Summary
Yuuki is given calls by a disguised Yuina, who leads him to a number of phone booths around the city in search of Chisato. With the final election speech looming, Yakumo and Kana help him out and foil Yuina’s plan, with Yuuki finding Chisato and heading back to the school in order to give his speech. After being allowed extra time, he states his background upfront, making no promises and not attacking his rivals at all in such an honest way that he wins the election.
Impression
Ahh, that was a good finale. Mostly everything was wrapped up, and it all turned out well. What I found most interesting was the clear underground political conflict in action – stuff that doesn’t appear to be anything big on the surface, but happens nevertheless. One example of this would be Yuuki’s wild goose chase around the city to look for the missing Chisato, which would have led to him missing his final pre-voting speech on purpose, with Yuina stalling until after his chosen speech time. Of course in real life this kind of thing would have raised alarm bells that something went drastically wrong if a candidate didn’t show up (especially in a large-scale general election) but for anime purposes, it was possible and definitely frustrating to see Yuuki run around to phone booths in order to save Chisato, which is a pair I don’t even ship in the first place.
There was the whole scandal article too, which is a lot more common in reality. In something as high-profile as an election, keeping a squeaky clean record is probably the best thing you can do, as the further down the line you get, the more enemies you’ll make – and thus there’s a chance for something from the past to be uncovered. So many politicians nowadays have black marks on their name that may have ruined their entire political career, and it wasn’t surprising at all to see Yuuki’s approval rating plummet after the article, or back in Ep 1 where the Oosawa Incident stopped Yakumo from running because his approval rates were too low. Things like the Katahira faction’s backroom deals are bound to be a trip-up as well, and I have to give props to Kana for saving the photos to her phone automatically. It was indeed Yuina who ran her over, and though admittedly she is an evil bitch, I still like her more than Chisato.
Yuuki’s final election speech was…heartfelt. It’s admirable that he’s able to give a speech like that and state his true intentions and backing from Public Safety, especially in the face of two other powerful candidates. You never ever get politicians speaking their true mind (not like they had good intentions anyway) and it was this ability to truly communicate and not spin a web of lies that won the election for Yuuki. It’s been a long, hard road for him, and he fully deserves his position as Student Council President. Banzai!
PS. I know Satsuki got made vice-president, but seeing that Yuuki x Chisato chocolate kiss sunk my ship for good I’m afraid. Hopefully someone translates the VN in the future, so I can see all the other possible endings xD