Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Shuffle! Episode 23 – Quick Summary
In Shuffle! Episode 23, “The Truth Revealed,” Rin had gotten Asa to the hospital, but her condition worsened no matter what the doctors did. Kaede, Primula, and Kareha visited, but nothing seemed to help. Then Ama pulled Rin aside and hit him with a secret so huge that he was left speechless. Worse, she said she expected him to save Asa. How? What did she think he could do? And why won’t Asa help him?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Shuffle! Episode 23
Well, that was unexpected! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
I remember watching this for the first time, I often wondered about Ama’s head gear. But I didn’t think too much about it, you know? There are other characters who looked even more unusual. Her look just became part of the background.
So, good job writers and artists! You hid her nature in plain sight! They even laid the groundwork with the story of the experiment before the one that resulted in Primula. I don’t recall if we ever found out, but I wonder if the world of gods and devils know that Ama lived. I don’t think they did.
Gotta admin, I was seriously curious about what Ama wanted to tell Rin when she pulled him away from Asa’s bedside. Then she dropped the bomb about her true identity by unwrapping her head scarf and showing him her devil’s ears.
“I’m sorry for keeping it from you,” she said, and I think she was quite sincere (04:24). “Are you surprised?”
We could tell from his expression that Rin was very, very surprised. About as much as I was!
Favorite Moment from Shuffle! Episode 23
Asa had a dream. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: I Don’t Know, Asa…
I’m of two minds here, and I wonder what you think. The plotting part of my brain listened to Asa’s explanation for why she didn’t want to use magic and shrugged. “It’s a plot device,” my plotting brain told me. “Roll with it.”
The part of my brain responsible for emotional beats kinda freaked out. When it regained the ability to speak coherently, it pointed out that Asa not only didn’t want Ama to cry. She wanted to spend her old age with Rin. That’s a real challenge if she’s dead!
Kudos to Rin for holding his ground. For all the good it did! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
I think if Asa perceived some consequence to her using her magic, I could have accepted it more easily. Beyond, I mean, the need to set up this conflict to drive the climax.
Be that as it may, the writers and voice actors did a great job setting up the conflict. For the entire series, we watched as Rin and Asa grew closer and closer together. It was emotionally satisfying to watch!
Delivery: A Lovely Vision
All those scenes built toward my favorite moment. Asa and Rin were talking as she lay in the hospital bed. He had tried to convince her to use magic; she had refused. Seeing how much that upset him, she tried to convince him she wasn’t going to die.
He wasn’t buying it.
Rin remained unconvinced. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
So she sweetened the deal. She said he had a dream. That clearly captured his imagination.
“Someday,” she said (15:04), “we’ll be an old man and an old woman, and when that time comes, we’ll go again to that overlook. That place where you confessed your love for me, marking a new beginning for us. And I’m going to get you to confess your love for me again.”
She ended it by saying even after that, she wanted to spend more time with him.
I thought that was a beautiful thing for her to say. Maybe it’s because I’m closer to the age of the “old man” that she mentioned, and maybe I wouldn’t have appreciated the idea as much when I was a young ‘un. But now, I can.
Of course, it’s also a huge red flag, but resolving that is what the next episode is for, isn’t it?
What did you think of Kareha putting all the responsibility to save Asa on Rin? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Shuffle! Episode 23: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- My Anime List (need to be logged in): Shuffle! Episode 23 Discussion
- Random Curiosity: SHUFFLE! – 23
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Shuffle! Episode 01: The Man Who Could Become a God or a Demon!
- Shuffle! Episode 02: I Wanted to See You!
- Shuffle! Episode 03: Do You Remember?
- Shuffle! Episode 04: Egg Omelet of Happiness
- Shuffle! Episode 05: Where I Belong
- Shuffle! Episode 06: Smile!
- Shuffle! Episode 07: Romantic Scramble
- Shuffle! Episode 08: Panty Date
- Shuffle! Episode 09: Survival Swimming at the Beach
- Shuffle! Episode 10: Moonlit Confession
- Shuffle! Episode 11: Girls of Summer
- Shuffle! Episode 12: Frozen Summer
- Shuffle! Episode 13: House of Twilight
- Shuffle! Episode 14: Lycoris
- Shuffle! Episode 15: What Was Regained
- Shuffle! Episode 16: Kikyou
- Shuffle! Episode 17: Honest Feelings
- Shuffle! Episode 18: The One Rin Loves
- Shuffle! Episode 19: Unforgettable Sentiments
- Shuffle! Episode 20: Indelible Sin
- Shuffle! Episode 21: Where Feelings Go
- Shuffle! Episode 22: Towards a New Tomorrow
- Shuffle! Episode 23: The True Revealed
- Shuffle! Episode 24: And… What Is Important
