After delving into the history of Claude and Camille's relationship over the past couple of weeks, we return to the show's equivalent of the present day for Ikoku Meiro no Croisée's tenth episode - at least, we mostly do...
With Claude away for the day on business, Yune is left at a rare loose end after seeing him off from the Galerie's gates, and after some scenes which allow us to appreciate just how much she's integrated into that locality her determination to get things done even without Claude around finds her cleaning out the shop's storeroom - a decision which leads to Oscar finding some items of interest that he'd forgotten all about. The objects in question are a slide projector and a "Mutoscope" of sorts, and with Alice happening to drop by both herself and Yune are amazed by these contraptions ability to display static and moving images respectively - before we know it, the whole Galerie seems to be summounded to an impromptu show utilising multiple slide projectors as Oscar and company recreate the original Star Wars trilogy. Or something.
While Yune recounts her childhood and the time she spent playing with shadows along with her sister, it seems that she isn't the only one with shadows in mind, as Claude finds himself burdened by the reputation of his deceased father - on the one hand, he wants to surpass him but on the other he's determined (stubbornly so) to be his own man freed from the legacy his dad has left him. How he resolves this conflict remains to be seen, but it's another interesting window into Claude's life.
This mixture of personal matters, reminiscences and a little slice of history via old technology sums up pretty much everything that works well within Ikoku Meiro no Croisée - it makes for a fun blend of elements to watch, and this episode in particular gives us a real feeling for how Yune and even Alice have grown and development into part of their community, be it willingly or otherwise. That all of this is served up in such a delicate and relaxed way only serves to make it all the more enjoyable, and this has certainly been my singular, laid-back pleasure of the summer season to date.
Monday, 5 September 2011
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