Damn RIP Hanabi x Ecchan yuri ship. I knew it wasn't going to happen. But fuck. Why. This anime is so twisted, that it would of fit perfectly to stick with that! I'm a bit salty. While this felt like a closure to Ecchan's chapter.... I hope somehow it isn't, but it probably is. The implied romance between Ecchan, a self-proclaimed man hater, and her annoying cousin though, leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I knew he was going to have a role in fixing Hanabi's and Ecchan's relationship, but come on bro, stalker status, finding out where Ecchan was going and all that. I get he wanted to protect Ecchan, not to mention Ecchan was pretty stalkerish for Hanabi too, but still. I don't like that implied resolution between Ecchan and the cousin, even if it makes sense. Maybe because the typically nice, friendzoned guys never get with the girl who friendzones them ever? Could be.
Again, we see Mugi falling into the honey trap. Not a problem per se, given the fact that he's getting to drink his fill of the love of his life, likely getting drunk off it and addicted, and he is acting rather realistic in that sense. Again, the people calling him an ass or stupid for continuing to sleep with Akane, just don't seem to get that Mugi is a great example of a flawed human being. Knowing full well he's doing something he shouldn't, knowing full well he's being used, but doing it anyways for the pleasure and his own selfish desires of sleeping with the the one he loves, be it actual love, or a love of her body, or his 'ideal' of her. Plenty of people do things just to feel good, and given how fucked he's been, both literally and metaphorically, from his old senpai and Hanabi, I think his true feelings are being corrupted, given all the times he's had sex. Perhaps he too is idolizing Akane as a sex object and is trying to convince himself he isn't scum because he wants to 'save her,' when in fact he's fucking her for his own selfish desires. That's the feeling I get. Could be hate sex too I suppose, but this seems less likely.
This episode had me worried though, the signs are getting clearer that the ending is going to be Mugi x Hanabi and that upsets me. Not because it's bad story wise, quite the opposite, it makes perfect sense, but considering how twisted and unique this anime is.... to settle on the most generic and obvious ending possible, i.e., in most harem and drama stories the MC either gets with the first girl/ guy he/she meets in episode 1, or he/she doesn't choose anyone in the ending, is really a waste of potential. This anime has shown us a much different drama story, how all the character's are scum and messed up in one way or another, to have it end on a happy note and with a traditionally obvious, cliche ending of MC x first girl/guy that appears, would kind of feel like, at least to me, a waste, in that it ruined the uniqueness of the anime. Like, 'here are all our suffering characters, watch all their harrowing ordeals that are eventually rendered meaningless because they get a happy end!' One could make the argument that, 'oh a happy end shows their character development and the trials and tribulations they overcame, to get to this point and by accepting themselves and each other, and all their flaws, to convey the message, there is hope even for scum!' Which is a sound and viable argument, but I guess it will come down to HOW they present it or get to that point. If the ending feels too cookie cutter, cliche, or convenient, I think it will ruin the feels I had during this anime, watching it all the way through. Thus, if they do go the seemingly obvious, Hanabi x Mugi route, I just hope they do it in a unique way that won't make it seem like I've watched this ending hundreds of times before in other anime. I sure as hell hope we get a wild card, unexpected ending though, like Mugi and Hanabi don't get together, and both end up alone and resolved, or Akane x Mugi actually happens, or some characters get good ends, others get bad ends, or other possibilities, would make this anime even greater for me. If something happens that I didn't see coming, showing how complicated it is to let go and move on, and that happy ends aren't guaranteed, etc. I'd feel fulfilled watching all the characters' pain throughout the series. Here's to hoping I won't be disappointed with the end, but alas, I feel I might be. |