Somali to Mori no Kamisama Episode 12: Bonded Father and Child (Final Impression)

I expected the final episode to be an emotional one, but it was a different kind of emotional from the one I was expecting. I know the manga isn’t even done yet so there’s more journey for these two (along with Shizuno and Yabashira? Yay!), but my one hunch was correct. That still added to the emotional weight at the end, and of course I cried. :’)

Golem’s rage didn’t last as long as I thought it would, and was less violent than I imagined as well. Which is a good thing I suppose, but the damage is already done. My goodness Somali is just a little angel. Even though Rosa outed her and almost had her torn to shreds, she still went over to protect her from Golem. I sure hope after that moment, Rosa is able to change her shitty mindset. You know, this whole rage mode and Somali stopping Golem just reminded me of Dororo where Hyakkimaru would fly into a rage if Dororo was ever kidnapped or in any danger and Dororo tried her best in calming him down, also in hopes that he wouldn’t kill people and lose himself. Thankfully Golem didn’t kill anyone, unfortunately Hyakkimaru did. But…kinda similar with a little girl helping their berserk loved one. After coming back to his senses, Golem collapses and we see him wake up in a forest sometime later. We don’t know how long he was out cold, but Yabashira and Shizuno made it sound like it was quite awhile. The scene was short and I wish we had actually gotten to see what happened afterwards with Rosa because I’m curious, but it’s not too big of a deal.

The show then takes a bit of a brighter detour, which made me suspicious. They make it to a lively dog/ram village where a harvest festival is happening, with laughter and happiness everywhere. Considering the stuff that was happening before, it was a little strange that we jumped into this, but it got a little serious with the soul conversation, which ends up being important later. But even with a big tonal shift, I do admit it was so adorable to see Golem spoil Somali with whatever snacks she wanted, and Yabashira holding her up so she could see the fire show. Lots of cute family moments, the four of them really do make a fantastic group. But then things get sad when Golem suddenly disappears.

Deep down, I really do think Somali knows that Golem’s time might be up soon. Considering she even overheard Shizuno say that out loud, after all that’s happened and how badly Golem’s body is now after his rage moment she must know that something is off. Once she finds Golem at a lake, she begs him to keep his promise and stay with her forever. She denies his claims of him not having emotions by listing all the times he does show them: such as, being strict when she doesn’t listen, being overprotective when she wanders off, being worried whenever she’s hurt or sick. And while she didn’t mention this one, this moment Golem was feeling so much fear. He’s afraid to lose control of himself again and possibly hurting Somali in the process, or putting her in danger. He probably didn’t note it himself, but with those words it just screams fear. And he feels this fear because he loves her so much. Seeing Golem’s transformation from the beginning to the end was a fantastic and heartfelt journey. He started off as a little stand-offish and distant but he slowly grew more warmer and loving towards Somali, ending up as the caring and kind Golem he is now. What’s even more huge in his development is his newfound belief in souls. At the town when the villagers were explaining the harvest festivals and the meaning of their flowers, Golem retorted that it made no sense as he believed that once you died, you return back into the Earth. And for a Golem, it makes sense that he would believe something like that. But in the end, he once again promises Somali that he’ll be with her forever. And while he says this part in a monologue, he does promise to be with her forever, even if it’s in the form of his soul. All of the flowers flying by them signifies this new belief of his and how strongly he latches on to it. And it also shows that Golem for sure is going to depart this world one day. But right now, he loves Somali and wants to be with her until the end. And dammit I cried because it’s so beautiful. T_T

In a post-credits scene, we see Somali and Golem in new clothes as they reach a new town, with Shizuno and Yabashira with them! I hope the four of them stick along! Question is, are they still going to be searching for the humans? What are they going to do now? Either way, that last shot of them was absolutely precious.

FINAL IMPRESSION

I really loved this show. I’m always a sucker for shows that deal with family, especially ones that deal with broken families coming together to create their own. Golem and Somali are absolutely not related at all and their meeting was strange, but somehow they were able to create a bond between each other that turned into a genuine familial love for each other. Throughout the show they were also able to come across other kinds of families and they both were able to learn what entails being a father, understanding your father, and understanding the world.

The show did have a bit of an “episodic” formula, where Golem and Somali would travel to a new town and meet new characters and we’d spend about two episodes with them. I was worried this show would be slow and maybe would be uninteresting with some of the arcs, but I pretty much enjoyed all of them. I would say the slowest one would maybe be the witch arc, though the flashback episode was interesting. Still, that one kind of reiterated what we already knew. Even so, it was still enjoyable. Each arc and all the characters introduced I felt were important, even if they didn’t stick around for long. They all served a purpose when it came to adding lore to the world, or pushing the development of Golem and/or Somali and their relationship with each other. Kikila and his father helped Golem as a father, and Somali making her first friend. Uzoi and Haitora also showed themselves as a broken family, and a humans’ perspective of their world. Shizuno and Yabashira became their close friends, and Shizuno sort of also became a confidant to Golem to air out his thoughts and grievances about his situation. They all serve a purpose and they all matter and contributed in their own way, and that’s so important. The show wouldn’t be as enjoyable if the only good characters were Golem and Somali.

I’ve said enough about Golem, but Somali is also a great character. She’s a very simple and kindhearted girl that loves everyone. She’s pure, adorable, funny, and so very sweet. She’s actually pretty mature sometimes as she can be pretty perceptive and can understand some deep concepts sometimes. She’s a child and very much acts like one, but she also has her own growth and matures throughout their long journey. Actually, I don’t think there’s much that I can say about Somali other than she’s an angel and I want to protect her and her smile.

The post-credits scene made it seem like there could possibly be another season. Since the manga hasn’t finished, we might? I’m really digging their outfits too. I pray that we get a second season because I’m looking forward to more. If I had to maybe give some gripes, it would be the whole Grotesques vs. Humans thing. I feel like it was jammed into our heads that both sides suck so much, and it kind of skewed more against the humans sometimes. Maybe it’s just that it was a war and all, but it’s hard to care about either side. I don’t know, maybe it could have been handled differently. Either way, I enjoyed this show a lot and I totally recommend it to people. I think everyone needs their dose of cute warmness, and this show definitely has it. It can also tug at your heartstrings, but at least there’s just a lot of love in it. It also helps that this show is also gorgeous to look at too with its pretty backgrounds and colors. It wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot~

8.75/10