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Rating: 9.3/10

Impressions:

Wow, I never thought that Shiori is gonna die. I don’t doubt that she will die, since characters dying aren’t problems when Key is involved. The way Kaori revealed it seemed a bit to sudden to me, as did the entire episode which I hear delved straight into Shiori’s arc. I guess it’s not so sudden after all as Shiori did appear a lot throughout the series. However, that also makes me question why a sickly girl like her who is about to die is fine with being in such cold whether with little clothes on. And I don’t think her getting 0 on the mole-hitting game did her any justice. It kind of made me sad…The date sequence is excellently executed though, with the Last Regrets Xmas Floor Remix playing in the background. It really is a happy moment, which significantly increases the shock value of the final scenes for those of us who have no idea what’s going on. Speaking of the last scene, it’s the first time KyoAni has used such a dark yet brilliant scene set. I thought they would reuse some old backgrounds and lighting, so this really surprised and impressed me. KyoAni is just incredible at these things!

I don’t like Kaori’s reasons for ignoring her sister. She’s just so selfish and heartless. I guess she lost her composure this episode, since from the previews it looks like she goes back to believing she has no sister. I really feel sorry for Shiori though. She’s wanted to spend such precious time with her one and only sister, yet for reasons beyond her control, she is unable to. It’s not her fault she was born to die less than 20 years later. Kaori really should cherish the little remaining time she has with her sister. Another thing that concerns me is Yuuichi’s ability to go from girl to girl so easily. I know this is a visual novel, but I always thought KyoAni, being the excellent storytellers they are, would be able to merge the arcs more, and not have characters from the previous arc disappear completely. This goes especially for Makoto, who disappears before even the halfway mark of the show. I doubt she’s ever gonna appear again. Amano is also probably not going to appear again except for a cameo at the end of the series. I still don’t know anything about her though (past etc).

Mai’s arc is conveniently wrapped up this episode, having her and Sayuri stay in hospital until graduation, which is probably the end of the series, right? How long IS it until graduation anyway? I doubt both of them need to stay in hospital that long anyway, considering how both of them look fine. It’s like breaking your arm; you’re not going to stay in hospital until it heals, are you? Well, I don’t really know anything about this so I shouldn’t complain too much. Something eventful happens at the hospital as well, which I have yet to mention. This is when one of the nurses sees Ayu and notices something strange. I’m guessing the nurse has seen Ayu before, and it would be pretty freaky if someone died and you see someone who looks exactly the same as the person who died the next day. This is probably similar to what happens in this episode. Perhaps she isn’t dead though, but I think she is anyway. But since everyone is going on about an Ayu and Yuuichi ending, perhaps she isn’t. However, does she really need to be alive to satisfy an Ayu and Yuuichi ending?

Plot Outline:

- Nayuki gets up and notices that both Ayu and Yuuichi aren’t at home
- The two are in fact at the hospital, visiting Mai and Shiori
- Both girls are unable to leave until graduation, which also conveniently places them out of Yuuichi’s life for now
- At the hospital, Yuuichi and Ayu also bump into Shiori
- The nurse with Shiori notices something strange about Ayu, but says nothing
- After Kaori gets up, her mother tells her to spend more time with her sister, but she ignores her and leaves for school
- On the way to school, Yuuichi is called back by Ayu as Akiko has come down with a fever, though it is only minor
- During school, Yuuichi and Nayuki help Ayu buy medicine and make porriage for Akiko

- That weekend, Yuuichi goes out with Shiori, heading first over to the arcade (Shiori gets a record score of 0 at ‘hit-the-mole’
- They go to a park next and have a snowball fight, where Yuuichi purposely misses Shiori every single time
- Finally, they go to school and Shiori reminisces about her first day, and tells it to Yuuichi
- She admits her illness isn’t just a common cold, though doesn’t explain her condition fully
- Soon after Yuuichi gets back home, he receives a call from Kaori, requesting him to meet her at school
- He heads over and sees Kaori, who begins to explain everything about Shiori, who she admits is her little sister this time
- The big shock is that next week is Shiori’s birthday, the birthday which she’s not meant to live too (meaning she’s going to die)
- Kaori ends up crying in Yuuichi’s arms as she admits she has being avoiding Shiori to lessen the pain when she dies

Preview:

Next episode – #17
Let’s delve deeper into Shiori’s story!

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