「天窓 Lucarne」 (Tenmado)

For an episode where Yune catches a cold, we sure had a lot of people worrying about her. Of the obvious suspects — Claude, Oscar, Alice, and even the homeless boy — Claude overreacted the most, making it pretty clear that he has a real soft spot for Yune. He may have simply felt bad about not understanding her feelings when she gave the homeless boy her bread and then a goodbye “bise” after she was scolded, but it said a lot when he was about to tear up and set his pride aside, running off to Alice’s place asking for help getting a doctor. Somewhere between Claude’s feelings of guilt, it wasn’t hard to get a sense that he was deathly worried about Yune. It was pretty heartwarming to see, particularly when he ran off to the Blanche household — the last place he wants to go asking for help. It also contrasted heavily with the lighthearted moments with Alice.

I really don’t like seeing Yune getting scolded for being nice to strangers, but as I’ve mentioned before, I do like seeing Claude get upset over something she’s done from time to time. If the past is any indication, it always leads to the characters reflecting on what’s happened and then growing closer because of it much like it did here. I can’t really blame Claude for getting upset either, since this is the same boy who stole from him earlier, so most of the drama played out fairly naturally. For the most part, I felt like I was in Oscar’s shoes. He could see that Claude was being a bit too harsh with Yune, but he could also understand where he was coming from. There isn’t really anything he can do in that situation other than pointing them in the right direction and hoping they make up on their own, so it was very much a wait-and-see type of reconciliation. To that end, the sentimental aspect is always welcome, with Claude going the extra mile to make Yune congee and the homeless boy picking some flowers for her instead of stealing them. (Aww… how sweet.)

I haven’t really talked too much about the music in this series, but ko-ko-ya’s subtle compositions bring out the scenes really well. After watching the bonus episode, the instrumental version of “Tooku Kimi e” has become pretty prominent though and was befitting used in the flashback scene with Yune’s sister Shione. From a story standpoint, that extra episode has me looking forward to the next one even more, which should touch upon Claude’s past with Camille. They’re seen in the same room together, so we may even get some closure on the matter. Either way, I can’t wait.




  1. I knew after seeing Alice kiss her, that this was about
    Claude kissing her – I just didn’t expect it to be so soon.
    To deepen the kiss, it was after Claude explained that it’s done
    only with someone who is very close (after she kissed the boy).

    I love the contrast Alice provides to the show – she does things
    to 1-up Claude for Yune’s affection, but Claude does things out of
    a genuine affection for Yune. I can see Claude’s anger deepen
    as his care/love for Yune deepens. It’s really him trying to
    protect her, and he’s learning too that her ideas/values really may
    have a place in his culture/way of thinking (as applied to the
    little boy she befriended).

    Claude’s going to Alice for help was a big step/growth that showed
    that he has no pride when it comes to Yune’s safety and health.
    If Yune was nothing but a mere house servant, he would have had
    her tough it out or go to the hospital (and wait).

    Each episode of this series consistently delivers and builds upon the
    last – a great and enjoyable watch to date. (I only wish 4.5 was sub’d.)

    1. Well, here’s good news to everyone who’s dying to watch ep 4.5 but can’t understand the raws enough (like me LOL). Ayako-fansubs grabbed them! 😀

      Rika-chama August 15, 2011 at 05:37(Edit)
      We’re working on Ep 4.5. There are lots of songs which are orz to TL, though. Never fear though, we’ll get it out and (check w/ Spieg to be sure) but most likely it’ll be like our normal releases (720p H.264 and 480p XviD).

  2. Those japanese colds sure are bad ass knocking people out left and right in the various anime series. Makes me afraid to go to Japan to visit and possibly catch one of those devastating colds.

    All kidding aside it was a good episode. Makes me sad to see folks like Claude being so heartless to a homeless little boy. The kid steals to eat. Kinda looks like Alice’s family might take the boy in (even if its only temporary).

    1. Wait till your family business is in the dump and some kid stelae from you. Unless you ate sine goody 2 shoes you won’t give the kid bread. Ge is like claude’s family enemy. Claude does all the work, Oscar spends money courting young ladies and traveling while yune spends her time irritating Claude and making him worried. Letting stuff get stolen but making friends with the enemy? I think yune’s family in japan must be rich or else giving to your enemies would be a serious no no

  3. I swear, a cold in anime is the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone. It’s always interesting to see just how far they can go to make them seem dreadful.

    Touching episode regardless though. I’m surprised at how Alice isn’t a massive nuisance whenever she appears. She’s a crazy weeaboo but she’s respectful and understanding where it counts.

    1. Had a japan cold. But that is more my fault. Tried following the tour guide words. Doing onsen like the Japanese, before breakfast before dinner and after dinner. 1.5 weeks of fever thank you very much

    2. I spent 15 years in Japan & never caught a cold. Yeah, it was a GD miracle. My oldest sister never caught one either but the other 5 caught them left & right. Me & her was born in the States & lived in Sai for 4 years but the other 5 was born in Tokyo. Colds in Japan are serious stuff. You think that the stuff you see in anime is close to reality, bah. Its much worse. Tokyo’s air is so damn bad you might as well be dead for 1-2 weeks if you catch a cold there.

      1. That actually came from the idea that idiots are too slow to notice that they have a cold. I’ve caught my share back in the states so go figure. In my case, I was probablly to busy taking care of my younger siblings to notice I was sick too.

    3. “I swear, a cold in anime is the worst possible thing”

      I don’t get it, I mean getting a cold in anime is the best thing that could have happen. It always increase affection point and also seishu point of 3. Not to mention trigger a flag for event.

  4. Guys, in the 19th Century there was no such thing as a “simple cold”. With life expectancy in the 30s, any infection could be life threatening. It really isn’t surprising that Claude would be concerned, especially given his guilt over having scolded Yune just before she fainted.

    1. This is true and aside from the cold claude learned that her way of thinking can help him view things in a different perspective such as the example of the little boy. After she fainted he did some serious reflection about her, his own views, and what should he priortizes in his life. In the end I loved how the characters are constantly getting closer together.
      Either way some of the comments leave me surprise how can say such a thing about a kid. Claude is in a position in life where even if they go out of business they still have money and make a secure future for themselves as for the little boy there is no gurantee what will happen.

  5. For the sake of not being called a shipper (which roses to fanfiction writer level) I tend to work with what I have right now (solid and canon material), even if Camille is my top choice.

    Steal food if you are hungry; stealing goods makes it hard to see your intentions. That is why I condemn stealing goods no matter who it is or what are his conditions.

    Lectro Volpi
  6. Osnap, since I can’t find 4.5 for some Cloude x Camille <3 it's good to see ep8 will show us a bit. Hell even ep6 made it clear, with her comments about not being able to touch/grab things you want when you're in the "bird cage". Sounds like he's her first love. I really want to see ep4.5 now.

  7. For the little boy, random acts of kindness can go a long way, but I don’t see how he can possibly stop stealing if he needs to eat tomorrow too. Still, a little bit of charity can go a long way, even if it doesn’t change much.

    I think the most interesting insight I got from this episode again has to do with the implications of some of the more subtle cultural nuances.

    When Claude first noted that Yune might be sick with something more serious than a cold, he recalled all the times when cultural differences had interfered with him understanding her, and essentially came to the conclusion that he couldn’t trust what she was saying.

    The insight I got from that was that on a very fundamental level people from different cultures have significant trouble trusting each other because they don’t give off or pick up the correct social cues in different situations (e.g. in this situation, Claude expects Yune to tell him if she’s sick, even if it’s only something minor, and give him as much and as accurate information as she can in order to resolve the issue as quickly and safely as possible. Yune doesn’t want to cause trouble for the household that she feels indebted to, and wants to show that she is doing her part. Because of this, Claude can’t trust Yune’s assertion that she has ‘only a cold’.)

    I’m glad that Claude was able to see it from Yune’s point of view, and come to the correct conclusion: she didn’t feel at home despite the fact that he didn’t live or grow up in a multicultural society. In this respect, Claude is especially insightful.

  8. I found it interesting how they dealt with the issue of kissing in this episode.

    As far as I know (but I might be wrong being non-French), a “bisé” as a common greeting ritual just means kissing the air next to the other person’s cheeks. So basically there is no physical contact or only the cheeks touching. I’m not sure if they did the same thing in this episode.

    On another note I have been wondering for quite some time why there seems to be no Japanese word for “kiss” besides “kisu” which seems to be derived from English. Did they import the idea of kissing itself from the long-nosed gaijin?


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