She seems to be a customer who has learned to hate the world and herself enough to make her wish for happiness include her non-existence. That smile tho. She really must've wanted it. The way they describe witches makes me think of old fairytales where the witches would help move tue story along, whether its a tragedy or a happily ever after.
She hangs out at high places, walks on the road, unafraid of death. She was as lifeless as a doll, mabe her fading out of existance was the best ending for someone who can't fit in into the real world with responsibilities and consequences
well as someone pointed out, all the palces she was were common suicide locations. Rooftops, middle of traffic, Above rushing trains. It all made sense in the end
At the beginning when she’s walking around town all of the places are common locations for people to commit suicide, but watching it for the first time it’s easy to get distracted by her clothes, her “weird” way of speech and the trivial way she’s talking. The top of a tall building, skirting on the railing of a bridge overlooking a busy railroad, standing in the middle of traffic. The end of the episode feels jarring at first, it’s unexpected, but when you look back at the moment when she asks the two guys about this “wish” her motivations become incredibly clear. The only people who notice her near these dangerous places treat her like she’s crazy, they film her like an animal and honk their cars and yell at her for being on private property. And yet the world so often tells people dealing with these thoughts to “just get help”, that the people around them and the world around them cares- which is why her hatred for the world goes beyond even just her initial problems, but towards the random bystanders in the world too. She hates all of it. They just look at her. They just act like she’s funny, or weird, without standing up to offer any help. This episode hit hard for me
During the first sequence introducing her it’s really clear that all of the background characters without any focus are looking at her, too, again refusing to say anything but just. Staring. They aren’t super animated or anything, they are purely plain 3D models and yet they look at her so deliberately. So many stories that talk about people with these kind of thoughts describe these people as feeling “invisible”, and in an ironic way I think that this story in particular demonstrates that better than any one I’ve ever seen before. Everyone sees her. But they don’t see her walking above a train track, or standing in the middle of traffic. They see *her*, they see her body, her clothes, but they don’t see her as a person. And as an audience it’s easy to fall into that mindset too.
Just my thoughts, don't take it as the absolute interpretation. I'm not the one writing this anime. She emphasizes some of the things she hate a bit more than the others. When she starts listing the things she likes and dislike she goes through them quickly but then there is more weight to the "I hate people who yell". There is a few round/circle shaped things in the things she listed like sunflower and parasols, the place she is on at 1:08 is a big circle with a bunch of lines going toward her and when she is jumping on the red tiles she says she likes crowds but doesn't like people (unless they're cute). I guess she likes the warm feeling of belonging in a circle/group/crowd but doesn't like being singled out and having a lot of attention on her. The round shape of her eyes is also highlighted and she is often doing things differently than other people or goes to places no else goes to. I think that's what gives her that offbeat/etheral vibe and makes her someone hard to read/understand. Later she also mentions hating school and home, I feel like combining this information with the fact she hates people who yell gives us a glimpse of the hardships she was facing. "I hate split ends" she thinks when looking at the girl's hair, that one is important because it becomes one of this episode's motif with the zipper later. I think the tree at 2:23 represent her and foreshadows the end of the episode. Feels like the scene at 2:28 is important for both her and Nina... Because the way she takes the time to properly say hello gives of the feeling that she actually values conversations... calm conversations, actual conversations, not one where the other person yells at her or makes her uncomfortable. For Nina it shows how much effort she puts into being understanding toward each of her customers. But like I said above Lulu isn't easy to read/understand, she is a difficult customer and so Nina starts feeling uneasy (2:55) At 3:08 Lulu is asking Nina to give her what she needs. What Lulu felt like she needed at that moment is the courage to end her life and so everything takes a scary turn, the fire gets louder and the weather so violent it makes the windows move. Lulu's dress colored like the blue sky she hates turns into a black one and she starts to walk happily as she zips/locks away all the things she dislike, but the thing she hated the most was herself/her own life and so she zipped/closed it. The lyrics of the song gives more detail about her, like the fact she spent a lot of time talking with people online and might have some social anxiety? She might also be scared of growing up and becoming one of the annoying adults around her? I think Lulu was a really nice person who was very open minded, honest and liked many different things, but she also took things at her own pace, spend a lot of time in her own bubble/thoughts and was hard to understand so people misunderstood her and yelled at her (at home and at school). Time went by and she started hating more and more of the things she associated with these people and bad experience. The things she hated overtook the things she liked and she even grew to hate things she used to like (like the blue sky that's the same color as her dress). But also she can't get rid of these things she hate or move away from them, so she closed her heart even more, stopped trying to explain herself, which is why we get most information about her through inner thoughts and not dialogues (also the reason why she doesn't respond to any of the people talking to her). All she can do is wander around, find and think about things she like and she dislikes (maybe in hopes of finding something she likes more than she dislikes other things), which led her to seek things more and more dangerous (like high places). But no matter how much she tried she was stuck, like the zipper. That's why she hates open ends, forever dwelling on feelings. What she needed when she came at Nina's shop was to close the zipper, put an end to her endless thinking. The thing she seeked, like all the previous characters was the strength/courage to accomplish something. Haruka wanted to break free from other people's narrowed vision of her to be able to express herself in more than one way. Mana wanted to move away from society norms and do what she really liked. Akihiro wanted to be pushed to actually start creating something instead of just being someone who observe and criticize from a safe distance. Lulu wanted to find the strength to put and end to her life. And what's interesting is that, for now, while her story is portrayed as sad, lonely and scary, it is not said to be right or wrong. Sorry to whoever reads this for the long unorganized thoughts and messy writing, I just wrote this as I went and it's mostly notes for myself so I didn't bother too much.
Something else I thought about after writting this The braces might be a way to imply she is forcing herself to smile or that the smile is painful. Maybe so that Nina doesn't feel too guilty? But looking at Nina's reaction when asked "Didn't she seem happy?" she might have seen through her smile 11/18/22 Edit: I just want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to read this. I'm still reading and replying to replies as I very much apreciate them. Many of you shared that you related to this story, so I want to wish you all to have a good day today. It's not much, I can't really do a lot to help you all, but I do trully wish you great.
The fact Lulu shows up again at the end makes me think, maybe she didn't want to die more than find a place away from everything she dislikes. Due to her previous customers, Nina thinks they're supposed to learn a lesson and return to the outside world better. But that's not what Lulu wanted. She wanted a place she could call her own, to disappear to and never be bothered again. And that's what she got. To disappear. But she's still technically there, just hidden.
I like to think she may have ran away from home and fled somewhere else to start a new life. We don't know where, but let's hope she's a bit happier now.
I really hope this is true. I think about this episode every day lol I need closure artiswich tell me she is okay ;A; I remember watching the entire thing relating to her so hard and then she seems to take her own life and I'm like...I need her to be ok I want her to have a happy ending so bad
Yeah, Nina just worries cause she knows that a lonely life away from anything the world has to offer is an important waste of a lifetime. Ruru's reapeareance at the end is just the confirmation that she's satisfied with that life-style.
This episode hit really close to home for me, I admit I cried a bit since I continue to struggle with dark thoughts like Lulu's. As someone who wears lolita fashion I try to find happiness by filling my life with cute things but no matter how hard I try I can't seem to enjoy anything in life. I know it's probably depression talking though....
Mhm, I feel similarly. I know many lolitas like ourselves have disabilities, disorders, rough lives, and/or depression. The fashion is something that helps us cope, or escape, or maybe just brings some happiness into our lives that we were missing. I find that I can't bring myself to wear lolita when I am depressed, so for me it's freeing to wear since I only wear it when I'm feeling okay. But I also have impulsive shopping issues spurred by my depression; I buy so many cute things instead of appreciating what I have around me. In the past I was so bad to myself when I was depressed, that now I've done the exact opposite and spoiled myself. When in reality, neither are healthy coping mechanisms. I have so many dark thoughts that I try to only look at things I like, instead of accepting that I'm normal, and the things I don't like are fine to exist too - including myself.
Fashion as a hole has that effect. But then when it doesn’t fill that hole it once did it can make things feel/be so much more darker. Sending you all happy fluffy thoughts and that you find strength once more.
@@avoprim5028 you know just cause they have symbols does mean they link to other animes, I understand if it was a direct cameo but each has their own representation in this anime
At first, I was like, wow. Everything's black and white to that girl. She's simple-minded. But she kinda has nowhere to go? She has things she hates and things she loves but she doesn't really have a goal. Just circling around. We know what she loves, but what does she even want? It was answered in the end. So tragic... and dark. I loved all the episodes and this is just... wow. Hands down to this amazing work! I can't wait for more!
indeed it was really tragic, it leaves you with this kind of empty feeling when you know the end. Even when she gets her wish I question if she was truly happy
The braces on her multicolored teeth represent the unnatural and fabricated means that Lulu had been forced to adopt. Her teeth are the same color pallet as the streets and world around her. This can represent that the world (or external forces) have literally been putting words in her mouth and forcing her to comply. She is forced to communicate through this filter. Teeth can also represent weapons, and in this way she can use the worlds power against itself to "bite back." The end is her true smile though, her voice has been released from the braces, she has been released, Lulu is relaxed, happy, and most importantly at peace with herself now that she has taken control of her world Nina does not have the experience or knowledge on how to handle a situation like this, very few people do. It takes a lot of empathy and a lot of support from other people. Lulu wanted out, and in a culture where the nail the sticks up is always mercilessly hammered down, this was the only option she felt she could take.
Your interpretation if this episode really hit hard for me. That in some cultures there just isnt enough empathy for those struggling, so they’re left out. It hurts to think about how hopeless they must feel.
Best chapter so far, It took me for surprise and I even felt a little chill at the end. "Witches don't have the right to choose the form of happiness." I swear that phrase made my heart skip a beat.
I was baffled at first, not understanding what was happening, not understanding why Nina was crying. But when I finally found out what this is about, the things Lulu was saying at the start, enumerating the things she likes and hates, I finally understood what she was saying and why she was saying them, at least some parts of it. While exploring the places where suicide commonly happens, she's enumerating the things she liked and dislike, hoping to find something that can outweight all the hate she had towards the world. But as you can see, there's a lot of things she hate, a lot more than she likes. Of course she soon realizes that, deeply more than anyone, but she couldn't find the courage to go through the process of ending her life. Until she heard about The Witch. Nina, The Uraura Harajuku witch who grants a wish that's deep inside your heart. And for Lulu, that wish was a peaceful death.
Clothes and fashion have always been my coping mechanism, my therapist even encourages me to explore. But due to the pandemic i haven't been able to dress myself up. This episode really struck me. This whole anime has helped me a lot even with just a few episode. It feel good and relatable and it makes me feel at ease. I wish i could dress up again soon! Thank you for making this anime!
Why dont you dress up anyway? You can do it for your own sake, for your own fun! Have a masquerade night with your family. At home you can let your ideas run wild.
@@Sakuyamon i wish i could, im queer and my dad is homophobic and the people in our town is very conservative. If i dress up I'd risk getting kicked out or get hurt. That's why it's been more depressing lately.
Geez, that sucks, but maybe there could be other ways of sharing your interest in fashion, like an art blog or a photo collage? I feel the same as well. It gets tricky for me sometimes if I want to wear something especially different from what's the norm for me to wear.
Sure, just, how long could the addition of the multilingual subtitles, for this very episode, mind you, take, exactly, though? Also, when, exactly, though, are the multilingual subtitles, for this very episode, mind you, actually, coming? I really want to know.
It's eerie when RuRu looks to the sky, almost nostalgically, and makes the final slash into it; it's practically implicative of skin being cut, the way the black liquid flows out, ending in a tranquil rain and her goodbye.
ngl, out of all episodes this is the one that gave me the most chills as of right now. a lot of things that happen in this episode interested me ngl. the next episode will be (TIARA "E DE") and I'm excited to see what's the next customer will bring to the shop and our fashion witch
At the end of the series, we see Lulu is alive and well. No, she didn't commit magical self unalivement - she wanted to be away from everything she hated about the world. In the beginning of the episode, Lulu lists off the things she likes and dislikes; she makes more of a point to emphasize things she doesn't like, like people yelling. She's moving in the opposite direction of the crowd, emphasizing on the way she stands out from the crowd, but doesn't like the attention at the same time. Sometimes, a society can be brutal towards those who don't fit the mold. Lulu moved at her own pace, saw the world through her own lens, and spoke about things in her own way. But the world around her saw her as someone who was odd and somewhat unnerving to be around. When she arrives at Nina's shop, and falls into her own little world, her soft blue dress turns into her beautiful dark one, it shows that she's finally displaying her true self, without the constant strain piled ontop of her, her multi-coloured teeth could represent the many different filters society placed on her. The braces representative of the world trying to 'correct' her way of living. But at the same time, Lulu can use this to essentially bite back at the world. She can tell the world to essentially 'shut the f up'. In the end, all Lulu wanted to be alone. To be hidden. Not to die. She just wanted her own space, where she could be herself, and exist without people telling her what she should do, or who she should be. Before she closes the umbrella, and the inky blackness engulfs her, she gives a genuine smile to Nina, _"Thank you, for fulfilling my wish."_ When we see Lulu again, she looks up at the blue sky she claimed she hated, all the while, her smile is true and genuine. She was finally free. Finally able to just simply be left alone.
The way Nina mirrors her customers is very interesting; she matches their energy perfectly, from voice mannerisms to fashion. In the first episode, she says "this is your shop," and it's true. Everything abut the store changes according to the customer; the last episode had the audience framed on the wall, as a premonition, and in this episode it seems to be snowing outside, in references to Lulu's outward coldness.
It’s interesting how everyone seems to fall into the shop and Nina controls the situation but in this case Lulu hunts down the store for her wish and she controls the conversation with Lulu being the one to ask the question first. Unlike the others who didn’t truly know what they wanted yet and needed help to find the way it feels like Lulu knew exactly what she wanted and she went there with a purpose
Just when you thought you figured out the pattern of this story, they surprise you further more. This story deserves to be more widely viewed!! Please PR outside the circle and show the world this bizzare yet interesting, realistic yet fantasy world!! 制作さん頑張ってますから、PRさんもう一工夫！せっかく字幕もつけてくれているのに、台湾など全然話題にならないのがおかしいです！
i loved how in this ep, the witch was left with a parting gift from the customer - unlike in the other eps. gives more meaning to the overall themes. in this ep, the witch learns a lesson alongside the customer and is left with a keepsake in return.
*spoiler* Imagine becoming a witch to grant wishes after seeing a girl die in front of you and then one of your customers just so happens to want to die as her wish. Poor Nina, of course she's conflicted.
Hooray, an episode featuring lolita fashion! I honestly wasn't expecting this one to turn out so dark: the rainbow-toothed grin that is eerily and rigidly plastered on, the transformation sequence into a gothic-aristocrastic (almost funerary) coordinate, the unzipping of everything around her... instead of wishing to resolve her inner conflicts like the other customers, Lulu simply wished for the resolve to die. I'm very interested in seeing how this will develop Nina's character; can't wait for the next episode ♡
this episode was so stunning and sad omg. the fact that at the beginning, she was at places where a lot of ppl commit suicide (example the high building) but you don't really noticed since ur distracted by the way she speaks and the way she dresses, is so amazing!! i'm so happy i found this breathtaking show
I love the subtle struggle introduced to Nina’s story in this episode. Nina’s confidence clashes beautifully against the gothic girl’s simple-mindedness. Nina is loosing her power and it’s fascinating. This one might be my favorite.
As someone who dresses up in lolita fashion and suffers from depression I relate to Lulu a lot. I'm trying to find the things in life that gives me joy, something to give me a reason to "care" about this world a bit more. Dissociation begins to get to the point where the brain tries to "erase" things that are either irrelevant or makes me grief (like Lulu pointing her umbrella to "command" the things she hate to disappear) It's maddening and painful when existence becomes a cage that prevents you from finding the end to your suffering. To me Nina granting Lulu's wish is a good thing, so that Lulu does not suffer pain in removing her existence from the world. But Nina, being a good person that she is, would naturally disagree that there is more to life than suffering. For some people it's not, and here's the lesson that Nina has to learn to grow as a witch; to not decide what form happiness may take and let go. I think the creators of this ep nails depression pretty well. Thank you for this art and a job well done.
I thought she had initially been nervous because Lulu caught her off guard.and she couldn't figure out how to handle her.. No, I think she just knew exactly what Lulu had wanted, and was afraid of seeing it come to fruition.
WARNING! A lot of text and my interpretations. I've been comming back to this video again and again after watching the whole series because it left some really strong imprint in my soul and every now and again I have the start of the song, "my 5 tatami castle" ( as far as i understand), and her, Lulu, going from completely blank expression she always has to this horrifying ear-to-ear smile while nothing else on her face changed. This whole things impressed me a lot and I might edit this comment later to have a fuller analysis/my interpretation of what I think. Right now the most striking things for me are how in Lulu's "deeper in" everything, everything is so colourful and there are not a lot of black and white, besides her. But in her, her teeth are colourful, showing how fake her smile is, and the braces are there too tho she is not shown to wear them anytime but that - i dont know why, but for me they look like metal wires they used in very dispopian psychological things to force people to smile all the time. Would explain her otherwise expressionless face. The most sad thing is tho, she did smile, only once and really faintly, and that was before she closed the umbrella - it felt like she had the inner peace she was looking for. I am going to quickly touch this right now, but there is so much of "edge" in her life (there should be betterunifying word but yeah). The fact that her pastel/pale looking dress changed to completely black, how everything around her is so many different things but only she is only black and white; how she treats everything as something she either likes or hates; how in the end she puts umbrella so that it visually separates her face in two halfs - all those are very black and white things, and she can't be in the middle of them, can't be in the grey area and hates being in such so to say. And that what her life was - not here not there, not in school not at home, not with nor without people, not in safe place on the roof, but nor in the real danger. Which brings me to what she wanted. She got her wish completed but we were never explicitly told (or shown) what it is, (unlike with the others) and so we can only assume what it is. And I think it was to stop being in the grey area she was in - not knowing if she can go on or not, she was on the edge of things and that she didn't want and she was pushed onto one side of it, and kinda, given "courage" to commit what she did. I think that's also why witch blames herself so much for it - she feels and knows that she didn't just give her courage or sth, but she was inadvertently responsible for pushing her. It did give her a form of happiness but also something that the witch very much not wanted. But I dont think she could have done much more. I might be overanalysing but I think Lulu's life was at a point of no return and she was not mentally able to move on, not on her own, and now would be able to accept people in life ("i hate people; ... i like you [witch, not human technically]") There is so much behind these frames I am in awe and want to talk about it a lot more. Thank you so much for creating. I might try to do sth like this ↑ more later on if I have time but thank ou so much for the series. And thank you for reading the comment! C:
The Lolita in this episode strikes me as a girl who really knows what she likes, but at the same time she feels very cut off from society because the world isn't exactly the way she would want it to be. I get the vibe that in some ways she sees herself as superior. She seems as though she's been black-pilled and would rather go on a killing spree to take out everyone she doesn't like, and then kill herself. But it begs the question: how did she end up like this in the first place? What brought her to this point? I hope we find out more about her soon!
As a person who finds her incredibly relatable, I will try to reply, but keep in mind it can be a bit dark. It's a little hard to explain. Lulu(the lolita) has a lot of things that she likes - she seems to enjoy cute fashion, art, cats, maybe she dresses up to cope. She seems very different from others and she's awesome. She kind of talks and behaves like a child(her quiet voice, her way of wording things, the way she walks) and that is okay. Her behaviour must have been the result of bullying, and generally living in a bad environment. I was bullied for being different so now I also act like Lulu. I bury myself in piles of cute toys to distract myself and forget, and I try to act simple minded. Behaving like this makes you less approachable. While people think "That's just how they are." now and leave, everyone in the past used to yell at me and tell me that I'm weird for liking art and cute things, because it was childish. Despite the fact that she's grown up now, I assume either late teens or early adulthood, she hasn't forgottn, and she's still being treated badly. We see her on different dangerous locations throughout the entire video. But all people do is yell at her and make fun of her and take pictures like she's some weird animal, instead of treating her kindly and offering help. This must have been repeating many times in her past. She must have developed some hatred for humanity. Like you said, there might be a chance that she views herself as superior, and I can confirm it does feel that way when everybody else is acting so inhumane. Looking at people who abuse others daily and don't feel bad about it is incredibly disappointing and it just makes you think "I'm done with this." and want to end your life. I know many poets and artists who felt like Lulu too. I am nearly sure this was the case by her. In conclusion: it must have been repetitive bullying/abuse because she was different. Being child-like and enjoying cute things and lacey dresses isn't a bad thing at all! Yet it's still unacceptable in society for some reason...
This episode was sad! But the visuals were really amazing like always. When she turned toward the "camera" and smiled with her rainbow teeth it gave me a chill! I feel bad for Nina, I hope she can figure out how to grant wishes in a way that is also satisfying to her
This is my favourite video on the whole of RU-vid. When I first watched this I related to Ruru on an unearthly level. It's the clothes that gives it such a lovely touch. The person who designed the clothes deserves a big round of applause.
