This is a discussion of the last major event in "High School Fleet" AKA Haifuri, which happens while the credits are rolling at the end of the last episode.

Obviously it's a spoiler, so it's below the fold.

Oh, and this show has really hooked me, and I've rewatched it a bunch of times now.

Your first reaction upon watching Harekaze start to sink after everyone has left at dockside is "It lasted long enough to get its crew to safety".

But I don't think that's what the director was really thinking about. In ep 11 Misaki had a breakdown, a case of nerves, where she was paralyzed by the possibility that part or all of her crew could be killed in the potential battle against Musashi. A large part of that episode was about how her crew supported her and helped her get her act back together.

Then in ep 12, Harekaze and her crew performed superbly and managed to save Musashi.

I think the real point was that Misaki did lose a member of her crew -- the ship itself. None of her classmates died (nor, indeed, were any of them hurt) but the ship went down, and at the end we see MIsaki standing, with tears in her eyes, saluting as the ship went down.

And that's a growing experience for her. Based on her performance during that month at sea, she almost certainly is headed for high rank, and if so she's going to have to cope with that pressure of having the lives of her crew hanging on her decisions. It's something that every combat officer has to live with constantly without being destroyed by it, and I think Misaki has gotten over the hurdle and can deal with it. That was the point.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 09:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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