Weird comparison I know but To Your Eternity and Stranger things both suffer from the same problem and that’s having too many characters and not focusing on the ones that matter.
People have already discussed St in detail so I don’t feel like I have anything new to say there, but I do have many opinions about To your eternity.
The reason why s1 worked is because they focused on a few specific characters and how they mattered to Fushi. Think about Nameless Boy as an example. He was only there for ONE episode but is still one of the most beloved characters on the show. Why? It’s because the show spent time on him! We learned about his kind personality, his past, his dreams, his slow descent into death that was outright heartbreaking. And then we keep remembering him even when he isn’t there because FUSHI remembers him by taking on his appearance.
This is a theme that continues throughout the entire season, even when other characters last longer. The most important ones in my opinion being Pioran, Gugu, March, Tonari and Parona.
They matter because they show why Fushi cares about them and why we should care about them too. That’s the heart of the whole show, Fushi’s relationships to different people.
But then season 2 comes along. There are some memorable characters, yes. But the plot becomes more about battle rather than relationships which is..fine I guess. People still matter, but it takes less focus. The list narrows down quite a bit.
And then Fushi figures out that he can bring people back to life and they go to the modern times and it all goes to hell.
There are too many people and far too little people we actually care about. There is genuinely nobody memorable from the modern world besides like Mizuha, and she lowkey sucks in comparison to Hayase and Kahaku but I won’t talk about that now.
They stop giving focus to the characters that are arguably the most memorable like Gugu, which is just like…why did we bring him back if he’s not gonna matter anymore? In fact, why doesn’t March make sense either? Why doesn’t she care about her parents or Parona when they were so important in s1?
Its okay to have a big cast but like…the whole point is that Fushi has to care about them. Yes, he SAYS that he cares in the show but they don’t actually show him caring to anybody besides Mizuha. If Fushi doesnt care and we don’t know anything about these new characters, why should we?
I know I’ve been ranting it’s because I honestly adore To Your Eternity but my god, season 3 has been such a disappointment to me. I
