I’m sorry, but did we not just see Hikaru assault Yoshiki in the classroom, and then gaslight Yoshiki when he didn’t like it?
I mean, am I the only one who read the classroom scene that way?
The Summer Hikaru Died Episode 3 Review
I enjoyed this episode, as we got confirmation of Yoshiki and Hikaru’s feelings for one another, and more lore on Lord Nonuki, and the distortion that was present in the restricted area of the mountains.
Kurebayashi basically confirmed that Hikaru had feelings for Yoshiki, as did Hikaru himself.
I’m not sure why, but apparently Kurebayashi was under the impression that only “mixing” with impurities happened between a male and a female. This could be because Kurebayashi mentioned to Yoshiki during their parfait meeting that her late husband came back from the dead as an impurity and gave their son an “irreparable wound” – which I’m guessing is somehow spiritual in nature.
Shows like Natsume Yuujinchou and Mushi-shi show the effects yokai can have on one’s well-being, and they can give mystery illnesses that are derived of a spiritual nature.
I guess that Kurebayashi thought it was due to Hikaru and Yoshiki’s “deep” friendship that the impurity took hold of Hikaru’s body and became attracted to Yoshiki. We even have one of the girls in their friend group mention how lately, Hikaru is “obsessed” with Yoshiki – so Lord Nonuki’s actions are not going unnoticed by others.
Hikaru literally says in the classroom scene that he cannot tell “which feelings” are his, and which were the original Hikaru’s. Given the flashback we got of Hikaru’s father telling him to marry the one he loves quickly so that Lord Unuki cannot claim them due to loneliness and not being of the Indo bloodline, immediately juxtaposed with a scene of Yoshiki and Hikaru, it’s pretty obvious where the story’s narrative is going.
Also, not to mention the fact that Hikaru asked Lord Unuki for “help” while dying because he feared Yoshiki would be lonely without him is also a huge hint of Hikaru’s true feelings. But at the same time, those actions could be attributed to feelings of ‘friendship’ between two adolescent boys in a rural town, on its surface.
Speaking of death in the mountains, we learned that Hikaru’s father passed away as well in the restricted area of the mountains when his son was young. I’m going to take a guess and say that this had something to do with the shrunken head and Lord Nonuki.
When Hikaru casually decided to consume Yoshiki’s soul in an empty classroom, there was a memory flash shown of what appeared to be a man cradling a severed head in his arms. Given the Indo family seems to have a relationship with Lord Unuki, maybe it is a memory from one of Hikaru’s ancestors that Yoshiki saw?
Everything Hikaru originally felt in life – including his feelings for Yoshiki – seems to be amplified by the impurity in Hikaru’s body. I wonder if this is why killings are happening in town too, because the entity cannot control itself or its emotions, and that is why it was isolated in the restricted area of the mountains, far away from the human population?
But, tell me your thoughts: Did Yoshiki somehow see an Indo ancestor’s memories through Lord Nonuki?
Are Lord Unuki and Lord Nonuki actually the same otherworldly entity?
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☆ In Asian Spaces
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