#and i like how nana admitted she was hurt and just thought that cooro didn't care about her

[plusanimablog]

Chapter 54: Crystal

Husky and Nana burst into the waiting room to find Senri...and no Cooro. Nana is immediately uneasy, asking where he is. Senri says he left with Fly. All she knows about their relationship is that Fly took Cooro from the church to his research facility...which, admittedly, is more than enough evidence to be unsettled by. Also, pretty much everyone can see that Cooro is never happy around Fly. Nana demands they go to find Cooro and uses her ears to lead them in the direction of Fly's voice. They walk in on Fly talking to Cooro, saying that he's glad Cooro's well considering all the tracking (re: stalking) he's been doing on him. He lightly scolds him: didn't he tell him if he found any other Anima to bring them here?

(Fly ain't giving bad vibes; he's giving tremors.)

You see, Cooro can sense other Anima's presence; that's why he was given the job. But Cooro, for whatever reason, just went off on his own. Cooro apologizes, saying that he forgot. Husky flashes back to their first meeting, remembering Cooro explicitly saying that he was looking for other Anima. Before Husky can draw his own conclusions, Nana bursts in (out? They're on the balcony) and demands to know if what Fly said is true. Did Cooro befriend them under Fly's orders? Fly counters by asking why she's not getting surgery. Nana tells him that she gave up on the surgery because she wanted to keep her Anima. Yes, Anima only comes to traumatized individuals but Nana says that it's wrong to throw away something based purely on its origin (see: Fanta). Fly's much weaker counter is that the facility won't waste the Anima that they take; it'll be given to someone else and implanted in them. Nana says that's wrong too and Husky accuses Fly of creating Blanca by implanting a swan or other Anima into her. Nana demands to know if he did and if so, why?

Fly answers: she has no will of her own, just a body. You see, Fly's teacher Aaron Newt discovered her sleeping underneath the cathedral. Blanca is an artificial life form: a doll made of organic compounds. The realization of man's dreams of attaining flight. But she's not complete so Aaron and Fly implanted all sorts of Anima into her (They also put makeup so the markings wouldn't stand out.). He rationalizes that, she being an angel, she should have all the abilities found on Earth. That's why the facility collects Anima.

Nana doesn't care about any of that shit though. She's stuck on the whole "Cooro was ordered to befriend them" thing. She coldly accuses him of trying to steal their Anima, saying that he's different from them and he doesn't know what it's like to suffer with and be grateful for having Anima. Crying, she runs off after shouting goodbye. Husky runs after her and Senri, despite Cooro questioning him, runs after them. Fly is a bit ruffled but not too worried that he let two Animas escape; after all, if you try to force an Anima out of someone, it will just die. But he'll call it Even Steven since Cooro came back. He asks if he would like to go after them and Cooro says no. He got the gist of what Nana said and he did make a promise to Fly.

And what are the group doing now that they left the facility? Clothes shopping!

Well, Nana is. Husky and Senri are very clearly shaken and want to at least discuss what happened. Nana responds by forcing clothes on them and eating up a bunch of sweets, wasting their money. Husky calls her out on this and Nana breaks down, admitting she's angry and frustrated and sad. Husky quietly waits for her to finish crying and asks her if she's serious about leaving Cooro like that. He explains that Cooro has a great poker face but it's clear he's putting on an act. The only reason he didn't chase after them is because Nana said goodbye. Cooro always tries to respect free will so he doesn't put up a fight. Nana flashes back to when Cooro let Husky go when they had a fight with him, saying it's his own choice and he has no right to force him. Also with Shadow: if Husky hadn't sent him after him, Cooro wouldn't have gone no matter how much he wanted to. So Nana shouldn't think that just because he didn't stop her doesn't mean he wanted to let her go. Nana tears up because she didn't want to say goodbye either.

Also, Husky points out that Cooro was clearly avoiding running into Fly. Nana was the one who wanted to go to the church, not him. Cooro literally doesn't want to be at the research facility so he must have a reason to stay behind. Nana timidly suggests that Cooro is a man-made Anima and that's why he's staying. Husky shouts of course not because he's fucking Cooro! Alway smiling, always happy, always making others They'll kidnap him even if he says he doesn't want to come. Husky tells her to tone it down a bit...but he's also certain that Cooro will want to come with them.

Back at Astara, Iggy asks to see Fly but Marca turns him away at the door. She says he's out right now (and sneaks away while Iggy is thinking, glad that he doesn't remember her). He catches her...to tell her not to do anything careless involving Anima, telling her to pass the message along to him.

The chapter ends with Fly approaching Cooro in his room, telling him to show his wings. Cooro does so and Fly admires them, revealing him he plans on taking them, in accordance with Cooro's promise.

ANIMA RATING:

Blanca Anima: A bunch of Anima apparently but we only see the wings. But it gives her the ability to turn into a white ghost that can fly through walls so it's technically the best one we've seen so far.

#+anima #manga #review #tw: grooming #just in case #because i'm definitely getting those vibes from Fly #it's weird that nana is at her brattiest here #and i still sympathize with her #probably because cooro was hiding a major important secret from her #and she's like 6 or something so i'm not expecting a mature response from her #i did like how husky called out that she was the one digging into cooro's past and she paid the piper for it #and i like how nana admitted she was hurt and just thought that cooro didn't care about her #ironically enough she shows more emotional intelligence than most of the adults i know #i like this group #and i want them to stay together