Kamisama No Inai Nichiyoubi OVA

I was pretty much delighted when Kamisama No Inai Nichiyoubi OVA came out. I loved the fantasy-like setting and the little adventures Ai and her gang go through in this abandoned world. So I thought even though there isn’t any second season so far, perhaps the OVA would be suffice for the time being. At least answer some questions that I had in mind during the TV series. Let’s say that it wasn’t what I expected. This OVA is divided into 3 short sections that don’t really further the plot or add much to what we already know…

Part 1: Hotspring
Alis and Dee are part of the travelling troupe. Because they have been on the road for who knows how long, Dee suggests taking a break and knows there is a nearby hotspring. Ai’s eyes brighten up and she is really eager to dip into one. Since everybody else agrees with this, I suppose majority wins and Yuri is forced to take a detour. Seriously, a ghost like Dee can soak in the hotspring? Anyway this is your fanservice section. Ah yes, if only those hair and steam didn’t get in the way… Ai notices Scar’s great boobs and sexy curvaceous body. Well, she herself never noticed it since she was ‘born’ this way. Ai also notices Dee’s nice body. I guess this means Ai is at the bottom of the pack, eh? However Dee notes that even though she does have a nice figure, she laments nobody else can touch it except herself. So who else does she wants to let touch? Can I be the one? Ai hopes to grow up like them but they don’t seem to have much confidence in that and think she is best the way she is. You got to satisfy some lolicons out there… Meanwhile at the guys’ section, Yuri is flexing his muscles. He’s trying to hint to us that he is Mr Universe worthy. Alis isn’t so much interested because he says his body has stopped growing.

Part 2: Meeting
Alis recaps the Class 3-4 arc whereby things were forever in loop and he had to kill all his classmates. He hated it. While he is bumming out in the streets, he narrates what God did for the week:

Monday: He created the world.
Tuesday:  He drew the line between order and chaos.
Wednesday: He aligned all kinds of numbers.
Thursday: He set time afloat.
Friday: He observed every corner of the world.
Saturday: He took a rest.
Sunday: He… Guess what happened?

Hampnie comes into the picture and it seems they have met before. He mentions God has granted his wish and something called mutual trouble. Alis knows what he has done (the act of killing his friends) is wrong but his crimes cannot be reversed. Not even foolishness can be cured by death. Alis wonders if he is ready to become a monster but Hampnie views he isn’t needed here. Alis pulls out a gun, points it at him and regrets he wants to trust all of what he sees as his present self. Hampnie throws his cigarette to distract him. He runs up to his side to kick away his gun but Alis draws out another one. Now they’re pointing at each other, face to face. A gunshot is heard. Who fired? Who got shot? Alis wakes up from this dream. He wonders if he was able to die. He must have looked like a real fool from his eyes by getting hooked by immortality time and time again. He thinks Hampnie might have wanted him to say “I’ll be back here again someday”.

Part 3: Fate
Hampnie walks wherever his feet bring him without any goal. He narrates the day God abandoned the world without warning. There were no signs of it. There was no word about it. So people started saying lots of things after that. This is his theory: God must be an idiot. Because He wanted to fulfil everyone’s last wish. On that day when he turned 17, he felt his sickly body becoming stable and this continued till today. The laws of the world have been ignored and this artificialness he wished for must be taking form. Reminding us what God for the week, he thinks God must have loved this world because there were lots of amazing diversity and values spread explosively until the world was at its ideal expanse. Countless years, lights and spaces passed… Then come Sunday… Hampnie reaches a waterfall and he sees Hana (Alfa?) bathing. Want to come in? Perhaps this is another one of his wishes that God fulfilled. Too bad Hampnie wakes up from that beautiful dream when cheeky Ai wakes him up after getting ‘too tired in seeing that smile of his’. Is that a bad thing? Maybe she doesn’t want to be left out from all the fun.

It’s More Fun To Live
Sadly, I find this OVA a little mediocre. It doesn’t answer anything and perhaps adds a little more to the things that I never understand. Like the meeting with Alis and Hampnie. I didn’t really understand what’s going on unless this was part of Hampnie’s journey to find a way to die since he is immortal. Couldn’t he just find a Gravekeeper? Also, Hampnie’s meeting with Hana also didn’t do much. So what that the detour he took led him to meet her? So? I know. Because of that, Ai was born. We partly already know his theory of God wanting to grant wishes because that was already stated in the TV series. So why bother to repeat again? To remind us? It would be handy if it brought us anywhere but it didn’t. Besides, I think this OVA was just to make Hampnie the main star as I personally felt that he was quite a cool guy and died after the first arc. Ai was reduced to an extra character that was probably made to make us smile a little whenever she goes into her cute loli mode. You can’t hate that, can’t you? Yuri and Scar felt so lacking that it didn’t even matter.

I know the TV series had no fanservice or very little so you thought that with the OVA, we might have a little naughty glimpse. Disappointed? Well, I wasn’t expecting it but for those who did, you might feel ripped off because you know, when you buy BDs with your hard earned cash (or from your father’s), you expect a little more ‘exposure’ in this area. Instead, the fanservice felt like teasers as we don’t get to see real tits. Not that I’m complaining about this part. So I hope there would be another season or if not another OVA so this series would redeem itself instead of being buried forever in the sea of animes. Maybe it won’t become some sort of living legend like One Piece and Naruto. Yeah, those animes seem to ‘live’ forever. Speaking of living, the moral of the story is that it is better being alive than dead because despite all the pain and misery, you know there’ll be happy and pleasant times that can only be experienced when you’re alive. Those moments are times when it really makes you feel good to be alive. You don’t hear the dead coming back to tell how awesome it is on the other side, right?

Kamisama No Inai Nichiyoubi

Have you ever thought that the day would come when God would abandon men? No, I’m not talking about those men from different sides fighting each other to the death in some meaningless war and the one on the losing side screams to the Heavens that God has abandoned him. There would be no Judgment Day or Apocalypse to come too. It is just the plain Almighty leaving us for good and we are free to be left to our own devices. We cannot die and we cannot produce children for the next generation either. It is quite a pretty interesting concept in Kamisama No Inai Nichiyoubi (Sunday Without God) and in this fantasy world setting, God has seemingly done that. At first it might seem cool because as the saying goes, when the cat is away, the mouse is out to play. But when the cat never comes back, you start feeling something is wrong. Really wrong. Sure, it’s cool that you can’t die and head over to the afterlife in this ‘new world’. Bet you never knew the pain of living forever, don’t you? Don’t worry, before God left, he granted us a little ‘respite’. Gravekeepers as they are called are the only beings that allow us to seek death if you get ceremoniously buried by them. And you thought dying was easy, huh? A little girl named Ai is one of those but she will soon realize that the world isn’t just confined to her little village in the mountains and she will go on a journey that will discover the truth about this world and ultimately herself.

Valley Of Death Arc

Episode 1
As narrated, God created the world on Monday, etc. But come Sunday, God abandoned it after He realized the other side is full. Thus, nobody is able to die despite all the injuries or things that could kill. That makes us like zombies, right? But God granted us a respite. The restless souls can seek peace if being buried by a Gravekeeper. Ai is a 12 year old Gravekeeper and has taken over this duty ever since her mom, Alfa died. Nobody in her village died ever since. She takes pride in her job although she is tempted to be spoiled by the villagers’ treats. Can’t resist a candy, can’t you? Her foster parents, Youki and Anna took her in after Alfa’s death and it is mentioned Ai’s real dad, Hampnie Hambart is out there in this world. Ai is told she would one day reunite with him. One day after digging enough graves for the villagers, she returns to town only to find it empty. Then she bumps into this handsome guy who asks her if she knows of a woman dead or alive called Hana or with certain traits and such. Ai doesn’t know. I guess Ai is taken in by his handsome face so she asks about him. He pulls a fast one that he is Hampnie Hambart. She really believes him! Coincidence that he shares the name as her real father? Oh wait. Couldn’t he be her father?! I guess this guy’s teasing backfired. How can that even be a real name? How can she even mistake this guy as her dad when she had always envisioned him as someone tough? Think Rambo. But Hampnie (let’s refer this handsome guy as such) has a request of her. A job that Gravekeepers can only do.

Ai is devastated to see everyone in town dead! Only her uncle Yuuto is alive but even so, half his head is gone! Yeah, he can’t remember the threat in this village and his zombie-like acting is scaring Ai. Hampnie warns Yuuto he has 3 seconds to do whatever he wants before he blows his brains out. Yuuto jumps to protect Ai. He is shot in the head. Hampnie says he made sure everyone else is dead by taking out their brains but somehow got careless on Yuuto. Ai becomes upset and accuses him of killing everyone. On the contrary, he says he only immobilized them and only a Gravekeeper can kill. Angry Ai attacks him but is kicked unconscious. It’s just heartbreaking to see a loli fighting with a handsome guy… When she wakes up, she is of course still mad and says he isn’t her father. Isn’t that what he had been telling her? After Ai buries them all, Hampnie tells Ai that she isn’t a Gravekeeper. Because Gravekeepers do not have parents. They just pop up like flies. Hampnie wonders what the villagers are up to when they made Ai believe she is a Gravekeeper. Because she is clearly human. And she’s got parents. Did she ever consider they were lying all the while? What proof did they have to convince her she was a Gravekeeper? When Alfa told her about her dad, the name Hampnie Hambart comes from a fairytale of toy that moves for eternity without a spring. Just like her, he simply borrowed that name. Still don’t believe? Hampnie continues that Gravekeepers will never have hatred feelings, will never strike a human and if you want to see what a real Gravekeeper looks like, there’s one right now popping up.

Episode 2
This Gravekeeper looks quite pretty and calls herself Scar. She had many other names but never had a first name. He inquires about the woman he is seeking for. Although Hana had 8 possible matches, there are none that matches those traits. He wants her to bury the villagers but Scar mentions they have already been ceremoniously been buried. Does this mean Ai is really a Gravekeeper?! Seems like it. After Scar leaves, Hampnie asks Ai her future plans. Because she wants to continue as a Gravekeeper, he punches her and points his gun. He warns her the cruelty this world has and wants her to forget she is a Gravekeeper. She will not survive long with such mentality. She doesn’t want to die but that isn’t a good reason for him not to kill her. It should have been she wanted to live. Suddenly Hampnie is shot in the chest. A man with a rifle quickly takes Ai away. Hampnie recognizes him as Yuri Sakuma Dmitrievich the hunter and his friend. Yuri recognizes Hampnie as the Eternal One (which means he can’t die) and his enemy. Yuri holds him responsible for killing his wife 6 years ago. Hampnie explains his family is dead and were living in the deep mountains. He hates the dead and can’t stand the way they’re carrying on living even if they are happy with their ways. He knows Yuri is here so that he can be killed by him and revenge is just an excuse. Hampnie knows he has a daughter. He has been living peacefully with her for 6 years and all of a sudden out of the blue, he is seeking revenge? She must have died, right? In short, having lost his reason to live, he came to die by his hands and with a reason that he died while trying to avenge his wife. Yuri then takes Ai hostage! Yuri will grant him his wish but it will be a meaningless death. If he still wishes to fight him, then face him at the town square tomorrow at dawn.

That night, Ai sees Hampnie leaving town. Clearly he is bailing on the duel as he doesn’t want to kill Yuri. This is just a head start since it won’t be long Yuri will be tailing them. Ai follows him since she wants to be a Gravekeeper and help those who need her. During their journey, Ai trips but is embarrassed Hampnie is willing to give her a piggy-back ride. Who is going to watch? When she does, he jumps off the bridge! Piggy-back ride of her life! As they rest, Ai is suspicious of him. First he wanted to kill her but saved her. If he wanted to get away from Yuri, he would have left her behind. When Hampnie learns her age, he realizes why she is a Gravekeeper. When God abandoned the world 15 years ago, those left behind couldn’t reproduce too. Thus there can’t be humans around Ai’s age. This means Ai must be conceived between a human and a Gravekeeper. Hampnie talks about how he and Yuri were once friends and went to the same school and then the words God said on the night when He abandoned the world. Thing is, those words were only said after He well abandoned it. No one actually noticed that day came. Hampnie has a theory. He probably lost interest in our world despite having all the laws, order without contradiction, it must have lacked something interesting. So in the end He decided to grant our wish and that is not to die. He isn’t sure how humans stopped reproducing, though. Of course when you become an immortal, you would have that desire to ultimately die. And so He granted Gravekeepers. He might not be doing a good job but at least He is trying to grant people’s wish. Hampnie adds about himself as an albino and weak from the sun. Around 17 years old, his body started to stabilize and made a wish how this day would last forever. That would probably be the reason he can’t die. After that, the epidemic of Half Dead Fever swept the world and the living had to put up with the undead. Although those who just died won’t have their personality changed, over time they will mentally and physically change and their survival instincts take over. Once that happens, it goes downhill. That’s why he had to kill Yuri’s wife. But why Ai’s villagers? Even if he doesn’t answer her, she’ll find that answer on her own one day. That includes the secret that was sealed within that village.

Episode 3
Alfa once told Ai she wanted to make this village look like Heaven so that this place would serve as a beacon of hope. Ai wanted to help but was told to look for her own calling. Ai continues her journey with Hampnie as he searches for Hana, the woman he loved and spent a short time with before she mysteriously disappeared at the height of the chaos 10 years ago. He is also searching for something else: A way to die. Because he likes people, he doesn’t want to be the last person left on this planet. You can see him shaking in fear just at the thought of that. Ai understands that’s the reason why he wants to become a monster. Suddenly a projectile is shot in the sky. Hampnie thinks he has screwed up and pushes Ai off the bridge and down into the river. When she wakes up, Yuri is by her side and the first thing she wants is to teach that jerk a lesson. Yuri tells her Hampnie saved her because after she was thrown off, the place became a warzone. He talks about Hampnie, despite being heartless he doesn’t like meaningless violence. Back in those days he was much tolerable. Yuri shows the picture of his love and it turns out to be Alfa. So Hana is Alfa? Ai is convinced he is her father. Currently he is being captured by a group of people whose only way to defeat him is to capture him alive. Because if he dies, he’ll come back alive as good as new (Hampnie used a grenade then). Ai wants to save him before his mind warps and turns into a monster, which of course she knows he isn’t. Yuri will also help since despite everything he has done, Hampnie called him his friend. They also meet Scar. Meanwhile Hampnie is being held captive by a group of freaks led by Hiko who proclaims to be his number one fan. He wants to be like him. But the immortal part was tough. That’s why his group even gave up their lives just to catch him.

Hiko goes crazy when Hampnie mentions that he doesn’t want to just die. He wants to die content. Someone by his side when he passes away, those left behind will grieve of him and there is a sense of regret lingering. Hiko doesn’t like his normal death route but Hampnie’s wish now is to live a happy life and die happy. Hiko is not happy over this betrayal and is going to kill him when Scar breaks down the door. She has come to bury them. Ai explains her mother’s traits to him (couldn’t she recall them when he said them the first time?). That’s why they are not strangers. Hampnie realizes Hana is Ai’s mom and his daughter really is a halfie. Born between a human father and a Gravekeeper mother. Ai understands the secret of her village. They were dead for a long time but never wanted to give up on their Heaven. They acted like they were alive and she was too naive to see the truth then. Hiko breaks up this touching moment and is going to kill Ai, thinking torturing her will make Hampnie happy. Yuri’s bullet strikes away his gun. It descends into a big brawl. Ai and her comrades against Hiko’s freaks. Hampnie has time to reflect how Hana did everything without telling him. Left him without telling him. Bore a kid without telling him. Died without telling him. After they free him, Hampnie tells Ai something he never told anyone. His real name is Kizuna Astin and that makes her Ai Astin. He can’t contain his conscious and dies. But he wakes up again as a deceased and for that one day, father and daughter spend the day together like there was no tomorrow. It was as though he wanted her to have some memories to look back on. Ai wanted this moment to last forever but somehow couldn’t ask for it. After that, Ai breaks down uncontrollable after burying him. Yuri asks Ai about her plans. She wants to continue being a Gravekeeper. Even if God has abandoned this world, she will save it.

Ortus Arc

Episode 4
Ai now gets to travel the world! Courtesy to Yuri’s van. She’s really awed at how big the world is. Really. But Scar points out what they’re supposed to do with the boy sleeping at the back of the van. Boy?! He wakes up, then falls back asleep again while spewing a long list of nonsensical words that might probably be his name. Maybe not. He thought Ai looks like the princess. As they continue travelling, Yuri mentions that kid has been drugged, most probably by bandits. Then he warns her not to tell others she is a Gravekeeper because many of the deceased in this world still do not want to go to the next and will kill her. When he wakes up, he introduces himself as Kiriko Zubreska, an apprentice in a government office of Ortus. That place doesn’t bring good memories to Yuri. Kiriko can tell the odd bedfellows these travellers are. Yuri and Ai are definitely not blood related and Scar is a Gravekeeper. Because Yuri is giving him a suspicious stare, he shuts his mouth. Yuri will only drop Kiriko at the gates of Ortus and not go in, much to Ai’s dismay. She really wants to see the city. Why can’t they go in? As soon as they arrive, they see a large hectare of graves. Ortus is the world’s largest city of the living dead. The citizens hate Gravekeepers and want to live on forever. The graves belong to Gravekeepers who are tempted to enter and bury the dead but they got killed instead. Speaking of which, Scar is feeling the need to bury them. Not one, ten or hundred. But a million of them! Oh sh*t! Outside the gates, Kiriko explains a huge statue overlooking the graves. She is Koroshiohake, the guardian goddess of Ortus. As Ortus has a history of oppression, everyone yearned for her because everything about her is death. She is the only one that became a guardian for the deceased.

Kiriko is greeted by this… Uhm… Halfie? Half man, half woman? Pox the castle’s lieutenant of guards and Wreck the Ortus gate’s Minister of Special Foreign Affairs. They are happy to see Kiriko and glad he is back. They are grateful to Ai and even more when she considers them not a monster because a human is still a human. Don’t you just love her and want to cuddle her? To show their appreciation, they will grant her anything. Anything? How about letting them inside Ortus? Yuri reminds Ai about everything again but even so, she wants to see the city where the dead lives. The city that her mom dreamt of making. She’ll somehow think of a way not to let them discover she is a Gravekeeper. Yuri agrees to it since this journey belongs to Ai from the start and will do as she wishes. Plus, the van needs to be fixed. As for Scar, she could hear a voice calling to her and is drawn to it and thus wants to stay. And so as they enter, Ai is thrilled to see the dead thriving with life. Oh, the irony… Next morning (noon actually) she wakes up but sees Scar uncomfortable. Is she sick? She’s been like this since hearing that voice. As Yuri has already gone out for a long time to seek arrangements for the van’s repair, Ai has been told not to leave the building. What a bummer. She mixes around with the inn’s caretaker, Kera and since she really wants to go outside, all she needs to do is put on a mask like everyone else. And so our little Gravekeeper frolics around town with delight. Awwoooo… Child going wild? She sees someone distributing flyers of a play between Koroshiohake and the princess of the deceased when somebody snatches the flyer from her. She follows him, Szaddo Varus to an alley whereby he tells her to get out of Ortus because she doesn’t know the darkness Ortus harbours. Meanwhile Kiriko sees the princess, all wrapped up like as though this is some dangerous mental asylum. He notes she is the only one who can save the world. Her presence itself does that.

Episode 5
Ai meets up with Kiriko and the latter notices her enjoying herself. Why shouldn’t she? It looked so much fun despite everybody being dead. Besides, she was raised by deceased people. She then tells him she is a half Gravekeeper because she likes his smile. Noting how the deceased acts differently from her village, Kiriko briefly explains the system and the science of keeping their bodies dry and such. Kiriko admits he is also one of the deceased. Long ago, a group of 5 people were very close together. They talked about marriage and having children but the latter never came to be because God abandoned the world. So they seek a witch’s help. She can grant that wish but in a twisted way. She took different parts of their body and created a child. Kiriko is that child and the sixth person of the group. Ai has already met Pox and Wreck. The rest are Diva, Orias and Veruela. The 6 of them are known as Lapstar the Lacking Pentagram Star. Ai thinks he is born among the living but he disagrees. Created 13 years ago, he should have aged but didn’t. Learning that Scar is sick, Kiriko knows the perfect doctor who would treat her without any discriminating and keep her secret. Pox is the doctor? No, it’s Diva. Wait a minute. Wasn’t she attached to Wreck yesterday? Ah, never mind. Diva is the castle’s physician and places great importance on health and hygiene. There’s a difference being unhealthy dead and a healthy dead? Yes. Otherwise you’d see people become mindless zombies walking around, lacking life. It’s her job to prevent that. Diva diagnoses Scar that she has imaginary pregnancy. She is not pregnant but showing symptoms of it maybe because she yearns for a child. She thinks the voice she hears from time to time might be related to it. After the diagnosis, Diva continues to fawn over Ai’s cuteness. She thanks her for being friends with Kiriko and suggests to be friends with the princess too.

Kiriko takes Ai to see Princess Ulla Eulesse Hecmatika. She speaks via Kiriko or writes on her notepad. Despite Kiriko being strict about wanting Ai to mind her manners with her, Ulla seems to be very casual with her. Just like how girl friends should be. Ai returns home and tells Yuri the new friend she made today. He says the van is nearly fixed and should be living the city. Ai is sad that the living and dead cannot coexist in Ortus. Yuri explains how the dead suffered discrimination at the hands of the living and worked hard to achieve Ortus as an independent nation. That’s why the living are not welcomed here. When Ai talked to Ulla, it hit her that all she could do to stay is to become the dead. Yuri adds he once tried to live here with his family since his wife was dead. However it never worked out because he couldn’t force her to give up her life. Suddenly they hear the bells ringing. Kiriko says Ortus is under martial law. All gates are blocked and all foreign visitors are under house arrest. Yuri knows there will be a ceremony called Admission of the Living. As Kiriko puts it, a group of 105 living people have lost the means to support themselves and have decided to immigrate to Ortus. They will be bestowed peaceful deaths. In short, they’re going to be killed. Ai feels confused. She thought how the dead needed a happy end but after seeing the people in Ortus, they don’t need one since they’re already perfectly happy. However does it mean it is right? All Yuri can say is that the choice is for them to make. Ai feels Ulla doesn’t know this because she is of the living. She needs to tell her and rushes to the castle. But it seems Ulla is about to begin the ceremony.

Episode 6
Ai watches how Ulla taking off her masks and everything and with just a single gaze, all the immigrants drop dead before coming back to life. As Ulla is about to look at Ai’s direction, Yuri swiftly takes her away. Szaddo says Ulla is Ortus’ darkness because she is Koroshiohake. Anybody she looks at, hears her voice or touches will die. Szaddo knows it because he was alive till a year ago. Children before the age of 15 have a choice to stay alive or dead. He chose the former. Because it’s his dream to become a mask craftsman in this city, he went through this ceremony. Even if Ai and Ulla had quite a time together, it still doesn’t dismiss the fact that she is Koroshiohake. But Ai wonders if Ulla knows her power and that she is surrounded by the dead. She believes Ulla would if somebody would just tell her. Kiriko comes into the scene, aware that Ai has figured out everything. Ai feels Ulla is the same as her because they grew up surrounded by the dead. Kiriko disagrees because his lies are different. Because one day all the living will die, Ulla will lose the meaning of her existence. He lies to protect her so she wouldn’t get hurt. But what happens when that time really comes? She is the only one left standing because the dead don’t age and she’ll realize she will be all alone. That might be so but Kiriko will still protect her as he has been in charge of her education and has been deceiving her since young (as per the elders’ request). Kiriko admits he loves Ulla and therefore will protect her. If Ai was in his shoes and had a chance to protect this innocent girl from the world’s cruelty, would she do it? Can she stand by her without lying? After all that, Ai goes to talk to Ulla. She reveals her true identity and the village she was raised in. Then she tells her the people she thinks who are alive are actually dead. Anybody coming into contact with her power will die. Although Kiriko has been lying to her, it was to protect her. Kiriko laments that is the truth and understands if she hates and won’t forgive him.

But Ulla wonders why they have sad looks on their faces. She loves them both and not to be sad. Because she knew it before Ai told her. At least half of them. She always knew her power had some effect on people but not sure what it was and didn’t know how she was doing it. She didn’t tell anything because she was okay with it. If people don’t want her to know, she’s fine with that. She has seen people joining Ortus and some leaving. All of them she noticed have that relieved expression like as though they have been freed of something. She notes Ai travelling to make sense of what she doesn’t understand. Although they’re the same, they are still different in the sense that Ai is a bird flying free in the sky. Ulla on the other hand loves this cage called Ortus. And she has gentle Kiriko to protect her. However she has 2 regrets. One, she can’t see Ai and second, she can’t hug her. So she has Kiriko be her proxy. The next day, Kiriko and Ulla bring the gang to a room. There is an infant named Celika sleeping in a capsule. She is Ulla’s twin sister. Ulla’s mom hated everything when the world changed. What she hated most were the twins in her womb. When she was giving birth (and died after that), she cursed and cursed that all humans would die. Ulla listened to that wished but Celika went against it. Celika somehow stopped her own time to wait for someone but Ulla understands what it means now. This infant is the voice that Scar hears. Scar considers Celika her daughter and as the gang leave Ortus, Ulla hopes Scar will take care of her. Meanwhile a boy named Alis Color and his ghost friend watches Ai and co leave and is impressed there is someone else seeking the same dream as him.

Gola Academy Arc

Episode 7
Ai meets Alis in a clock tower. We go a little back in time when Yuri asked Ai if she wanted to go to school. There won’t be any chance in a few years’ time since there won’t be any more kids. There is a last middle school left Ai can attend and a friend he wants to see but as he goes to make a call, a couple of guys kidnapped Ai. Yuri fears those guys from Gola Academy. In that school, Ai is strictly welcomed by the teacher-cum-dorm supervisor, Magiita Houzento. Ai seems to be okay with this since she gets to wear fresh clothes. School uniform… She makes a few friends but when is told those who enter Gola Academy can never leave, Ai thinks they’re joking because she needs to leave this place or else she can’t save the world. Before Magiita puts a bullet in her head, her friends take Ai away to the bath. Ai learns that this isolated institution houses kids with special abilities. Like Volrath, she has super strength. Twins Mimi and Meme are actually their third sister Momo who was buried by a Gravekeeper. Confused? In short, Momo lives inside them. Multiple personalities? Run can breathe underwater while Tanya is blind so she ‘sees’ objects in the form of sound. Suddenly a loud crash is heard. A hole emerges. And popping out is… Alis! Is this guy a peeping tom? The girls start throwing stuff and he is knocked out by Volrath’s might. He and the other guys, Hardy and Gigi are roped in. Accusing them of trying to peep on them, they are going to punish them for this and won’t hear any excuse even if they say it’s a misunderstanding.

When Alis finally gets their attention, he reveals they were digging a path to the sewers that would have them escape from here. Thanks to Hardy’s power of eating up inorganic stuffs (he devours the earth they dug). Alis wanted to complete the tunnel with a big explosion but his calculation was off. The girls wonder why Alis wanted to leave since he was only transferred here last week. Because he doesn’t like it here, duh! Ai wonders why the school is doing this so Tanya explains because with people stopped dying, children stopped being born and this causes a decrease in number of students. The government has a policy that pays a hefty amount to the school per student. So now you know why they want to increase the number of students? I don’t think the government is that stupid considering the situation now… Alis blames the ghost for this mess up, Dee Entzie Stratmitos. She makes herself appear (freaking out some of them because she walks through walls!) and reveals she thought the girls should also know about this plan, that’s why he led him to blow a hole in the bath. She explains she can appear anywhere irrespective of place and time while lacking a physical body. She can do lots of things like whisper trivial or important information to people and can even take control of them. In a way, she is like granting people’s wishes. She is here because she is currently possessing Alis. Dee was the one who whispered to Ai to come to the clock tower by Ai asserts she never heard her voice and went there out of curiosity. Dee doesn’t believe her. She also mentions she has been observing Ai since she came to Ortus and that the meeting between them and Alis was fated to happen.

Episode 8
Ai is really excited to start the meeting on their escape. What’s there to discuss? They’re already in the final stages. The question is, who wants to tag along. It seems Tanya and the twins do not want to leave as they have family problems. Ai thinks what they want is to live with their parents and it’s like their dream. She encourages them to do what it takes to reach them or create a new one. Nice words but Tanya is still not convinced. Later Ai personally talks to Tanya. She is still stubborn. Unlike Ai who has her fellow travellers to return to and are worried about, Tanya herself doesn’t. She was born blind and always heard her parents in sadness. Even if they accepted her sound sight gift, the villagers did not. She came here on her own accord. Ai then tells her story of the village she grew up and the Gravekeeper she is. She buried everyone in her village. That’s why she knows Tanya will also be fine. Alis has finally broken the metal cages that will lead to their freedom. All that is needed is to escape at 3am where Magiita is asleep and the security is low. The twins have changed their mind and want to escape with them. All that is left is Tanya. Ai wants to postpone the plan to tomorrow. They agree since it is better for the entire class to escape. Ai tries to talk to Tanya but she locks herself in her room. Ai leaves but tells her the time of the escape and hopes she’ll be there. Ai meets Alis at the clock tower. No, she’s not here to confess his love. She is in a dilemma about saving the world. She wanted to when she left her village but at Ortus, someone told her it was impossible. Alis mentions his dream is also to save the world but his concept is different than hers because he wants to destroy it.

He explains by hypothesizing 2 worlds. One world without ‘observers’. A universe that can go on by itself without humans. Another is with ‘observers’. And by that he means people like them. For some reason they cannot accept the world as it is. In short, people see the world as what their brain interprets. Basically it’s one’s point of view. Just like how Ai once viewed her small village as her world, Tanya probably viewed her parents as her world. Most people would think of their immediate surroundings as their world. Thus he concludes this world can be saved by destroying it. To answer that further, I guess Ai will have to wait another time. The time to escape is here. Tanya doesn’t show up so the rest goes ahead. But Ai wants to stay back as she doesn’t want to leave her behind. Good thing she doesn’t have too because here comes Tanya. Changed her mind? Who wouldn’t after hearing Ai’s encouraging words? As they make it out of the gates, suddenly the main gates open and Magiita gives them one last chance to return or else. Since nobody is budging, she draws her gun and fires. But Alis is swift enough to draw his and precisely hits all her bullets! Magiita notes his Buzzer Beater power, the power of ultimate accuracy and precision. I guess that’s why in the opening of this episode, we see him shoot basketball shots in every angle and every shot went in! Magiita then turns back and gives up. What? Just like that? Yuri arrives in time to pick up the kids and continue their journey. Ai notices Scar is not around and as Yuri puts it, she’s away learning how to raise babies. Wait a minute. A Gravekeeper raising a kid?

Story Circle Arc

Episode 9
Alis talks to Ai that his world is just a cooperative body and thus his dream to destroy the world to save it. He wants Ai’s help and she agrees. But first they need to find Scar for that. As the gang continues their journey, Ai writes her usual letter back to Ulla and Kiriko about her recent adventure. It seems Alis and Dee only remained to travel with them as the rest stayed back at Tanya’s village to walk their own path. Scar disappeared while she was at Gola and they are using Celika as a guide since she was attracted to her back in Ortus. Baby pointing the way? Sure, she’s just not playing around? Yuri has his doubts if they should find Scar because as a Gravekeeper, it’s her job to track down the dead. Even so, Ai wants to hear it from her mouth and wants to see her. Yuri laments he should have looked out for Scar more often. She was unstable then. One moment, happily with Celika, the next she would abandon her and start trembling or get upset. When they pass by a signboard with a cake, Dee suddenly screams! What gives?! She remembers it is Alis’ birthday! Actually it was yesterday. And Ai is making such a big fuss to celebrate it. Not even her birthday… Alis doesn’t have time to do such trivial things because saving the world is more important. However Ai doesn’t want him to be like that. Just like how her father once acted. And so eventually they celebrate his Alis’ belated birthday. Not the best looking cake Yuri made but hey, you can’t complain.

As they continue their journey the next day, they enter a valley of desert. Yuri slams the brakes and it seems there are lots of craters and crystals. They almost got hit by a lightning as they witness the phenomenal birth of a Gravekeeper. Lightning hits crystal. Crystal gets warped. Crater on ground is formed and there is your Gravekeeper. But now, there are like 2 or 3, no wait. Hundreds or thousands of identical Gravekeepers being born! Yuri and Alis recognize this place as Story Circle, the place where Gravekeepers are born. Ai wonders if Scar wanted to return to her birthplace. Celika seems to be pointing the way ahead but Dee feels it is a bad idea to go on. See the big storm coming? She wants to leave but Ai hopes she would since they’ve travelled together. Dee slaps her. Did she feel a thing? Guess not. Her ghostly hand just went through her face. Hah. Is that a joke? Dee then flies off into the sky. The rest trudge forward and vision is getting harder as the mist thickens. Suddenly Ai sees visions of her father. Likewise Yuri sees his wife and Alis… A window? Ai seems to be blaming her dad for destroying her mom’s dream till she remembers mommy’s words about her dream and job as one and daddy’s words to live. She snaps out of it and reunites with the rest. They see Scar sitting in a crater. I think she is in a dilemma of wanting to continue her job as a Gravekeeper. Ai doesn’t want to force her (oh, like how she ‘forced’ Tanya to come along?) but Yuri gets strict with Scar. He asks her what she is going to do about Celika. She doesn’t want the baby and should be doing her job as a Gravekeeper. Before a lightning strikes her, Yuri saves her and then vows to protect her. Scar cries in his arms. He notes Gravekeepers don’t cry. The kids cheer the old man for his ‘brave confession’. Yeah, he’ll protect them too. With Scar back with the travelling gang, Ai remembers Alis telling her his friends from class 3-4 being held captive in the city called Ostia.

Class 3-4 Arc

Episode 10
Class 3-4 seems pretty upset that Alis has burnt down the entire town! But suddenly everything returns to normal. Alis mentions how the situation backtracks and resets itself. It’s the same with humans. He takes out a gun and starts shooting everyone! Only Dee is left. Maybe he ran out of bullets. But there is only blood on the floor. Where are the bodies? The next time he looks back, the blood is gone, the place back to normal and he sees his friends entering the school gate, waving at him as though nothing happened. Alis and the gang arrive in Ostia. Scar doesn’t sense any living or dead. Alis leads them to where class 3-4 is. Only it isn’t really class 3-4. Get it? There seems to be a black barrier into this class. From what I understand, the world of class 3-4 is sealed here and it’s like a separate world once you go through it. He warns them that those not from class 3-4 cannot get out of here till the phenomenon is solved. Now he tells them. Oh well. They’ve gotten this far so no use to back out now. As they step in, they enter another world. The kind where Ostia is still thriving with life under this snowy environment. He brings them back to his place and they are surprised to see Dee (in human form) and she is glad to see them too. As the rest notice that time stopped 14 years ago, they want Alis to explain but he won’t. He wants to know their feelings first and then will explain everything once it is settled because he doesn’t want them to have misconceptions. So while Yuri and Scar spend quality time together with Celika (they’re like a family now, aren’t they?), Ai joins class 3-4 and becomes pretty popular. Which cute little girl wouldn’t? Dee hopes Ai could join her baking club but she has other stuffs to do. Dee knows she is concerned of what Alis say but is confident she will grow to like this place because it’s a good place.

Ai observes the place and then tells Alis that this is a world probably created by someone’s wish. Jackpot. And so Alis explains this world indeed was created by the powerful wish of class 3-4. A fictional world that binds everyone here and a world fabricated with lies. 14 years ago, this place has been stuck in a one-year loop. Actually less than that. Every time it reaches July 28, the time resets back to April. Thus the reason the seasons here and outside do not match and everyone has been reliving the year over and over again. Nobody apart from Alis and Dee remembers perhaps it’s part of the wish. Metaphorically speaking, this world is a cage made by class 3-4 who are the prisoners, wardens and cage themselves. After going through the loop twice, he stumbled upon the world’s truth and at that time it only had people from class 3-4. He and Dee desperately tried to find a way out and when they did, somehow Dee didn’t have a physical body and became a ghost outside. Ever since, Alis has been searching for ways to free class 3-4. He tries to overload it by bringing lots of people but he discovered many things. The dead cannot cross over and thus only the living can be brought here. Likewise, people with special abilities cannot cross over. He has brought 35,695 people into here!!! He also learns if bringing anything that isn’t supposed to be here, the place becomes unstable but then stabilizes itself over time and the loop begins again, including the people who came from outside. Alis doesn’t want to be stuck in the same age forever because it’s illogical. Besides, they just celebrated his birthday, right? He also mentions in this world he has an enemy: Dee. Seems Dee was changing curtains and slipped and fell out the window.

Episode 11
As explained by Alis, before the reset happens, he left clues of what happened in various places in the library. However Ai won’t find them because Dee has burnt them all. All 35,695 have failed and Ai as the 35,596th person is no exception. She will make her stay. And soon a month passes and Ai celebrates her birthday. Ai and Alis talk and she notes she is happy that she sometimes forgets she is a Gravekeeper. Alis hopes she won’t change wherever she goes. He hopes saving his world isn’t her wish. He views wishes as something meant not to be fulfilled. Because they don’t get fulfilled, people work hard and move forward. Once it is so, there is nothing left to work for. That’s why he doesn’t want her to say saving his class as her wish. At least say it’s a stepping stone for something. The reason Dee became her enemy was because she changed. When they first found a way out, they were always together and she helped him out but she soon changed and started thinking this confined space is better. Alis still regrets killing his friends once despite knowing it will reset because there are things humans can’t do. In class when they vote for what to do for the cultural festival, because of Ai’s vote, the world seems to becoming a little unstable. As mentioned by Alis, the difference between Ai and the other 35,695 people is that she became part of class 3-4. As the choice is always tied and they ended up doing the play in the usual loop, Ai’s vote changed that and the world is trying to come up with an excuse to return to its original way. It will struggle to control factors that weren’t here originally. We see Alis putting clues in the library. This is followed by Dee taking them away so when Ai reaches there, the clues aren’t in place. However there is one spot Dee misses and Ai reads the clue. 14 years ago on the day before the cultural festival, a student died and 17 others went missing. Guess who is that student?

Dee catches Ai in the act and explains. When she first appeared in her ghost form, she wandered around with Alis unsure of her existence. Slowly as she finds clues together with him to save class 3-4, she finally understood. Her memories came back. She was changing curtains not realizing the window was open, she slipped and fell to her death. At that time the class was horrified and wished how it never happened and things to stay like they were forever. That’s how the world was created. That’s how she came back alive. That’s why she is against Alis in destroying this world because it would mean destroying her. Back at Gola Academy, Alis mentioned about saving this world by destroying it. Truth is, she doesn’t care about the outside as long as she has this one. That’s why she became a ghost that whispered to others to destroy in hopes that world would fall apart. She’s doing this for Alis’ sake. She’s been watching him and hardly spoke to him. He is always helpful and loved basketball though he wasn’t good. He tried so hard despite knowing he’ll never get into the team. Just seeing him smile made her day. In short, she’s in love with him, right? Ai doesn’t want her to give up and believes this class can be truly saved even if it’s destroyed. So let’s find a way to save the class, save her. But Dee knows Alis will make sure she will disappear just to save the class and this means he doesn’t need her. She is scared of that. She doesn’t mind if she doesn’t end up being his special person or if she just sits in one corner, as long as she is in his world, she’s fine. She once killed Alis with her hands before. Because he looked so painful in trying to save his class, she put a bullet through his head. Of course the world reset. She begs Ai to help her instead of Alis. Of course Ai didn’t promise her anything nor did she say anything to Alis. Dee remembers how Alis got his Buzzer Beater one day and scored an important victory for his basketball team in the dying seconds. He felt he lost the most important thing to him. It isn’t fun anymore after having his wish fulfilled. Dee thought she understood Alis better than anyone but apparently it seems Ai beat her in playing basketball with Alis today. They look happy talking together. Starting to feel the hate? Ai asks if he would sacrifice somebody just to save his class. It doesn’t matter because he will save everyone from class 3-4 even if it means sacrificing anything for that cause. That’s basically a yes, right?

Episode 12
Seeing them both so close makes her feel like there is no space for her in that world. That’s why Dee decides to create a new one by ending everything else. Later when Dee talks to Ai, she wants to reveal everything to Alis. But she wants Ai to hear it to and be by her side when she says it to him. Something is wrong when Dee didn’t turn up. That’s because she heads into class 3-4, fires her gun at one of them. The rest are shocked but not as shocked when they see him getting back up and not remembering he was being shot. Dee is going to tell them everything. Actually they have forgotten about it and will just refresh their memory. And so they remember the day Dee died. So much blood. It must be a lie. They wanted to forget about it. They made a wish for that never to happen. Dee notes that they wished for an eternal loop and could have just wished for her to return back to life. As they are still in this loop, she suggests that they redo everything again from the beginning. The world begins the change and because of too many contradictions, it is beginning to reset itself. Alis knows this is Dee’s doing and rushes to the classroom. Everyone is in the midst of replaying the moment Dee is about to die. Well, looks like bad acting. Can you blame them since they know the outcome? Dee falls out of the window hoping the start everything all over again but to her horror sees Alis’ dead body below. She is pulled back up by Alis but he slips. Thankfully he is saved by Ai and the rest of class 3-4. The mist that is to reset the world recedes.

Ai now knows the truth. It wasn’t Dee who died then but Alis. He tried to save her but fell down in her stead. Alis apologizes that he had not realized she mistakenly thought that she herself had died. He assures her she won’t disappear and will return to the real world. This is still not good for Dee and wants everyone to reset it again. Alis disagrees with this because if she does so, all the things they have done together including the travelling outside will never have happened. He wants everyone to return to the real world outside and age properly. Hopefully they will remember him even if it’s just a small part. Ai wants to find a way to save him but as Dee points out it is impossible. He’s the kind of person who’ll work hard for the sake of others despite knowing he himself will disappear. Alis is glad that he got to travel with Dee. Just about any door or window becomes a portal to the outside. Everyone makes their way into it as the world crumbles. Ai is the last one left with him and calls him an awful person. She feels he brought her to this world just to make him disappear. She knows he wants to be with everyone and don’t want to disappear. Alis mentions his grave is in the other world and already buried by a Gravekeeper. Still, Ai wants to save his world even if the world rejects it. One last hug before Alis pushes Ai through the portal. Everyone is out and safe. The last scene sees Ai and Alis’ grave. I’m not sure if she buried him again or something else and he is ‘not happy’ because he didn’t ask to be saved.

Life After Death
I really thought the show as something quite engaging and very interesting to watch. The only ‘big problem’ that I have is some of the unexplained that somewhat leaves pondering and asking more. It left me quite dissatisfied not only at the end of the series, but by the end of the arcs too. I thought there would be a final episode that explains it all or at least for the most of it but it was not to be. It’s like as though such unexplained events are not important and trivial and viewers are forced to accept them without questioning. Take for instance the half bodies of Pox, Wreck and Diva. As we are told they were put together in this twisted form by a witch. We first see them as Pox-Wreck and suddenly another day it is Pox-Diva. How did this happen? Maybe it is not important to the storyline but I really would like to know because it would feel complete so that the witch story won’t feel completely far-fetched. It feels like when Kiriko explained that Pentagram nickname thingy, it’s like plucking the story out of thin air. Heck, if you are having dead people walking around, might as well add some magic and witches too. So really, how do they switch between the people? Is it by free will or there is some sort of time or condition? Another case is Gola Academy when the kids escape. When Magiita confronted them and made a short final showdown, she lost and gave up so easily? It makes me wonder if this scene is even necessary. Or just to showcase Alis’ unusual power. Nobody escaped before and it was made to sound like it’s some inescapable fort. And when the kids do really escape, she gives up without trying hard and it makes it feel she wasn’t that desperate to keep them after all. Hence there wasn’t so much mystery about Gola Academy that I was hoping there would.

Thus I think it wasn’t really so much about the mysteries and events of the arc that Ai encounters during her journey. I didn’t feel it was so much about discovering about the world and its truth either. Each arc feels like a standalone story on its own. They are simple and without any sort of complicated twist and in this aspect, it keeps the story interesting but like I said, the unexplained stuff just took some of the fun away. Especially the final arc with that twist of Alis who died instead of Dee. I thought they were screwing with my head because I find it hard to understand trying to put the pieces of what happened before and the revelation. At first it didn’t make sense. But nobody ever said it was Dee who died and it was made to make us greatly assume that Dee had died. But why is it that only Alis and Dee are the ones who retain their memories unlike their classmates? Since Dee is part of the class, she may not have wished the same and slightly differently. But even so, I still can’t understand why she is the one who can go outside of the world as a ghost. As for Alis, maybe he is dead, the reason his memories didn’t affected. But as he said the dead can’t pass through, how did he then? Unless it’s part of the eternal loop wish of his friends. And if he’s dead and buried by a Gravekeeper, how can he still walk around like normal in the outside world? Well, that really screwed up my mind again. Thinking too much about it hurts. I want to stop thinking about this but I can’t because I’m so curious but it ended like that and it just felt like big downer. And it is more confusing of what Ai did at the end. Did he really save him? Unless you tell me he wasn’t properly buried by a real Gravekeeper and assumed (or lied) he was. In that case, shouldn’t he have gone over to the next world? What is he doing standing next to her? Is there a way to bring back the dead? Don’t tell me Ai has this special feature. I’ll scream and pull my hair out.

Another thing that is bugging me is about the deaths in the world after God has abandoned. Well, the premise and God himself said that the other side is full, right? I don’t know how big the other side is but with that statement, it shows there is space limitation. Even when mankind stopped reproducing, shouldn’t God be able to at least take in the last of the few billions (assuming there are this much humans in this world) of humans left? Unless you tell me that God really did not calculate and foresee this, which is ridiculous, right? So having the excuse of the other side is full also sounds fishy. Because if that is the case, where do dead Gravekeepers and those they have buried go? Is there another dimension or other worlds? If that is the case, shouldn’t God have put them there? Unless you tell me that those buried by Gravekeepers do not really go to the other side but cease to exist. Meaning, it is like totally be erased. And the dead Gravekeepers? My only theory is that they have no soul as they have no emotions but as seen in Scar’s case, I speculate some may grow to have feelings and soul when they spend too much time travelling instead of burying.

So, enough of the mind boggling parts already. Otherwise I would really give this anime double thumbs up for its fascinating storyline. But for all that has seen happened here, it makes me wonder even if the premise of God has abandoned this world is really true. I believe there is something more than meets the eyes to this. Maybe that it just a statement to lead us astray and to believe-cum-assume God has really left. But there are things you just notice like wish granting mechanism. Even after He left, wishes are still sort of being granted and just like Hampnie’s theory, maybe He is just watching us because it is more interesting that way. So, the question is did God really forsaken us despite we do not hear any respond or answer from Him or the fact we can’t die normally? I mean, God painstakingly (it could be just a piece of cake for Him, but let’s just say this for argument’s sake) created the world only to leave behind one of his finest creations. That doesn’t make sense, right? And even if he didn’t want this world anymore, he could have just erased it and nobody in this world would even realize they existed or died. No trace of such world ever. That’s why don’t you think that it smells fishy that God just abandoned the world? Therefore, I theorize it was just an excuse humans came up later so that our puny brains can understand the mysterious phenomena that is occurring.

I don’t really know how Ai is going to save the world seeing that she herself have no clue on how to do it. I suppose it’s the case of crossing the bridge when you get there. Besides, the story arcs you see her in don’t really see her in trying to do stuffs to save the world, right? Or at least it doesn’t seem to be on a big scale. She just handles the current issues faced and it’s sufficient for the time being. Ai as the protagonist is really cute and at the same naive but caring. The rest of the world may not seem to care anymore but she takes to heart the little bits of joy in life even if it is trivial like Alis’ birthday. I guess if she looked like a very serious loli trying to rescue the world, she wouldn’t seem as fun as she is now. It’s a good thing that she starts travelling because the world is just more than the borders of her village. There is so much to see and learn and sometimes she may be like fish out of water. I’m sure there will be lots of eye openers and things Ai could learn even if the world continues to remain stagnant or on a slow rotting path to destruction. It was a surprise that Hampnie died for real. I was really hoping he would end up travelling with Ai and co because I really think he is a cool character despite being cold at times (that can’t be helped since the world is like that). Alas, destiny wasn’t mean to go that way so it’s a sad thing father and daughter couldn’t end up longer together. In a way, it forces Ai to grow and make her own decisions.

Travelling companions, Yuri, Scar and Celika feel redundant especially in the final arc. It’s like the final story could have been done without them. Whether they stepped into the other world with Ai or not doesn’t really matter. They’re just shown from time to time like a family so that we don’t forget about them. It makes me wonder if Gravekeepers after travelling or being too long in this world would change. All of the main Gravekeepers we know are somewhat ‘unique’. First there is Alfa who really has this dream of making a place call home for the dead. Not really Gravekeeper-like if you want to follow the traits that Hampnie said, right? After Scar met Celika, she developed some kind of motherhood symptom. But why go back to her birthplace? Torn between becoming human or Gravekeeper if I am not mistaken this is where her character is going. Even so, is it possible for Gravekeepers to give up their role and become human? Is Scar still a Gravekeeper? Because I noticed after she along with Ai buried Hampnie and the psychopaths, she didn’t bury anybody else despite having the urge and then till she came to Story Circle. Ai is understandable because she is conceived between a human and a Gravekeeper. Speaking of which, how can this even happen if all sorts of reproduction is ceased after God abandoned the world? Even if there is going to be an offspring between man and beast, the current condition of the world just won’t allow that, right? Yeah. Blame it on the wish thingy. Maybe Hana or Hampnie really wanted to have a child whatsoever and Ai was born. Unless… A sudden revelation Ai is not their child and something else! Stop! Don’t think too far about this.

Despite the fantasy theme, it isn’t your typical fantasy world with floating islands or magic filled dungeons. Instead, we have a desolated world on the verge of decaying into nothing. There are certain areas where there are lush greens but those are because there are a few humans (or deceased) living in the area. Otherwise, there is this bleak outlook in decimated towns and dilapidated buildings lying to waste as there were signs that it was once full of life. Also, the names of some characters are really unconventional. The short ones that is only one word long are okay but there are those long ones too. It’s like as though someone just simply typed precariously or casually uttered gibberish and then strung them together. I know it’s not that bad but still, I never find it easy for tongue twisting fantasy names to stick in my head. What was Dee’s full name again? Because of the romanization of the Japanese words, there is no standard spelling for some of the characters especially for Yuri and Alis. The official English version put them as Julie and Alice respectively. I don’t know. It makes those guys sound so feminine. So I stick with the direct original romanized form just so it would ‘look and sound’ better :).

Aki Toyosaki is perfectly casted as Ai and because of her voice, it makes Ai really cute and sweet. And I mean in a different kind of cute and sweet unlike airhead characters like Yui from K-ON! In addition to that, her other emotions especially when she is unsure or sad, it makes Ai sound like a vulnerable person. Hats off to her. My favourite Mamiko Noto is casted as Scar but her roles are somewhat limited so I don’t really get to hear her as often as I wish I could :\. The other casts include Keiji Fujiwara as Yuri (Sven in Black Cat), Kouki Uchiyama as Alis (Ichika in Infinite Stratos), Eri Kitamura as Dee (Cana in Fairy Tail), Mikako Komatsu as Ulla (Neko in K), Tetsuya Kakihara as Kiriko (Natsu in Fairy Tail), Daisuke Namikawa as Hampnie/Kizuna (Waver in Fate/Zero) and Rina Satou as Hana/Alfa (Misaka in To Aru Kagaku No Railgun). I couldn’t recognize it was Eri Kitamura singing the opening theme, Birth. Because with all the church choir voices in the background that is partly distracting me and I suppose to some, they have separate voices for singing and voice acting. The ending theme, Owaranai Melody Wo Utaidashimashita by Mikako Komatsu is a calm and very beautiful piece. I can’t help feel sad while listening to it right after each episode ends. It makes you appreciate life. On a trivial note, I personally feel this is the better song sung by Mikako Komatsu compared to those I heard in K’s ending song and Mouretsu Pirates’ special ending themes.

There isn’t much difference in life on this world even after God walked out on it. It is only different because the people viewed it differently due to the slight ‘modifications’. Those who were once alive never felt more ‘alive’ after they have died. Those who are alive are clinging on to their remaining years that will eventually run out. So what is life or death? As said, the world depends on that person’s views and stereotypes so it varies. It is how you make out of life that counts. Not your life status or how many more days you have left before you turn into a zombie. Thus the moral of the story is to appreciate the little (and sometimes big) things in life. You’ll find wonders in such little happiness. It takes away the worrying and anxiety on the topic of death, etc. Maybe God giving up this world is a blessing in disguise because those left behind can show Him how they can manage on their own. But I don’t want the biggest shocking revelation to turn out like this: This entire world is just a big elaborated fabrication and dream of some ditzy high school girl who just woke up and heads off to school nonchalantly! Everything we saw was fake. No way! No to lazy writing! JUST NO WAY!!!