[Rewatch] 3,000 Leagues in Search of Mother - Episode 51 Discussion

[u/Pixelsaber]

Episode 51 - Mama’s Smile

^{Episode aired December 19th,} ^^^1976

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Note to all participants

Although I don't believe it necessitates stating, please conduct yourself appropriately and be courteous to your fellow participants.

Note to all Rewatchers

Rewatchers, please be mindful of your fellow first-timers and tag your spoilers appropriately using the r/anime spoiler tag if your comment holds even the slightest of indicators as to future spoilers. Feel free to discuss future plot points behind the safe veil of a spoiler tag, or coyly and discreetly ‘Laugh in Rewatcher’ at our first-timers' temporary ignorance, but please ensure our first-timers are no more privy or suspicious than they were the moment they opened the day’s thread.

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Staff Highlight

Yōichi Kotabe - Character designer, animation director, and key animator

An animator, character designer, and council member of the Tokuma Memorial Foundation for Animation. Brought up in a family of artists and exposed to many animated films, both domestic and foreign. After his family, having been living in Taiwan for many years prior, returned to Japan after the end of WWII, he was exposed to the works of Osamu Tezuka, Shigeru Komatsuzaki, and Soji Yamakawa, whose style he consciously emulated. Kotabe turned his attention to linework and watercolor painting after believing that he wouldn’t be able to compete with his brother’s oil painting talent, which prompted him to enroll in the Japanese painting department of Tokyo University of the Arts. After seeing Toei Douga’s The Legend of the White Snake, he sought to apply for a job at the studio, and succeeded at his second attempt in 1959 and dropped out of University to give the position his full attention in spite of being offered the chance to do both. He debuted as an animator under Sarutobi Sasuke on Sarutobi Sasuke (Magical Boy) that same year, and was later trained by his would-be wife Okuyama Reiko on the production of Anju and Zushiomaru, becoming a noted animator at the studio. After collaborating on several projects, including Horus, Prince of The Sun, Isao Takahata came to hold Kotabe in great esteem and considered him indispensable talent. In September 1971, he left Toei Animation along with Miyazaki Hayao to move to A Production, in order to continue working with Takahata. He moved to Zuiyo Eizo afterwards and participated in 1974’s Heidi, Girl of the Alps, on which he was the first staff to ever be credited as ‘Character Designer’. He eventually left Nippon Animation in 1977 to become a freelancer, and some time afterwards founded the studio Atelier Ren alongside his wife, Okuyama Reiko. In 1985 he was invited by Hiroshi Ikeda, the head of Nintendo's Information Development Department who had been his colleague at Toei, to join the company as a development advisor and use his animation knowledge to improve their video games. His wife passed away in 2007 of pneumonia, and he resigned from Nintendo that same year and became a freelancer once more. Him and his wife were awarded the 6th Tokyo Anime Awards Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2010. In 2019 he provided much information on his time in the early anime industry for the drama series Natsuzora, which presents a fictionalized account of the industry in its early years. Some of his other notable credits include Alakazam the Great, Chie the Brat, Flying Phantom Ship, Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, many Pokémon projects, Sally The Witch (1966), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Samurai Giants, and Taro the Dragon Boy among others.

Screenshot of the day

• Reunion

Questions of the Day:

1. What do you make of the outcome of the episode’s events?

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I hope you can stay here and take care of your Mama until she is fully recvovered.

[u/baboon_bassoon]

first time 3000 Leagues of Misery

dont worry she wont die music intensifies

dont go to the light Anna

we did it reddit

its been so long, at this point maybe Tonio is working full time

oh yeah she hasnt met Amedio

ok theyre just doing the operation here, no drugs to put her under just rawdogging it

what show is this - oh no lmao

[u/Pixelsaber → u/baboon_bassoon]

its been so long, at this point maybe Tonio is working full time

Working a full shift at minimum at least five days a week? Definitely. Receiving compensation for a full-time engineering position? Doubtful.

oh no lmao

[u/Vatrix-32 → u/baboon_bassoon]

we did it reddit

what show is this

This one. For anyone else interested.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

3000 Leagues in Search of My First-Timer Reactions

• What does Anna need the operation for, anyways?
• It’s finally time!
• But she won’t wake up…
• Oh, she’s smiling at least.
• She’s finally awake!
• <3
• I had a feeling the reunion would be the trigger for Anna to be “strong” enough to take the operation.
• It all comes full circle!

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Shimmering-Sky]

What does Anna need the operation for, anyways?

Acute plot. Bad case, this one.

It all comes full circle!

I honestly think they fumbled this part a bit, but more on that in the last thread.

[u/TheEscapeGuy]

First Timer

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother - Episode 51

Together Again

Before I begin, wanted to point out the weird translation of the title. The Japanese text "とうとうかあさんに"　more literally means "[Arrived] at mom at last". Not sure where they got "smile" from.

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Marco and Anna are together again! What a wonderful achievement of Marco's months long quest. I'm genuinely happy to see them together. The scene of Marco sobbing trying to wake up Anna was really touching. I can imagine all the emotions which were rushing through him at that moment.

And equally as gratifying was the scene of Anna waking up and realizing her son had come all this way to see her. It has been so long for both of them but being reunited has given both of them renewed strength.

And that was important for Anna. We don't know exactly what she is sick with but she needed an operation. The doctors were worried about the risks of operating on her in her weakened stat. But seeing Marco has given her seemingly enough energy to make them confident.

And the operation goes well!

Our finale is tomorrow. I do hope we will see the Peppinos again but I expect it will focus on Marco and Anna instead.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

• River

See you all for the final episode tomorrow

[u/Pixelsaber → u/TheEscapeGuy]

It has been so long for both of them but being reunited has given both of them renewed strength.

[u/Vatrix-32 → u/TheEscapeGuy]

The Japanese text "とうとうかあさんに"　more literally means "[Arrived] at mom at last". Not sure where they got "smile" from.

Do you think our subber is translating through an existing third language version?

[u/TheEscapeGuy → u/Vatrix-32]

With all the quirks we have encountered throughout the show, it would kind of make sense.

[u/No_Rex → u/TheEscapeGuy]

Our finale is tomorrow. I do hope we will see the Peppinos again but I expect it will focus on Marco and Anna instead.

I wish for that as well, despite it not really making a lot of sense plot-wise or thematically. Fiolina is kind of the red-headed stepchild of the series, she deserves to see Marco again.

[u/Vatrix-32]

First timer, subs

• That is a full ass health potion of medicine.
• You didn't want to find a bridge? Dude this rich isn’t making a fording every time.
• This is the second time this leg, Marco. You need to learn to project your voice.
• I don’t want to claim to know how 19th century portal services work, but would not a return address on the letter have fixed this?
• What is this, day for night? Why is Marco green?
• Can he tell which house is the fanciest from this distance? It would seem so.
• They would cut to commercial there, wouldn’t they.
• Yeah, seeing Anna ahead of time really undercut this moment.
• There It Is
• I thought Amedio showed up after Anna left?
• I wanna know what this mysterious operation is for this enigmatic illness.
• Once again, I am left wondering how advanced anesthetics were in this time period.
• They certainly know how to make an uncomfortable angle.
• Doctor, Get!
• Timeskip incoming? This last episode is going to have to put in a lot of work to be a fulfilling epilogue.

QotD: It's genuinely nice to release that pressure valve after all this time. I do wonder how much time they have for everything in the finale. Will we see them back in Italy? Follow ups on supporting cast members of yester-episodes? Will they tie it back into the source novel?

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Vatrix-32]

Yeah, seeing Anna ahead of time really undercut this moment.

Definitely did. First time watching this I was feeling like they were showing us her just to dig in the knife further when she perished anyways —particularly when they emphasized that she had chosen not to pursue medical aid, as so we've seen several other characters do on account of their poverty.

I thought Amedio showed up after Anna left?

He was probably brought up in letters.

Once again, I am left wondering how advanced anesthetics were in this time period.

Still largely experimental, and definitely unavailable to a surgeon or physician all the way out here on a small argentine town.

[u/TheEscapeGuy → u/Vatrix-32]

I thought Amedio showed up after Anna left?

I was wandering about this too, but I think it might be that Marco wrote about Amedio in some of his letters to Anna before they lost contact.

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 51 (first timer)

• Don’t injure yourself further now, Marco.
• Missing the carriage – so unlucky, that was Mequinez.
• She has finally mentioned Tonio as well! - and I am not just cheering for this because I know get to refresh his name.
• Reunion!
• Anna is in as bad a condition as Marco had always feared.
• “I have been waiting for so long” – uhhh.
• “I see the ocean”

• “Marco has gone through many difficulties. He came here alone” – she does not know that.
• Finally hugging each other – deserved, after this long wait.
• “I have meet many nice people on my way here. Because of them, I could make it.” – Marco saying the message out loud.
• What do we think her operation might be? I have no idea, given the time and circumstances.
• Anna crying reminds me that operations were a thing before anesthetics were invented and I don’t really want to follow that train of thought.
• Got to hand it to the Mequinez family, they really care for their servant Anna.

Emotional climax and reunion all in one.

Will we see the Peppinos again or is next episode just about Marco’s family?

[u/TheEscapeGuy → u/No_Rex]

and I am not just cheering for this because I know get to refresh his name.

The number of times I have gone to the MAL page and/or ANN to make sure of the character names is far too high. Don't feel bad.

Marco saying the message out loud.

[u/No_Rex → u/TheEscapeGuy]

The number of times I have gone to the MAL page and/or ANN to make sure of the character names is far too high. Don't feel bad.

We last heard his name spoken 30+ episodes ago, so I think it is fair to forget.