The episode already began with removing one of the major annoyances in this anime: Papu who talked! Thank goodness he can do more than just “Papu Papu Papu”. In any case, this episode improved my overall opinion of the anime yet again. You can really see that it’s been building up perfectly.

We start out with Pietoro getting extremely worried about Pinon. Narcia tries to comfort him. Meanwhile, Papu explains that the three of Pinon, Luna and Papu have ended up in Phantonesia, or the world of the Seirei. Pinon’s quite startled when he hears Papu talking. What follows is both Papu and Luna trying to hide their secrets. It’s as obvious as a hammer near a pile of balloons, though Pinon decides not to question them. Or he’s just too busy with other things to notice. ^^

Papu also explains that the golden key, otherwise known as the key Narcia used to transform to Kai, has also the power to transfer to Phantonesia and back. It also seems that the Seirei of the wind has been captured. This causes wind in Phantonesia to stop, and the winds in Popolocrois to go out of control. Luna comes with the impulsive idea to save the Seirei. Pinon, of course, hesitates. He’s very different in this when you compare him to his father. Pietoro would’ve gone in, no matter what, and no matter how weak he was. Pinon keeps clinging to his father. It’s interesting, as he suggests for them to go back to the castle, in order to make Pietoro save the day. When you realize that Pietoro hates it when he’s compared with his father, you get some interesting results. Then again, he’s only just a child.

In any case, as there’s no alternative, Pietoro decides to go. Meanwhile, we switch to the bad guy, who appears to be the one who captured the wind-Seirei. He seems pretty confident in this, and his ultimate plan is to wrap the world in darkness. I hope that this part gets fleshed out soon, though he looks evil enough. Pietoro, meanwhile, is extremely worried about Pinon. Something his father would’ve done differently.

Pinon, meanwhile, stays gloomy. Then the threesome reaches a point at which they have to advance on bouncing rocks (think 2-D platform games). I liked that scene. Pinon’s very scared to jump. After all, if he fell, he would’ve fallen a loooooong way. Still, Luna managed to give him courage, and the two of them jump together. Luna also reveals that she’s been longing to be Pinon’s friend for a long time. This means that she’s heard about him before. Still, her background remains a total mystery.

Then, Pinon, Papu and Luna reach a small tornado, which keeps staying on one place. The Wind-Seirei seems to be sealed in here. Pinon plans to jump into the eye of the tornado from above, in order to not get bothered by the huge winds. In order to do that, he is helped by Punpun and Kogoto. Pinon manages to trick the two of them into dropping him off above the tornado, parachute included. While this scene may have been interesting in order to flesh out Punpun and Kogoto, it also was annoyingly long. The two of them are far from as awesome as their father.

Anyway, inside the tornado, we finally get to see a Seirei out of its little sparkly form. It’s indeed been captured, inside a barrier, which is preventing everyone from entering or exiting it. Except Pinon, for some reason. The creators’d better have a good reason for this. In any case, Pinon saves the Seirei (who looks too cute, by the way) and the Seirei seems to know Pinon. The Seirei gets all giddy, though she soon loses energy when it seems that her powers are stored in the bottom of the tornado. Papu seems to know the little creature, as the Seirei seems quite scared when she sees him. Papu, however, quickly shuts him up.

When they head down towards the bottom of the tornado in a dark-looking cave, Pinon gives Luna and Papu the two herbs he bought in the previous episode. When they reach the bottom of the tornado, a wind-beast shows up. It was interesting to finally see a wind-monster use wind in its attacks, instead of the usual blades which form out of nowhere. An interesting touch. Luna and Papu offer to act as decoy, so that Pinon can get Punpun and Kotoro to help. Still, Pinon uses his dragon powers to save the two of them. While a bit cheesy, the animation looked awesome. It really made up for this flaw.

In any case, the monster seemed to guard the Seirei’s power. With it gone, everything seems to be fine and the Seirei shows up in a third form: a large version of the second form, minus the chibi-speech. The Seirei then sends Pinon, Luna, Papu, Punpun and Kotoro back to Popolocrois. Pietoro’s too glad when he finds that his son is safe, though the interesting part comes from Narcia when she sees Luna. She, of all people should be able to recognize the golden key, though she decides not to mention it near Pietoro. I wonder when she’ll confront Luna about it. We’ve already seen her personality, so she’ll definitely wait. But for how long?

In any case, it seems that Luna’s been travelling, and that she’s been sleeping under rocks, etc. Pinon therefore offers Luna to sleep in his bed. (*big grin* ^^;) Luna’s a bit startled at first, though she doesn’t mind in the end. Then the Wind-Seirei shows up in yet another form. It’s also the one we keep seeing in the OP and ED. The Seirei transforms to its fourth form after Pinon gives it a name. He first considers “Hyuu”, which just shows the similarities between Pinon and his father. In the end, the name gets to be Hirarin.

And just when you thought that the episode couldn’t get happier, more laid-back, more peaceful. The bad guy appears, attempting to kill of Pinon. Pietoro then rushes in and defeats the guy. Both parties end up heavily wounded. Seriously, I would never have expected such a heavy scene after what just happened! In one turn, the anime turns darker than ever. It also displays Pietoro’s concerns and love for his son more than ever.

I also have to say that the ED greatly helped to accompany this. It’s one of the better ones I’ve seen. We also have to remember that there are some characters who look major, but haven’t appeared at all. The little guy with the painted face, for example. His mother as well. Not to mention his and Luna’s Seirei. It seems that Luna’s got something to do with the water, while the former has affinity with fire.

The music also is a major plus in this series. 1998 already featured an amazing soundtrack, and this was only strengthened with 2003. I’ve also noticed that the ED is one of the few which actually tells a small story. We first see Luna create light with her own powers (say, doesn’t her wand look suspiciously much like Narcia’s?). The little guy with the painted face looks astonished when he sees this. In the next screen, he uses fire in order to impress the others (and cook some fish). The next screen features the three of them playing with their Seirei, while Papu, of all creatures, looks agitated, wanting them not to linger. In later screens, Pinon directs the way, while Luna’s happy to follow him, and the little guy with the painted face has a weird expression on his face, I wonder what he thinks at that moment… On the last screen, Luna is carrying the other two along with her water powers. It looks pretty awesome. I may be wrong, but I guess that the next episode will introduce the little guy with the painted face. That, or Luna will meet her Seirei.

Overall, my respect for this series continues to grow with each episode passing. The ending was just perfectly executed. (After all, most of the times when protagonists mess up the plans of antagonists, we switch to them, while they find out about it. The antagonist screams a bit, and swears to get back at the protagonist. This time, these scenes are just skipped and the antagonist comes to kill the protagonist immediately). On a side-note: why did the creators decide to dye Pietoro’s hair brown?

Memorable Moment: Pietoro at the ending. Definitely a scene to remember.

Whoa… I knew that this arc was going to be unique, with no Keiichi as main character, but I never thought it would be this unique. I absolutely loved it. You see, this arc plays four years before the other three arcs. Keiichi’s gone, Rena’s gone and Rika’s even cuter than she was before. With a bit of luck, we’ll also see a flash of Satoko and Satoshi in the next episode. This arc will probably explain the first of all the murders. I wish I could be able to remember who the victim was, though I’m ashamed to say that I forgot. And the great thing is that nobody seems to have written it down. -_-

In any case, this probably is the first time since episode one that this murder gets mentioned. All of the other arcs kept silent about it, for some strange reason. The mysterious victim was cut in six pieces by a pickaxe (ouch), with one of the murderers still roaming free. It’s only now that I realize that Rika was the murderer. She was the one who murdered for the first time. It’s also very interesting that she didn’t commit this murder alone, though she was the only one who managed to not get caught. I wonder who the other murderers might’ve been…

In any case, the previous arcs showed us a very bloody or gory scene right before they started. This arc just shows about the same guys we saw in the third episode, trying to run Keiichi over with their mini-van, kidnapping a little boy. Meanwhile, the radio tells about three people who were arrested because of violent acts against the Hinamizawa Dam Project. Things were a bit bloody, judging by the newsreader. The boy who gets kidnapped is the son of Cabinet Minister Inukai, by the way. The dam was probably his father’s idea.

The OP rolls, and the real episode begins. We then see our main character for this arc: Akasaka Mamoru. He really looks like an old version of Keiichi with black hair, though thankfully, his personality is different. He’s been sent out to investigate whether Hinamizawa’s got something to do with the son of the Cabinet Minister who’s been kidnapped. It isn’t very likely, so he’s sent out alone, as every possibility needs to be investigated.

Akasaka also has a wife, who’s highly pregnant. She’ll probably have her baby when he’s in Hinamizawa. Once inside Hinamizawa, he heads for the local police station. There he hears the first rumours about the dangers of the Onigafuchi Last Defence Alliance, or the group who opposes the dam construction. Then Oishi shows up, and he gives him a bit of a tour around Hinamizawa. He also tells Akasaka about the three main families, and the Sonozaki-family.

Oishi then shows a bit of interest in the investigations Akasaka is conducting. I guess that he’s of course interested in what he can find out, so he can use it in his own research. Oishi’s willing to introduce Akasaka to a Mole in the Sonozaki-family as well. After Oishi left, Akasaka decided to go undercover, and have a local villager guide him around. He’s planning to pretend to be a leisure photographer, who wants to see a bit of the neighbourhood.

When he reaches the meeting point with the guy, he runs into a four-year younger version of Rika. (So cute ^^;) Then the guy arrives, and Rika decides to tag along with the two of them. When she hears that Akasaka’s planning to take photos, she compares him to Tomitake. It’s very interesting to see that Tomitake’s been visiting Hinamizawa for over 4 years now. I guess that that gives him enough time to meet up with Takano. Still, Rika did give him a good nickname. After all, we all know what happens to Tomitake in the end (*wink wink, nudge nudge*).

Then, while Akasaka keeps taking photos and Rika asks a few questions, Akasaka says the most stupid thing you can ever imagine. He tells about his wife, who’s having a baby right at that moment. What idiot abandons his wife for a leisure-trip at a time like that!? Rika also noticed this (you can see that in her expression. Smart girl, especially considering that she’s so incredibly young. And cute. ^^;)

The guide then offers to take Akasaka to the place with the best scenery around: the Furude Shrine, Rika’s home. Only then it becomes clear that Rika also is a member of one of the three big families in Hinamizawa. When the threesome arrives at the Furude Shrine, a very touching scene follows. The Furude Shrine also appears to be the centre of the anti-dam movement. The guide automatically thinks that Akasaka’s an activist as well, though the latter corrects the former. Akasaka then comes with an incredibly politically correct speech, in which he thinks that it’s better to get yourself involved in politics if you want something, instead of just fighting back. Rika then totally smashes this statement in the ground, when she asks him how he would solve an issue like that. She indeed managed to see the flaw in modern-day politics. ^^

Rika then takes him to the place with the beautiful scenery, after which we also get signs that Rika’s infected with the disease as well. She then warns Akasaka to go away. She’s also certain that the dam project will soon be gone, no matter what. It’s already been decided.

That evening, Akasaka meets up with the mole, right after a meeting of the three big families. Mion and Rika also were present. Mion was paying attention, though she never said anything, while Rika was busy drawing a picture of her along with Akasaka. ^^ We also got to see Mion’s mother. She’s also one of the characters whose hair has unnatural colours. (That’s one of the major flaws in anime. The main characters seem to be the only ones with obscene hair colours). We also get to see Mion’s grandmother, the current ruler over Hinamizawa. (Was she still alive in the previous arcs?)

The end of the meeting, it became clear that Akasaka’s mission had been discovered and the Sonozaki Family indeed was the one to kidnap the Cabinet Minister’s son. Akasaka doesn’t really like the things he hears. The next morning, Oishi gives him a call. It seems that the Minister’s wallet has been found at a certain place called Takatsudo, a fairly deserted area, not mentioned in the previous arcs. Oishi’s willing to bring Akasaka there, though he does put on a knife-proof vest as precaution. The episode ends with Oishi offering one to Akasaka as well.

This arc will probably end with the first murder. Still, that does leave one murder and one disappearance without any attention: Rika’s parents. Before I saw this arc, I was expecting that it would cover the death of Rika’s parents, how her mother committed suicide and her father died of the mysterious illness, but as this arc plays long before the two of them die, we’ll probably get left in the dark about this. One of the answer-arcs will probably solve it.

I still have no clue about the nature of the disease. This arc clearly shows that the disease can go to sleep after it’s been active. It indeed seems that heavy emotions are the trigger for the disease to get active, but in that case, why didn’t Rika kill herself when her parents died? Or did Satoko manage to save her just in time before she freaked out? In any case, Rika getting under the control of the disease really happened. It was not in Keiichi’s mind, as he was totally somewhere else at that moment. I also don’t see Akasaka for being caught with the disease as well.

We also finally get to see the same mini-van as in the third episode. At that time, it tried to hit Keiichi, when the driver saw he failed, he ran off. I think it appeared again during the end of the fourth episode, though I’m not sure. In any case, it does suggest some sort of link between the Sonozaki-family and Irie (as the minivan seems to be under the control of the Sonozaki-family). What kind of connection might that be? Before I can really speculate about this, I need to know whether Mion’s grandmother was still alive, and the leader of Hinamizawa and if she was, Mion’s influence on this.

Differences with previous arcs:
- The previous arcs Keiichi as main character, one of the girls as opposing character (Rena, Mion and Satoko), and one of the side-characters who played a major role (Oishi, Shion and Irie). This arc had Akasaka as main character, Rika as opposing character, and Oishi again as the side-character with the important role.
- This arc plays during the dam-opposition (does that mean that everything that happens here, happened with the previous arcs as well?)
- Rika’s gotten even cuter.
- This is the first arc in which we see nothing about Keiichi and Rena, possibly Satoko as well.
- In the first arc, Oishi was concerned. In the second arc, Oishi was cheerful and more business-like. In the third arc, Oishi was evil. In the fourth arc, I’d describe him as helpful. Eager to learn valuable information from Akasaka.

Overall, I loved this different episode. Rika was omega-kawaii, and it really is great to see an episode without Keiichi. I can’t wait to see the next episode. ^_^

Memorable Moment: Rika calling Akasaka Tomitake #2 (You think she was trying to give him a subtle message? ^^)

Nasu - Summer in Andalusia was a fine example to demonstrate the flaws of the .mp4-format. At random times, it likes to cause the screen to freeze because of the lag. In my case, it was right before the climax. I didn’t really like that.

In any case, this 40-minute movie is a sports-movie about pro-cycling. It’s not about the giants who battle against each other, no. It’s about a nobody who tries to win an etappe. This nobody (or Pepe) works for a group who hasn’t been doing too well. They haven’t won anything for the entire season, and now they face a breach of contract with their sponsor. Pepe is seen as the major problem in this, as he’s got a small temper, which doesn’t work too well with their main cyclist: Gilmore. This etappe basically is the last chance for the group in order to stay alive, and it’s up to Gilmore to win it. Pepe’s role is to help him do this.

Pepe also has some extra motivation to perform, as the finish lies in his home-town. During this movie, we get some nice background commentary from the people he grew up with. His brother, who also got married on the same day, his new sister-in-law, his uncle and a couple of other friends. Especially these friends were very interesting to watch. They never knew what’s going on inside Pepe’s group, so they were just celebrating his performances.

What follows is a set of unique opportunities which drive Pepe to the finish. Overall, I had to say that the tension which was created worked pretty well. Still, there’s one major disadvantage with this movie. Everything just feels too much directed. Most of the story elements worked pretty natural, though at the times in which the creators got stuck, they used Deus ex Machina in order to keep Pepe in the right tracks. The climax also could never happen in real life. Still, despite these flaws, I have to admit that I had a good time watching this. A sports fan will probably like it.