swear never to tell anybody such a weird creature (and his friends) are in their house, which Yuuki unsurprisingly ignores the next day as soon we he meets up with his clubmates.
The magic and madness of Fumetsu no Anata e is that you never knew when it’s going to be great and when atrocious. And often it’s hard to pin down why. This just worked. The tone was perfect – light-hearted and goofy, with just a whisper of the pathos that’s Fushi’s eternal companion. I’m not going to be suckered into believing the status quo will hold – I’ve been disappointed over and over by this series, and I know this arc is pretty divisive with manga readers. There’s also the fact that the first two seasons covered 116 chapters, and there are 85 remaining – an awkward number. But with To Your Eternity, the best thing is just to enjoy it when it’s really good and not think about what’s coming.
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