Downloaded Episodes: 24

Perfect symbolic anime ending to an ongoing manga series.

Episode 10 is a 10/10.

http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv181676609

Watched the movie 11 years ago, and didn't remember much of it. Which is good because I'm not spoilt for the ending.

Don't think I will have such a problem with the anime, though a decade is indeed a long time... Who knows? I won't mind since it'd mean I can enjoy this masterpiece afresh.

After two more rewatches, score raised bit by bit to 10/10 :D

Great music. Plot itself has some unnecessary drama, but overall a fine series.

A couple of tsukkomi for the final episode:
- K a o r u - s a n lololol. What an interesting hairstyle. Oh sorry, you're a -sensei now.
- Wasn't that Maruo-kun at the station? XD XD XD
- Ah, the OP as the ED - nice and fitting...... ってoi who decided to still let the ED run after that?!

#18
http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv271755145
http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv271755286

Would be a 10/10 if there weren't so many repeating/reused flashback scenes inserted so frequently.

http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv193534594

9.5/10
Nine and Twelve's motives are quite clear and understandable, while Five's - not so much, which dragged the series down a bit in the midpart. I remember thinking "Why on earth did you come all the way here for, do all the stuff you did, just to end up like this" in episode 10. I will simply take it that she had her eyes set on defeating Nine (the obvious target, because you never hear her talking about Twelve), as well as "protect" Nine from the FBI/Americans, in that "you are mine and only mine" yandere kind of way.

Lisa. She is a cute mascot and an important plot device for Twelve's motivation, but is otherwise pretty forgettable. I'm just glad that she made a difference in Twelve's life, and came out of this stronger, because certain people could have turned out twisted just witnessing what she did in the last episode, much less throughout the entire series. Speaking of which, the ending could have skipped the US part and it'd still have ended the same way quite logically, so it only served as a bitter aftertaste.

Nonetheless, my heart never stopped racing from start to finish. Along with the cinematics, I think it would in fact be more difficult to make things boring with such intelligent and technically-able MCs, plus the dash of likable police team on the side. (Wait is this Death Note?)

After all things said and done, the Sphinx are remembered as just that - Sphinx, and their numbers for names. Were the names they introduced themselves as in school real? Probably not. Do they even remember their real names? Probably... yes, but they won't be remembered as such. I thought of this as the end credits roll, and it personally saddens me more than anything that actually happened onscreen.

Aside, it sincerely popped into my head one episode while watching Nine - イケメン無罪. He could probably do anything and I would still love watching him. Which made the end all that more heartbreaking.

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I had waited and waited for Twelve-on-a-motorcycle to be figurine-ised. Never did. Sadness.