Spring 2021 First Impressions – To Your Eternity

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 20

Source: Manga

Story Summary: Once there was an orb, sent to Earth, that transformed based on its connection to and stimulation by other entities. It spent time as a rock, as moss, and then took the form of a white wolf named Joaan belonging to a lonely boy living in a small hut among the desolate, snowy landscape. The boy is making plans to leave for “Paradise,” to follow in the footsteps of his fellow villagers. The boy and Joaan leave toward the South, following markings left by people who traveled that way previously. After a tragic discovery, they’re forced to head back, where the boy struggles with the encroaching loneliness. As the hearth fire dies out, the wolf Joaan transforms once more, into a boy.

Impressions: While I normally do my best to keep too many details out of the episode recaps, I’ve worked even harder this time around because this episode really demands to be watched and felt – experienced – without too much baggage.

There’s nothing surprising about this episode, and while that might sound like a dig – I often see people upset that they predicted a piece of media’s “plot twists” early on – I mean it in the most complimentary way. Because even though it’s clearly almost inevitable that this episode’s story will end in tragedy, that does nothing to blunt the story’s emotional impact. While I know very little about the manga (I’ve had purchased digital copies of it sitting on my computer for a while, but I’m bad at reading manga, so…) I’ve never gotten the impression that it banks on surprising anyone. Instead, having watched this episode, I think its beauty must be in how it shows human behavior in the face of known terrible odds; how we convince ourselves of things that might not be truths, but how creating that hope becomes a way to live on.

And I can’t imagine how that sort of behavior must seem to an entity who’s experiencing the world through completely fresh and alien eyes. To a lifeform that has no preconceived notions of logic or concepts of “right” and “wrong.” The set-up for this story prompts all kinds of extraneous thoughts; “what if the orb had ended up alongside someone incredibly sadistic?” being the one that throbbed in my brain the most. There’s something very pure and very lucky about the boy’s optimism, as well as the way in which he constantly uses Joaan as a sounding-board for his own thoughts (or the things he wants to convince himself of), because I think the impression that leaves (especially on an entity otherwise unfamiliar with humanity) is so much better than the hatred and pessimism we’re also capable of.

There’s a particular person in my life who’s decided that I don’t like to watch “sad movies,” and that accusation grates on me a bit because all it is is an oversimplification (and it makes me feel like they’re calling me dumb and not a “real critic,” but that’s another matter entirely). I like stories that run the gamut of emotions, and even sometimes seek out entertainment that I know is going to make me feel down; I just find that so many pieces of media that focus on the “bad” do so in a way that feels cynical or glorifying of the behavior. This episode is a great example of emotionally-taxing entertainment that doesn’t fall into the same sorts of traps that it often can. The boy’s hope isn’t realistic; we can tell almost from the get-go. And yet the story doesn’t make him out to be stupid and also doesn’t feel in any way hopeless. It’s a balancing act and a triumph that I wish wasn’t so rare.

Pros: This is a very pretty premiere. Even though much of it is set in a desolate landscape covered in snow, there’s a beautiful starkness to it that is captured really well.

While I don’t tend to harp on “show, don’t tell” the way that many do, this episode is a good example of that type of storytelling working really well. The boy’s deterioration is heartbreaking because we glean it from his flushed face and dry lips, rather than him outwardly speaking about his pain.

Cons: This is one of those rare times where I can’t think of anything I find personally worth critiquing about this episode. I will mention, though, that it’s not a happy ending and I suspect that there are some if not many people who aren’t interested in that sort of thing at the moment.

Content Warnings: Animal injury/death. Blood. Human injury (with blood) followed by infection (not graphic). Mild body horror.

Would I Watch More? – Yes, although as good as this episode was I know I’m going to have to be careful about when I watch subsequent episodes. I will definitely have to be in a certain frame of mind.