Porfy no Nagai Tabi – 14

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.