So… as much as I had really liked this series. This final episode just kind of… underwhelmed me? It didn’t really excite me but just left me feeling defeated for a number of reasons. You can probably guess one reason. The other reason is seeing Ruby start spiraling. She was always such a joy and a ball of energy that lifted people up and wanted to make others smile. But now, she’s lost the purity in her star and is slowly veering towards Aqua’s line of thinking of wanting revenge on the person who killed their mom. I always felt strong feelings towards characters who are able to smile and be cheerful despite the terrible things they had to endure in life. So while my feelings for Ruby weren’t nearly as strong as Kana, far from it, I still respected and admired her emotional strength to keep smiling despite it being understandable if she didn’t.
However, seeing her so solemn, quiet and have an almost calculative demeanor scares me more than Aqua. Especially when she just seemingly goes down a darker and darker path to where she actually prays that Aqua finds and kills their father for revenge. For someone as bright-eyed and positive as Ruby to wish death on someone is honestly both terrifying and really sad to me. I’m a bit conflicted on this turn of events because on one hand, this allows Ruby to be more involved in the plot. But on the other hand, I never wished for her to go down this route. Especially since she was already dealing with her own feelings towards the situation, so this just added even more complicated for her emotionally. We don’t know where Ruby was with counseling and if pulled an Aqua and pretended she was okay so she wouldn’t worry the others. But judging from this episode, she is also in desperate need of it. Especially after the shock of finding out her reason for living is gone. And just like Aqua, I’m really hoping she is able to move on from her perceived “reason to live” and just enjoy the new life she was given. Especially since like Aqua, she is also surrounded by people who love her very dearly and would hate to see her go down this road. I really do hope that Miyako is able to be of some support especially in Ruby’s time of emotional need.
I honestly wasn’t expecting Ruby to be the first one to make contact with crow girl. Not to mention seemingly tapping into Goro’s memories through the pin she gave him as Serina. As of this moment, we still don’t really know what crow girl is, though it seems to insinuate that she is somehow linked to Aqua and Ruby reincarnating to some capacity. But to what extent, we don’t fully know since she is literally just a walking mystery at the moment. Either way, she seems to be meddling and I’m a bit upset that she’s the one trying to get the twins to be invested in finding Ai’s murderer. Since I’m sure now that Ruby is emotionally involved with the situation, it’s only a matter of time when this inevitably ropes Aqua back into his revenge. It’s also interesting how at this point in time, Ruby gained stars in both eyes while Aqua completely lost his. It almost feels like Ruby’s desire for revenge and murder was even stronger than Aqua’s since he had yet to get stars in both eyes. The twins DESPERATELY need therapy.
And then there’s the Aqua and Akane situation… to which you probably can guess why I’m not particularly happy about this. I had an annoying inkling in the back of my head that they were headed in this direction, despite the constant Kana hints. It’s also annoying because we don’t really get Aqua’s thoughts about the situation on his feelings for Akane or why he felt so compelled to continue this. Though if I had to garner a guess, it almost feels like he continued it out of gratitude and feels like he owes her after all she did for him. Which is still not a good reason to be in a relationship if that is the case. It would feel like he’s taking pity on her without having actual feelings towards her. Because we don’t know his mindset or thought process so it may be too early to judge. I just hope we don’t get another situation where the protagonist never gives us their thoughts on the decision. Stares angrily at Quintessential Quintuplets Though now that I think about it, after the conversation about how Kana being seen with a guy could put her in danger, this could be his way to try and distance himself from her. And even if that is the case, my heart goes out to Kana as she seemed to take the news like a champ. Though I’m sure we’ll have to see what her feelings on the subject eventually. Especially since it feels like whenever Aqua tells her something and gets her hopes up, it always just comes crashing down in front of her. Poor girl might be used it by now…
And after a whole season of barely any idol focus, we get a cute little music video for their new original song. It definitely was not what I expected, especially with the darker elements added into this very cheerful and poppy song. I also really like the touch of knowing when these scenes were filmed by the state of Ruby’s eyes. She’s definitely taking on a darker and more sinister tone in the shots of her with her dark stars. I also feel like I forget that Kana is the center of the group, but it feels like there was considerably more focus on Ruby in the music video. To which, I feel like it’s also inevitable that Ruby eventually overtakes Kana as an idol. Just adding another L to Kana’s arsenal. This poor girl is just constantly being handed L’s her entire life I swear…
Then there’s the ending where it looks like their suspected dad killed again. And while I still don’t want the twins to dirty their hands with blood for revenge, I do agree that this guy needs to be stopped. He definitely needs to be at the very least put behind bars because his body count seems to slowly be going up if it’s not high already. Either way, this guy is dangerous. Though it frightens me that he also sports the dark stars in his eyes, which could cause Ruby and Aqua to follow in his footsteps of bloodshed for different reasons. At this point, I just don’t want these children to commit murder.
Final Impressions:
This season started out so strong, but a little after the halfway point, it felt a little weird to me where I feel like I wasn’t enjoying it as much. I think it started after the Melt episode where I was riding the highs of such great character development and then afterwards I don’t think I was vibing with the direction of the writing. Especially with how unsatisfying the end of the play ark was. It annoyed me a little that we were told that it ended without being shown how everyone was after the play or even just a snippet of how Himekawa and Aqua interact now that they know they’re half siblings. After the stage play arc was built up so much, it feels like they glossed over the ending, leaving me a bit disappointed in how everything turned out. However, the first half of the season was just so up my alley with how they portrayed different parts of the industry and how they delved into personal situations. Especially when it focused on the mangakas. I think that was probably one of the best parts of the season where it showed the positives and negatives of that industry and the mangakas themselves. It’s not black or white but a spectrum of gray. I’m also glad that GOA got the justice he deserved in the end and was able to make (hopefully) friends with Abiko once they were able to get on the same page.
In terms of characters, I think I’m also a bit tired of Akane. The way she is written rubs me the wrong way with making her out to be the “perfect girlfriend” and having such OP abilities. I feel like I’d be more fine with her in smaller doses, but after a while, it felt like they were shoving her into my face and I am just left with a bitter impression of her. I honestly gave her a fair chance, but I guess I just couldn’t vibe with her character. A character that I did vibe with however was Melt, who probably was the stand out character for me this season. I legit didn’t think we’d see this guy again after the tv drama but I’m so glad that he got his second chance this season because he was MAGNIFICENT. After messing up his image and the overall project of Sweet Today with his terrible acting, I resonated a lot with him trying to prove himself that he is taking this more seriously and isn’t the same person he is. He wanted to make amends while also showing his progress and I couldn’t help but root for him in the end.
The season definitely took a turn I didn’t expect. And while I don’t agree with certain choices to a degree, overall, I do think it was still a good season. I’m a bit disappointed on some things, but I can at least say that I gained a new favorite out of this as well. So while I don’t think this is as strong overall as season 1, I’d still give this season a solid 8/10. The manga is actually coming to an end with a few more chapters left and the third season has already been greenlit. It’s highly possible next season could be the last, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Thank you so much to everyone joining me for this journey and hopefully I’ll be back talking about the third season as well in the future!
