Sora no Woto – Episode 09

Last week on Sora no Woto, Kanata stared at a telephone for 18 minutes, though the call at the end ended up being somewhat important.  This week kicks the drama back into gear with a life-threatening typhoon, as well as spotlighting themes of both depression and hope.

But first, Kanata has to do the laundry... again.

The episode starts in the garden, and while the girls work, Rio starts playing a jazzy blues piece on her trumpet.  Along with this, Kanata notices that Rio is becoming detached and depressed, though Kureha waves off her concern.  Klaus knocks on the door in the middle of a typhoon, and he bears a high priority message for Rio.  He stays the night, but soon after Yumina comes seeking aid.  Seiya has gone missing.  The troops mobilize, with Klaus and Kureha finding Mishio, and then Seiya.  They successfully get him to safety, but a rock slide destroys their path.  While they await rescue, Kureha notices the Major lacks the tattoo that “Miracle Klaus” should have.  With the townspeople’s aid, Noël mobilizes the tank to fire an anchor.  Klaus protects Kureha and returns her safely.

Tis just a flesh wound!

First, it’s time to focus a little more on Rio.  The blues represent sorrow and sadness, true to their name, and Rio certainly acts the part.  She’s not picky with her food like usual, and Filicia notes that she’s been forgetting things recently.  The two senior officers share some level of confidence since Filicia vows to continue covering her mistakes.  Additionally, we see that Iliya signed the letters Rio has read throughout the series.  She likely continues to read them to keep some link to the dead princess alive, so she probably hasn’t reached closure.  Indeed, when she sees the rapids the typhoon has created, she immediately flashes back to Iliya’s casket.  The phone call from her father and the message she receives only exacerbates the problem.  Right before she opens the message, the emergency calls her away.  All of this stress finally causes her to snap about how she hates children, especially disobedient ones.  Filicia calms her down, but that leaves us with a question.  Did Iliya die trying to save a child?

She plays with passion, but looks so detached...

Despite the depressing mood Rio exerts, we also see the other side of the coin.  Hope still exists, and  nature repairs itself.  Klaus takes a moment to look at the growing wheat fields on his way to the base, and the orphans admire their small garden of eggplants.  We also see Noël’s experience in the garden with a pill bug.  With the level of surprise she displays, you have to wonder if this is first time she’s ever seen a pill bug, and perhaps it represents life returning to the area.  Seiya even wants to risk his life to save the eggplants he planted.  While that’s clearly stupid in the grand scheme of things, on a basic level, these plants represent life that he and his friends have nourished and sustained.  They serve as stark contrast to the barren wastes of No Man’s Land.

These pill bugs are the best things since sliced bread!

Even more significant, though, is the tank itself.  The tank largely represents war, and we saw clearly the devastation they can cause in Filicia’s flashback.  Recall way back in episode 4 that Noël feared the use of her machines to kill people.  Kanata reassures her by saying she’s sure people used the tank to help people.  You can say what you will about her ditziness at times, but Kanata hides a great deal of perception.  That perception pays off when Noël uses the tank to save the two soldiers.  The show’s message between the two episodes is clear: the tool is not the problem, rather, it is the person who wields it.  Even though people generally build tanks for warfare, with a little thought a person can use it for a peaceful purpose.  I imagine the experience put Noel’s mind a little at ease.

Fire that cannon! Save those lives! Live the dream!

I would love to talk for a bit about Klaus and Kureha, but this post is already becoming quite long.  Perhaps I’ll revisit them later.  The next episode’s title is Departure – When the First Snow Falls.  We know the nations have had little luck with the peace talks, so it’s probable that war will break out again, sweeping up our cast.  It also implies that winter is fast approaching.  If history has taught us anything, winter warfare always causes unnecessary expenses in resources, as well as human lives.

The war machines march steadily on...

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