This was a rather confusing show, “Yosuga no Sora” (“Sky of Connection”), in that you were never really sure where the reality was, if what you were seeing was merely the overheated fornix of any of the characters or if it really was as it really was, which made things more disturbing than it had to be.
We start off with the tragically orphaned Kasugano twins (she, Sora; he, Haruka; both to the right). They travel to their grandparents’ countryside residence via train, hoping to reconstruct the shards of a shattered life. Two lonely souls, so physically alike, yet so spiritually divergent, that they are unaware of the challenges ahead of them. Sora is weak, frail since her birth, and so is predisposed to being reclusive and unrelentingly dependent on her brother for everything. Haruka is damaged emotionally, as he clings to memories of the past, hoping to find the strength he needs to protect his ailing sister and move forward towards a better, new world for them. Yeah, you already see the storm clouds on the horizon.
Now, they did live here many years earlier and try to pick up those pieces of that life to move ahead. He finds comfort in old friends like (right to left) Akira Amatsume, who is a shrine maiden; Kazuha Migiwa, another classmate, who plays the viola; and Nao Yorihime, beautiful, intelligent and busty. However, they ALL hold secrets, secrets of such a dark and disturbing nature that it can easily destroy them all. Here’s where it goes a bit askew in the story-telling.
The story shifts as to who the ‘star’ of it is, so you do get a different retelling of some of the same events. It really goes squirrelly when you discover that Episodes Two and Five are the same event, but handled in a different way, which changes how the story plays out. Also, there is a high amount of sexual content and a lot of innuendoes regarding things. For example, although we know that Sora has strong emotions for Haruka, in one episode, she comes to him implying it is time for sex when all she wants is to be measured for her school uniform. But it is done in this charged way to keep you off-balance, like doing this in the middle of the night. Couldn’t this have happened before dinner?
And we are all off-balance. Is Haruka having sex with everyone or is it merely just what he wishes to do? Are we really trapped in the deepest recesses of their minds, as they are all so mentally damaged that they do not know right and wrong, or are things truly playing out for real? Is everyone going to do as they feel and damn the consequences or are they merely pondering the what-ifs and the then-whats? That last question is crucial, as the final taboo is broken late in the show’s run and we must actually confront the price you pay for the deeds you engage in.
For me, this was a cranky show. I got tired of Sora. Is she genuinely ailing, is it all psychosomatic or are we trapped in her mind as well? She can make the effort and succeed, but has she been conditioned to be small and pathetic? What honestly drives Haruka? What does he honestly want for himself? What pangs of guilt is Nao trying to compensate for? Is Akira overcompensating for the emptiness in her life? Why am I asking so many questions? Will I get answers?
The show is like that, as you are confused as to why they do what they do and the presentation of events has you scratching your head. Wait, didn’t that bus stop burn down two episodes ago? And it’s repaired already? DID it burn down? I am used to time shifts (if you have seen “When They Cry” or the Endless Eight from the second season of “Haruhi Suzumiya”, you know what I mean), but with a mixed bag approach (and whose arc is it, anyway?), you find yourself puzzled beyond belief, to the point where you might walk away from the show for its perplexing nature. It might be best seen as a mental exercise and if you are aware whose arc is whose, it might help the show flow better for you. Or it could confuse things even more.
There is also a bonus segment at the end, which tells the story of another character and HER life. It is a nice change-up from the rather heavy, depressing nature of the rest of the show, which seems to imply that you can never run away from your past, but you have to come to terms with it in order to move ahead. Should you see it? Aye, there’s the rub. I am really at crossed ends with this. Part of me says that you should look at the first three episodes to determine if you should stick it out. The other part of me says it might be too much work to have it all make sense and there are other shows more easily grasped that have the same caliber of plot.
In the end, I am going to give a guarded vote to see it, but if you feel overwhelmed by it all, go ahead and leave. Not everything works as it should, and this show proves it, both in story and watchability.
On a scale of 1 to 10:
Artwork 7 (More or less standard)
Plot 7 (Some aspects not explored)
Pacing 7 (Fantasy sequences not readily identified)
Effectiveness 7 (Scattered stories causes a lack of cohesion)
Conclusion 5 (It reaches a ‘coupler point’, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service 6 (A similar show would be “Mahoromatic”)
Overall 7 (Too much going on at once)
And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Don’t abandon me.
