Dear Brother – Episode 14 - Ai Animes 🤖

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we might take a stroll down to Seiren Academy, and see what fresh hell our students are enduring this week. After the revelation that Miya-sama is actually Saint Juste’s older sister, our last episode seemed to revel in the callous contrast between them, framing every luxury or cruelty of Miya-sama against the deprivation and agony of her sister’s experience. Living alone in a shadowed hall of mirrors, Saint Juste is surrounded by ghosts, from the lingering memories of her porcelain doll to the hated reflections of her own face.

All of this misery served to raise a further question of what it means to be close to one another, and what responsibilities arise from love or affection. Kaoru sees her “friendship” with Saint Juste as a vow of trust, a pledge to be at her side until these storms eventually pass. Though their bonds seem destructive, Shinobu at least sees something vital in that, believing that there could be nothing more romantic than a pledge of mutual self-destruction. Is it possible to commit yourself so fully to love without losing yourself, or is it that act of surrender that defines love in the first place? Let us hope Nanako at least draws something more life-affirming from her bonds, as we return to the tragedy of Dear Brother!

Episode 14

We open with a simple yet evocative effect, as birds in silhouette fly past the reddening sky. Literally just two frames repeated, yet it creates such a strong sense of ominous energy, like some terrible predator is approaching through the near-darkness. Every episode of this show is a case study in efficient yet beautiful and dramatically effective visual storytelling, a testament to Dezaki’s mastery of traditional limited animation. Little wonder he’s one of the most influential directors in the medium; while many great directors tend to be facilitated by equally impressive teams of animators, Dezaki’s lessons are just as applicable to productions of limited means, meaning directors like Ikuhara, Shinbo, or Hatakeyama can employ them regardless of a given production’s resources

The birds fly past the tower, our general signifier of a return to Seiren Academy. Ikuhara in particular would really run with this tendency towards repeated, emotionally resonant establishing shots

We are aligned with Nanako as she climbs up the stairs of the tower, presenting a shot from her presumed perspective as we stare through the stained glass

Saint Juste’s sanctuary is an unreal place, both sanctuary and cage, like the forbidding attic of Jane Eyre

She again calls Nanako “Fukiko-sama”

“I knew you would someday keep your promise to me!” A line that resonates with Kaoru’s declaration that friendship is an obligation

“You’ve come here so we can die together.” And an echo of Shinobu’s tale. If death is the only release from a life of suffering, then dying together is the only way to prove your love

Our episode title is “The Secret Door,” accompanied with bright fanfare that feels wildly discordant relative to the scene in progress

And our cut back returns us to the frantic fatalism of their encounter, with a high-angle shot from outside the tower, framed as if Saint Juste is already prepping for the jump

“Here is the bracelet. It never left my wrist since the day you gave it to me… just as you wished.” Miya-sama certainly enjoys demanding exaggerated plays of fealty from her followers

“Let us die, and dwell together in eternity. The truth is this… that nothing can give any kind of meaning to life.” I wonder what they collectively experienced, and why Miya-sama was able to rise above it while Saint Juste remained perpetually scarred. Perhaps Saint Juste was actually adopted into the family, and at some point learned she was fated to be separated from her sister – that would explain her current living arrangement, and also offer a parallel with Nanako’s adopted family

This certainly goes some distance towards explaining Saint Juste’s behavior; she actually interprets Miya-sama’s violence as gestures towards fulfilling their promise

This sequence is effectively emphasizing Saint Juste as a genuine physical threat, a larger, stronger black mass of ill intent

The clang of her knife against the wall finally wakes Saint Juste from her delusion

Ooh, love this effect after Saint Juste starts crying – translucent hexagons are superimposed over the screen, evoking the same bleary-eyed effect as if the tears were coming from the camera itself. Again, not a particularly animation-intensive effect, but nonetheless an extremely impactful one

Saint Juste’s sobbing is so gut-wrenching, just the most hopeless, defeated wailing

“In her eyes, I saw something more like love than hate.” As Shinobu has consistently demonstrated, love and hate are more closely aligned than you’d think. It is those who we put the most faith in who can cut us most deeply

Nanako wonders if Saint Juste’s scars are from a prior double suicide attempt. And once again, the barreling wheels of the train are employed as a kind of threat, emphasizing how easily our bodies might be destroyed by the powers surrounding us

The next day at school, Miya-sama chastises Nanako for missing cram sessions, and furthermore announces she has no time for snooping into other peoples’ business

But just like with Kaoru and Saint Juste, Nanako’s lack of reverence for these campus icons is her superpower. She ignores Miya-sama’s threats, and immediately heads to Saint Juste’s apartment

Nice visual flourish emphasizing how this apartment is also a prison, as we see the silhouetted bars of the window at the end of her hall

Saint Juste has apparently been drugging herself to fall into dreamless sleep

“Maybe it would be better to lock your door when you’re asleep. A thief or stranger might come in.” “They can take anything they want, even my life.” It is an agonizing thing to attempt to care for someone who does not value their own life. They actually want their self-hatred to be validated; your love for them must be stronger than their hate for themself

A bus ride shared with Tomoko reasserts some normalcy within her life. A great boon for her that Tomoko is willing to accept Nanako now has a portion of her life that they cannot share

Shinobu keeps Nanako focused on test material while she daydreams about cooking for Saint Juste. We took quite a rambling road there, but it’s great that Nanako now has some consistent, supportive friends to counterbalance her upperclassmen activities

While looking for Nanako after school, Shinobu runs into Kaoru, who offers to teach her French in Nanako’s stead. Also a good bond developing there, with Kaoru working to ensure Shinobu no longer values her life so lightly

After Saint Juste accepts her gifts of food, Nanako takes the bold step of attempting to throw out her pills, which of course infuriates Saint Juste. I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Nanako

“I hate prying nuisances like you!” You can’t offer gifts and then immediately betray her trust

Once again, the blood-red sun over the bay carries us from a scene of self-destruction

“But I just don’t think it’s right to ruin one’s body with drugs like that. I’m absolutely convinced of it.” Of course, this is very true to Nanako as well – maintaining her values even in the face of the upperclassmen’s confident, self-destructive rituals. It was her commitment to her own values that allowed her to get close to them in the first place

“But… I won’t be able to visit her apartment ever again.” Her words are emphasized by the ruined boat she’s leaning against, a craft that will never again float out to sea

Gosh, some beautiful compositions here as she hums beside the ocean

Ooh, love this. Saint Juste enters the frame from behind the camera, an unexpected reprieve from this lonely moment of reflection. I’m glad they gave Nanako’s feelings this much time to breathe

“How long has it been since I came to look at the sea?” Nanako has indeed inspired Saint Juste to escape the walls of her apartment

Saint Juste has also emerged from her fugue enough to recognize Nanako’s efforts, and how she’s delaying midterm study for her sake

Nanako bumps into her dear brother’s cram school acquaintance at the elevator

Apparently he also knows Saint Juste

Back in her room, Nanako reveals a stolen talisman from Saint Juste, a single half-smoked cigarette

At school the next day, Saint Juste returns her flashcards, looking far more vibrant and upbeat than ever before

And Done

My lord, what a resounding victory of an episode! Granted, I know we’re speaking in relative terms here, as this episode did open with an attempted murder-suicide. But nonetheless, this was clearly Nanako’s most effective adventure yet in terms of connecting with Saint Juste, and perhaps even getting Seiren’s most fatalistic icon to once again find some joy in her life. And Nanako’s victories aside, this was also a wonderfully evocative episode in a visual sense, making terrific use of silhouetted birds and reddening skies and pointed shifts in visual perspective. That scene on the beach was an all-timer, effectively letting Nanako’s sense of rudderless desperation really sink in before relieving the tension with Saint Juste’s arrival. A banner episode all around!

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