Opinions (B):

While this was indeed the episode where everything went from bad to worse, the whole deal felt a lot less dire than it probably should have.

I kind of felt like the series was backpedaling a little bit, and it kind of undid some of the great groundwork it laid out throughout these past 10 episodes. Its one thing to simply enjoy a series for what it is, but its another thing to see true greatness and then have it shoved aside.

What I loved about this series in particular was how it moved towards asking some of the most intriguing questions that the whole premise of The World God Only Knows had in it.

As expected of a series that is still ongoing though, TWGOK can’t just end with this arc (although I argue that the payoff we were getting just an episode ago was worth the series even ending). Indeed, if the series can answer the most crucial questions of its premise, than there’s really nothing left.

In this episode, that shred of humanity, weakness and pain that we saw in Katsuragi Keima all just vanished. You can argue that its because he has to save Ayumi and Chihiro, and even the whole world, but its sad that the cliche save the world plot has to take the place of some of the most interesting character development I’ve seen from this series.

Simply put, I feel like its a major waste to see TWGOK take the easy way out and just have Keima go full on machine mode, ignoring everything he’s done. Its kind of detestable almost, to see how Keima’s actions are just being swept under the rug, even as both Ayumi and Chihiro protest to it.

It doesn’t matter though, as the world is about to end, and so Keima has to drag Chihiro with him while he conquers Ayumi.

I won’t say there hasn’t been some serious karma repercussions for Keima’s actions, as not only have all the goddesses been caught, but so has nearly every girl he’s conquered till now. Again, this is a pretty big deal, and one that I would’ve expected Keima to show some stress from.

Instead its kind of very TWGOK like to see Keima not care, and just focus on winning over Ayumi. Yes, its the most logical thing to do, but its not the most human, nor the most realistic.

The one highlight from all this was Haqua, who made quite the badass return. Personally, I’ve always liked Haqua, especially when she’s paired with Keima. If anything, the crush Haqua has on Keima, complete with how well the two work together, creates a much more interesting dynamic than the one Keima has with Elscie.

Elscie, who by the way, hasn’t even been seen much this season, and I feel the story as a whole has benefited a bit from it. She’s great as comedic relief, but with some of the serious material that was being covered, Elscie would have probably ruined the moment with her goofiness.

And to add to the goofiness, TWGOK is again going at it with the increasingly intense requests for suspension of disbelief. I’m amazed at how Chihiro and Ayumi are both totally okay with Keima and Haqua’s “Movie Club” explanation.

All in all, things have come to a head, as we near the end of the series. Keima has to conquer Ayumi, with the world and every girl he’s ever conquered at stake. The stakes couldn’t be higher, but I can’t help but lament the fact that we lost the great moments the series was presenting for something like “save the world”.

Maybe some day, we’ll finally get the truely awesome moment where Keima has to come to terms with his actions, and the fact that he might actually be in love with a real human girl. If this arc has proved anything, its that Tamiki-sensei definitely has the writing chops to pull off some truly powerful stuff. That and that Manglobe did one hell of an adaption this season.

I guess all that’s left is to see this series to its rather plain and predictable ending. It won’t be bad, it just won’t be amazingly great.

Preview:

The Ayumi conquest enters its final stage, as does this series as a whole. See you all next week!