Allow me to express my satisfaction for the ending of this anime. *Hints ahead!*
Lately, i was wondering what happened to happy endings. Can't a good... no, amazing series end in a way that won't leave you in despair, like, tragedy? Lately, every idea for a spectular scenario leaves the audience with a sad feeling. Why's that? Can't it have a happy ending and still have the desired impact in your soul? Bones fulfilled my wish and it granted me an anime with incredible characters, the right amount of action and a very interesting plot with mindblowing twists. That was, Zetsuen no Tempest. And of course, it ended happily BUT LISTEN... it was *not* a perfect, childish fairytale story. It was mature and complex. No child can appreciate it.
It revolves around its characters: their bonds, their relationships, their secrets. No one was acting recklessly and there wasn't any obvious feeling of brotherhood, or unity (however you wanna call it). Every opinion about one other person was based on ones actions, not his behaviour like "Oh friend, come join me at my journey towards greatness. We shall prevail as we're best friends!". Nobody needed to say this in order for me to understand that. There were conflict and as well as lack of emotions, but despite all that i never doubted Mahiro's and Yoshino's friendship. And i consider that an achievement.
I have no complaint from the animation quality as it elegantly managed to pass every single sign of emotion during every intense scene. I was captured by the mysterious atmosphere throughout each episode, with the only exception being the episode halfway, where the situation completely changed and nothing special happened. I mean, it *was* big but it was also sudden for it to happen so fast.
As for sound, those violin soundtracks were spot on. They were perfectly fit and suitable for the current pace. Something that happened to me was that the second ending never sounded much interesting at first, but as i was watching through the final episodes it became more and more emotional. A really good feeling that was. And for the rest openings and endings they were not boring either.
In conclusion, it was a great and satisfying experience. But i wouldn't recommend it to everybody. Some may not find it as interesting as i did, mostly because of different taste. Its kind of fun comes from a different source after all.
