REVIEW: ‘To Your Eternity,’ Season 2 Episode 1 – “Infatuation Reborn”

With the loss of Pioran, Fushi went into a self-imposed exile on a deserted island. Finally, 40 years later, Fushi remains alone, save for his black-clad creator, The Observer. But now, it seems the world is about to pull Fushi back in as his old enemies, the Nokkers, have returned to ravage humanity in To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 1. To Your Eternity is a shonen adventure anime produced by Drive.

Using a Nokker attack on a human settlement is the obvious route to pull Fushi into a new adventure. His sense of responsibility for others where the Nokkers are concerned has always been an easy avenue to draw the character out of his shell and into danger. But while this initial setup is what one would expect, where the plot goes from here takes To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 1 into some unexpected places.

After a brief introduction that catches viewers up on how Fushi has spent his time in isolation, Fushi prepares to set out to face his old enemies when sudden visitors confront him. Calling themselves Guardians, they claim they are there to aid Fushi and keep him safe. Their leader is a young girl named Hisame. This girl bears several surprising secrets, including some deep connections to Fushi’s past.

The bulk of To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 1 explores Fushi’s struggles adapting to Hisame’s presence and whether or not he can trust the young girl. Given Fushi’s past in general, and how Hisame connects to it in particular, Fushi’s reluctance to let her in seems entirely understandable. However, even though Fushi acknowledges that he has no reason to distrust Hisame personally, he cannot shake what his lifetime of experience has taught him.

When the small party reaches the village, more truths about what has transpired in the world during Fushi’s long exile come to light in some interesting ways. However, by the episode’s end, plenty of tension has been built up, leaving the viewer needing to know where the tale will go next.

The animation in To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 1 perfectly delivers the familiar faces and world of the series. With season two being produced by a new studio, you never know if everything will translate smoothly. But, happily, everything fits into place perfectly. The original intro song, “Pink Blood,” returns, which is a great choice, in my opinion. While it is common for anime to get new intro songs every season, with so much of this story feeling like it will be intrinsically linked to Fushi’s past, this beautiful, melancholy song feels like it’s still a perfect fit.

To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 1 does everything I could ask for. It catches us up on Fushi’s existence since the events of season one, introduces new elements to begin his journey, and sprinkles plenty of surprises and callbacks to his first memorable adventures in the mix. I only hope that what comes next continues to build even better things on this great foundation.

To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.