“We Will Rescue Her”
What They Say:
No shelter, no food, no water… when four girls get shipwrecked on a deserted island, they’re in big trouble! …Or so you’d think, but they’re actually doing great! They don’t have anything, so they’ll make what they need to! They’ll eat what they need to! It’s a deserted island story of intelligence and courage!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With Shion being swept out to see the last episode things ended in a really interesting place. You definitely felt the way Homare must have felt as she called out to the ocean to try and find her and get a response after the riptide got her. That emptiness can be haunting, especially with the way the waves continue and the sounds of the ocean never cease. The panic over losing someone in a situation like this can really drive the adrenaline and you find yourself doing stupid things to try and help. When the others come, hearing Homare calling out to Shion, their faces are practically ashen when they understand what’s happened – and Asuka even blames Homare even though that’s not really fair.
With the words from her father in mind telling her to prioritize her survival over others, Homare’s ignoring that and working to find and rescue Shion because it is the right thing to do. Using the bamboo raft they built, she discovers another island a bit away by following the same path, giving her some hope for both Shion and herself. Working this while the other two remain at camp trying to put up brave faces sets the tone well as the tension is palpable to be sure. It’s a drawn-out episode as we get both of these pieces playing out, especially with Homare struggling with being by herself out there and the memories of time with her father and his teachings. Those lessons still help but she also knows that she’s taking some big risks here and that’s eating at her as well – which is even easier to have happen while alone with nothing to distract you.
In Summary:
With a good ending to the episode that should set up for a decent season finale the next time around, Are You Lost spends a lot of its time in a quiet mode this time around. The tension has ramped up in a way that tracks well and everyone is definitely feeling things. I do wish we got more time with Shion prior to the end of the episode to see more of what happened to her – it was obvious they wouldn’t kill off a lead character in a show like this – but leaving that unknown helped with the drama overall. The flashback material was solid throughout and seeing Homare going against what her father taught her was a nice change of pace too.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
