Episode 3: Hazumu's Heart, Yasuna's Heart

HAZUMU'S HEART, YASUNA'S HEART

EPISODE 3 OF THE ANIME

( Manga Cross-reference---Part of the episode is taken from Manga Chapter 6, " What's Reflected in Yasuna's Eyes ", however, the lonely life if Yasuna is not shown in the manga. )

Previously
Tomari takes it upon herself to begin to tutor Hazumu in how to be a 'typical' teenage girl. However, is Tomari, a certified tomboy, really up to the job of properly teaching Hazumu ? Nevertheless, Tomari sloughs onward with her take on all things feminine, although this results in her being somewhat exasperated and upset. Part of her problem is that she seems to look at Hazumu as a cross-dressing male, and seemingly not a 'real' female. But Tomari finds that one thing about Hazumu did not change, that is, Hazumu's need to be protected from this world's harsh social and confrontational settings.

Episode Overview
The two alien beings decide to take up residence at the Osaragi household. Hazumu is somewhat distressed by that, but her oddball parents are A-Ok with it. The day of their first visit, that day at school, Hazumu tells of the chivalrous deeds done by Tomari, much to the surprise of Tomari ! That afternoon, the two aliens, now levitating outside of a classroom window, take a peek at the goings on in the school. This results in the jinxed prone teacher falling out of the window.

After school, Yasuna declines to practice music with a couple of music students in the music club, preferring to stay and watch Hazumu tend to the rooftop garden. Later, when she leaves the school grounds, she seems to ignore Hazumu for some reason.

In the evening, Yasuna is all alone in the big luxury house that is seemingly always vacant of her parents. She winds down into a melancholy funk, with memory after memory assaulting her conscience. Tomari stumbles upon Hazumu at an ice cream parlor, but Hazumu rushes off without much conversation. Back at her home, Yasuna eventually falls into a fitful sleep.

Next morning, Yasuna is surprised by Hazumu at the front gate of her house. And Hazumu is bearing a gift---a freshly transplanted butterbur flower. Later at school, Yasuna and Hazumu transplant the flower onto the school grounds, next to a previously transplanted butterbur.

This Episode's Story
Hazumu is in for quite a surprise when she enters her bedroom ! Two alien beings, one who looks like a teenage girl, and one who looks like a young adult male wearing a yellow 'cat suit', both say 'Hello' to her in their own unique ways. Hazumu recognizes the male by his voice, as the one who resurrected her. The girl is introduced as the A.I. behind the spaceship that crashed into Hazumu. They are here to observe humans in general, and Hazumu in particular.

Next morning, Yasuna awakes and looks out her bedroom window. Across town, Hazumu awakes to find the teen girl, Jan Puu, in bed with her, sleeping. Going down stairs, Hazumu wonders how she will ever explain things to her parents. But her parents are well ahead of her, as they are already having breakfast with the Alien Being, as Jan Puu enters the kitchen. So much for her wacky parents ! Going outside dressed, but still not dressed for school, Hazumu tells her friends that she simply overslept. But the obvious becomes apparent, especially to Asuta, that Hazumu under her shirt is not wearing a bra ! Elsewhere, the teacher, Namiko, is having her troubles getting to school, too.

Later that morning at school, Tomari is finishing up her morning outdoor practice. Still wearing her polo shirt and baruma (bloomers), and drinking water from a fountain, she overhears Hazumu talking to a couple of her girl classmates. Hazumu, in the center, is recounting the chivalrous knightly deeds done by Tomari as she slayed the 'fire-breathing dragon' news reporters. Overheard by Tomari, she walks over to the little group of girls and states that it 'didn't necessarily happen that way' ! Ayuki joins the group with a tasty tidbit of gossip---Tomari has recently received a love letter from another girl ! A couple of the girls are enthralled to hear that, and embrace Tomari, telling her that if she were only a boy, they would instantly marry her ! Tomari is dumbfounded ! Yasuna looks on from a distance. Soon, Yasuna runs away, as Ayuki points out the fact that one of the two butterbur flowers that were planted nearby by Hazumu and Yasuna has been uprooted, leaving a shallow hole in the ground. Ayuki states the obvious symbolism regarding the fact that Yasuna declined male Hazumu's Love Confession, and now her pink butterbur plant has been removed from next to Hazumu's light blue butterbur plant.

That afternoon, as the teacher drones on and on with the English lesson, Hazumu is jolted out of her skin by a hug from Jan Puu. The Alien Being, hovering just outside the open window, tells Hazumu that the others cannot see or hear them. However, the lovesick teacher senses something in the air, stumbles and falls out the open window ! The students, except for Yasuna, gather around the open window, as the Space Alien muses about how the teacher could not see him, but sensed his presence.

After school, out on the school building balcony, two music students, a boy and a girl, ask Yasuna to practice music with them. Yasuna declines, as she can see the girl, but due to a long standing malady, the male student is seen as gray and hazy. Yasuna's attention is then directed below, to the school garden, with Hazumu watering the flowers. This reminds her of how the two of them planted the two flowers together. Although Hazumu was presenting as a male then, she could see him clearly, despite her 'only males' non-recognition affliction. Yasuna looks on, with a heavy heart and in melancholy. In a while, by the lockers, another girl classmate invites Yasuna to karaoke, and at first she accepts, but when it is reveled that a boy that has a crush on Yasuna will be with them, Yasuna changes her mind and declines. At the front gate, Hazumu is waiting for Yasuna to walk with her, but Yasuna scoots by her, squeaking out a sorrowful, " I'm sorry ! " !

That evening, Yasuna arrives to an empty house, just like always. Her mom and dad call her, inviting her to join them for dinner at an exclusive restaurant, but she declines. Yasuna sadly thinks back to when she was a little girl, about 5 or 6 years old, and she already was such that she could not see her father clearly. His face was just a fuzzy gray. Yasuna feeds her dog, an Afghan hound called Fermata, first, then sits on the floor to begin eating from a bag of potato chips. However, she drifts into vertigo, and drops the bag of chips on the floor, spilling it's contents. Eventually, her dog licks her face, and as she recovers, she tells the dog that she is okay ( supposedly ). Across town, Hazumu is at a drug store, dabbling in a parfait. Tomari unexpectedly comes in, orders a burger and fries, and sits down with her. Hazumu asks an awkward question---" The girl that sent you the love letter, Did you end up hating her for that ? " Tomari's response is that one usually doesn't hate a person like that. The answer seems to have struck a cord with Hazumu as she hurriedly exits the table, and goes out the door. Her parfait ends up melted and uneaten.

Arriving at home, Hazumu comes upon her dad doing a photo shoot with Jan Puu, at least, until mom ends it with another lesson in needed discipline and correction for dad. Hazumu goes to her bedroom, where the Alien Being is eating a plate of hamburgers. She finds what she was looking for---a flashlight. Changing out of her school uniform into pants and a sweater top, she heads on out in the dark on her bicycle. As Hazumu peddles on her way, Tomari is at home soaking in the tub, wondering what Hazumu was getting at by her question earlier ? Yasuna is at her empty home, dressed for bed in her PJ's. She holds a photograph of female Hazumu to her heart, and lying down in bed, slowly falls asleep.

Next morning, Yasuna awakens and dresses for school in her school uniform. She sees the note on the table telling her that mom and dad have already come and gone, and to fix breakfast for herself. Then Yasuna notices a plant that has withered and turned brown. How distressing ! She thinks back to something that Hazumu has told her---

FLASHBACK---Yasuna is at school with male Hazumu, and showing him a dead flower. Hazumu remarks that not all plants and flowers like the sun, or need constant watering. Yasuna returns the remark by telling him that he has a 'pure heart'. That is why Yasuna can see him. . . . . . . a boy with a girl's mind, a girl's pure heart, and a female soul.(End)

At home, Yasuna begins crying. Once again she has to tell her dog that she is okay, it's just that she is alone, all alone, again ! She goes to the window and opens it. But who is it that is outside the fence, on the sidewalk ? Hazumu ! All dirty and disheveled, but when Yasuna goes outside, Hasumu offers Yasuna a present. A new butterbur flower, fresh from the slopes of Mt. Kishima. The purpose of the love offering is to tell Yasuna, that although Yasuna had turned down the Love Confession from male Hazumu ( Eros Love ), nevertheless, female Hazumu wants to be intimate, loving friends ( Philia Love ) with Yasuna, girl with girl. Yasuna is quite taken aback, almost to the point of tears. She says that she hurt male Hazumu so much by declining the love confession. This because she did not have the courage to override her fears that loving Hazumu would possibly lead to losing Hazumu because of her malady of not seeing males ( implied by the manga story ). But that won't ever happen, since Hazumu is now a girl ! Yasuna takes the butterbur flower, as a token of Hazumu's Shoujo Ai ( girl with girl ) love.

Later that morning at school, Asuta and Tomari are walking on campus, when they come upon Hazumu and Yasuna together, replanting the missing butterbur flower in the edging next to a building. The Alien Being and Jan Puu are also watching from a couple of dozen feet above them in the air. The Alien Being remarks---" So the most important things happen at school . . . . . . . . "

Episode Lookback and Commentary
Manga Fan's Commentary on This Episode

Mr Penguin / a year ago

That poor dog [looks so] depressed !

Hash / 2 years ago

Wait ! So Kamizumii likes [male] Hazuma, but [she] likes girls [moreso] so [she] rejected him?

Sheep in Wolf's Clothing / 9 months ago

That's about the size of it, more or less !

Danny Classic / 2 years ago

She named her dog Fermata ? WTF ?

Brian Peugh / 3 years ago

Well ! That [episode] ended fairly well ! I still can't tell if it's a normal anime or if it's a hentai anime ?