Category: Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

This series continues to be absolutely stunning! Seriously, there hasn’t been a weak moment, ever since the earthquake. This episode finally finishes the introduction of this series, and shows Porfy starting his “Long Journey”. It really does seem like it’s going to take a long while until we see Mina again…

The episode starts with Porfy, not sure what to do. In the end, the one who’s able to remember Mina and tell him where she went was the old blind lady. She tells how the two of Porfy and Mina had the same scent, and how Mina boarded a ship that goes to Italy. Now that he finally knows what happened to his sister, Porfy runs to a quiet alley to cry his lungs out.

When Porfy comes back to the harbour to check up on the fees for the boat, they turn out to be too high for the small amount of money he carries with him. He heads into the city, to check whether people are looking for a job. The first person he asks comes with the sad news that nearly nobody in the city has a car, and they work mostly with horses and donkeys. The guy then nicely offers Porfy a part of his lunch, saying how children shouldn’t suffer. Porfy says how he’s looking for money to board a ship, and then the guy comes with the idea to bring Porfy to an old man whose house needs painting. At this point, Porfy is indeed willing to do anything.

When he arrives at the old man’s home, the old man thanks him. He’s apparently been living alone for a long time now. When he asks where Porfy came from, Porfy says he’s from Simitra. The old man remembers how that place was hit by a huge earthquake, and Porfy tells him about what happened to his parents; he starts crying when he talks about it. The old man then comforts him, and says how Porfy’d better start working. When Porfy’s halfway done, the old man asks him to buy some food for dinner.

When they’re having dinner, the old man offers a surprisingly large amount of his food to Porfy. When Porfy says how he shouldn’t bother, the man retorts that it’s nothing, and how it’s a delight to be young. Porfy works for two days, and on the second evening the old man asks Porfy whether he knows what Mina’s thinking. I turns out that Porfy didn’t even think of that yet. The old man then says how Mina should be feeling the same thing he is, being separated from her parents and all.

Porfy finishes on the third day. The old man then gives him a really big amount of money for the job, even more than that’s needed for the boat fee. Added to that, he also offers a backpack for Porfy to use. The old man says how once you get older, there are enough things that you won’t need anymore, and he feels that Porfy would make better use of it. Porfy then leaves and the episode ends, as the old man wishes him good luck.

Apologies for the rather rubbish summary this time. The dialogue in this episode was particularly difficult for a Porfy-episode, and it featured more monologues than usual, so I wasn’t able to understand everything perfectly, like I usually do with this series. That aside, this episode was yet again amazing. When I started watching this series, I originally thought that it would go down about the same path as Perrine Monogatari (which is currently being subbed by C1), but it turns out I was wrong. Perrine puts much more emphasis on the bad sides of money, while Porfy no Nagai Tabi just solves Porfy’s money issues in one half of an episode.

Old people also have a really interesting role in this series. They really serve as mental guides for the children. First Damon, and now we have the old blind woman and the old man who offer Porfy support, and they encourage him to go into the right direction, hardly knowing anything about him. It’s different from usual anime, who mostly have the mindset of “the old ones need to step aside for the young ones”. In this case, they really try to help Porfy get over the horrible things that happened to him, without ever trying to look important for the storyline.

Words can’t describe the awesomeness of this episode. Before I started to watch this episode, I had NO idea that this series would turn out the way it did here. I’m sure now with this episode: Porfy no Nagai Tabi will be one of the best series of 2008, joining Shion no Ou on this list. Before I delve more into the awesomeness of this episode, first a summary:

Porfy is frantically searching for Mina. Mina, meanwhile, reached a flower stand, with flowers that resemble her own tree. With the bit of money she has left, she buys one of them and walks away again. Zaimis is meanwhile extremely worried, and he blames himself for Porfy’s disappearance. He notifies his mother, Helena and Barnes and Barnes hurries to his car to check the surrounding area while Zaimis and Helena search more around the coast.

Helena really needs to calm down Zaimis. Porfy may have meant well with that final message of his (“we’ll stay friends forever”), but like always, that wasn’t the most tactful move. After all, how would you react if someone would say to remain friends forever, only to disappear afterwards? In any case, Porfy too reaches the flower stand, but Mina’s already away. The seller points Porfy in the direction she went, but Mina has already gotten herself into the car of a local woman, mistaking and offering her a ride to a totally different part of the city. She drops her flower, and THAT’S THE LAST THING PORFY SEES OF HER!!!

Mina gets dropped off near a cafe, where a band of travelling entertainers is working: a woman, and two men. The woman dances, while the two men try to win money by playing card-games (not sure whether or not they’re the cheating-kind). The woman then notices Mina, but Mina walks off again, and she gets called back to her job.

Mina then ends up on a boat (if I recall correctly, the movie she watched took place on a boat). She then mistakes a random woman for her mother, but loses sight of her. It then turns out that Isabella (the above-mentioned woman) and her companions will be boarding the boat as well. It seems to be a boat to ITALY. Mina continues to get scared by the crowd, until she sees the woman who looks like her mother again. She then follows her into the boat, only to find out that she was mistaken.

The boat the takes off, with MINA ON BOARD!

Isabella meanwhile, can also use tarot-cards (Gypsy?), though Mina is still on her mind. Her two companions meanwhile continue with their card-trick. It’s an interesting method they use: they just start playing together, and very soon others will get interested and want to play along as well. Porfy, meanwhile, arrives at the harbour, but of course nobody remembers such a tiny little girl. Apollo meanwhile is very angry at him.

Mina has meanwhile hidden in a corner on the boat, watching a couple. They inspire her to recite a part of the movie, and Isabella manages to overhear her. She then tries to talk to Mina, how she liked the movie as well. The two then introduce themselves to each other. She tells Mina that her partner is called Carlos, and the other guy is Carlos’s father and that they’re playing card games. Isabella then asks Mina her age, and when she finds out that it’s 12, she says that it’s the same age as her daughter, who died from an illness. She then tells mina to return to her mother, and then leaves again when Carlos calls her, though she does return for a bit to give Mina an apple.

Mina spends the night on the ship, trying to sleep against random crates and eventually ends up under some stairs. Isabella’s still worried, but Mina has hidden herself well, so she can’t find her. The next day, Mina wakes up and is amazed at the sunrise. She then starts singing her favourite song, while Isabella her companions are watching. Carlos’ father notes how Lily (Isabella’s daughter) was good at singing as well.

Then the boat arrives in Italy, and Isabella wonders where Mina’s parents are. Mina then finally tells her how her parents have died during the earthquake. Isabella then offers Mina to come along with them. The four of them leave the boat together, while Porfy’s still wondering where Mina went and the episode ends.

Let me first say: holy jumping clamfish on a stick! I knew that the creators were clever at building-up, but I never imagined that they were THIS clever. I remember making so many predictions after the previous episode, and they all turned out not to come true, simply because I didn’t consider the option that Porfy wouldn’t be able to find Mina back! Only now I see what the scene in episode three, where Porfy and Mina lost sight of each other, really meant to say: Mina was just joking to Porfy back then, and she easily found her way back to Porfy. This gave both Porfy as the viewer the illusion that she’d return to Porfy no matter what. Instead, her image of Porfy now is something completely different of what I expected.

It’s indeed true that Porfy turned much more protective of Mina after the earthquake, so you’d think that Mina would be the same: two siblings who lost everything apart from each other. Instead, Mina has been so affected by the shock of losing her parents, that I believe that she can’t make sure who of her loved ones is still alive and who isn’t. I remember noting how she never went against Porfy when he was with her, but it felt like she unconsciously thought he wasn’t going to return to her when he left her.

And then there’s Porfy: will he or will he not return to the refugee camp, after being unable to find his sister? What will Zaimis, Barnes and Helena say if he does? And to think that this is a 52-episode series. It might take till October or November before Porfy and Mina see each other again!!

So now we know why Porfy started his travels. Finally, everything makes perfect sense. But the real highlight of this episode was without a doubt Mina. Never have I seen a character act so genuine as she did in this episode. The loss of her parents blocked out everything, apart from her deepest feelings. I’ve said it before, but the refugee-camp arc was just gut-wrenchingly sad. And to think that the real meat of this series has only just started.

Inside the refugee-camp, Mina is sitting with Apollo on her shoulder, smiling at the creature, while nearby Porfy and Zaimis are washing dishes. Zaimis wonders when he can go back to Simitra, though Porfy doesn’t want to go back to that place anymore (with his house being destroyed and all). Helena then takes over from them, so that Porfy and Zaimis can take care of their sisters. It turns out that Mina does have a few physical scars as well, but these will probably disappear completely when she becomes an adult. The same can’t be said from her mental scars, though.

A guy from the village named Lucas, delivering supplies for the refugee-camp then arrives. As he starts up his car to go back, it malfunctions. Porfy then runs to his and Mina’s bed (ignoring Mina’s greetings and leaving her behind, looking disappointed), and grabs his father’s toolkit, and fixes the car. Lucas then gives him his very first self-earned fee. When Porfy goes back to Mina to show this fee, she’s gone.

Porfy looks for her, but he can’t find her. He then runs into Zaimis and he also helps searching, and soon a lot of the people who take care of the refugee-camp are searching for her. Eventually, Porfy finds her behind a rock near the sea, singing the song that she used to like when her parents were still alive. Mina may have lost a lot, but it looks like she’s desperately holding onto her love for theatre. Porfy scolds her, and she suddenly looks much gloomier again, so Porfy tries to cheer her up a bit more.

It actually works, especially when Porfy tries to act out other parts from that play. Mina even joins him with the acting, looking very happy. Then, however, Porfy shows her the money he earned from Lucas’s car, and immediately Mina feels down again. I suspected this before, but it’s really true: Mina doesn’t like Porfy’s obsession with cars. I always had the feeling that she felt left out whenever Porfy started rambling about cars, and this scene indeed confirms this.

In any case, Mina is brought back to the camp, and falls asleep. A little while later, Helena passes out different letters to the refugees. Zaimis’s mother (finally I know her name! It’s Dori) also gets one, and it comes from her aunt (either that, or Zaimis’s aunt). It turns out that the two can live with her. Zaimis is shocked when he finds out that he isn’t going back to Simitra, but after all there’s no way in which they can go and fix their house just like that. Porfy tries to cheer Zaimis up when he finds out, but it’s clear that Porfy himself is also very unhappy with this turn of events.

It’s then when Barnes arrives, and he immediately goes to Helena, so that Porfy doesn’t have the time to greet him. Porfy then goes to eavesdrop on the conversation between these two. He hears how Helena finds that things aren’t going well with Mina, and how she doesn’t speak at all. Barnes then says that he’s find a very nice family for Porfy and Mina, though there’s one thing: this family only wants to take care of a girl. In other words: Porfy and Mina will separate, and Mina will go all the way to America!

This news devastates Porfy. He runs to Mina to tell her the bad news, and he suggests to run away from the camp. His plan is for her to run away when she’s taking care of the dishes away. Porfy will then leave the camp with his own excuse, and they’ll meet up later at a certain landmark. During dinner, they eat more than usual, to strengthen them for the trip, while Zaimis still laments the fact that they’re not going to see each other anymore. Porfy obviously couldn’t care less, because he has more urgent things to worry about.

Then, it’s time to carry out Porfy’s plan. Porfy, unfortunately, runs into Zaimis, and barely manages to come up with a good excuse, and is also helped by the fact that Zaimis is holding his little sister. Porfy then says goodbye to Zaimis in a cryptic way, and heads off.

The plan, however, turns out to be a disaster. Mina sees a nearby bicycle and gets fascinated by it (because there was a bicycle in the movie that they watched as well). The angry owner of that bike then turns up, however, and Mina runs away, terrified at what to do against such an angry strange man. Unfortunately for her, she runs towards a village, where all sorts of scary people walk around. Porfy meanwhile realizes that something’s wrong, and starts searching for her, guided by Apollo and the episode ends.

The amount of building-up that this series did in its first quarter is just overwhelming. More and more scenes that once just seemed to just fill time now turn out to have an incredible meaning. I don’t just mean Mina’s visit to the movie, and the scene at the theatre, but also in episode three, where Mina got separated from Porfy. That too lays a parallel to the events that happened in this episode: back then, Mina just played a prank, but in this episode, her fears are everything but a joke.

I’ve also began to wonder: where will Porfy and Mina sleep? How will they get food? I originally thought that Mina and Porfy would be separated from each other, but now it really looks like the two of them will travel together, which makes things only sadder. Not only is Mina without a doubt the best-developed character in this entire series, but it also means that Porfy is going to not only take care of himself, but Mina as well. I can see how he’ll end up trying to repair cars to get some money, but will people really trust their car with a small boy? And what will Mina be doing when Porfy is out there, trying to make money, even though she hates his obsession for cars.

Seriously, the more I think about it, the more I realize what an amazing amount of potential this series has. Spring may have come with a very good collection of interesting series, but even the BEST of them are going to have to try really hard if they want to be able to top this series.

Amazing, simply amazing. At first sight, this series looks so simple, and yet this episode was so incredibly sad. That’s really the difference between a World Masterpiece Theatre series and a regular anime. They just go into so much more detail than your usual anime. In addition to that, everything feels so natural. Porfy, Mina and Zaimis just feel like real children, and that’s exactly why this series has turned into my favourite series of the winter-season.

The episode starts in the refugee camp, where Zaimis’ mother is showing Zaimis, Porfy, Helena and Mina her newborn baby. Porfy finds it cute, and Helena compares it to an angel. Zaimis says how she looks like him, though Porfy doubts it. Zaimis’ mother says how her eyes resemble her father’s, after which Zaimis starts crying. Porfy tries to cheer up Zaimis by reminding him that he’s become a brother. Helena asks what kind of name they’ve come up for her, and Porfy answers that it would have been Erupii (god knows how you spell that). Helena fins it a very good name, and her father will definitely look over her from heaven. Zaimis’ mother says that she’s going to have to try her best for Erupii’s sake as well. Porfy then gives Zaimis the angel he carved.

Zaimis recognizes it, and is delighted that Porfy managed to fix it, and he sows it to his new sister, saying how it’s the first present her brother made for her. Next up, it’s time for lunch, though Mina refuses to eat. Porfy asks whether she’s had enough, and tells her that she really needs to eat, after which she takes a small piece of her bread. Near them is Damon, who’s having trouble eating his own soup because of his hand, so Porfy stands up and feeds him. Damon thanks him, and Porfy apologizes about the things he said to him about God and all. Damon finds it no problem, and it’s perfectly understandable for someone who just lost his parents to say such things out of rage.

Porfy says that Damon has also lost his family during the war (WWII, probably). Damon answers that a lot of his parents and siblings died back then. Porfy asks how he should get over this, and what should he do? Damon answers that even though you can’t meet them, his friends are still in his heart. He often speaks to them, like how he tells his mother how beautiful the ocean is, and how delicious the soup is. Porfy, however, says that they’re not going to answer, so what’s the point? Damon says that this isn’t necessarily the case, and he says that Porfy will never be alone, and that he can always meet his parents. He then stands up, saying that he’ll be leaving now, and how there’s a bus waiting for him. He’ll be going to Athens.

Porfy asks whether he’ll be all right during the journey, after which Damon draws a map of the main land of Greece, placing two circles: one for Simitra and the other one for Athens.
It’ll be a long journey, but he’s glad to have met Porfy, and he tells him to take good care of his sister. Next up, Louise also leaves. She’s got a sister in a nearby village with whom she can live. She notes how it must be tough for Porfy, and wishes both him and Mina good luck. Then, an expensive-looking car arrives, and a man and a woman step out. Helena then comes walking out of the church, along with a young girl who seems to have lost her entire family.

Porfy asks whether those people are the girl’s parents, though Zaimis says he’s wrong. The children who lost all their parents are going to be adopted into new families. Zaimis also heard the girl the day before, and it seems she did have a sibling, though he (or she?) found it too troublesome to take care of her. Porfy then gets very angry, and Zaimis apologizes. He says that Porfy and Mina will definitely be fine. He then leaves, to go back to his sister. Helena then talks to Porfy, who asks whether the girl had lost her parents, and Helena says that she did. He desperately asks her what’ll happen to the two of them. Helena says that she has of course been thinking about the two of Porfy and Mina, and Porfy says that he’ll refuse to separate from Mina. Helena says she understands.

Porfy then brings Mina to the sea. We then switch to Helena as she’s in her “office”, as Barnes arrives. He asks where Porfy and Mina are, and Helena says that they went to the sea. He asks how the two of them are doing, Helena says that Mina has been heavily emotionally hurt, and Porfy too has had to endure an enormous shock. Ever since he heard that his parents died, he hasn’t cried even once. We then switch to a bit later, when Barnes meets Porfy. He asks whetehr he’s been doing fine, and gives him another chocolate bar. Porfy then shares it with Mina. Porfy then says to Barnes that he’s been thinking, and he things that he’s going to start working for real, and asks whether he knows a good place.

Barnes says that Porfy is twelve years old, and has to have something more important to do than just that. Porfy then says that he’s about to get separated from Mina, though Barnes assures him that they’ll be fine. Porfy should now be thinking of nothing but Mina. She’s suffered a heavy loss, and needs a lot of attention to recover. Porfy says that Mina hasn’t become sick, and Barnes acknowledges this, though she needs to sort out a lot in her head.

The summary of the next half is going to be a bit shorter. Still detailed, but I feel like I’ve been getting too carried away with this entry. ^^; Porfy’s next plan is to go back to Simitra, to say a final goodbye to their house. And of course, to check up on whether Apollo has survived the earthquake. Zaimis is very worried about Porfy’s trip (who wouldn’t, after suddenly losing so many dear ones?) On the way, Porfy restores one of the poles with a picture of a priest on it. Porfy tells Mina how these were used when a person died, so that the deceased can visit another country.

When they arrive on Patagos Grand Station, Porfy tries to keep himself strong in front of Mina, and looks among the rubble for his father’s toolkit, and puts the contents in a bag. Meanwhile, Mina walks over to what once was the house, and sees how her tree finally blossomed. She then finally speaks again (she hasn’t talked AT ALL since she found out about her parents). Porfy then builds the same pole-house as shown before, and puts the picture of Christ that he received from Damon inside it, so that Christopher and Aneke can have a safe journey through the world. Mina then puts a branch of her tree on it.

Then, a squeak sounds, and Apollo turns out to be fine. Mina then finally laughs again, after which Porfy and Mina leave again. Tony then passes them, and finds out about the fate of Porfy’s parents. He offers to let them stay at his own house, though Porfy declines, as he wants to go back to Zaimis. Tony then offers the two of them a trip to the refugee station.

When they get back, Helena scolds Porfy about how he shouldn’t just run off as Zaimis takes Tony along to show him his new sister. Porfy then introduces Helena to Apollo. We then switch to dinner, as Porfy tells Zaimis’ mother how he went back to get his father’s tools. She then asks how things were in the village, and Porfy says that things were very quiet, and wonders where everyone went. Zaimis is really worried about whether they can return to Simitra, though his mother believes that they can.

Porfy plans to start Patagos Grand Station one day. He doesn’t know when, but he’ll come back one day to fulfil his father’s dream. He then mentions the tale of Orpheus, and both he and Zaimis agree that they wouldn’t look behind. If there was a chance that would bring their parents back, they’d never look back. Mina then falls asleep, Porfy promises to watch over her and the episode ends.

My favourite character of this episode was without a doubt Mina. Never have I seen a girl who just found out that her parents suddenly died as well portrayed as in her case. Notice how she never, ever goes against Porfy, and goes with him, even though she doesn’t feel to. She does exactly what he tells her to do. Remember back when Porfy had his “genius plan” of putting nails on the road, and Mina tried to stop him, though Porfy retorted that it was because she kept romanticizing over the movie that she just saw? Without a doubt, this must have made a bigger impression on her than Porfy could have imagined. When the two of them argued again after she just woke up after the earthquake, and how she yelled at Porfy only to find out that Christopher and Aneke were dead, of course she’d be way too scared to ever go against her brother, because only bad things come from it.

Another thing that’s portrayed in this series, better than any I’ve ever seen is the refugee camp. Because Porfy and Mina spend so much time on it, and they’re not the only ones who have lost someone dear to them, it’s strangely enjoyable to watch how all the adults try to take care of the children a bit, and try to comfort them about their losses. Especially Helena and Zaimis’ mother have really helped in distracting Porfy from all the things that happened, and I’m especially liking Zaimis’ mother more and more.

Oh my god. I knew what was going to happen! I freaking knew that Christopher and Aneke were about to die! And yet this episode was so gut-wrenchingly sad. Seriously, this episode was absolutely incredible, and Porfy no Nagai Tabi has without a doubt become the best series of the season, even though we’ve only finished the first quarter of this anime.

Anyway, onto the summary. The earthquake happens really quickly, and it’s over after just thirty seconds. Porfy was standing right next to the church when it happened, but thankfully it had been built well and didn’t collapse. The same can’t be said about the rest of the village, though. Porfy rushes to the village, while passing Corrina’s house, which has been completely destroyed. Any sign of life is Corrina’s doll.

Porfy then reaches the local inn, where the three guys that he saw in the last episode hae survived the ordeal, due to the fact that they were sitting outside, so they weren’t below an entire house that fell down. One of them says that it’s the first time since he witnessed an earthquake this big. Porfy says that when he was at the church, he could see smoke coming from the village, after which the three guys get even more worried about the possibility that fires occurred. The three say that they must hurry as fast as possible, and one of them tells Porfy that he’s better get to his own house as fast as possible.

Porfy runs away, and as he passes Zaimis’s house, he sees that that one too has been completely demolished. He then runs into one of the goats, and it seems to be doing fine. As he arrives at Patagos Grand Station, it’s been turned into a wreck, and even the gas pump is destroyed. One of the other goats was also unfortunate enough to be caught under the rubble, and perished.

The real tragedy, however, begins when Porfy arrives at his own house, as there’s nothing left standing. His wooden carved angel somehow made it outside, but there’s no sign of Christopher, Aneke or Mina. He tries his best to remove the rubble, and he does find Aneke’s scarf, though he remains a young boy. His energy soon disappears and he passes out. We just see Barnes arrive at the scene. The Americans have felt the earthquake as well, and he probably rushed over to Porfy’s as quickly as he could.

We then switch to a small camp that has been set up because of the earthquake, where the survivors and victims have been brought to. Porfy wakes up, and tries to think of what happened, and where he is, as he sees the people around him, all hurt in some way. Medics are carrying someone around who looks like Christopher, though it turns out to be somebody else. Porfy runs around a bit, trying to find someone among the bodies who he knows, as a nearby nun notices him.

She tries to comfort him, and asks whether he’s hurt or not. Porfy says that he isn’t hurt, and asks where they are. The nun answers that they’re at a wrecked church (probably a different one than before), where the wounded have been brought. The nun asks for Porfy’s name, and he answers how he’s Porfy, and how his father runs a car repair station in Simitra. He asks where his parents and Mina are, though the nun doesn’t know. She says that she will look into it for him.

The nun then gets called for something else, and then finally someone recognizes him. It’s one of the women from the village: Louisa. Porfy asks her what happened in the village, and she says that there’s been an earthquake, and lots of people died. Louise’s mother was one of the people who died, and she’s now all alone left with her son. She then brings the news that the village chief’s family has died as well, INCLUDING Corrina! Louisa asks whether Porfy has heard anything of his own family, though there’s still no news, and she hopes that they’re all safe. Her son then says how he’s hungry, so she leaves.

The nun then arrives, looking in a hurry. She then takes Porfy to another tent with injured, and there Mina lies. She’s been beaten up, her forehead is wrapped in bandages, though she’s fine. Porfy freaks out by the fact that she’s asleep, though the nun says that she’ll be fine. He then asks where his mother and father are, but before the nun can answer, Barnes appears. Porfy runs to him. Barnes asks whether Porfy and Mina are fine, and Porfy answers that both of them will be all right. Mina just needs to wake up. Though he still hasn’t heard anything about his parents.

Barnes then takes Porfy outside, where the dead bodies have been placed. He then asks him to come to the sea. Barnes says that even though all the terrible things have happened here, the ocean still remains the same. Porfy then says he’d rather return and stay by Mina’s side, and search for his parents. Barnes tells him to wait, and that he was the one who brought Christopher and Aneke to the camp. He tells Porfy to listen carefully: Christopher and Aneke couldn’t be saved. Porfy first can’t believe it. Barnes says that it’s tough, but the truth. When he arrived in Simitra, he rushed over to Porfy’s house, and found him unconscious. Mina was also found quite quickly, though the same can’t be said for Chirstopher and Aneke.

Porfy still has trouble to believe it, and says how Christopher said that he’d protect his family, and he’s probably still searching for him. Barnes, however, says that it’s true, even though it’s painful. He then hands Porfy Aneke’s watch, and says it’s okay to cry. From now on, Porfy and Mina are going to have to live together, and Porfy will be the only one who can protect Mina, that’s why it’s okay to cry now. Instead, Porfy goes back to Mina, in case she wakes up when he’s gone.

When Porfy gets back to Mina, the nun is also with her. She then wakes up, and asks what happened, and where she is. Porfy immediately embraces her, thankful that at least she’s alright. Mina still hurts, though, so he quickly lets go. The nun introduces herself as Helena, and she and Porfy explain where she is. Mina then remembers the earthquake that happened, and how the house was collapsing. Christopher said to run, though Mina couldn’t move her legs. She then asks where Christopher and Aneke are, so Porfy quickly changes the subject by asking whether she’s hungry. She isn’t, she just wants to see her father and mother again.

Porfy, however, is just too scared to bring her the bad news, so Mina goes out to search on her own. Helena tries to stop her and tells her to rest, though Mina says she’s fine. As she tries to look around the bondaged people that are sleeping, calling out for her parents, Porfy stops her, saying how she shouldn’t wake up everyone. She then retorts that she’s doing this because Porfy doesn’t want to say anything. Porfy then finally says that Aneke and Chistopher aren’t there, so Mina asks where they went. Porfy then shows her Aneke’s broken watch, and tells her to hold onto it. Mina then gets even more upset, saying that it’s a precious possession of her mother. It’s too early for her to get it. Porfy can’t think of a good excuse, so he just tells her to hold on to it.

Mina then gets scared of her brother’s strange behaviour, and calls out to her mother again. Porfy then finally yells that their father and mother have died. Helena then comes between them, and brings Mina back to her bed, after which she falls asleep. A bit later, Helena tells him that the dinner has been prepared, though Porfy doesn’t want any. She then asks whether he has any relatives, though Porfy hasn’t. His family just consisted out of his parents and Mina. Helena then says that God will protect him, which may not have been the right word to say to him at that moment, since that “God” just killed off his parents.

That evening, Porfy still can’t sleep, so he heads outside. He then sees Damon again, who only seems to have hurt his hand. Damon is also glad that Porfy is okay, and says that God must have been watching over him. Pofty yells that he doesn’t need God. If there was a god, then why did Christopher and Aneke have to die? They didn’t do anything wrong. He then returns the picture of christ, saying he doesn’t need it anymore.

Porfy and Damon then say a few things I couldn’t understand, though Damon closes with the message that as long as he remains alive, something good will happen to Porfy, and he hands back the picture of Christ. We then switch to the next day, when Porfy wakes up, to find Mina gone. She’s outside, looking at Zaimis. His mother isn’t doing well, though because of different reasons than the earthquake: she’s about to give birth to her baby! Helena tells Porfy not to worry.

However, Zaimis did lose his father. He’s also grieved to hear that Christopher and Aneke are gone too, and prays to god for his mother and her baby, which really make Porfy think about the things he said that evening. A while later, Zaimis is all worried, though then the cries of a baby appear. Helena then arrives, with the message that the girl is healthy. And so the episode ends with at least one joyful moment after the tragedy.

On a side-note: from now on, I’m going to shorten my summaries. They’ll still be detailed, but I feel that I won’t be able to keep up with such an extensive one as I’m doing right now. There was another time where I also wrote very detailed summaries for the shows I watched (just check back on some of the older Higurashi, Simoun or Ergo Proxy-entries), but I just couldn’t keep it up to write so much.

But really, this episode was awesome, and the exact reason why I’ve come to love the World Masterpiece Theatre. They may be slow at times, but they never waste their slow moments, and use them to flesh out their characters. Because of this, when the drama appears, you can be sure that the characters are all dynamic.

Oh my god! Oh my freaking god… it’s going to happen! In the next episode, it’s really going to happen!!! This episode was absolutely amazing, but first: a summary!

The episode starts with Mina, as she discovers that her tree has sprouted flowers. She rushes to Porfy to tell it to him, though Porfy is having troubles feeding Apollo (foreshadowing-sign #1). Instead of taking the food like he usually does, Apollo just flies away and squeaks angrily. This matter is quickly forgotten when the family comes together and happily watches the tree and how it has grown.

Then, a truck arrives, carrying the brand new gasoline pump for the station. Christopher and the driver lift it off the truck, and Porfy and Mina really admire it from every possible direction. Porfy obviously asks the delivery guy about how fast he can make it working, but the guy just delivers. Later, another guy will come and connect everything. Later that afternoon, Porfy is still gleeing over the new gasoline pump, making himself look like quite the idiot as he tries to mimic serving a customer.

Porfy then reminds Christopher about not forgetting his promise to buy a big car once and take them across Europe (foreshadowing-sign #2). Christopher reassures him that that day will come. Mina then notes how it would be lovely to visit Alecia, and Porfy immediately blushes and tries to change the subject. After this fails, he starts chasing Mina. The guy is clearly in love. ^^;

Next up, Aneke finds out that the water-pump is broken (foreshadowing-sign #3). She mentions it during lunch, and how she can’t make any coffee or do the laundry. Porfy then offers to go to Zaimis, to see whether his father knows anything about it. Mina joins him. On the way to Zaimis’, they run into Apollo again, and he’s still unfriendly. He even attacks Porfy (foreshadowing-sign #4). When they arrive at Zaimis’s, they realize that his own water-pump is broken too (foreshadowing-sign #5). Zaimis mentions how he’ll get his father to fix it later, but first he wants to show Porfy the angel he carved.

Zaimis’ parents then arrive, and the usual comments follow where Porfy wishes that it’d be a boy, and Mina hopes for the new baby to become a girl. Zaimis then returns with his “angel”, and it looks just very badly carved. But then again, it was his first time and he had Porfy as his teacher. 😛 Even his parens laugh about how bad it looks, and Zaimis’ mother jokes at how even her unborn baby is laughing, after which Zaimis again tries to scold his mother’s belly.

Porfy and Mina then return home, and say to Aneke that even at Zaimis’s place the water has stopped, so Porfy suggests to go to a little stream later, to get the water that Aneke needs. We then switch to Mina, reading her book, and Porfy, fixing Zaimis’ attempt at the angel. I must say, that the result looks pretty good. Porfy’s quite talented at wood-carving.

Porfy then goes back to his father, admires the gasoline pump once more, only to find his father, worried about a large crack that appeared in the concrete pit that was meant for the gasoline tank (foreshadowing-sign #6). He finds it strange, as there weren’t any signs of this on the day before. He does note that at this rate, the tank can’t come, and he’ll need to get one of the villagers to fix it with cement. Porfy goes to call him.

Before he can leave, Christopher first shows him the four handprints that have dried in the meantime. Porfy notes how his hands are nearly as big as his mother’s, though he’s no match for his father yet. Porfy then says how he wants to grow up soon, and become like his father who’s able to do anything, though Christopher notes how he should take his time, and slowly learn to be a car mechanic. Porfy asks him whether he’ll teach him about things as the engine and carburettor, and Christopher replies that he’ll do so, next time. At least, as long as Porfy continues to study well at school. That’s Porfy’s job at the moment. Christopher then says that it’s the job of him to protect his family (foreshadowing-sign #7). (On a side-note: I didn’t realize this the first time I watched this episode, but this MAY HAVE BEEN the last time that Porfy saw his father!)

Cue to Mina, as the goats are all freaking out (foreshadowing-sign #8). Aneke says that something bad might happen soon. Porfy notes how Aneke has been worried all morning, so Aneke apologizes, and says that she worries too much. Porfy says her how he’s about to head to Basil, the one who will fix the cement. He asks Mina whether she wants to join him, but she says that she’ll stay at home, since Aneke will be making cheese pie (Mina you idiot! You should have gone with him!). (On a side-note: here too, this was the last time that Porfy saw both his mother and his sister!)

As Porfy walks into the village, some of the locals see him and greet him. He tells how he’s going to Basil, to get the gasoline stand fixed, though the locals say that Basil is a bit busy at the moment (either that, or he’s a bit sick). The bartender then gives him four pieces of candy, to share with his family.

Porfy then passes by Corrina’s house, as she’s just returned from watching a movie. This of course is the newest movie out there, and not the one Porfy and Mina saw. He asks Corrinas father whether the car is running fine, and he answers that he’s happy with what his father has done, for now at least. Her mother thanks Porfy for the help that he and his father have given her husband. Porfy then says that he has to go again, and Corrina says to bring Zaimis to play next time. Notice how Corrina is really different to Porfy when Mina isn’t with him?

Then, it’s time for the final piece in the puzzle that gets Porfy travelling. He meets someone that can be best described as a very old version of himself. He’s an old guy who has been travelling Europe for ten years now. Porfy passes him on his way, and offers to carry the guy’s bag. He tells Porfy how he came from a very far country. Porfy guesses Atene, though it’s much further than that. The old man doesn’t want to say which country he came from, and merely says that he’s been in many different places, and he’s been travelling since the war ended.

He’s been all alone ever since. Porfy says how he doesn’t know much about the war (Christopher also rarely talks about it). The old man says how this area was relatively safe from all that went on back in Germany, France and the rest of the world. The old man also talks about one of his old friends, how he used to visit this area, though Porfy doesn’t know him, as it happened too long ago.

The old man then says how much fun travelling has been, and then Porfy says how his father promised to take him on a journey across Europe one day. He asks where they could go to. Again, the man doesn’t answer, and instead wants to sit down a bit to rest his legs. He sits down next to a strange shrine. Porfy says that it’s to carry the soul of someone who’s passed away. The man says that the spirits can now travel across the entire world, beyond Greece (if I understood things correctly).

Porfy says how nice it would be to see other countries. The man then says how happy his family must be… and then suddenly entirely changes the mood by suggesting that something like that may on one day suddenly disappear (foreshadowing-sign #9). He quickly changes the subject, and says how Porfy will probably see lots of things. They then arrive at the church, Porfy hands the man his bag, and the man hands Porfy a picture of Jesus on the cross. Porfy asks for the guy’s name, and it’s Damon. Porfy introduces himself as well, and he leaves, to do his own chores.

At Basil’s, Porfy has made sure to him to explain what happened, and asked the guy to fix the tank as soon as possible. Basil says how the gas pump will be convenient for him as well, so he’ll come the next morning. As Porfy heads back, he comes across the church again. He wonders whether Damon is still there, but he left already. Porfy enters the church, and prays. He leaves the church, and looks at the rope, used to ring the bell. And he thinks about the words Alecia said when she pulled it, about her mother. He then continues pulling the bell, as he doesn’t notice the earthquake happening.

This episode was so good. The building-up was just amazing. First off, there are the small signs that things are different from usual, like Apollo getting angry, or the water-pumps being broken, but that can also be attributed to the bird, having found a mate, protecting his nest, and some drought that might be about to happen. But when the goats started freaking out, you knew that it was about to happen. The question was just when this would be, and because of this the creators deliberately made Porfy’s journey to Basil extra long and detailed.

This just shows the world of difference between a series like Gundam 00 and Porfy’s Long Journey. Gundam 00 [SPOILER] kills of a quarter of its cast, and I’m a bit shaken, but here I am, already freaking out even though Christopher and Aneke haven’t died yet, and I have to wait one entire week to find out what’s happened.

Oh, and on a side-note, but the graphics team was on fire for this episode! Some of the backgrounds looked better than they ever had in this series, and that has to say something.

This episode for once didn’t introduce anything new. Instead, it built upon past themes of this series: the gasoline-tank, Zaimis’s brother, Porfy’s tendency to ignore promises and of course ice cream (with the episode titled “Porfy and Ice cream” and all). Seriously, this series makes everything look so easy, and it makes me wonder why so many series fail to put down a cast of likable characters.

The episode starts with Porfy and Mina, feeding Apollo a piece of bread that Aneke made, with Mina feeling a bit ticklish when Apollo eats out of her hand. Aneke meanwhile looks at a notepad that probably contains the family’s financial records, and mentions to Christopher how well things are going, and it seems that they’ve made quite a bit of money now. Christopher notes that he now doesn’t have to go to “that place”, which I assume was the place he worked before he started Patagos Grand Station.

Porfy comes downstairs and wonders what “that place” is as well, though Christopher avoids the question and heads back to handle one of the customers. Mina also hands this customer a piece of cheesecake as a means of extra service. Then, none other than Barnes passes by the station, and hands Porfy the pictures that were taken at the last episode. Apparently, it’s the summer holidays, so Tom and John have returned to America and Barnes is enjoying his day off. Porfy, though, is having a lot of fun helping his father and learning.

Barnes also hands Porfy a photograph for Zaimis, and Christopher allows Porfy to go to Zaimis and take the rest of the day off. Porfy then goes to pick up Mina, and Aneke has also prepared a package that she wishes to give Zaimis. Porfy fantasizes a bit at all the ice-cream that Tom and John are probably getting, as he leaves with his sister. Aneke then takes a letter from her pocket, tells herself to start working on a certain something.

Zaimis is quite thrilled to see the photo, and Aneke’s package turns out to be full of baby clothes, for Zaimis’ upcoming brother or sister. Zaimis is surprised at how small a child can be, and Porfy tries to act smart by pretending to hold a baby in his arms. Obviously, nobody believes that he knows what he’s talking about. Zaimis yet again can’t wait till the baby gets born. Mina asks him whether he’d prefer a boy or a girl, though he replies that both are good. He can go play with a younger brother, and yet a younger sister is very cute. I’ve noticed that this series tends to answer a lot of questions like these in the way of “both options are nice”. Perhaps this’ll get used in the future.

Next, Zaimis looks up a suitable block of wood, and asks Porfy to teach him how to carve a wooden doll for his future brother or sister. Mina promises to make a drawing of what the doll should be, and Porfy promises to teach him how to actually do it the next day. There is, however, something that will come between Porfy and his promise again: this time it’s a guy in a business suit who they run into, who has a business to do with Patagos Grand Station. It was quite funny that he first thought that the station would be very big with a name like that.

In any case, this guy has come to offer Christopher a selection of gas pumps, so that he can now too serve gasoline to his customers, to the delight of Porfy. Porfy picks out a design he likes. Christopher notes that things will become busier right now, and Porfy won’t have the time to go anywhere for the summer holidays. Porfy is obviously okay with that, and he already asks when the pump can be delivered, with the motto “the sooner, the better”.

Before the pump comes, a few things need to be done, though. A hole for the tank needs to be dug, and Porfy, Christopher and two local villagers spend most of the next afternoon, digging this hole, with Porfy being as stubborn as ever, while being teased by the adults. In the meantime, he did forget all about his promise to Zaimis, and when Mina reminds him, he just tells her to leave and doesn’t realize that Zaimis is waiting for him. In the meantime, Mina managed to finish the drawing of the doll, though Zaimis is clearly unhappy that Porfy broke yet another promise. Yet he decides not to go and call Porfy, because he reckons how busy the guy must be, working so hard for his father.

Just as Zaimis is about to leave, a guy named Bill (spelling) comes to deliver a block of ice, revealing Aneke’s plans to make the children some ice cream. As it turns out, she learned how to do it from John’s mother. While Porfy helps laying cement in the hole, (with the two villagers noting how they’d better get free service when their car breaks down, and how things wouldn’t have gotten done so fast if it wasn’t for Porfy), Zaimis and Mina go and make the ice cream. It’s here when Porfy finally realizes that he did forget an important promise, and rushes home.

He’s obviously thrilled about the ice cream, but Mina then reminds him to apologize to Zaimis, and he does, with a rather sad-looking face. Zaimis forgives him, on the condition that he’ll teach him properly next time. Mina meanwhile is glad that the two made up. Next up, the ice-cream is done, and Porfy, Mina and Zaimis all enjoy the ice cream. Mina then shows Porfy the drawing of the doll, which would be fine for either a boy or a girl. Porfy then yet again mentions how he hopes that the child gets born soon (that’s really the most often-spoken line in this series), and Zaimis again says how he hopes to have a brother-sister relationship like Porfy and Mina are having.

The next day, the cement has nearly dried and the pit for the tank is finished. Christopher then puts his hand on the cement, and suggests to Porfy, Mina and Aneke to do the same. The result is a square tank with four handprints on it and the episode ends.

I am so curious as to what this series will turn into once Porfy starts travelling. Will he just run into a bunch of people, each with their own stories? Will there be recurring characters? Will the focus still be on Porfy, or more on the people that he meets? Will he actually grow up? And how much older will he get? I currently refuse to look at any episode titles or episode previews, because I want the arrival of the earthquake to be a total surprise, but still… I can’t wait!