Xam’d Lost Memories 13 and 14

Well after almost a month’s hiatus in which the Japanese audience got caught up, Xam’d is finally back and back with a vengeance. A delicious two episodes indeed.

Episode 13: Running Barefoot

While most of the drama was concentrated around the tumultuous meeting between Akiyuki, Haru, Nakiami and Furuichi the highlight of episode 13 was undoubtedly this scene with Akiyuki’s mother. It’s just good writing to take that seemingly random story that Akiyuki tells Nakiami (how as a boy he used to sneak into the house after being punished) and then to mirror it in the present. Except of course this time he sneaks in not to steal dinner but to leave a meal for his mother. Their roles have been reversed and now all the connotations that come with food like warmth, security, and responsibility are being provided by Akiyuki. The symbolism is obvious: he’s growing up. Although perhaps he’s not an adult just yet… after all, he’s still getting nice old ladies to prepare his lunch.

Of course another reason I loved this scene was because, as I may have mentioned before, I have a fetish for well animated running. I can now safely say that the staff was not being superficial when they decided to use a song with the lyrics “run away, run away” for the OP. No, they’re committed to running and I applaud them for it. Although I don’t think Xam’d can beat Dennou Coil in terms of running they’re close on their heels and they’ve already lapped every other show I can think of. 

This scene broke my heart. What terribly irony that Haru joined the army so she could find Akiyuki only for it to become the thing tearing them apart. She really needs to get her priorities in order – is she going to choose the military or is she going to choose Akiyuki? Because right now she clearly can’t choose both.

Episode 14: Cerulean Skies

Wow, this episode was… intense. How to even begin?

I could post a dozen screenshots and it still wouldn’t do this scene justice. I think the only word I can use to describe it is “extravaganza”… a shapeshifitting, hilarious face generating Furuichi extravaganza. I might even call it a Furuichi carnival.

Admittedly the funny faces made it a bit hard to take seriously. I just couldn’t stop chuckling as he cycled through face after face, each one funnier and more bizarre than the next. I’m even having a hard time writing this post because I keep scrolling up and snickering. 

But to try to be serious for a moment, it really was a good scene with excellent animation. The way he flowed from shape to shape was quite cool and I’ve got to hand it to the designer (Seiichi Hashimoto, I believe) for coming up with something so crazy. Perhaps he was inspired by No Face in Spirited Away? I’m sure I’ve made that exact comparison before but it just felt so Ghibli-ish. Although that’s not to say it’s a rip-off because Xam’d definitely took it to another level.

I loved how Furuichi’s suicide was done. No long, drawn out speeches, no going out in a blaze of glory, just a moment of nostalgia and then bam! he popped his head off like the cork on a bottle. It happened so fast it made me jump.

Looking back at everything that’s happened, Furuichi has done nothing to deserve our sympathy. His list of misdeeds are long: he betrayed his supposed best friend, he claimed to love Haru but refused to accept how she felt about Akiyuki and generally treated her like dirt, and in the end he turned into a monster which nearly got them all killed. I can’t even blame the Hiruko for his actions because while it certainly intensified his anger and caused him to lose control, the flashback at the start of this episode showed that his jealousy and anger was present even before the bus incident.

The question I’m left with now is, did his suicide at all redeem him? I think the answer to that is no because really, who did it benefit? His death will undoubtedly be a heavy burden for both Haru and Akiyuki to carry. Not to mention his mother although she was such a minor character that’s more of an educated guess than anything. I can only conclude that his suicide was, as suicide often is, a very selfish act. Yet even though everything he did was wrong, Furuichi was just such a pathetic character that somehow I still can’t help feeling sorry for him.  

Hmm… this reminds me of something.

I love that Akiyuki is now able to change at will into his Xam’d form but it tired him out so much he’s obviously still got a ways to go before he can be called proficient. Not that you’d want to be proficient in the art of Xam’d since it comes with rather extreme side effects like dizziness, loss of self and slavery.  

I really thought I was able to predict where Xam’d was going but episode 14 has thrown me for a loop. With Furuichi out of the way I suspect that Kakisu will step in to be the bad guy, though calling him “bad” is greatly simplifying things, but other than that anything could happen. I hope Xam’d will continue to surprise me.