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| http://moesucks.com/2009/11/16/in-the-woods-beneath-the-cherry-blossoms-in-full-bloom/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Excellent web page that explains the episode and what it truly means amazingly well. Opened up my eyes! I thought this may help others as well! |
Please add something new to the Thread. If you are just going to agree with everyone else, and not add anything significant, Please do NOT re-post/re-word/repeat what someone else has said. I hate reading 9pgs of parrots and copycats. #BEORIGINAL  |
Shrackner said: Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. Love the interpretation. Fully agree. Loved the first arc but the end of this one is just too good to ignore |
| No matter what kind of life a person leads, they will always die in the end. That is only fair. And in life did you know a person only has two choices to choose from? "To do" or "Not to do"! That's it!! - "god" (Oyasumi Punpun) |
| Quite a weird story. Didn't like the comedy mixed in but I enjoyed it anyways, |
| This one was a bit confusing honestly. I'm gonna go read the novels after this. Also, yes the comedy was very weird. |
| I wasn't on the edge of my seat. I was instead reeling back the entire time. Um, I don't know what to say here. That was something I've never seen before, so I'm not sure how I should react. Yeah. |
| I'm not sure what I am supposed to understand of this story's meaning, except for the fact that the author succeeded in giving us a feel of mind fuck wondering with many questions. Realistically I look at it as a ... Two psychopaths. A psychotic couple. One who loves a women for her unparallel beauty and so is easily manipulated by her demands to keep her. And a women who loves to make him do what she wants. Bring her material and death ... Beheaded heads to laugh and play with like a little psychotic girl. Cold blooded psychopaths of a Couple who possibly for a year have been together.... The man serving this gorgeous woman and her, demanding what she wants. But ... I wonder how strong the urge to kill him and be free was, if there was any. Her attempt to cut or stab him with a dagger begs question but. That doesn't show she really wants to kill him, because. Remind you, she's a psycho.. her mind is abnormal and she was only pouting and lonely. So in my opinion, I don't think she ever wanted to kill him. She loved to see him kill for her since Day 1. As for him ... the influence of Cherry Blossoms I do not understand besides thinking how it's a thought and inspiration of the author because of his memory in war seeing burned corpses with the silence of Cherry blossoms as horror. I don't see how Shigemaru feels an instant unknown horror from it. Until the end, it stops. The ending is odd. In the story for love of that gorgeous women he was always cold blooded to kill for her. For her. But before that he claimed himself to be a Kind Bandit. But for love, he killed. And to kill cold blooded for love, you are a psycho at heart and birth. Not because of Cherry blossoms. When he strangles her to death I do not believe that he killed her to save himself from her killing him now or one day. Not at all. Like I said, she never wanted to. What I do believe is ... not that he killed her because he imagined or went insane that she was a fantasy-like Demon, not in speech or metaphor but a real life Demon. But that she was saving himself from her influence. Sure, he might of denied that he hates killing now or like he said he hates the city and prefers the Mountains. But ... I think, in some way. Either it'd be to stop being a psycho or stop listening to her or to stop killing... He loved her. But maybe he ... wanted to become his old self. A Kind Bandit, like he was. He killed her because ... she unleashed his psychotic side for love. But he was tired of the city and his old peaceful days in the mountain. When he strangles her to death. And seeing her as a demon, I think that's a metaphor that she is a psychopath. And when he sees himself mirrored to her. I believe that it's a thought of freedom. That he has mentally killed his psycho side that she brought out of him. And when the cherry blossoms engulf him. That means that psycho side of his will be gone with the cherry blossoms and that he will restart his life in the mountains like the old days as a kind bandit. |
| The hobby of this woman seems funny. This is all because she played with dolls when she was younger... Though, I didn't like this arc as much as the precedent (the color and the comedy don't match with the story imo). |
| Well... that was tragic and quick. The last chapter is still better, hopefully the next chapters will be better than this one. |
 |
| I didn't like this story :s And his voice was something very disturbing imo... doesn't suit him and that bothered me til the end :s |
| I'm guessing that all the girls were just a part of is imagination... So does that mean Shigemaru is a necrophiliac? o_o |
 |
| Wow That was totally unexpected, It was a pretty good story now I kinda have answers of my questions from the 1st episode but I wonder what's gonna happen to the megane loli, I hope she'll be well |
Shrackner said: Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. Brilliant, just brilliant analysis. I always thought it was a mixed bag of both realism and symbolism mixed together, as in the demon was real, an agent of evil that stirs up malice in men's hearts, the wives were also real because the demon wife was the last addition to a growing harem of women the bandit had taken in. The child amongst the adults and her pervading influence of innocence is physical proof that the bandit has some charity in him. I had an Aesop's fable vibe whilst watching this, talking animals, characters are just tools to teach morality. I did have qualms as to how the bandit provided for them through subsistence hunting, foraging and occasional stealing (where does the hermit sell the pricey goods... he can't) but it was quickly dismissed as loose storytelling. How I was wrong! Also why they were wearing the same clothes, I thought he was unconsciously an abusive pimp or running a racketing business in the mountains! *facepalm But your take on it is just so elegant, so refined that it's won me over. Here is another two other points I picked up from reading your awesome comment, the reason why the girl was spared makes complete sense from this new perspective * drum roll....* It's because she was real! There was no need to execute her in the bandit's mind and he made excuses to keep her alive, though it be indirectly. Also why the child wasn't scarred or terrified of the bandit, because the bandit didn't murder anyone in front of her! He's still the lovable goofball from the first episodes as far as she's concerned. The second point, in the same way the Bandit imagined the wife as a coping tool, the girl likewise could of anthropomorphised the boar! Later the very last scene we see of the pair, we finally see the boar for what it is, a gruff unsociable borderline domesticated animal. The boar part is confusing to me, I have a feeling that the bandit is playing pretend at 'capturing the boar' in order to sustain his delusions about providing for his large family. The cycle repeats itself. When all this time the boar was chilling with the bandit (bandit was chasing man not the boar, boar was chasing man) and made its home in their home. |
Cloud_IllusionMay 2, 2016 7:53 PM
| Nothing can happen until you swing the bat. |
| Really refreshing portrayal of the protagonist villain, if anyone enjoyed the portrayal of the character, you guys might want to check out 'Monster'. |
| Nothing can happen until you swing the bat. |
| Great short story, I liked it, though it was pretty confusing at the end. I dont know why so much people hate this, lol. Great arc. |
Klassical said: Great short story, I liked it, though it was pretty confusing at the end. I dont know why so much people hate this, lol. Great arc. Don't need go to any further than checking their anime list and realizing that they're the kind of people that don't like to think, because thinking means you actually have to use your brain, and that's a no-no for them. |
Shrackner said: Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. Amazing interpretation, thank you for that. |
Shrackner said: Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. You just hit the target no one else in this thread managed to see. If only there were more people as intelligent as you, these forums would be more of a pleasure to read. That would mean of course, I wouldn't have been so impressed by your brilliant analysis that was actually better than the story itself. Just how long did it take you to extract all that from a mere two episodes? Absolutely wonderful, you deserve a medal. At least someone else had the idea the sakura trees evoked a sense of self-awareness, but there was no way I could have articulated that as fluently as you did. |
KatoBytesJun 19, 2016 5:44 PM
| Why do people have such bad taste? Anime isn't subjective anymore. |
| Rarely does an anime/episode make me go "WHAT THE F**K?!?!?" out loud like this one did. 11/10, would WTF again. |
 "Seid ihr das Essen?! Nein, wir sind der Jäger!" |
| basically when he threatened to leave the demon she killed him instead... ahh and she is going back to the city to find more people to kill (under the sakura tree) .....im creeped out. |
| Xtina is my mother! |
| I really don't understand the point of the "comedy".....it ruined the whole thing. |
Osuuki said: Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. Some people are giving you credit on having 'solved' the story and I'd like to believe that you hit the nail on the head, but there's one scene that slightly contradicts it, which is the part where the small girl is talking to a normal citizen in the city even though she's supposed to be part of his imaginary harem. You also make no mention of the significance of the note that's left behind at the end for the girl, a scene that shouldn't even be a thing if she was nothing but a fabrication of someone's imagination. Otherwise, well-written interpretation of the story. Although some other posts in this thread about the dark, addicting side of love that 'blossoms' out of loneliness are also plausible, so I'm not entirely sure what to exactly believe in the end. Heh, this is why I'm not the biggest fan of open endings. |
Nuky93Feb 2, 2017 9:04 PM
| Welp that was ... interesting. I suppose the vagueness is there whether his wife was actually a demon or he just went crazy and killed her because he thought she was. I mean definitely the collecting heads thing was ... creepy lol. Though I will say that the songs from this episode and the last one were creepy and fit in really well IMO. It looks like all the arcs have a different art style too. Hope the next one will be good! |
| I liked the first story a lot more. This had weird comedy scenes put into which just seemed out of place most of the time. And I'm honestly confused by the end. And I don't mean that he died under the sakura. I'm wondering if the girl actually was a demon or just "portrayed" as a demon. Considering she sent him to bring her heads of dead people I guess it doesn't make a difference. Death "justified" either way. And the fact that he died was obvious from the previous monologue when he wanted to kill her and had the feeling he'd die if he did that. It's just rather confusing if she was actually a demon or if he saw her as one >.> I mean at the end it was her regular face again. So I guess it was just in his head? The "image of her soul" so to speak. |
| That woman is crazy with the heads!! So Shigemaru gets tired of that and wants to return to his home in the forest. When he is beneath the cherry blossoms, he realizes that his wife is a demon and kill her. The child and the boar were left alone :( I think that he went crazy and the woman is just his imagination. He is the demon!! Crazy arc. The comedy is a bit out of place. 6/10 for this arc. |
| All weebs creatures of the galaxy, hear this message. Those of you who listen will not be struck by western animation. You will no longer know hunger, nor pain. Your Anime have come to lead you now. Our strength shall serve as a luminous sun toward which all intelligence may blossom. And the impervious shelter beneath which you will prosper. However, for those who refuse our offer and cling to their western animation ways… For you, there will be great wrath. |
| This one wasn't my thing. This may be a shallow interpretation, but what I got from it was the story of a man that gave up everything for love, or something close to it. He gave up his will, gave up his way of life and even his loved mountains for a woman. He even killed for her, just for her diversion, eventually getting tired of it. Yet he couldn't kill her as a way to break free because he came to care so much about the woman that killing her would be the same as to kill himself and by the end that's just what he did under some kind of illusion out of his fear of cherry blossoms. It was nice seeing the contrast of the mountain and the city by his eyes and how it brought to surface all of his insecurities. After all being around people can be draining, tiresome and difficult, but this was about the only nice thing I got from this one. |
 |
S2VX said: Still fumbling around for thoughts in my head, but I think I've somewhat grasped what's going on. As the show suggests, I'll interpret these weird chain of events as a result of Shigemaru's loneliness along with what the show suggested in the earlier episode, as a fall to decadence and a rebirth into salvation. I think this arc somewhat similar to the last couple episodes of "No Longer Human." Shigemaru, like Yozou, has deep-rooted problems in dealing with other human beings. We can see this through his willingness to seclude himself within the isolated mountains and his fear of cherry blossoms. Viewing cherry blossoms is traditionally a social event that one shares with company, but in his case, the blossoms become a physical trigger to remind him of his lack of human interaction and—at the same time—his longing to establish such connections. One can only stay secluded for so long. Borrowing the mentioned phrase now, we see how he descends into “decadence” through his continued stay in the mountains, in which he begins to lose sense of reality, morality, and identity the more time he spends alone. I believe his conjurations of his “wives” are a development from this, in which he attempts to create imaginations to keep himself sane and functioning. With this in mind, we can partially explain the strange and exaggerated “humor” of the show. As a result of his degradation, reality begins to blur as we’re thrown into his messy mind. As his time alone lengthens, he can only fall further down the shitcan. More and more of his imaginations (wives) pop up to keep him surrounded, even to the point of a talking boar making an appearance, but these are not enough for him. Eventually, I think what could be called as “salvation” makes her appearance in the form of Akiko. He unconditionally obeys her and falls madly in love with her, and she, in her duty as “salvation” tries to save him from seclusion and bring him to the people of the city. By the end of episode 1, we’ve run into a somewhat strange scene, with him killing off his former wives. I think contextually, if we treat them as past imaginations, it makes sense for him to see them merely as old, boring attractions in comparison to his newest revelation. It wouldn’t seem that strange then for him to decide to get rid of them, as brutal as the scene may entail. In their replacement, he follows Akiko to the city of people, a subconscious attempt to save and rebuild himself. But obviously, things don’t go well. He’s very awkward, very suspicious, “shy,” and strained with the people in the city. He can’t even hold a conversation with them, so he tries something else. He begins collecting heads for himself, playing with said heads in an effort to change himself. But he never reaches salvation completely. Eventually, his fascination with Akiko fades away, and he asks her to return back to seclusion with him. As he makes his final trek back, the cherry blossoms return once again, triggering another reaction. He realizes the unspeakable horrors and the painful loneliness he suffers, understands that Akiko is a mere imagination, and sees herself and himself as a barbaric demon. Now this ending is quite interesting. Of course, what ends here is definitely no salvation for Shigemaru. He’s gone way off the deep-end, returning back to his secluded self, but at the very least, it’s fair to say that he’s definitely changed. At his last breath he’s able to realize his pitiful faults and horrific behaviors. He’s able to reestablish a sense of morality and bring himself back to reality. But in a sad twist of fate, he trades in his life to do so. I like about half of your interpretation, but I saw a few things differently. I think you're spot on with the "cherry blossoms = unbearable loneliness" symbolism. There was too much focus on him living alone for most of his life, while not being able to function in the inhabited cities. So that wasn't just a coincidence from a storytelling standpoint. Remembering now that the original author was traumatized by seeing a field of dead bodies laying under cherry trees in full bloom, I think, in that time, the author probably had previous experiences with crowded festivals and happy gatherings under cherry trees. I think the author was trying to get other people to see cherry blossoms as he saw them, so he related them to crippling loneliness, which many people experience at one time or another. So I agree with that part of your analysis. However, I don't think all of his "wives" were figments of his imagination. The six he killed were all inside his head, yes, but just as the previous user "Rosny" stated in an earlier post, I think the little girl was actually real, which was the reason why she survived the "massacre". I also believe that the beautiful evil woman was real too. In his mind, the bandit had this image of what a woman would be like (which he superimposed on his fake "wives"), but he had no real experience with any of them, due to living all his life on a mountain where women rarely travel to. Unfortunately, when he finally meets a real woman, she just so happens to be a demanding, manipulative, horrible bitch. He is entranced by her because she is real, and she is his first taste of real love. He makes the mistake of letting her into his inner mind, telling her his fantasies of his "multiple wives." She demands that he stop doing that, effectively ordering him to "kill" them. The next part can be best described by the Ferris Beuller quote, when he said, "He's gonna marry the first woman he has sex with, and she's gonna treat him like shit." Which is exactly what happens. She makes greater and greater demands of him, until they together move out and away into the city, an environment he can not exist in, but, for all his physical strength, he has no defense against someone who uses such effective mental and emotional manipulation. He can not make a living in the city, and effectively becomes lost in that environment, turning to his selfish sociopath of a wife for advice. She commands him to loot and kill, and he does. She revels in the decadence of a conqueror, adorning herself with the stolen spoils and mocking the bodies of the murdered victims like a mentally ill child. It is in this time that he, still enamored with his terrible wife, finds that he does not act for himself anymore. His actions are for *her* alone. It is expressly mentioned in the mountains, when he was still a simple bandit, that he does not enjoy killing. Now *she* demands it of him. He is losing himself. He is nullifying himself, making himself numb, to fulfill *her* grotesque wishes. With each kill, he functions less on his own will and more from *her* will alone. His shyness binds him into solitude with *her*, and she is a merciless jailer. Finally, he can bear it no longer and resolves to leave for the mountains again. She manipulates him into taking her along with him, knowing the cherry blossoms are in bloom, and they will both return to the city soon (which is why she leaves the note for the child house-keeper). Unfortunately for her, instead of simply running back when he sees the cherry blossoms, he panics and is thrown into a rampaging fury. The cherry blossoms remind him of his time alone on the mountain, and how his isolation caused him to have delusions of having "six wives." He has the sudden realization that he is *still* having delusions, that he has only been *imagining* being in a loving relationship with this horrible manipulating woman upon his back, and she does not truly love him in return. He had been emotionally alone this whole time, even though she had been with him physically, pretending to be in love with him to use him for her own psychopathic ends. At that time, he sees her to be so evil and heartless, that it's as if she is a demon. In his maddened wrath, he unleashes the frustrations, angst, and despair that had been building up over the last year. He murders his wife, seeing only the evil that she has inside her, while the love he felt for her is drown out by blind rage. After his temper has cooled and his sanity somewhat regained, he realizes what he has done. He destroyed the person who had effectively been his will for the past year. He murdered the person who had been becoming an increasingly large part of himself. Now that she is gone, there is a hole inside him, and he is truly alone under the cherry blossom trees. This is where he takes his own life, falling beside her, the two laying together as the blossoms fall to cover them. In time, their bodies will rot away, and the cherry tree grove will stand as if none of this has ever happened. Yeah, so that is how I personally saw it. |
| All that time secluded in the mountains didn't fare well for his social skills nor his sanity for the matter. Whether Akiko was really a demon or a figment of his imagination wasn't really what I was worried about because the whole thing's screwed up because it got that far before it was over. I hope that Glasses Girl won't get arrested and executed if the samurai ever finds their stash of severed heads when people start complaining about how the whole place is stinking up. With that much, it'll be rather hard to get rid of that mess lmao |
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| What a crazy chapter,also nice to read these people interpretation. |
| Good story that portrays rustic masculine ideality versus progressive feminine liberation which this webpage explains better: https://moesucks.com/2009/11/16/in-the-woods-beneath-the-cherry-blossoms-in-full-bloom/ Between the two stories so far I liked the no longer human one more as the end had a more emotional feel to it in my opinion |
 |
| Loneliness slowly kills you from the inside. What a terrifying conclusion. |
When someone asks me why I like anime, I'd say Just Because. |
| That was so underwhelming, especially if comparing to the previous amazing arc. The story itself is interesting, but I couldn't take it seriously after all the childish elements like the unnecessary "humor" with the goofy animation, and the Bollywood style songs in the middle. That bullshit killed the mood for me. I really hope that the next arcs will be more mature, like "No longer human" arc was. |
| Ok the ending is quite confusing. |
Reapermask said: https://moesucks.com/2009/11/16/in-the-woods-beneath-the-cherry-blossoms-in-full-bloom/ This was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! I think the comedic moments felt out of place for this kind of story, but aside from that, it was really good |
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BLOODYRAIN10001 said: Interesting story, in my eyes this is definitely about consumerism. Shigemaru collecting heads seems like a stand in for the pursuit of wealth. fuck that was good one, thank you |
| what a nice collection |
KraiaOct 3, 2021 6:08 PM
   <°))))彡 <°))))彡 <°))))彡 |
| So this story also has a horrifying ending, I wonder if all the stories here had a horrifying ending... |
| Quite an interesting story, I'm betting on that Akiko is not a demon and Shigemaru just got PTSD every time he encountered cherry tree |
| this is so fucking frustrating. ik somewhere in this story there's some deeper meaning i'm missing but i can't figure it out |
| probably gonna rewatch these last 2 eps sometime after |
| this was supposed to be based on an award winning story right? i dont see how, this was just weird |
 |
| Some intense storyboarding in the first half, going way harder than you'd generally expect scenes. The episode ended in quite a bizarre fashion, reading a lot of the posts here and other places does bring forth bunch of interesting ideas. One thing is for certain that both this story and the previous one deals with the psychological issues of the protagonist. Onto the next story. |
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