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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana
"A" and "Un" are pretty much "A" and "Z" of the English alphabet.
Nice naming sense.
The plot may still be a blur, but I definitely think whoever goes on the train, goes there move to the afterlife. In other words, die.
This is why Koto looks at the train departing and comments how sad it is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_on_the_Galactic_Railroad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Express_999
The origin of these stories has passage towards the afterlife being symbolized by a train.
This concept also shows in many Western works like Harry Potter. http://oi50.tinypic.com/2upbspi.jpg
Another feature of the animation style is that the "people" that trudge past Koto when she walks out from the train station is that they have no features. i.e. We're meant to think that they are of no importance. These people have already accomplished what they had set out to do, and head there to fade away.
This may be further explained by the scenes of the inside of the train. Most of them are objects or things that symbolize imminent disposal or death. http://oi48.tinypic.com/1z32e6w.jpg http://oi49.tinypic.com/2s0e99c.jpg
The doll shown here most likely represents the story of the matchstick girl, a story that tells of death as if fading into a happy illusion, casting aside the worries of living. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Match_Girl http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=AU&hl=en-GB&v=yUSzQBaWq0Q Look at the outfit shown.
The birthday cake is representing the way most modern people recognize the passage of time.
Even the old lady there depicts a widow that is seeking her end.
The faceless people that board the train become the objects and trinkets that were important to them in life, as they prepare for departure, since most of the objects have the theme of "Used goods" or "Things that used to be important to me".
As Kyousogiga has so far been showing a perfect society where everything repairs itself without even being thought about, and objects being disposed just by thinking about it in the last episode, perhaps people here are immortal, and that is why they have to make a conscious decision to end their lives; by boarding the train.
Regarding the meeting of the three, you can clearly tell that the meetings are just another way to mark the passage of time in this Mirror Kyoto, as they all wait for the return of "Koto".
The three are shown to have their own unique outlook on waiting for Koto, but to emotionally distance themselves from the matter, they decide to talk about the common story of Hachiko. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D
Yase Douji decided to carry on with her own life as she waits.
The monk is skeptic about the return of the "king", but has nothing else to look forward to.
The monk calls her out on her ambitions by stating that she's not actually waiting for the master's return, but rather wishes to meet her end as having waited for her master.
This obviously enrages her, because she seeks a distinction between her and Myoue.
Another thing to note was that Myoue and the other two had been waiting for hundreds of years. http://oi48.tinypic.com/3355eeh.jpg
TL;DR I think the train signifies death, and this story looks at the very human behavior of relating to characters in a story, and the concept of "self-insert characters". Also the discussion I placed on Episode 3 is gone, and this really bites.
Damn, that seriously changed my entire outlook on this series. I mean I'm not surprised that it's got all kinds of metaphors, given the initial Through the Looking Glass references... but still, that gives me a much more serious perspective on this random as hell anime, lol.
cladinpink said: That art! That music! *starry eyes*
Also, I loved the reference to Hachiko (it got me all teary-eyed just by remembering it).
Yeah, same here! xD
I'm glad there are others who got that reference. The movie was sad as hell... one of the few times I just couldn't stop from crying even though other people were watching it with me. >>
Koto is freaking adorable.
None of the above theories make much sense though, cause we know that monk guy is still around. We saw him in the first ONA. the 25 minute one. as well as epidsode one, cause he was the one who taught Koto right?
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