Nil Admirari no Tenbin Episode 12 [FINAL]

For a finale, this actually turned out to be an exceptionally short one. The episode was actually 15 minutes long, the remaining time spent was used to cover the epilogue, where nothing much happened. It just highlighted what everyone is doing now that the Karasu conflict has been resolved… for now.

I found the resolution to Nabari’s conflict a bit weak, mainly because it was resolved so fast. The butler wasn’t completely stupid, Hayato and Shiori had arrived on time before he could set her on fire, and gave him a good whack in the face.

Nabari is… a troubled man who needs therapy/psychological help, really badly. He developed this twisted sense of pleasure by writing out the cursed tomes. At first he was horrified at what he was doing, and “tried” to stop himself, but writing these things were like a drug to him, eased the flames burning in his heart, channeling all his grief into his stories and killed those who read the. His works were responsible for killing Shiori’s husband, for killing Hayato’s sister and almost killing Hitaki, and today Tsumugi was almost made to be another victim. They have no intentions of killing him though, which is the smart thing to do because death was always the easy way out for him. For so long he believed he, Tsumugi and Hitaki were to return to the flames, and had no attachments to the living world. Now he must atone for his sins and live on with them.

Then once that was resolved, Tsumugi decided she wanted to continue working at Fukurou, but first she would need to deal with her arranged marriage that was put on hold due to Hitaki’s accident. Boy was I surprised when it was revealed Hayato was her marriage partner all long! I did not see that coming, I don’t think anyone could have, especially with the whole name change. (But dear god, his hair was absolutely awful!) It turns out Hayato is actually from a wealthy family, his last name is Yashiro, his surname Ozaki is a pseudonym to enable him to work somewhere without the influence of his father’s name.

However as soon as he revealed himself, I started to panic. All I could think of was, “Oh god, please don’t force this.” and much to my relief, they didn’t. (WHEW!) In the matter of fact, you could say it is because Hayato was her marriage partner all long, that Tsumugi has been spared the stressful conversation about turning down the engagement. To top things off, even though Hayato mustered up his courage and finally confessed to her, revealing she was his first love (she was the Park Princess- no surprise there), he respects her wishes of wanting to be able to continue working at Fukurou and that she is not in love with him. So they will put the talk of engagement aside, and he will work hard to win her heart.

With that, this is actually probably one of the best Open Endings I have seen in a long time. For once, we don’t have every single character actively vying for her love. Instead, the three main candidates who has shown to have the strongest feelings for Tsumugi were Rui, Hayato and Akira. Of course we know Hisui, Shougo and Mitsuru likes her too, but I like they didn’t go for an overkill.

Of course with Akira being my bias, it made me so happy to see he bought movie tickets for Tsumugi. THEY ARE GOING TO THE MOVIES AGAIN, AND THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME! *SOBS* They will be able to uphold their promise!

And I must make a special mention of Shougo: I realized I have neglected to mention him ever since his episode, so let me tell you how I find it absolutely adorable how Shougo has become so engrossed with cooking. It makes me happy he was able to find something he loves to do. A proud rich boy who had previously stubbornly refused to do the chores. However with Karasu having been “dealt” with, I am a bit surprised he is still living at Fukurou when he doesn’t really contribute to the work there…. Unless he decided to become their chef! HAHA! He has a come a long way, from a tsundere brat to an adorable cook.

The epilogue goes on to show that as suspected, Takashi and Shouko were able to successfully escape to Europe. However the purple haired dude with the bizarre eyes made an appearance. With the head of Karasu having been able to escape, it certainly indicates he can now bid his time and prepare for a return. I don’t think he will give up his ambitions that easily. As for Sasagoi, he is in prison, but I am shocked to see they even allowed him to write… considering he has the ability to write cursed tomes… Well either way, it’s safe to say he turned a new leaf. We have never seen that light in his eyes before, and it’s one full of positive feelings.

Final Verdict: 8/10

People are quick to judge Otome Games adaptions and assume the worst, but Nil Admirari no Tenbin joins one of the few that were done right. Twelve episodes was all it needed, nothing more and nothing less. It is an adaption that revolves entirely around its compelling plot, a group of fascinating and fun characters, and a proactive heroine who may have made questionable decisions every now and then, but has strong convictions of her own.

And the thing is, Tsumugi has come a long way. She started out as a sheltered noble girl and evolved into a  a woman who is proud of the work she does. I love how it didn’t take the entire show to get her to this point, and did a great of enabling her to naturally adapt to her new career. She wasn’t some genius from the get go, but little by little she became more confidence in herself and her new role.

Although “romance” is included in the genre, they tease a little bit, but it actually doesn’t go anywhere because it is not the focus. But what actually gets to me the most was that I was so engrossed in the story, that didn’t care about the lack of romance. Amazingly, for the first time, I found myself hoping for an Open Ending, where she doesn’t end up with anyone.

I think what surprised me the most about Nil Admirari no Tenbin was how it quickly became one of my two favourites of the season. At first I was interested in it because it was a game I had my eye on for quite some time, so of course I was elated to discover it had such a good  and dark story! It became a show that I was always excited for the next episode, and will happily go back to rewatch it at any given time, and again in the future. What makes Nil Admirari no Tenbin so successful is that they show that a strong story and charming characters are all you need. Not once did they waste any time on fanservice in the series, instead they cleverly integrated that in the ED Theme Sequence. Perhaps what surprised me the most was how they actually went as far as revealing almost everyone’s backstory, which means one way or another, this whole adaption features SPOILERS EVERYWHERE! But I would say it was worth it because it enabled the characters to be more fleshed out as opposed to just scratching the surface.

Now if I had to choose my favourites, I would say my top three has to be Akira, Hisui and Hayato. The original trio are all such endearing characters who you just want to protect from the world!
Overall I loved this series for its story and its characters. Sure it’s not perfect, nor will it be the most memorable show you ever watched, but it’s definitely one that shouldn’t be judged by its cover and give it a fair shot!

Fingers crossed that this will be one of the Otome Games that will be announced by one of the localization companies this year!!! Or else I will just go ahead and pre-order the Nintendo Switch port of the game. (Funny how the PS VITA copies of the game is a bit hard to come by though, thankfully I know where to get them, but figured I might as well support the Nintendo Switch port since it was announced).