Heads-up: this post contains spoilers for Himawari.
How should those of us who are still children grow into adults?
After thinking it over, I suppose this really is the sort of question only bored children would ponder.
Yet ultimately, it is precisely their longing for the future and devotion to what they hold dear (you mean children, right? (just kidding)) that guide children toward adulthood.
As for the older generation, Daigo, Akira, and Momiji were all held back by the ever-childlike Akari, remaining in the astronomy club of their youth. Considering Akari’s vulnerability, that wish would probably be better described as a curse. Of course, her very existence also led the three of them down their present paths, allowed Soichiro’s research to continue, and quite literally gave humanity an enemy that devours human souls. From a post-2050 perspective—or that of an outsider—I should unequivocally call this a mistake. But for them, life truly only comes once. Perhaps when you are racing down your own path, you can only know for certain that what you did was wrong once you look back. While all of this can indeed be attributed, in a sense, to Akari’s vulnerability, it must also be said that thanks to her, Youichi was able to have his beloved little sister Aoi; Aqua, Aries, and Asuka to walk alongside him; and his adorable little sister Cosmos (so where is Cosmos’s route? (crying) Also, poor Momiji really does get hurt from beginning to end ( )).
Returning to 2050, Youichi is still trapped in a labyrinth of the past. Even with the club president and Asuka beside him, he remains within a fragile lie. It is his encounter with Aries that changes everything. The restless past is something he cannot avoid if he wishes to move forward. Whether through his mutual salvation with Aqua or Aries’s game of make-believe (please give Aoi more story (crying)), Aoi has never disappeared from his heart. Thinking about it this way, Asuka really is incredible: with both her maturity and vulnerability, she attracts Youichi and guides him to look toward the future, choosing to walk into it together—not to mention the ultimate HE after Aqua After. Now that is the status of the true heroine (so could Cosmos please get just a little more story? I’m begging you, cry).
The other hidden plot thread would be the virus from outer space. I never expected another side to introduce yet another mystery involving the Alice Foundation and the Vessel of God. Goo, you really know how to leave plot hooks dangling. Returning to the main storyline, the timeline makes it fairly clear that the virus appeared alongside the silver sphere around 1995 or 1996. At some unknown point afterward, the Alice Foundation created cloned baby girls who were implanted with silver spheres and afflicted with Alice Syndrome, while Soichiro stole some of the viral DNA. Then, in 2029, Daigo landed on the Moon and brought back a fragment of silvery metal along with the RNA attached to it, formally beginning research into memory inheritance. The virus then leaked in 2033, leading Soichiro to discover the hope that Akari’s DNA offered for inheriting memories, and research into the Luna Theory consequently entered the human-experimentation stage. Sometime before August 23, Daigo and Akari had breakup sex (seriously, you two cheated during a pregnancy; neither of you is any good 😡), infecting Daigo with the Luna Virus as well and resulting in Cosmos’s birth. Time then advances to 2048. The Luna experiments have essentially stalled, while Soichiro, crushed by guilt, decides to destroy the Luna Virus. A slip of the tongue from Cosmos sends Daigo rushing to Himawari (where his symptoms also flare up); he dies after bringing light into Aqua’s life. Soichiro also discovers Aoi’s symptoms and, on the return journey, stages a locked-room mystery on a deserted island for good measure (not really), obtains a list of every infected person, and arranges the doomed flight. Around this same time, Aoi (?) infects Youichi with the virus and chooses to leave. At last, August 23 arrives—the day fate begins to turn. Daigo dies, Momiji’s symptoms emerge, everyone aboard SA-DAN080 perishes, and Youichi suffers trauma-induced amnesia after discovering Aoi’s body. Youichi subsequently meets Asuka and begins his post-amnesia life. Finally, on March 20, 2050, Youichi meets Aries, and the wheels of fate begin turning once more.
Then there is Aqua After. Aside from the married couple’s quarrel, the most important thing is probably that Cosmos finally gets to appear. Even if she does get a little taste on the side (just kidding), I still wish she had a proper route of her own to pursue. Her appearance also lifts the veil slightly on what memories the virus actually carries and what effect a virus capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier might ultimately have on humanity. Whether humanity and the virus can coexist may ultimately depend on this little girl, ww (so can we please have a Cosmos route? /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~)
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