Sweet little anime about lanterns that I see a nice lesson in about the different states of light.
There is a personal flame, outside, for warmth, a more controlled, household lamp, for giving light and then a communal system of electricity, that can provide both.
When one recognizes the need for light and, in thankfulness for the shelter provided, the protagonist devotes his life to providing light for others.
When communal light threatens to swallow up the unique help he gives, there is fear of this greater, more encompassing light. Some of it is real, like the lighting, some imagined. The main objection, however, is an orphan who has shown his communal usefulness, truly nullifying himself to the greater good. The same communal leader who took him in provides the rest of the community with the communal light, subsuming the personal.
It seems a allegory for an "ohr pnimi" internal light, an "or chozer" or "makiv ha'karov" a light that begins to encompass and, finally, a "makif ha'yashar," a true encompassing light.
There is also the idea of "shraga be'tihara mai ahani," a candle in the daytime, as the personal lights cannot compare with the community lights.
In addition, there is this concept of "Westernization" whete each new light comes from. The idea that the "new" comes from the West fits nicely that the east represents "yemei kedem." The olden, lit. Eastern days.
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