#yorimoi

The thing is, throughout the series Shirase carries too much on her shoulders. She worked herself to the bone to save money to go to Antarctica and find her mom because everyone else had failed to bring her remains back. She went there hoping to find both remnants of her mom's presence and tangible proof that she was no longer there. No one else could give her answers and closure, so she had to do it herself. But Takako's absence weighed heavily on her. And inevitably, the void left by her mom was filled by Shirase herself. She had to be the one to retrace Takako's steps, retrieve her laptop and receive all the emails she sent that her mother didn't get to read. She had Kimari and the others to support her as a friend, but no one was there to comfort her as a daughter, as a child. Only herself.

Until Gin found Takako's last email and decided to send it to her. That's the moment Takako's weight is lifted from Shirase's shoulders for good. It was this woman, who was mourning the best friend she had feelings for and who didn't know how to face the kid she'd left behind —a kid who was never hers— who in the end took on the burden, filling the void that Takako had left, restoring Shirase to her place as Takako's daughter and allowing her definitive closure. Shirase's journey just cannot be complete without this final shift that allows her to finally receive a reply other than herself, one that reassures her as herself. It's Gin's final gesture that makes it happen.

A Place Further Than The Universe Ending

Happy Birthday Kana Hanazawa!!