AI Translated from Chinese
Originally published on bilibili
First time writing a long commentary, please bear with me. Here is the link to the work:
Original version
Little Reimu Complete [1-7 episodes][Chinese subtitles]
Domestic uploader dubbed version
Japanese dubbed: Little Reimu Episode 1
Main Text
A deeply moving work, truly a classic! Even someone like me who doesn’t cry easily had moist eyes after watching… Let me share some thoughts.
Erasing Memory
Regarding memory erasure, I believe this is something crueler than death, whether for Rumia or for Little Reimu.
As for Rumia, according to Yuyuko’s approach, after having her memories erased and becoming “young,” she breaks free from her bonds and successfully “rebirths”; but from the audience’s perspective, Rumia has died: having shed the sins of cannibalism while losing precious memories and forgetting those she loved, the Rumia before us is no longer the kind-hearted, grateful “adult” Rumia we knew. This greatly enhances the tragedy of the work (what a knife).
As for Little Reimu, losing memories of the two most beloved people in her life is even more heartbreaking. To quote from a novel I’ve read:
“If she doesn’t live in my memory, she can’t exist anywhere.” — “Flower and Alice”
If Little Reimu’s memories of Yuyuko and Rumia hadn’t been erased, although she would have to bear the pain of losing family members (though that’s too cruel for a child… Yuyuko’s approach is somewhat understandable), in later days, when remembering that happy experience, Little Reimu would surely smile happily — Yuyuko and Rumia would live forever in her heart. But the truth is cruel — for Little Reimu, Yuyuko and Rumia might as well have never existed; she doesn’t even have the chance to remember them. This adds even more tragedy (another knife).
In the end, Yuyuko bore everything… After experiencing countless partings and reunions, in order to give Rumia true redemption and allow Little Reimu to grow up healthy and happy, even if cruel, she had no choice but to erase their memories and alone swallow the sorrow. If it were me, I might have done the same as Yuyuko.
Love and Redemption
Undoubtedly, this is a work themed on love and redemption. I believe the plot can be divided into three threads:
- One is Rumia’s path to redemption. From a terrifying man-eating yokai to a grateful good person, finally breaking free and being reborn.
- One is Yuyuko’s path to redemption. From a depressed hakurei shrine maiden misunderstood and discriminated against by others, to a change in mindset of enjoying the present happiness.
- One is Little Reimu’s path to redemption. From an abandoned baby by the roadside, growing into someone who is loved and knows how to love.
What weaves these three threads together, making them inseparable and mutually reinforcing, is that great power — love.
Clearly, this kind of love has risen to the level of familial love.
In this work, the scene where Little Reimu shares rice balls particularly impressed me. “This way, both of us will have full bellies!” With this kind of thinking, Little Reimu has already become someone who loves others — both herself and others. In my view, if Little Reimu had simply given all the rice balls to Rumia, it wouldn’t be considered perfect love — sacrificing oneself to love others. It is this innocent and pure love that moved Rumia — after all, this was the first person who treated her as family. From another perspective, it is precisely this sincere love that untied Yuyuko’s heart knot, making her understand what love is.
Additionally, there’s Yuyuko’s love for Yuyuko and Little Reimu. This is probably why Yuyuko wanted to kill young Rumia but then held back — although she was an enemy who killed her friend, she was also the friend saved by her life. “Although she’s a yokai, she’s also a good person, and moreover a crybaby, and she’s someone I love, my best friend.”
The reunion of Little Reimu and young Rumia at the end may be our only comfort. Even though Little Reimu’s “Who?” is heart-wrenching, let us wish them a new happy life together.
— Allen 2021.12.30 Late night