To Your Eternity “A Small Evolution” Review
To Your Eternity “A Small Evolution” is the third episode of the To Your Eternity anime. And Just as with episode 2 we spend our time with March and It. However, it’s not long before all of that is torn apart and the two are separated again.
Learning Emotion
The episode begins with March trying her best to teach It some manners with little effect. Deciding It needs a name she goes through a couple and settles on Fu-chan, short for Fushi-chan. Not too far away the Hayase’s soldiers are guarding Parona as she tries to cut her bindings with a concealed sharpened tool. It’s not long before they’re attacked and one is killed by the bear that attacked Fu. Parona manages to get away just in time before tragedy strikes, she falls off a cliff and lands right where Fu did.
Two soldiers find March and Fu to where they’re hiding. Taking March away, something seems to click with Fu and he seems to become emotionally attached to March. He blindly follows them. Whilst Parona follows the trial March left whilst feeding Fu. She stumbles across him but he doesn’t respond to her. Realising she’s on the way to where the alter is she runs in the same direction to save March.
March’s Scarifice
March is fed a sleeping drug in the form of a gel cube and taken to the altar. She’s bound and fast asleep. As the guards go to leave her there, the bear attacks. But Parona has made her way there and is trying to release March from her bindings. Fu walks in too. After knocking Parona away the bear sets it’s sights on Fu. Immediately clamping down on his head. He fights back a bit but his head is ripped off. As it is he immediately transforms into the form of the wolf. The fight is now a little even. Fighting back Wolf Fu gets hit multiple times. But with every bite he lands a shiver runs up his fur and he begins to learn. Bulding a strategy Fu eventually learns enough to take the bear down.
Hayase releases March from her bindings and tells her and Perona that they have a choice. Come with her and live secretly or die on the spot, they accept the former. Hayase gives extra command also to grab Fu. And the episode ends with Fu stumbling out his first words “arigatou.”
Review
What an episode! I was looking forward to this one. Fu finally get’s a name plus shows just how adaptable he really is. He’s learning emotion but not quite what each emotion is so he is still a husk of nothing most of the time. He seems to be learning so much quicker now, though, which, if kept up, will come in handy.
I do worry for March and Perona. They’re basically prisoners by any other name now but they chose the option that could save them so it’s understandable. March stumbling over what to call Fu instead of just immediately naming him was a nice addition and I’m glad they changed that.
The animation of the transformation was sleek and faultless. The battle even more so. It was expanded on and I’m happy they made that change too, it really showed Fu learning and adapting to the situation he was in. Transformation seems to be the central theme in this episode as Fu makes the most progress into becoming self aware than he ever has.
In short, this was a beautiful, powerful and happy episode. I look forward to more adventures with Fu and Co. next episode. He has more learning to do, and so does March.
