#himeko

Nightglow playing in the background of this BROKE ME

This is basically Hoyo saying, “Dw fam, we ain't killing Himeko off anymore”.

It was epic to see Pom-Pom not hesitating for a single second to have the Astral Express come blazing in at full speed.. until Asat Pramad caught it effortlessly and forcefully crashed it down to the ground. Real violent to witness and I can’t help but wonder how Pom-Pom managed to survive.. I think. They’re okay, right? Why do we never get to see our precious conductor in these cutscenes!

Mother, are you sure you’re not a Preservation pathstrider? You’re playing the role quite well, at least for a couple moments..

Bro what do you even do at this point, huh? Three giant attacks incoming from a lord ravager? Nah, I fear I’d accept my fate and burn to ashes.

MOM NO! Don’t look at me like that! I can accept death because of protagonist plot armor, but you certainly can’t with your deadly HI3 Chapter 9 curse!!

Actual fucking mood right here. I’m beyond panicked. We’re big time stressing over here!

Mother has several lasers of death aimed at her and yet she chooses to rush towards us instead to help calm down our stellaron from raging outta control.. oh Aeons. Doesn’t matter if we’ve already seen this moment during the 4.4 trailer, it’s bringing me close to tears. And Cia’s performance certainly isn’t helping me stay sane! Aahh, she’s so talented.. the emotion she conveys throughout this entire story mission is spot on.

No no no.. ma’am, as sweet as it is for you to protect me, I really don’t need to see that defeated look in your eyes! And hearing a soft, comforting “I’m here” when you’re five seconds way from collapsing doesn’t sooth me either!

Don’t say that. I’ll drag you back with me. I’m so serious right now, mom, I swear! This may just be a moment in my own head, but I’ll never let you go!

My memory is indeed the problem here, but when exactly did we learn Motoko’s name..? Or did I miss a readable somewhere perhaps? Regardless, I think it’s sweet how keeping Motoko’s name alive is like a way for her to continue her trailblaze journey alongside all of us. But um, I’m personally not fond of that last part there about traveling alone here, mom.. please say sike right now.

The noise I made when this moment popped up on screen is indescribable. I didn’t know whether to scream over how gorgeous Motoko is or cry because it seems to be her final moments. I’m in awe and my heart hurts.

Honestly, who or what is this moon shadow that granted Motoko the gift? Could it just be Aha disguised and that’s why Motoko didn’t recognize them? Or someone/something we haven’t met yet? We know Elation pathstriders, former and present, are no strangers to telling lies and disguising themselves. This shadow saying it was part compensation is still rattling around in my head too.

Ma’am, this gift of yours is granting her time. The one thing Himeko never had enough of because of the weathering curse.. that is by no means some “small” assistance! Especially at the cost of your own life, hello?? That’s everything!

I wanna lay on the floor and cry. Here I am, once thinking that our navigator (once believed to be an imagenae) wore this jacket all the time because that’s how Himeko drew her, but nope! Our navigator (the real one) wears it because it belonged to Motoko! Aahh.. I’m kinda upset that her Nova form doesn’t keep this exact one with how very special it is. Then again, I just know people would’ve complained Nova would’ve looked too similar to OG Himeko if Nova did have the jacket. Hell, people complain already the Nova form we have still looks too much like Himeko.. like, yeah, they’re the same character. Just like how there’s similarities between SW, Blade and their new forms. It’s kinda the whole point. Recognizable but improved.

Girl if you start crying, I’m gonna sob too. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m already there thanks to Cia. Hearing the switch between the comforting words of Motoko, still encouraging a heartbroken Himeko to continue both of their dreams while the former is seconds away from disappearing no matter how much the latter begs for her to stay is so darn good. Cis is beyond talented and we’re so lucky to have her.

The solution to Himeko surviving the weathering curse really was that simple, hm? To have Motoko take the burden away from her. I would’ve never thought of that.. I’m genuinely impressed. That bit about Destruction leaving permanent marks is true enough at least, such as Fugue’s flower scar on her right shoulder. Now that I think about.. is the sun tattoo on the side of Phainon’s neck a mark of Destruction too? I honestly can’t remember if we ever got lore about it. Anyways, it’s heartwarming to know that Himeko and Motoko both wanted each other to have a fulfilling life if the other couldn’t experience it. It’s just a real shame they couldn’t achieve their dreams together like they originally planned.

Ya wonder if these lines were the exact reason our Himeko was so ready to pass on her Trailblazing spirit to us when she was about to “die.”

Himeko really did her research about the Astral Express and Nameless when imagining Motoko, even including the official ticket on her outfit. I know it’s rare that we see different colors on the tickets, like Misha’s with the purple tip or Evernight’s inverted color scheme, but just for a moment, I’m gonna believe that Himeko chose red while drawing simply because it’s her color. I know majority of the tickets have red.. I’m just making myself more upset with these two women than I need to be okay?

My heart isn’t strong enough for this patch y’all.. getting the chance to live hour dream yet losing such a big part of yourself has gotta be completely devastating. I wanna hug her so badly! I was about to toss a stupid idea into the world, something along the lines of “oh, why doesn’t Himeko just recreate Motoko? we saw in 4.0 she still has the ability to control imagenesis,” til I remembered imagenae can’t survive outside Planarcadia. So nevermind.

Guys, Motoko didn’t even get to see the Express finally start up and depart after worming so hard to repair it.. oh no. At least, that’s how I think this is playing out in game.. because in the “Your Ending, My Beginning” trailer, Motoko is carrying Himeko onboard instead. I dunno which instance is more correct. Either way, I’m getting hella depressed over these two ladies. Also, that mention about becoming your own god? I dunno about that, but I swear, if Himeko Nova isn’t eventually confirmed a Trailblaze emanator at some point in time, I’ll genuinely be shocked. She’s the perfect candidate if one were to ever exist.. but I guess you can’t really become one if there’s no Aeon alive to gaze at you. I just crushed my hope in two seconds.

Nope. I’m gonna worry so very much. Do you really want to see me upset, mother? You should stay so I don’t become a puddle of tears on the ground.

Oh, too late, I really am crying right now. Awesome. The game is really going heavy on those tears too. Are they comically large because this is Planarcadia where everything is done for laughs? I remember March crying a bit during the 3.6 Trailblazer trio reunion but the tears themselves weren’t this obvious.

Alright, this is the moment that actually broke me. Himeko expressing her final wishes to all her fellow crew mates (it’s basically like her leaving a will! aaahh!) and the voice acting from both her and Stelle. Just.. oh my god. I gave myself emotional damage replaying the lines again because they were all delivered so well. I definitely shed a few tears here.

Thank heavens she actually included Sunday. After she went right from Welt to Pom-Pom, for a split second I feared she was gonna skip our halovian completely, but I should’ve know better. Our navigator truly cherishes all her companions. I’m still waiting for Sunny to get formally invited onto the Express as an official Nameless, Hoyo. I have many wild wishes for this game but this one seems the most practical to accomplish!

Noooo, not the depressing lines from the trailer! They hurt twice as much now after learning that Motoko left with similar words towards Himeko. Aaahhh I am NOT OKAY! Fake out death or not, Hoyo really knows how to tug at the heart strings. If anything, I love that Trailblazer seems just as upset as I feel and so unwilling to let Himeko go.

Please stooppp, oh my god, I can’t watch you cry too! I’m already an emotional wreck! Might as well just play Nightglow on full blast while you’re at it! Specifically Nick’s recent cover he did with Cia. Y’all should go watch it if you haven’t already. It was absolutely beautiful. I’m about to send them both my upcoming therapy bill.

I know we had to roll a die before this man answered anything to determine how truthful he wanted to be, but I can’t remember which questions received which result, nor do I wish to look it up at this moment, so I’m just gonna remain cautious about everything Asat Pramad says. Starting off with the Akivili question, I guess I wanted to make sure we weren’t like.. Akivili reborn or something and we just haven’t hit Aeon status yet. Makes sense that others would call us such if we resemble THEM to such a degree though. Whatever the shadow on the moon was called Himeko/Motoko that too.

I mean.. he’s not wrong. Our stellaron has come in handy a few times already, especially towards the end of this mission. All is well as long as we don’t actually blow up with it. Oh, also noticing how the questions change with every choice was a bit nerve wracking, like we’re limited to only eight questions, but a new one pops up after the one you chosen is asked, so it lead me to choose more carefully. Kind of a shame, I would’ve loved to know if Asat Pramad had been in love before.

We might not yell “hope” or “justice,” but the upcoming boss fight certainly felt like the power of friendship rushing in full stream ahead.

Defeating the evil no matter the cost huh.. feels a bit like how Motoko/Himeko acted before they left Himeko/Trailblazer. As long as their special people are safe, nothing else matters.

So the foolish ravager doesn’t know everything. Interesting, but in the end, the question did still count towards the total eight allowed. Maybe this question was here just to curse us because other us does make a surprise appearance later.

“Saving them” by “destroying them”… kinda gives me Evernight and March vibes. Just a little bit. Major difference is there’s no hate between our Remembrance emanators. Evernight actually cares for March, just to an extreme extent that she’d set a whole world to burn to keep her safe.

So, Asat Pramad is trying to prevent Aha from experiencing what he did? Being subjected to so much laughter that nothing becomes funny anymore, therefore creating chaos to get a feeling of literally anything else? Sure. Let’s go with that.

Sir do you ever stop yapping, oh my god. Not gonna lie, that one minute Aha doesn’t have any authority has gotta feel pretty peaceful. Everyone needs a little break. Asat Pramad just sorta kinda wants to make it permanent.

Here I thought the final path was Finality itself, unless that was just an Amphoreus thing. Or was it Remembrance..? Y’all, I can’t keep up anymore. It’s one or the other. Perhaps I’m feelings a bit biased, but I can’t believe the Trailblaze could do anything terrible. I second calling dice man a liar.

I’m starting to hate how anything this dude says can sound like it makes sense in someway.

Dang, not him throwing shade at the Stellaron Hunters! Surely he’s just bitter that Silver Wolf put up a decent fight against him in 4.2.

In retrospect, I dunno why I chose this question. It’s common knowledge THEY’RE dead, but maybe I was hoping we’d get new of a new Akivili appearing. However, is this the first time we’re hearing the reason for how THEY died? If so, perhaps this question wasn’t totally worthless. If not, then apologies. I’m not March. I don’t have the power of Remembrance to recall any memory I please.

Well thank goodness for that. At least she’s fine for now, from the sound of it..

Sorry, but with how much he apparently spoke about the Astral Express, the idea of Trailblazing and exploring the stars with Himeko when she was younger, how on earth are you surprised with how she turned out? Wasn’t that part of your plan?

Yeah, that really is cruel of him.. giving Himeko a chance to achieve everything she dreamed of, only to completely crush the perfect life she worked so hard for upon returning home to make all that effort worthless is diabolical.

Oh Trailblazer, there truly is never a dull moment with you. Asat Pramad might complain, but he pulls out his phone right after too. Thanks Silver Wolf for restoring connection to everyone’s phones.

At first, I thought the short video SW sent of the Express saving Himeko was a fake she created through hacks, just to annoy Asat Pramad.. but no. This is actually how the crew finds her. I dunno, I was kinda expecting a more grand reunion, not a little video clip texted to us.

I adore Silver Wolf being a total menace to society so much. This old man doesn’t deserve any kind of rest, make him work every day til he dies!

Oh my dearest Wolfie, you’re forever my third favorite Star Rail character. Ain’t no one taking your place sweetie!

Hey, can we chill for a moment please? We went from funny business to “Aeons save me I’m fighting a lord ravager alone” real quick! Help!!

I know I say this a ton whenever we see Trailblazer fighting with their various weapons, but we seriously need something a bit less goofy for our next path. It’s cool our light-sticks can take on different weapon types, but they’re still just a pair of light-sticks at the end of the day. At least they’re better than a hat or fluffy pen.

I’m kinda repeating myself again.. but I wish we saw more March using her Remembrance form. Seeing Dan Heng show up as Permansor Terrae doesn’t bother me too much, considering it’s just him deciding to transform on his own terms, but March has Evernight. I know she gave March permission to draw upon her power whenever she wanted, but do they need to do anything like agree upon it at a moment’s notice or simply just let Evernight know beforehand? March’s line in 4.2 about how the “friend in my head will protect me” leads me to believe they can still communicate with each other or Evernight is dormant inside her, always watching carefully. I’m not asking much, just a quick little something like “hey Eve, rise and shine!” or a “my dear March, let me handle this for you♭” That’s all. Also, were some of the cutscenes muted for anyone else? Not just for the voices, but the music too? I read there were possible bugs but I didn’t think it would be this bad, especially during some of the important ending cutscenes like this.

Okay, I know the Astral Express crew has such godly plot armor, but come on.. surely you have to agree that having six people defeat a lord ravager like this is insane right?? I know we all got pretty impressive abilities nowadays and we defeated two lord ravagers already, but good lord. I’m feeling mighty intimidated.

For how chaotic 4.3 left off, I’m quite surprised with how chill this patch started. Blade does take ownership of the octopus mask, and later on at the train station we do see that he does eventually make some changes on it, but why does the game just.. have it floating like that? Surely it can’t be that hard to just animate him actually holding it, right?

It hasn’t even been a full five minutes into the story and already Cia is putting in a stellar vocal performance with Himeko. I’m gonna praise you so much during this patch queen, be ready!

Oh Asat Pramad having a grand time.. sometimes it’s hard to believe this man is a lord ravager when compared to others like Phantylia or Irontomb, but I gotta say, he’s entertaining enough to be my favorite so far. Still absolutely despise the giant lie he told Himeko though.

I know this is Himeko’s patch and Evanescia is busy preserving this world’s life, but I still wish she had done more in Planarcadia. I dunno, maybe it’s just me, but when compared next to SW, Blade and Himeko, this poor girl didn’t receive as nearly as much love as she deserved. Also learning that she’s been separated from Graphia for a thousand years and they still couldn’t gather up enough time to just chat like old times because the world’s in danger is so sad.

Aw, Stellaron Hunter found family still hitting me in the feels even after 4.3. But yeah, of course Blade is the one offering to go find Dan Heng (& Welt.) Also love that he doesn’t comment about us calling him Bladie and just accepts it.

Okay, so.. I’m a bit disappointed, solely because of my own expectations. During the ending 4.3 cutscenes, we saw everyone fighting off Asat Pramad clones, which included Ashveil at the tavern, but March was nowhere to be seen despite being with him at the time. I foolishly hoped that Hoyo kept her out of said cutscene to surprise us later this patch with her successfully summoning her Remembrance form, either consciously or by having Evernight stepping in because she deemed the situation too dangerous for March.. so seeing March show up perfectly fine and normal was just a bit of a letdown. I’m glad she’s safe, alongside our galaxy ranger and favorite fool, but certainly not what I predicted from how chaotic 4.4 seemed to be from the trailers. I just miss Evernight y’all.

I missed Sunday very much too. After resting on the Express for the majority of 4.3, poor guy must’ve had quite the wakeup call when everything started going crazy outside. I love that he doesn’t seem to mind his nickname too.

To be fair, everyone in the crew has an extraordinary past. Dan Heng and March with their different selves, Welt with an abundance of HI3 history I’m not fully aware of, the Trailblazer with our mysterious past that we learn over time in pieces, and even our former antagonist Sunday. Us accepting Himeko regardless of what’s happened to her will be the easiest thing in the world.

Having Sunday who stayed behind really was beneficial in the long run, like I know he’s moved on passed his obsession with Order, but maintaining the peace at the train station when everyone is in a panic was helpful indeed, thanks to his previous experience with running Penacony and his tuning.

His redemption journey never fails to impress me. He still cares so much about not letting other people suffer but his approach on how to calm them is much more gentle and considerate now than his previous methods back when he was our enemy.

It’s true that imagenae can’t really leave Planarcadia, and that stumped me upon learning that Motoko was an imagenae, because how on earth did would our navigator manage to survive riding on Express all those years? I once believed Aha’s wish might’ve come into play to keep her alive, but nope. We eventually learn it was the real Himeko that left and who we’ve been traveling with, which makes this scene make so much more sense looking back at it now. I love that she kept this detail hidden until later, just to take Asat Pramad off guard.

I did often wonder why Motoko had the weathering curse.. like she’s just an imagenae, surely she can’t suffer the family’s curse, right? And seeing this scene here, I don’t think the curse was of any real risk to her specifically. It’s just that Himeko simply painted the marks on her. At least that’s what I’m choosing to believe. I know in some trailers/scenes Motoko doesn’t have any markings showing either, but dang.. our girl really couldn’t imagine a future where she’s free from that curse huh?

I will always appreciate whenever the game manages to sneak in lyrics of Interstellar Journey. This happens more noticeably later during the boss fight against Asat Pramad but also again in Himeko Nova’s character story part II.

Ma’am, you’re truly one of the most beautiful women in all of space! Quite literally a piece of art that I wouldn't mind gazing upon with much appreciation. Everyone thank young Himeko right now for creating such a baddie.

Mystery solved for what their wish ended up being. Well, Himeko’s wish anyways. Motoko’s surprise gift from the moon’s shadow had other plans.

Ooooh nooo, stahp. It’s too early for tears. You can’t show me our precious Astral Express family like this!

I easily accepted that our navigator was the imagenae once the theory/possibility came around, but slowly learning that she’s actually Himeko thanks to her wish/Motoko’s gift is so sweet, especially now that we get the chance to see both of them unite like this.

Pfftt, I love her making Asat Pramad look like a complete fool for once. Motoko’s certainly proud of her girl for that.

Bro Idc which version it is, real or imagenae, I don’t wanna lose either one of them! Yeah sure our navigator stays alive and well, but losing that special piece of her still hurts! Hearing our Himeko recite similar words to us later on deepens the wound even more.

So.. this gift of Motoko’s is all possible because Aha once blew up the train? and THEY still feel the need to make up for it? Because that’s what this whole compensation chatter is leading me to believe. Also, this promise of returning and sharing stories.. back when I thought our navigator was Motoko, I imagined she was gonna head to Himeko’s grave and ramble on about her adventures, but knowing now that it’s been Himeko’s promise to Motoko all this time.. ahh, my heart.

I wish I could be as confident and cunning as Himeko when faced with a lord ravager, even going so far as to taunting him. And unless this really is the first time we’re hearing about such a distress signal, I’m a horrible Nameless because I truly don’t remember learning it at all.

No, please don’t. I have enough concerns to deal with already.

For a split second, I thought March was gonna transform into Evernight right before my eyes. Behold! Disappointment sets in once more! Sigh.. this is honestly such a random memory to recall though. Ain’t no way I’d remember that very specific scene from Penacony. I need some Remembrance power like that for myself to help in daily life.

I will make certain Pom-Pom’s wish comes true because there’s no way we’re all gonna go to a resort next patch and not have Himeko with us! Can you imagine if something bad truly happened to her? We’d just be there chilling by the pool, sipping on umbrella drinks, while crying our eyes out.

Sundayyyyy, I’m forever proud of you! Someone give this man his own Astral Express ticket and make him an official crew member PLEASE! He’s so deserving of one, especially after this patch!

We, in fact, did not open said secret fortune pouch the General gave us. Just one of the many tiny mysteries left undone during this patch. I know we head to Astropolis in 4.5, but there’s just gotta be more Planarcadia stuff before then. I have too many questions with how this patch ended that I’ll mention much later in an upcoming post.

I like how she’s finally telling us about her temporal dislocation as if we didn’t already know about the condition and its effects back in 4.0. Of course, there’s always the chance people just skip over readables and never bothered to learn about it til now, I’m just surprised it took this long for her to finally tell us herself. Keeping eyes on her is an interesting way to keep the effects at bay though. No worries ma’am, I’ll gladly gaze upon your beauty if it means keeping you around!

Quite a different take on a cutscene. Kinda reminded me of the myriad celestia style a bit.

Oh Madam Yao, I’m sorry to have failed you. The fact she doesn’t appear at all after this is highly concerning, especially since she had a whole scene during the 4.4 trailer that just.. never happened in the story. I’ve been baited thinking she was gonna be okay after this.. HAA! Woe be upon me.

With all three of the Himeko trailers I get the feeling that they are hope mixed with despair/sadge, the HSR team is really good at this and also at putting things in that may not be in the correct order to weave a story that keeps you guessing. Steam of consciousness thoughts and additional context as I watch through the various trailers again. I'm noticing some parallels to Phainon and Firefly in the symbolism and language used.

Also, alot of the trailers quotes in the description seem to be them talking to one another but it doesn't give context...

Also, they reference quotes in a trailer of things they said previously.

Improv Tour Trailer: "To the Onlooker":

It gives us a glimpse of Himeko as a young adult and provides some backstory and how everyone treats her since she has the weathering curse. Helps to set the story for how Himeko longs for the stars and with Starchaser.

Also, it helps to set the story for how she worked to repair the astral express. The trailer gives me vibes that Himeko Imaginated Motoko but initially she has this form because Himeko couldn't imagine what her future self would look like. To me it does look similar to Himeko just more ethereal. Kinda gives Phainon warrior inside vibes here.

Another thought is she imaginated a friend since Asat was hardly there for her...

Then at the end we see a picture of what appears to be Himeko's future self and I'll call it her 'inner self' touch the painting and then turn into what we now know as Present day Himeko and referred to as 'Motoko' in the trailers.

Animated Short: "Your Ending, My beginning":

This Animated short was both hype and also sad. HoYo knew what they were doing by animating this very similar to hi3 animations and using similar poses and background tracks for the animation.

I have saw alot of discourse over how things were explained in 4.3 vs. what the trailer shows and my understanding is that part was how Himeko was telling the story to Ryusuke(Asat). I got the vibe that Himeko was deliberately skewing details to sus out if Ryusuke was real or a fake.

The trailer does confirm that Himeko created Motoko and she has a very phainon line in "My wish is to fufill your wish" along with a very Firefly line of "Even if we burn to ashes...This shall be proof that we lived "

The Mech / Magical girl transformation sequence is beautiful and amazing and the ethereal glow that Himeko Nova shows at the beginning of the transformation reminds me of the previous form.

The fight sequence is great, who doesn't love a G Gundam style Mech vs. Kaiju city scale fight?! I haven't seen anyone else mention this but this part really gives me Nightglow vibes as the pose is very similar to Hi3 Himeko with her sword right next to Kiana at the end. Might just be a coincidence and we do know from HSR 4.1 Mecha PomPom fight that to Imaginate something is one thing but to make it move takes wishpower.

Now I've seen a lot of disagreement in the community based on this part of who sacrificed themselves and I think it's meant to be vague and throw you off. Personal opinion is it was Young Himeko who used her lifeforce to power up Motoko/Himeko Nova/Starblazer. I've seen people say it was Motoko because when they combined she was the blue/blue white and that was her burning her power and not the Red that was Himeko.

Why do I think it was the opposite? Because I interpret the blue/white flames? as Himeko Nova getting a power boost like you would see in Anime from this additional info. This power boost and sacrifice ignites the flames of the Trailblaze which is why the Astral express lights up as well as you see Starblazer and Flames.

At the end of course we see that Motoko is holding young Himeko and she has her eyes closed and is unresponsive giving us a "is she knocked out or worse?" speculation and the feels definitely come a feeling as the opening theme plays and the Astral Express goes starward.

Further confusion is the repeat of Himeko having dreams and Asat with his smug ending lines.

Himeko * Nova Character Trailer: "The Morning Star Falls Tonight":

IMO Best character trailer thus far. It is so well animated and the transitions are just beautiful along with the soundtrack. I really think it sets the scale of the stakes especially at the beginning, Asat is a very big threat and it's structured in a way to paint a picture of everyone maybe not coming out unscathed (or worse). These trailers may also be HoYo playing into the Himeko memes that every Himeko must die and "Himeko stay on the express" kinda thing.

The starting notes and phrases of " Today, Navigator Himeko is leaving the Astral Express" only helps to paint and advance this narrative. They are helping to paint mystery of if Young Himeko lived or died due to the dialog mentioned. I don't think all of this trailer is from the same time frame as some may older and others younger. Also, it sounds like Motoko has survivors guilt because she dreams of that moment often.

Once this trailer starts it doesn't stop and the more I've watched it the more I've gotten theories and caught additional details

This shot leads me to believe that Young Himeko is alive but in very dire straits. My first thought was that this was a room in the express and that the Trailblaze/Astral express is keeping Young Himeko alive (which would also explain the need for refueling...) Beautiful star in the background.

Then of course you have the letters " S A C R A F I C E " appear quickly individually to further this thought and Young Himeko's body appears to be shaken by some force? There is a faint beeping and then Young Himeko is jarred awake as if she was waking up from being unconscious from the Fusion and her using her lifeforce to power starblazer.

This whole sequence before the Himeko Nova character card makes me think of two things: 1.) Young Himeko is providing a tactical role to Himeko nova and since they merged they can communicate somehow. Gives me Babs Gordon Oracle vibes honestly.

2.) Young Himeko can control Himeko Nova somehow remotely? (Due to their fusion?!) Or maybe the community is right and Motoko actually did sacrifice themself and the Himeko we know has been operated by Young Himeko all this time?

This part after Himeko Nova hits a wall after being hit and Young Himeko being affected seems to give this some additional proof....

The transition to this was phenominal and 10/10

Next sequence is painting that the odds are against us and stacked especially with Asat Pramat.

There's so many "death flags" and actual colored blood that we could have a parade here.... Which is interesting especially since they've gona with other motifs before for blood...

This scene I think actually helps to tell that Both Young Himeko and Motoko did survive and that Himeko is in the express. How it pans out I'm assuming that Motoko/Nova has told Young Himeko that she's going to send a train car away from Asat and make her final stand which Young Himeko obviously doesn't agree with...

Especially with the lines of " No, this can't be it! If you can't come with me, what's the point of all of this?!" . Young Himeko doesn't want to actually see Himeko Nova sacrifice herself because them she'll be alone and what is the point of her living?

The Younger Himeko is a great transition to tell her beliefs and story in a tugging the heart string way. Before it goes into the uplifting battle sequence and theme. Motoko cranking what I believe is the express would further support this.

Possibly this part is Young Himeko wanting to sever the chain of fate and a throw back to the Animated short where if she's going to die she's going to do it on her own terms?

May just be me but this reminded me so much of Amphoreus and gave me major Tribios and Triane Vibes!

The battle scene was a triumphant power boost with defying the chains of fate. This transition was phenomenal and totally unexpected but ever since Penacony we do seem to love running the Astral express into things haha...

Aaand then the hi3 parallels are back again with the very end of nightglow..

But it seems like this will be different because the Trailblazer and other members of the Astral Express will always be there.

And a great logo animation! so much to say but can't wait to play!