After witnessing the most devastating event that could happen to Miyo, now she embarks on a new journey to go save him.

Video Review

What Stands Out the Most?

Miyo feels the ineptness of her inability to save her husband-to-be, so now she must face her own trials and tribulations to obtain clarity in her path, to unlock her Dream-Sight ability fully.

The Meaning Behind Miyo’s FULL AWAKENING

In the YouTube video, I talked a lot about the criticisms of this very payoff of Miyo unlocking her Dream-Sight ability. When something significant occurs, I think we all search for that sense of payoff and satisfaction from significant events. There are many creative ways to deliver such important events. It’s easy to tell within a shonen because going “Super Saiyan” is tied directly to a direct feeling we all want and that is power to overcome something.

At the end of this episode, Yoshirou reveals to us that Miyo unlocked her Dream-Sight ability completely. If he had not said that, I would have questioned exactly what I just witnessed. This is a scene based on a lot of symbolism with Miyo climbing up the stairs, passing by the spirits of previous Maiden of Dream-Sight and eventually running into Kiyoka at the cherry blossom trees. This story uses the symbolism of cherry blossoms to always convey something significant like a “new era.”

Previously, it was the “snow” that ushered in the death of the cherry blossoms. That represented the possibility of Naoshi’s Gifted Communion ushering in his vision of the future with Miyo as the ruler. However, this scene leads me to believe that the cherry blossoms symbolize a “new Miyo.” While walking up those stairs to meet Kiyoka and the cherry blossom tree, that symbolizes her choice in the path she will walk. It’s a scene to show that she fully embraces her future by accepting Kiyoka and understanding how she will stop Naoshi.

Miyo Always Had It Within Her

The story makes it very clear—especially through the Dream-Sight maiden book passed down in the Usuba family—that the powers were already within Miyo. It all just came down to her state of mind. The abstract way the episode ends to signify her fully embracing her path without fear or anxiety is hard to consume, resulting in a not-so-satisfying payoff. That is basically my biggest criticism of the entire episode. It’s that feeling of Miyo earning her ability to use her power, rather than all of these abstract things happening around her, leaving a lot to our imagination and interpretation of what happened.

Overall, it was a decent episode that provided the complete context of Sumi and Naoshi’s payoff. However, connecting it to Miyo unlocking her full Dream-Sight ability was a very big leap for me to fully embrace the moment as something special for the MC.

Check out my other YouTube anime reviews here!