This episode was rife with Hanako x Yashiro goodness so while I wasn’t the biggest fan of this episode, there were some things I liked.
This episode didn’t exactly feel like a finale. It just felt like any other episode and we left off in the middle of things with not much progress being made. The conflict this episode is that Yashiro still doesn’t understand Hanako and he won’t open up to her, which…we already went over. But things made sense for me because apparently this Little Mermaid arc was actually from the beginning of the manga, but the anime placed it at the end for some reason. No wonder I felt this one to be a little off.
And the episode is just that. Some fish pay Yashiro a visit and tell her that she’s a princess and that she should come with them to take her rightful place on the throne, since she still has a connection with the Mermaid. The fish also don’t like that she has a connection with Hanako since he’s a conniving brat and doesn’t seem to appreciate her. I suppose them bringing up the middle and later episodes to be anime-only since none of that stuff took place yet in the manga where this arc was, but they make their point anyway. They give Yashiro a vial of mermaid blood to drink so she can sever her ties with Hanako and she can take her rightful place as the princess. One big thing for her is that she’ll become an apparition, and she actually has to think about it.
She goes around asking everyone she knows what she should do, and people unexpectedly tell her to go for it but it’s her decision. The fact that Yashiro was being so reluctant and not happy with Tsuchigomori’s response means she’s not totally into the idea. After Hanako saves her from the fish that almost forced her away (while also mentioning popularity and a harem to sway her), we find out that Yashiro almost did it because she thought that being an apparition would bring her closer to Hanako more than a human. At this point I thought Yashiro already knew that Tsukasa is Hanako’s little brother and that he killed him since it was mentioned already, so this part was a little strange. Their pinky promise at the end was nice though. I’m not going to complain with their shippy moments, and there sure were lots of it this episode with this, the hair brushing, the hugging, and all that. Hoo boy~
The episode ends pretty quickly as Tsukasa is ready to make some more trouble, and Kou is ready to get Mitsuba back. Another thing I found a little odd was Teru’s supportive gaze for his brother since I thought he didn’t care for apparitions. I feel like we’re missing something again… We get a repeat of the Yashiro and Hanako meeting, but with Yashiro holding his hand and the both of them smiling, it at least shows how far their relationship has gone with each other where instead of being scared or teasing, they’re just friends. Hopefully maybe more in the future~ :3c
FINAL IMPRESSION
I want to make it clear that I really liked this show, but there’s a lot holding it back from being scored higher. This finale episode kind of encompassed this feeling I’ve had with this show from the start. It’s a little off. I think in this case it was the anime’s fault since I found out that they moved arcs around in a weird order, and I think they even left some out too. It makes some plot progression and character development to be a little topsy turvy.
For instance, I think Kou was supposed to have an arc with his brother but the anime never brought that to us, which explains why Kou felt so ignored for so long, or less interesting until the end. And to be honest, while some really interesting stuff came around during the middle, I feel like only little progress was made. The show went back and forth from moving things along to slowing them down over and over. There are things that are really cool and I want to learn more, and I really like the characters too, but I feel like there’s not enough. Hanako is basically the star of the show, which shouldn’t be surprising, with his funny and teasing personality, while also hiding a more vulnerable side of him. He always makes me laugh, and I also love his feelings for Yashiro. I didn’t like Yashiro in the beginning but she really grew on me. She’s a pretty sweet girl with a good heart, where sometimes she acts like a bit of a dummy. But honestly, all the characters are kinda dumb too. I just wish the whole daikon thing would be put to rest. Speaking of which…
Another thing that bogs this anime down is the comedy. It’s always been hit or miss for me, where sometimes it cracks me up or at least makes me giggle, but other times where I find it annoying and totally unnecessary where it screws up with the pacing of whatever arc they’re in and it. Keeps. Dragging. On. And it’s usually the same jokes, where Yashiro is mostly the butt of the jokes for having fat legs, not being popular, being ignored, and all that. And it’s frustrating seeing the same formula when it wasn’t even that funny the first time.
And speaking of formulas, I do think the episodes went with the same one every time. Yashiro goes to do something, she gets kidnapped/is in danger, Hanako swoops in to save her, everything is okay. Because of that, it stopped Yashiro’s character from developing more than she could have. I don’t think she’s a bad character and I did say I like her, but I do wish that she could do some things on her own sometimes without having Hanako save her all the time. Yashiro does have her moments and can be cool when she can be, but the reliance on Hanako could be lessened. Then again, those moments do make their relationship stronger. Ahh…still, it can be done differently.
This is a strange show for me. Aesthetically it’s absolutely gorgeous but later on there were lots of animation errors, and of course there was a lack of animation. That part never bothered me but for some reason it did become more noticeable later. Not a deal breaker for me though. The music was real great, some songs really working with the atmosphere. The OP and ED are bops, and the character designs are cute. Characters are nice, and I was really into the show when the tone took a shift when we started learning about Hanako/Amane. I love that stuff and I’m so interested in learning more! I do like it when the show takes a more serious tone since like I said, the comedy can be hit or miss and can ruin some moments for me. But when it gets good, it can really get good.
Because of all of that, my score keeps going back and forth. I’d love it if they make another season and I’d definitely watch it, but I think I’m going to read the manga. I usually never do, but for some reason this series really caught my interest despite some of my complaints. The world of apparitions are cool, the characters are nice, aesthetic is nice, the plot with Hanako/Tsukasa is intriguing, and I REALLY ship Hanako and Yashiro. And I just want more, and want to compare how the manga is compared to the anime. So I’ll have fun with that. This show was pretty good though and people should give it a watch because it is pretty fun.
7.5/10
