Summer Pockets Episode 6 Discussion

@NoLongerAtsushi You missed the final scene. It's a happy ending because Kamome reunited with him at the very end.

@Phoenix_Trite but in that imagined world not the real one where she died which was mentioned in this episode

This episode throws a monkey wrench into all my expectations I had built up until now because of the introduction of supernatural elements. We now know that Kamome was never truly by his side, at least not in any normal way. Hairi ends up thinking it was all a hallucination or a dream. And he hallucinated right up to the last scene when he sees her again at the crow's nest. Kamome's mother mentions she went to Finland, suggesting she sought specialized medical care abroad, but her condition worsened, and first fell into a coma before passing away towards the end of the episode, so the story implies she passed away during this episode. Her mother reveals this towards the end of the episode when she mentions that Kamome went into an "eternal sleep" (she was probably euthanized). All the wishful thinking about her "finally" becoming a good leader also implicitly points at this tragic conclusion.

The beginning of the episode felt a bit rushed and dreamy, without much rational explanation about what's going on, things just start happening one after another. My .02:

• Having Kamome disappear just after Hairi saved her at the cave sort of subverts the heroic narrative of the boy saving the girl and living together forever after.
  
• It was a logical choice for him to use the suitcase contents to try to know Kamome's backstory better.
  
• Hairi seems to accept Kamome's death instantly which seemed a little bit detached from reality.
  

Watching this, I can only assume some supernatural elements were introduced in the narrative. Everyone seems to have had experienced Kamome. The purple-haired girl is also seen turning into blurbs of light, similar to Kamome at the pirate ship, which confirms the supernatural elements. So this tells me to expect more plot twists ahead.

If Kamome was just a hallucination then how was Hairi able to find his way to the ship? It was Kamome who provided the clues to unlock the chest to get the map. An how would he know what she looked like after 10 years without seeing her? All these questions can only be answered if she was really there in some way, as in being subjectively real in Hairi's mind (a memory) or in a supernatural sense, but then ghosts cannot carry and leave behind a real suitcase, so it's an intentionally ambiguous narrative... This element completely reshaped the setting from a paradisiacal resort to a mysterious, supernatural island.

This tragic narrative ending concludes Kamome's storyline, leaving us eager for a fresh new start, likely focusing on another girl, and let's hold onto hope for a happier ending.

Why did they have to rush it so much? That beginning of the episode was a big plottwist and putting it at the start of this episode instead of the end of the previous one made no sense

This is the problem I always have with Visual Novel adaptations. The story goes well it's enjoyable, until they hit you with that one episode where the whole story goes to shambles and they cram a big part of the story into one episode. And after that weird things happen and nothing makes sense anymore

@gebraffe It seems you missed the final scene where they reunite. Kamome jumps into Hairi's arms at the end because she has returned to the island healthy.

@Phoenix_Trite You think so? According to her mom Sagi, she died in Finland. That last scene might be a sweet way to remember her or wishful thinking or even Hairi's dream. I don't buy the idea that she survived because this scene wasn't dramatic and realistic at all. Her jumping on Hairi like a puppy doesn't look like her she never behaved like that before.... It would also feel like a cheap trick to make her come back like that without any real explanation...

so yea I saw that scene too but I didn't take it literally, that scene hits different.

@gebraffe The universe gets explained the further into the visual novel material you go. I think it all makes sense later on. But if you have questions later on, feel free to let me know.

The eternal sleep mentioned is a coma that she isn't supposed to wake up from.

@Phoenix_Trite Yes but I'm not currently playing the visual novel, I'm watching this adaptation. Not all questions need to be answered in fiction though, but if you say they are in the vn, then that's fine.

What I explained before I think makes sense based on how far the story has developed in this adaptation.

@gebraffe Sorry, what I meant was like, that later on in the adaption I think some of your questions might be answered, and if you are still confused I'd be happy to discuss after the anime ends!

@chenfeng

I should answer half of the messages on this thread individually, but you've asked the question that interests me the most, so let's go ahead. It will also be my way, if others come across this message, to develop my feelings about adaptation and its loss of symbolism.

So, I'm going to put some parts in spoilers so as not to bother those who would like to discover the VN, but I'm ONLY explaining and details elements of Kamome's route and the VN version of the episode to answer the first part of your post.

They weren't in contact with her, it was just a letter received and a letter returned, telling them all "Come back and experience Kamome's adventure in ten years," as seen when Hairi reads his letter. But yes, the crowd is supposed to represent fans of Kamome and her mother's work, but that's the biggest flaw of the episode for me.


We lose everything that makes Summer Pockets: a connection to time, nostalgia, rediscovered memories, but also wasted time, lost time. I think they wanted to refocus on the romance with Kamome, but that's losing precisely that part that speaks to you and that actually makes the heart of the work and the beauty of Kamome as a person.


As for how it works with Kamome's spirit, I can't explain, however, the others routes will explain the supernatural more "concretely".

so....... this is just Angel Beats without the fighting?

Just what I expected, an awful turn of events. If I haven't played the VN, I won't be able to digest any single thing from what happened this ep. Well, to be fair, that's what the real purpose of Kamome's route is. The struggle of identifying reality from a dream. It may really be confusing even in the OG but it was laid out everything, every bit of explanation and dialogue, so it was so smooth. Even the last scene of her route, they made it at the reader's liberty to choose whether to think if it was a reality or still a dream. I was really in awe after playing Kamome route.

While this adaptation just tried to put in everything in just 1 ep. Butchering the essence, purpose and emotional connection that Kamome's scenario gives to the consumers. If only they made it at least 5 eps, or even 4 and a half, ig that would suffice to tell her beautiful story. What I haven't expected is this adaption really made me riled up despite my lack of emotion after completion of Kamome scenario in the source (coz she's my least favorite among the 4).

Anw, I will give them a chance. I do really hope that they won't do this kind of pacing with the remaining heroines since their scenarios bear more weight on the emotional aspect (tho imo, Kamome's scenario bears more emotional intensity than Shiroha's scenario)

@Aluminum_
It's indeed a bit rushed, but at least I could hope they actually did the final part of the story justice. Since there should plenty of episodes left going by 4 ep per heroine pace.

About Shichieichou

So it was all a supernatural adventure mixing fiction with reality? And Kamome was a ghost... kinda. You know, at the end of the episode where they introduced her, I was left with the impression that she might be a ghost or something but then multiple people could see her so how exactly does this island work? Like, even Umi just disappeared at the end wtf.

Well, at least Kamome is alive. That last visual with Kamome jumping into Hairi's arms was great, I loved it. But I wonder, did she really come back and is fine now? Just like that? Was there a timeskip? I guess this is the end of her arc and that's all the answers we're going to get about it.

Anyway, with what Umi said at the end (and her disappearing of course), I guess a reset is coming? Seeing how Kamome's arc ended it seems like the series is going to follow that path with the different heroines.

Farewell, best girl! It's going to be hard for anyone to top you but I'm really interested in the other girls and looking forward to finding out what's going on with the island and Hairi.

@MegamiRem

My understanding from the VN is that the last scene of her jumping into her arms is them reuniting in real life. The letter at the end was after she had awoken, and then they meet up.It is cut very similarly in the original VN

The Summer adventure from when they were little was just from the book. Hairi only has deja vu because he read the story as a kid, which is why everything felt so familiar. If you watch through the letters he is reading, one is actually from Hairi as a kid who wanted to be friends with Kamome and be a part of the crew since he was a fan of the book.

I hope that answers some of the questions you have.

@MegamiRem

My understanding from the VN is that the last scene of her jumping into her arms is them reuniting in real life. The letter at the end was after she had awoken, and then they meet up.It is cut very similarly in the original VN

The Summer adventure from when they were little was just from the book. Hairi only has deja vu because he read the story as a kid, which is why everything felt so familiar. If you watch through the letters he is reading, one is actually from Hairi as a kid who wanted to be friends with Kamome and be a part of the crew since he was a fan of the book.

I hope that answers some of the questions you have.

@Phoenix_Trite there was a letter addressed to Hairi from Kamome in which she said she loves him and wants to marry him. can you please explain?

@Alice23_ During the end credits of this episode Hairi receives a letter and then sees Kamome again as she jumps into his arms. The letter was from Kamome, and probably said that she was going to visit the island for real. She is alive.

@Phoenix_Trite it was another scene before the ending one. when he got the key and went in the ship, there he found some letter. one was addressed to him in which Kamome was calling him Taka chan and the name Takahara Hairi was written on it. She said in that letter that she loves him and wants marry him. she wrote it when she was a kid.

@Alice23_ Oh yeah, that one was a response to when Hairi sent her a letter after reading the novel. Everyone who wrote her letters she gave a response to.

@Phoenix_Trite can you tell me where was it shown that Hairi sent her a letter first and did she just randomly said that she loved him and wanted marry him?