I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day

Episode 7

This episode really went out of its way to make me feel emotional about its climax and dammit…it worked. I do have some complaints about how conclusion of this arc could've been a bit stronger if Seiran and Ali were more prominent as characters throughout the first half of the show. They only really got definitive focus for these last two episodes, and while I'm sure the primary focus of their involvement is going to be how their part in this world ultimately affects Sheena and Mimi, it doesn't mean what was done here was poorly executed. If anything, this is one of the strongest episodes in the entire season, mainly because it really hammered home just how deeply uncomfortable these themes of child soldiers are.

I'm actually glad that the mock exam was dealt with relatively quickly and wasn't the bulk of the episode. The point wasn't for Mimi or Seiran to win necessarily as much as it was to highlight two main things. The first was to highlight Seiran's frustration. Her whole issue is that despite being the top in her class, she still doesn't feel like she can be of use, especially when Mimi is constantly touted as this legendary soldier who is immortal. Despite the fact that Seiran is still incredibly capable despite her age, she doesn't see it as enough. If anything, Seiran seems to be striving for a level of perfection that she cannot reasonably obtain, and I like that the nurse really hammered home that she is not invincible. The point isn't to serve your country or in this case their school, the point is to make it back home safely. I really felt for Seiran and Ali this episode. I'm glad that the show ran the full gambit of tragedy with them before taking away Seiran's life.

The second thing that the match between Mimi and Seiran showcased was just how uncomfortable the teachers feel about everything. I like the fact that they wanted to use Mimi and the match itself to highlight just how poorly equipped the students are for combat. The idea is that this school, despite saving a bunch of kids that are either in poverty or terrible situations, is ultimately taking advantage of their sorrow. These kids don't have families to return to, these kids had no prospects in life and are extensively guilt tripped into feeling like they need to give their life to fight in this war I still barely know anything about. The teachers are doing their best to create these roadblocks or technicalities to prevent these teenagers from being thrown into a battle that they are just going to get killed in. Winning the war isn't even on anybody's mind, it's literally just about holding the line until everything eventually falls apart.

It really is a shame that Seiran didn't consider the fact that there was a life for her beyond this war, but that's kind of the underlying tragedy that a lot of these characters just seemed to accept. It's not that they don't want more, it's that they feel like this is something they need to do whether it's to protect other people, to prove themselves or because they legitimately do not think that there is anything else for them out there. But dying isn't seen as an honor, it's seen as just another reality of life. No one is happy to go into battle or to prove their usefulness. It's just something that they feel they need to do. As shown with Seiran, these kids aren't brought up to be mindless killers as they feel the weight of the deaths that they inflict just as much as they feel the weight of the deaths that they witness. I wish more time was spent on letting the heaviness of taking those lives linger. I feel like that could've been a whole episode on its own.

However, that final scene of Seiran just quietly being decimated because she doesn't have any more energy to keep herself together was very effective. The fact that, for a split second, I thought that she was going to make it back home is a testament to how badly I really wanted that to happen. I know that this is going to be devastating for her girlfriend, but I'm also curious what this is going to mean for Sheena and Mimi as well. This is seemingly the first time that Mimi has witnessed a friend die right in front of her, especially after she is just starting to learn what it means to really value the lives of other people. Is this going to be the immediate catalyst for change as the show moves into the second half? I'm very curious what direction the show is going to go in because while I do think the setup for where the show is at now could've been done a bit better, I am very open to the possibilities of where it can go.

Rating:

I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.