REVIEW: ‘To Your Eternity,’ Episode 12 – “Awakening”

To Your Eternity is a shonen fantasy anime produced by Brian’s Base. With the Nokkers arrival at Rean’s party Gugu finds himself in instant peril as the cliff he was standing on crumbles out from under him. Unfortunately, inside the manor, the situation is not much better for Fushi in To Your Eternity Episode 12.

For a moment that felt as predictable as the return of the Nokkers was, little goes the way I envisioned it going when last week’s episode came to its crashing halt. The manner, style, and magnitude of the attack on the party were quite surprising to me. With every other attack coming when Fushi was alone, I had read that to mean that the Nokkers wished to remain hidden from the public at large. This assumption on my part proved to be groundless. To Your Eternity Episode 12 sees an escalation in the power and threat of Fushi’s mysterious assailants as they send partygoers fleeing in all directions.

The pitched fight between Fushi and Gugu against the Nokkers takes up the bulk of the episode’s time. The struggle is excellently handled as it utilizes all the time, given it with shifting situations and emotional moments. And while the battle is the star of the episode, Gugu is easily the star of the battle.

While Fushi wields numerous impressive powers, Gugu takes center stage as the brains between the two of them. Despite aging over the last four years, Fushi still clearly has a lot of learning to do. Luckily for him, Gugu’s natural resourcefulness makes up for Fushi’s inexperience. And brothers always stick together.

Once the battle is over, all that remains is for Fushi and those who remain to pick up the pieces. As anyone who has been following the show will assume, To Your Eternity Episode 12’s battle comes with a cost. The moments that both see the price paid, as well as those who have to deal with its aftermath, are touching and painful, though not the harshest moments that the show has subjected its viewers to.

As I mentioned earlier, the episode as a whole contained several surprises for me, but not the least of which is a hint the ending gives about the nature of Fushi. No spoilers, but there is a brief scene that makes me wonder what else is going on with our immortal protagonist. As what little we’ve learned about Fushi comes only from the mysterious figure who claims to be Fushi’s creator, I don”t know if everything we’ve learned about him can be trusted.

The animation in To Your Eternity Episode 12 delivers its feature fight with all the magnitude it demands. The battle is a fierce affair that delivers hard hits in more ways than one. And while the battle’s many blows and fiery outbursts land with all the force they require, the emotional side of the story is handled with just as much skill.

When all is said and done, To Your Eternity Episode 12 delivers an impactful finale to the show’s current storyline. While it doesn’t hit as hard as some earlier moments did(poor Marchie), they nonetheless give the story enough weight to leave the viewer with many feelings for the characters that have come to occupy Fushi’s journey.

To Your Eternity Episode 12 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.