WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 10, “The Curtain Rises on the Climax,” now streaming on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim.
Finding Eden is a complicated task, as shown in last week’s Fena: Pirate Princess. But, in Episode 10, it feels like everything is falling into place as the crew quite easily finds their way to a hidden island. The Samurai Seven discover secret treasures there while Fena and Yukimaru find a way to finally reach Eden. The stage is set for the Fena to finally confront her past.
Coordinates deciphered, the crew navigate their way to the specified location, only to find open sea with nothing in sight. Everyone is nonplussed except for Fena, who calmly waits. Suddenly, an enormous, castle-like island emerges out of the water. It had been waiting for Fena.
They disembark and Fena takes the lead. Yukimaru is understandably worried, afraid that she has entered a trance again, but Fena seems much more present. Something in her memories has awakened and she now sees things much more clearly. Fena’s intuition takes them to ancient ruins filled with white buildings. They travel further and she leads them to a hall filled with so many books that Karin notes its resemblance to the Library of Alexandria, which could hint at yet another legend (or a red herring).
Fena opens yet another door and it reveals an enormous cave filled with gold and treasures from every country imaginable. The group separates: Shitan goes alone into another corridor where he discovers a small room. Could he have possibly found Kusanagi? Fena and Yukimaru leave the rest of the group to walk ahead, guided again by Fena’s intuition.
Episode 10 slows down the pace considerably, allowing the crew to explore the island freely. This isn’t a bad change, but finding and exploring Eden this way seems far too easy. Fena’s gut instinct aside, shouldn’t there be defenses on the island in case of attack on the ancient ruins? Why is the crew so free to just waltz in without any obstacles stopping or slowing them down?
While the gang is all on the island together, the episode still feels like it’s split in half by how it deliberately separates Fena and Yukimaru from the rest of their friends. With the rest of the Samurai Seven, you have all of the legends in one part of the island: the treasure of El Dorado, the library and Kusanagi. Meanwhile, with Fena and Yukimaru, it’s much more spiritual — but it also feels like they’re cut off from the rest of the goings-on.
One of the best parts of the episode is Fena’s dance. She and Yukimaru arrive at a huge empty platform. It’s the lattice stage from Fena’s song and her dream — the same one that her mother once danced on. On one of the tiles are footprints and a single word: “Initium,” which means “from the beginning.” Barefoot and dressed only in a simple white dress, Fena steps onto the stage.
The animation and choreography are gorgeous, with light streaming down onto the stage like it’s coming from the heavens. The music and singing truly make it look as though Fena is dancing amongst the gods. Every tile her foot touches lights up and, as she dances, captivating and beautiful, Yukimaru can hardly take his eyes off of her. The look in his eyes is soft as he remembers how Fena danced the exact same dance 10 years ago. At this moment, it feels like Fena and Yukimaru are both closer and further apart than ever.
The floor rumbles and huge blocks shoot up from the tiles that Fena danced across, revealing a staircase going all the way up to the sky. Eden obviously being a reference to the Garden of Eden, it’s no surprise that it’s a place up in the heavens. As soon as the step reaches the top, everything around them turns into water as if the island had sunk back into the sea. Fena takes Yukimaru’s hand, all of the awkwardness from before dissipating, and together they walk up the stairs to Eden.
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