REVIEW: ‘To Your Eternity,’ Episode 16 – “The Children’s Dreams”

To Your Eternity is a shonen fantasy anime produced by Brian’s Base. With Fushi and the children celebrating their victory over the Nokkers, the kids find themselves opening up about their hopes and dreams. But for Tonari, the story we see looks back instead of forward in To Your Eternity Episode 16.

Given how frequently To Your Eternity goes out of its way to break its viewer’s hearts, it’s nice to get a moment of simple happiness for the show’s cast. While there are still struggles ahead, Fushi and company need to have a good night now and then. Without them, the show would just become miserable to watch. This touching moment is, however, brought to an abrupt end when Fushi makes a rather hilarious mistake. I appreciated this moment not simply for its humor but also for how much it shows the story is paying attention to its own history.

As the party ends, To Your Eternity Episode 16 takes the story into Tonari’s past as we are shown how the young woman came to the island and became who she is today. While this story presents the tragic history one would expect, it doesn’t clear up any of my worries about where her honesty toward Fushi is concerned.

The only problem with this sequence comes with how it fits into the larger patterns of the show. With how hard the show has been trying to get me to care about Tonari, it feels fairly evident that she is most likely going to be the next character in Fushi’s life to die. While I have no way of knowing that for certain, it feels obvious. With that thought in the back of my head, it’s hard to allow the sequence to compel me to attachment when her departure feels all but inevitable. Hopefully, the show will prove more creative than this and mix things up.

Following To Your Eternity Episode 16′s trip to Tonari’s past, the story moves forward to Fushi’s championship bout in the arena. With the potential to become the island’s leader and thus to be able to get him, Pioran, and the kids off the island, Fushi has a lot riding on this match. And given how easily his previous matches have gone, this one feels like a sure thing for the shape-shifting immortal.

While I won’t spoil To Your Eternity Episode 16‘s big finale, I will say there are some surprises ahead for the series. Where this episode’s finish leaves the show and what is likely to come of it has me more curious than usual to reach next week’s episode.

The visuals in this episode continue to do a great job of bringing the narrative to life. I particularly liked the design for young Tonari. The design of her younger self does a great job of making her feel younger and not just look smaller. The way the show presents her change helps make the background story just a bit more impactful.

To Your Eternity Episode 16 brings a strong installment to the show’s continuing narrative. It delivers many different elements, and even if certain events feel fairly predictable for where they will lead some characters, the episode still brings some surprises that keep the viewer wondering.

To Your Eternity Episode 16 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.