Quick recap of ‘Sparks of Tomorrow’ Episode 12: Inako successfully recreates her mother’s Electric Nishiki at the sake brewery, while Yosuke and Kihachi obsessively work on bringing Seiroku’s “Electric Brain” to life. With everyone busy chasing their dreams, Inako begins to worry after going days without seeing Kihachi and, as it turns out, she has every reason to. In the episode’s bizarre final scene, Yosuke drives himself mad trying to make the machine, the one that looks like Seiroku, to truly come alive. He dresses Kihachi like a bride and lowers him into a tank connected to a tangle of wires, convinced he can transfer Kihachi’s soul into the machine and finally bring “Seiroku” to life.
Titled To the Future We Desire, Episode 13 of Sparks of Tomorrow is a chaotic but absolutely entertaining mix of horror, madness and raw emotion. The opening minutes focus on Inako trying to save Kihachi from the increasingly unhinged Yosuke, and it’s easily one of the show’s most emotionally charged sequences.
Kihachi is dressed almost like a ritualistic sacrificial bride, lying in a tank filled with water and flowers. Several fans have been quick to point out the visual resemblance to John Everett Millais’ famous painting Ophelia, and I am pretty sure it’s an intentional reference. Ophelia’s fate in Hamlet is tied to grief, trauma and madness and in ‘Sparks of Tomorrow’ though, it’s Yosuke who has been driven to insanity, consumed by his grief and unrequited love for Seiroku.
The animation in the first few minutes makes the anime feel like a full-blown horror show, with Yosuke’s features twisted and exaggerated until he looks like a deranged monster. There’s something almost darkly comical about the way he’s drawn, as if you’re watching a ghost straight out of a Junji Ito manga. And while any other teenager might be terrified at the sight of him, not Inako. She throws herself into rescuing Kihachi and is, of course successful, even as Yosuke desperately clings to his ambition of bringing his eerie Seiroku-machine to life.
Even when the story gets a little meandering, Kyoto Animation keeps the viewer engaged with its dynamic visuals, including several stunning scenes that look almost like landscape paintings. And while Yosuke is the primary antagonist of the tale, he once again gets some of the episode’s most emotional moments. In one particularly tragicomic scene, his loyal Izo tries to stop him from completely losing himself, only for Yosuke to respond with a visceral, “I hate you!”
Inako and Kihachi get their moment to shine in the second half of this Sparks of Tomorrow episode, with the two teaming up to bring yet another ambitious Kihachi invention to life, this time for a serious mission to save someone (spoiler-free, you see). Ther ‘no questions asked’ trust in each other touching and obviously, the two make a solid, reliable team, ready to put in every inch of their energy into whatever it is that they’ve set their mind on. Almost all the other pivotal characters pull their weight too, including the ever-reliable Kengo.
For a season finale, this Sparks of Tomorrow episode does a satisfying job of tying together the show’s major themes: Yosuke’s unhealthy obsession with Seiroku, Kihachi’s vision of ushering Japan into the age of electricity, and Inako’s infectious optimism and unwavering belief in never giving up. The episode closes on a beautiful sunset, offering hope for a fresh start and promising new beginnings for everyone.
Watch ‘Sparks of Tomorrow’ on Netflix.
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