With many animated series, there isn’t a promise of a second season and often they aren’t setup for one. So with the focus of this finale being closure, without any shocks or what some may consider a happy ending, we are met with a slightly polarizing end. One which sort of follows that old saying:…
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With many animated series, there isn’t a promise of a second season and often they aren’t setup for one. So with the focus of this finale being closure, without any shocks or what some may consider a happy ending, we are met with a slightly polarizing end. One which sort of follows that old saying: “’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all…”
Episode Focus: Closing The Chapter (Hanabi)
Akane and Kanai are getting married, Noriko is as happy as ever, Ecchan got a haircut, and yet for Hanabi, things have remained the same. There is still this sense of longing, this phantom pain as Kanai asks Hanabi to come to his wedding, and then there is Mugi.
Like Hanabi, he was ultimately rejected and so comes the question if they both can go back to what was once comfortable? Heck, could the problem have been that what they had with each other was comfort and availability vs. actual love? It may very well be so.
If only because, after a few months of not speaking or talking, one day they find themselves alone together in the same room. During that gap in time, there is no touching. Neither one silences the other with fingers, their hands, or their mouth. Instead, they talk. They let everything out and come to realize that as much as they could start a new contract, have yet another do-over, it wouldn’t work out. So, instead, they say goodbye.
An idea which isn’t easy, but they both know it is time to close that chapter of their lives. So with a mutual goodbye, and forgiveness given, they both obtain closure. Leaving us with, perhaps, not your usual happy ending, but this show wasn’t your usual romance anime.
Commentary
It’s hard to not have conflicting feelings when any show ends, especially when you enjoyed it. But while there was no real expectation of a happy ending, I must admit that I feel the route taken with Hanabi wasn’t that satisfying. Yes, it was nice to see her get closure from every relationship established from Noriko and Akane [note]Akane tries to play nice by giving Hanabi a flower from the bouquet the students bring her[/note] to Ecchan and Mugi. However, considering how much Akane evolved and how Noriko evolved, it was kind of weird that Hanabi’s journey to moving on doesn’t really begin until the end credits hit.
Yet, I feel with Mugi we also are given the short end of the stick. When we last see him he is a mess and then when he appears again, we don’t get to learn how he is coping and trying to move on. We know he feels guilty about how things ended with Hanabi, but we don’t get to hear his thoughts and perspective. It isn’t clear if maybe he wanted to try again with Hanabi, for real this time, or if he just wanted to apologize. Then, when it comes to him moving on, it is just assumed that, like Hanabi, his weird journey through high school romance has also taught him that some alone time maybe beneficial. But, like Hanabi, it isn’t necessarily clear where that energy he used to dedicate into finding and preserving a relationship may go into.
So, overall, I don’t want to say the ending was rushed or crappy, but I do feel that the closure that Hanabi and Mugi got wasn’t extended to us. Leading to the hope that maybe an OVA might be planned for some sort of epilogue. Mainly because the show ends on what almost feels like an ellipsis and considering the journey we went on, it would be nice to have some sort of definitive answer as to whether these characters find joy, misery, or meander between the two sides.
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