Episode 04:

Garbage Day - Clock Tower - Birds Flying over the Wall

Short Summary:
Rakka gets woken early by Kana to help out at the clock tower Kana works at. They take out the trash, and then Kana shows Rakka the clock she's trying to fix at Old Home. They rush to the clock tower in town, where Rakka meets Kana's boss and gets a good view of the wall.

Detailed Summary:
Standard Opening.
Rakka finds herself standing on a misty plain in the dark. She hears wings, and sees a crow land nearby. As she asks it where she is, she hears the sound of a deep bell.

Kana is banging on a bucket and standing by Rakka's bed. Rakka is quite asleep, and determined to stay that way. Kana isn't too patient with this, and shouts to wake Rakka up, reminding her that she was going to help at work today. Rakka tries to go back to sleep, but Kana drags her out of bed by the halo. Rakka goes to wash her face, but drags her pillow with her.

While waiting for Rakka to get dressed, Kana finds a plate of food on the rail of the verandah. Rakka says she left it there for the birds, but Kana throws it away. Kana then has Rakka help her take the kitchen garbage out. At the incinerator they find some crows going through the garbage, and Kana grabs a broom to chase them off. Rakka suggest they separate out what the crows might want and leave it for them, but Kana refuses. She adds that if they feed the crows, they might become comfortable there and not leave the city any more.

On their way back to the room for breakfast, Kana pulls out her watch. She says she found it and fixed it up, which impresses Rakka. Kana doesn't think it's a big deal, but adds that she's working on a big one.

The other haibane are sitting down to breakfast, where Nemu has some new dishes.

Kana shows Rakka to the top of the small clock tower at Old Home. She shows Rakka a mechanism she's working on that she had found there. She's planning to at least get the bell to ring. Their stay is cut short when Kana remembers about work and rushes off.

Kana barges in to where the others are eating, and scarfs down a croissant. She eats so fast she has to steal Hikari's tea to wash it down. She grabs a couple extra croissants and tosses one to Rakka before grabbing her and running off. Kana grabs the bike, and Rakka pauses long enough to flip their nameplates. Kana rushes the trip into town, riding as fast as she can despite Rakka's protests.

When they get to the clock tower, Kana finds the front doors locked. She's relieved because they're a few minutes late, but it looks like the boss is too. They go around back to get in, where Kana tells Rakka that they've been replacing gears and must have worked late. Just then Oyakata shows up, from up in the clock tower. Kana introduces him to Rakka, but he lectures Kana on being late before ordering her to go open the store. He talks to Rakka for a little, and then sends the two girls to clean upstairs.

Rakka is impressed by the clock, but Kana is upset at the mess from the party of the night before. Kana suggests they start by taking out the garbage again. While cleaning, Rakka and Kana talk about why haibane have to work. Rakka gets a little depressed because everyone is working where they want to, but she doesn't know what she wants to do. Kana suggest she help out with Reki.

Trying to cheer Rakka up, Kana takes her even further up in the clock tower, and then out onto a balcony. Kana explains that it's the highest point in town, and Rakka's a bit scared of the height. Kana suggest looking into the distance, where they see the wall. Kana adds that the whole city slopes down towards the center.

When Rakka wonders what's outside the wall Kana tells her a bit about the Tooga and the rules of the town. Seeing some birds flying over the wall, Kana tells a story about how the birds carry forgotten memories. After being up there for a while Rakka isn't worried about the height any more.

After they've finished cleaning they go tell Oyakata. He says that's enough for the day and sends them home. He adds that, since she was late, Kana has to fix the clock at Old Home and gives her a toolbox. Kana immediately runs outside, excited. Rakka and Oyakata talk for a bit, because he's worried Kana's planning to leave. Rakka assures him that she isn't.

Rakka gets to drive the bike back. Kana's in a hurry, but Rakka won't speed up. She thanks Kana for the day, saying she learned a lot. While they ride near a river, they talk about memories; how they can remember things like talking but not their names. Rakka also says she wishes she could remember a song to sing.

Back at Old Home, Kana discovers that the crows have gotten into the garbage again. Reki comes out and takes the side of the crows, but leaves quickly. Rakka cheers Kana on, but Kana isn't too pleased about it. She also stands still long enough to make herself a target for the crows.

Standard Closing.

Commentary:

More about the crows. This is another dream, but at this point Rakka doesn't remember about the crow that was in her cocoon dream. This crow comes to her while she's lost in a dark fog.

Rakka really isn't a morning person. And Kana doesn't have a whole lot of patience. She is proud of that watch, though.

Rakka's starting to get used to her wings. She's come a long way since she had trouble with dressing in episode 2.

Rakka's bright white seifuku really isn't the right thing to be wearing when taking out the trash.

Kana is quite the tomboy. She's even got a tendency to roll her "r"s a little when she's angry.

She seems to be locked in an ongoing war with the crows, but as she says that's not quite the case. She wants the crows to be able to live without their help, so they can leave the city. There are some interesting parallels going on between the crows and the haibane so far. The haibane even have to use things that other people don't want (the used clothes, for instance). They're not quite scavengers, but the similarity is there. There's more about this that I'll cover in later episodes as well.

Kuu's the only one doing the traditional morning exercises. She's also still got her hat on over her halo.

Nemu seems to do some research projects for people in her spare time.

Whoever did work on the clock probably was a haibane. From what we've been told so far, Old Home has been a haibane nest for quite some time. The new part of the clock is unlikely to be older than that, or it wouldn't be so close to functional.

Kana's apparently had a liking for machines all along. She also seems to be the most disruptive element at Old Home. Her breakfast antics seem to be a typical scene from her. Notice that Kuu flat out ignores the whole thing? Reki's really the only one who reacts to it, even after Kana steals Hikari's tea.

Why doesn't Kana participate in the gear changing? We do see her directing the lifting of a gear in the introduction, so it's presumably something she's often involved in. Maybe it was just her turn to sit it out, since someone has to come in the next day and run the store.

Cleaning things is one of the themes running through the show. It starts with cleaning the cocoon room in the first episode, and stays fairly visible throughout.

Kana's description of the city's geography is something to keep in mind. The first clear well symbolism was used in the last episode at the temple, but this shows that the town is along similar lines. This imagery gets reinforced later on.

Kana mentions that the crows are thought to carry forgotten memories, which in a way ties in with their aspect as messengers.

Kana's boss presents a pretty tough face towards her, but he does quite like her. This parallels Kana's battle with the crows, and quite likely the Haibane Renmei's dealings with the haibane.

Notice Kana's face when Rakka says she wishes she could remember a song? She really isn't into things like that, just her clocks.

It looks like Reki's been undermining Kana's efforts against the crows. The two of them do have very different approaches to things, even if Nemu did say Kana reminds her of a younger Reki.

There's been a bunch of foreshadowing going on in these episodes. There's plenty of it I haven't been pointing out, but will try to mention later.