Even though Heimdall’s plan was obvious, it still made for an enjoyable episode. You have to feel bad for Frey, though, watching him with fliers, looking for his sister. He gets so close, then loses her again without even knowing he had almost found her. I await his reaction when he learns Heimdall was poisoning her with evil through her necklace.

With Reiya being a host body for Freya, that absolves Kotaro from being related to Loki in some way, after all. But why is Freya stuck in a human child’s body when Loki is his childhood form? And can Freya separate from Reiya safely in the future? Furthermore, if Reiya and Loki spend enough time together, will these interactions reach Freya? The previous episode clearly showed Loki’s intentions to protect Freya, in the form of Reiya, even before knowing whether there really was anything to protect her from. On top of that, if Reiya’s parents were killed in a car accident, would Reiya have died had Freya not been incarnated into her?

In Norse mythology, there is a poem where Loki steals the Brísingamen, Freya’s necklace, and Freya asks for Heimdall’s help to get it back. Heimdall finds it was stolen by Loki, who had disguised himself as a seal. Could this be the inspiration for the scene where Loki is gleeful to see sea otters?

Freya may have felt herself to be an unrequited love, but Heimdall said in the last episode a line about “murdered by the one you love” and I think there was something about “revenge”. While I thought he was speaking about the past, he actually was planning out the future. “Murdered by the one you love” means Heimdall must know that Loki has feelings for Freya.

Near the end, dub messed up on having Mayura say, “Don’t be so rude.” How could they not have her say, “I was left lonely” as the Japanese goes, so he could match this up with Freya having said the same?

The only bakery where a haibane is allowed to work is the oldest bakery in town. Kana works in the clock tower if I remember correctly, and that’s probably fairly old. The limitations on where a haibane may work must be imposed by the Haibane-Renmei, but it leaves the question of whether the shop owner has say in it. Did the baker have a choice in whether a haibane could work at his shop? Or did he submit that this shop would be willing to hire a haibane?

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The envelope Yeong-ro had apparently came from Janggeum. For whatever reason, I take it she was due to prepare a meal for the ailing old man, but because she wanted to check up on Sin-ssi (and probably tell her that the criminals had been caught), the task was passed on to Geum-yeong and Yeong-ro.

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Alongside the Undines guiding people over water, and the Salamanders watching over the planet from the skies, there are the flighted Sylphs delivering packages. The four become complete with the Gnomes.

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Having watched the first episode in Japanese now, I find the English voices to be very good matches for the Japanese voices. The dubbing company did a good job on voice actor selection.

The opening theme segment gives a good feel for what life is like for the haibane.

The designs for the town are very nice. The style used for the backgrounds, the pans across them, direct the eyes smoothly over the buildings, the doors and windows, shops, streets, and stairs. The various scenes shown one after another give a good feel for the environment.

This episode moved along with a nice, slow pace. The characters and their world are unfolding slowly, teaching both the viewer and Rakka about how the haibane co-exist with humans. Furthermore, not only are the haibane forbidden to leave town, but the humans as well. Why are they confined to the city’s outer walls? Why doesn’t the toga have a halo? For a second episode, the pacing of story and characters is nice.

I also wonder why the haibane may not use money, and what was the purpose of Rakka leaving a feather with her signature? Maybe the feather is what proved Rakka was a new haibane to the Haibane Renmei.

Nemu says Kana acts like Reki used to, which suggests to me that the haibane do age (as per my prior curiosity about it). This leaves them as being like humans reborn with wings, given a halo and told they (like the humans) may not leave town. They’re essentially kept closed off from the rest of the world, the haibane and the humans who know of them.

The thrift shop guy wins points for cutting and sewing the wing slits into the outfit for Rakka. I’ll be watching to see if any of the purchased outfit pieces appear worn by the haibane in later episodes.

Kuu has quickly become my favorite, being a bright-eyed, energetic character. Her wearing a sweater with a single pocket in the front is still a plus.