REVIEW: ‘To Your Eternity,’ Season 2 Episode 3 – “The Awaited”

To Your Eternity is a shonen adventure anime produced by Drive. Despite his many wanderings, Fushi seems no closer to finding a path that is right for him since he began. Now, accompanied by Hayase’s newest descendent, Kahaku, Fushi once more sets out to help the people. But what will Fushi do when he is confronted by someone, unlike anyone he has ever met before in To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 3?

The bulk of this episode is dedicated to introducing new characters and concepts that look like they will be the key participants in the next stage of Fushi’s journey. While this setup is important, it also makes for a slow entry into the series. Fushi feels like he is becoming less of a central character the plot revolves around and more like the story’s MacGuffin for the rest of the cast to contest each other over. I hope that this situation will be brief. Fushi deserves to be a whole character and not just a prize to be won.

The biggest moment in To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 3 is the introduction of Bonchien Nicoli La Tasty Peach Uralis. This seemingly European-style prince is easily the most absurd character the show has featured. While some of his eccentric personality hints at something larger going on inside his head, much of his character is simply that classic bizarre behavior that is not unusual in anime but feels rather out of place here. The most interesting thing about Bonchien however is his strange connection to Fushi. While not explained yet, if Bonchien is even aware of it, the prince has a sense for Fushi that hints at a far deeper connection than seems possible at first glance.

I also feel that this episode confirms what the last episode hinted at. Fushi’s love life will be an ongoing plot in this season. While it doesn’t go into this too deeply still, the minor awkward moments that have already begun to pop up leave me with trepidatious feelings about how this will be handled, as well as where it might ultimately lead. Especially since, like the rest of this episode, Fushi plays the part of the target, not a participant in these moments of hinted infatuation.

The visual direction of the series also leaves me with mixed feelings. While the animation is as good as ever, the choice to have the newest arrivals in Fushi’s story be so clearly European in their inspiration is a bit jarring. While it is easy to assume that Fushi’s Earth is not necessarily a geographical duplicate of our own, this sudden shift in design nonetheless feels out of place.

To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 3 left me underwhelmed. Between its slow-paced setup and odd choices, this episode doesn’t have me as engaged with Fushi’s journey as last season’s stories did. I hope that this is merely a bump in the road for this series and that the payoff for all this will be worth it.

To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 3 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.