Kanae
加奈江
Unemployed / female / 18 (actress: Mai Takahashi)
A girl who washed up on Yamijima 29 years ago (1976). That day the Mikamis, who had gone out to the harbour to search for the medal (a memento of his mother) dropped by the young Shu, discover a girl washed up on the rocks. The father, Ryuhei, is surprised by how much her face resembles that of his late wife Yayoi in her youth, but concerned about Shu, who watches over her anxiously, he takes the girl in. She has lost all previous memories, but Shu takes to her like a big sister, so Ryuhei gives her the name "Kanae" and they begin living together. Ryuhei harbours worries about taking charge of an unfamiliar girl, but takes an interest in Kanae when he realises that she knows the tune of a local folk song that was thought to be lost (Konagihishoka), and more than anything sees Shu, raised without knowing the face of his mother, looking so happy, and is unable as his father to tear the two apart (naturally, it is also due to his deep affection for his late wife).
However, Kanae is truly the first "dove" (Offshoot A) sent by Mother from the Nothingness World to watch over the real world. She is inhuman, created by Mother based on Yayoi Mikami, the mother of Shu (who washed up there through a dimensional rift). She has by no means lost her memory, and has self-awareness and the memories of a dove (she simply pretends to have amnesia as it is more convenient), but at her heart Kanae also has remnants of Yayoi's human memories, so she is unable to suppress the (motherly) love with which she overflows for Shu, her human and dove sides conflicting (Kanae is unaware that Shu is Yayoi's child).
Adoring her beloved Shu, they live together on the island for three months like real siblings, a happy time in the Mikami household. However, these days come to an end with the murder of Ryuhei by Kanae, occurring when she synchronises with Mother. The very moment Kanae returns to herself, the tragedy is unfortunately witnessed by Tsuneo Ohta, visiting the Mikami house to drive out the "impurity" he fears - the uproar intensifies. Chased across the island, Kanae and Shu are finally cornered by the islanders. Shielding Shu as the ground beneath them crumbles and they fall into the sea, Kanae resists the power of the red tsunami sent afterwards by Mother to take everything to an illusionary island, and chooses to remain in the real world with Shu. Finally reuniting after 29 years, the two sleep in the red sea, joined by a tight bond.
Kanae takes Shu with her and attempts to break the seals on the seven gates, but gives up midway. This is due to Yayoi's desire not to lose her beloved Shu.
The dove's "inhuman ability"Like Kanae's ability 19 years ago to have visions in the real world, you can see that she has supernatural abilities as a "dove". However, this power is still weak.
Parting from her beloved ShuThe old path crumbles beneath them, and they fall into the sea. However, due to the chance accident they are able to remain in the real world.
A mother's love is strongKanae (revived) appears at the Singularity due to the young Shu's arrival seeking the medal. To save Shu, she stabs herself with the Annaki to weaken Mother.
"Drifting" (29 years ago/Yamijima Harbour/rocky area)
The Mikamis, the first people Kanae meets upon being sent to Yamijima, oddly have a profound link to Yayoi Mikami, the person upon whom she is based. However, to the islanders she is a monster of which the island's legends tell - "a servant girl who appears from the sea", "a woman, messenger of the ancient ones, who steals her image and fears the light" - and gradually they begin to cast a suspicious gaze upon her.
"Tragedy" (-3:45:12 - Aonoku Settlement/Mikami House 2F) Mission 2
The weapon Kanae holds in her blood-stained right hand is definitive proof of Ryuhei's murder. Kanae (since her will is shared with Mother herself) can't remember what she was thinking at the time... but she despairs at having robbed Shu of his father, someone dear to him. Having committed a crime for which she cannot repent, Kanae decides to protect Shu no matter what.
"Rift" ( : / / - spacetime overlap)
Using up her power, Kanae puts Shu onto a boat. The morning finally comes, and she realises that her temporary body cannot stand any more as the morning sun shines on her. Worrying about Shu until the end, she crumbles and vanishes into the sea (she actually melts into the sea in quite a grotesque manner, but in Shu's memory this scene is beautified). Afterwards, Kanae's essence reaches a pregnant woman...
Q: What does Kanae, awakened as a dove, feel towards the people around her?
A: Towards Shu, she is filled with motherly love. She also likes and feels a sense of familiarity towards Ryuhei, but it doesn't compare to her love of Shu. She fears the islanders, the people who know her "true self". Kanae's image is, rather than gradually being taken over by Mother, with occasional strong synchronisation, which she rejects.
Q: How did Tsuneo Ohta arrive at the conclusion that Kanae must be gotten rid of as a "monster that came from the sea"? Did his subordinate fishermen know that Kanae was a monster (dove)?
A: Tsuneo Ohta himself knew of Kanae's true form as a member of the family charged with purifying the island of sin. He is also caught up in a swirl of emotions - anger at the mine defiling the island, fear of Kanae. However, I don't think that alone would have been enough to cause the young fishermen to spring into action. Some islanders besides the Ohtas faintly sensed the influence of the impurities, but there are also people who were unaware of it. Perhaps because of their adoration of Tsuneo Ohta they decided they had to go along with it because it was the boss' orders...
Q: What is the "something" Tomoe mentions at the islanders' emergency meeting when she says "She went to the sea and drove back something awful"?
A: It refers to the "sin (shiryo)" that gathered upon sensing Kanae's presence.
Past
1972 - Shu Mikami's mother, Yayoi, drowns and her body washes up in the Nothingness World. Mother creates a form for herself based on her image
1976 - The first dove, Offshoot A (Kanae) is released into the real world
1976 - Kanae washes up in Yamijima Harbour and is taken in by the Mikamis
1976 - Taken over by Mother's will, Kanae murders Ryuhei. Coming back to herself she worries about Shu and flees
-1:00 - The real world 19 years ago. Tries to escape from the island with Shu
0:00 - The ground crumbles underfoot and Kanae and Shu fall into the sea. Immediately the ground shakes and a siren sounds from the sea, the island engulfed by a huge wave
(1976) - Falls into the sea while being chased by fishermen. Rejecting Mother's call and remaining in the real world, Kanae melts into the sea in the morning sunlight
(1976) - Losing her temporary corporeal form, her core self as an Offshoot drifts in the sea and enters the womb of a pregnant woman (Kiyota's mother), entering a long sleep
Real World
Other World
Return of the Dove
12:00 - Following Kanae's memories, Akiko awakens as Kanae
22:00 - Follows the sense of the ghostly Shu to the Singularity. Sacrifices herself to wound Mother, freeing Shu
23:00 - Kanae holds the young Shu to her chest and smiles. The two who have finally reunited are swallowed up by the red sea...