The day before the two held their celebration, the 18th chapter of the series was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump.
Picking up from the previous chapter, Shirou chased into the forest. Just then, the opponent's attack struck again. Shirou barely blocked it, and the attacker's figure was finally revealed.
It was a mysterious woman with long purple hair, wearing an eye patch, and wielding a chain blade.
Judging by her appearance, she was undoubtedly a Servant!
Shirou clashed with her for a moment, but was quickly defeated.
However, at the critical moment, Tohsaka Rin arrived just in time, and the opponent retreated upon seeing her.
Tohsaka Rin provided emergency treatment for Shirou's wounds and then brought him back to her home for further care.
At the Tohsaka residence, the two discussed the attacker, confirming that there were other Masters and Servants in the school.
Furthermore, Tohsaka Rin told Shirou that a barrier had been set up in the school to drain the life force of ordinary people, and that the recent attacks and murders were likely the work of the same culprit.
Consequently, under these circumstances, Tohsaka Rin proposed a truce, to which Shirou responded with an unexpectedly straightforward remark.
"It's just a truce."
"However, before that, as long as you don't betray me, I will also help you, Emiya-kun."
"Great. Then I will always stand on your side, Tohsaka. Please take care of me, Tohsaka."
"—Hmph. Although the time might be short, you'd better give it your all and help me!"
Thus, at the end of this chapter, a smiling Shirou and a begrudging Tohsaka Rin shook hands, marking their temporary alliance.
This chapter followed the original content of the UBW route without major changes.
In the encounter with Rider in this chapter, Shirou also showed a somewhat sharp-tongued or "naturally black" side, since he had been soundly beaten by Rider.
This actually corresponds to Archer's usual habit of being sharp-tongued and sarcastic.
In addition to the Fate/stay night serialization, the 4th chapter of Weathering with You was also released this week, and the story finally reached its conclusion.
This chapter recounted how Hodaka, with the help of those around him, broke through police obstacles and reached the world above the sky to bring Hina back to the human world.
And this line where Hodaka saves Hina is undoubtedly the climax of the entire story.
"I don't care if there's never a sunny day again! Compared to the blue sky, I want Hina more! Whatever, let the weather be abnormal, who cares!"
Finally, with Hina's return, the torrential rain in Tokyo descended once again.
Three years later, Hodaka, having returned to Tokyo, found that the rain was still continuing, and parts of Tokyo were submerged, yet people were still living their lives normally.
"The location where Tokyo stands was originally an ocean; perhaps its current state is the normal one."
The people he knew told him this, telling him that this was how the world was supposed to be, as if their actions from three years ago had never had any impact on the world.
However, in the end, when Hodaka saw Hina still praying for sunny weather by the roadside, his conviction was reaffirmed.
"No, that's definitely not it. At that time, we—at that time, we truly changed the world! It was I who made the choice. I chose her. I chose this kind of world. I chose to live here!"
At the end of the manga, accompanied by Hodaka's inner monologue, the two embraced emotionally against the backdrop of the rain-submerged streets of Tokyo, reclaiming their world in that moment.
"Sigh." Having finished reading Weathering with You again, Akira couldn't help but sigh.
He wasn't sure if the plot of this final chapter would spark controversy like it did domestically.
He only felt a bit of regret now.
As everyone knows, exquisite background art is one of the essences of Makoto Shinkai's animated films.
Another essence is the film's soundtrack. Especially for Weathering with You.
Although among Makoto Shinkai's commercial trilogy, Your Name is arguably the work with the best overall quality, a point that shouldn't be too controversial.
But regarding the soundtrack, he believed that the music in Weathering with You was the best among Makoto Shinkai's commercial trilogy.
And this was where he felt regret. He could try his best to replicate the art, and the final effect turned out quite well, but there was really no way to replicate the soundtrack; he would just have to wait until the animation adaptation.
"This ending—" "It's simply amazing!" Eiichiro Oda wiped away his tears and snot, unable to stop praising the ending of Weathering with You.
He was a particularly emotional person himself, and when designing some of the more moving plots and scenes in One Piece, his standard for passing was whether it could make him cry himself.
Therefore, he was especially able to feel the pure and sincere emotions between the protagonists Hodaka and Hina that Akira wanted to convey, and was deeply moved by it.
For example, the line when Hodaka saves Hina above the sky, "Compared to the blue sky, I want Hina more!"—it was such a simple and stubborn statement, yet the various experiences the two had shared, along with Hodaka's actions now, endowed it with a rich and impactful intensity of emotion.
The story of Weathering with You itself was actually not complicated; one could even say it was somewhat simple. Every element in the story was essentially just to shape this incredibly pure and sincere love between Hodaka and Hina. And this simple and pure emotion was already moving enough.
At the same time, the choice Hodaka made in the manga reminded him of another one-shot manga by Akira, Emiya Kiritsugu. Both faced the trolley problem, yet ultimately made diametrically opposed choices—.
No, that wasn't right. After carefully recalling the content of Weathering with You, Eiichiro Oda realized that his analogy didn't seem appropriate.
Because Hodaka didn't actually face the so-called trolley problem. From an outsider's perspective, Hodaka faced the choice of "saving Hina, and Tokyo gets submerged" or "not saving Hina, and Tokyo remains temporarily safe."
But for Hodaka, he only had one option from beginning to end. Because the city of Tokyo had never cared about Hodaka, Hodaka had never cared about the city of Tokyo either; from start to finish, he only had eyes for Hina.
In short, Eiichiro Oda couldn't help but exclaim: "Truly amazing, Mochizuki-sensei!"
At the same time, he felt some regret. Because the worldview of One Piece wasn't very suitable for the kind of love that Hodaka and Hina had, or rather, this type of love. Otherwise, he might have wanted to try creating a story like this too.
Then, he exclaimed again: "If only the discussion could start sooner!"