Score: A

Can I treat that ending as a promise for a second season!? I want to say something clever in regards to this final episode. But at the same time the way that episode ended utterly has me wondering what is going to happen! This was easily one of my most enjoyed shows this season and if it got another season that would be a complete win for me. This last episode nicely tied everything together and set up a potential second season.

What did you mean Ciel!?

The thing that stuck with me the most was what Ciel said near the end of the episode. She didn’t want Toto to know the creature they encountered was a Divine Beast so that he’d remain a work in progress. I guess the most likely interpretation is that Toto would achieve status as a true hero if he was recognized by a Divine Beast? It is a classic hero thing for a hero to be legitimized by some mythical entity. But they only kind of played tag with it, would that really count? I suppose Toto did get a piece of it and that was used to help the village out. So maybe that would be enough for him to gain legitimacy?

My head went down a multitude of paths with that one. That creature was able to effective revive all those plants and undo all the damage of that boar. What exactly are the limits of that creature? Could it heal Toto’s scars both physical and mental? Maybe cure him of his shyness? Heck, could it resurrect the people of his village? That last one feels like a stretch since they’ve been dead far longer than those crops were ruined. But who knows. I guess we won’t get any answers on what Ciel meant for a long time.

Back to normal!

This wrapped up Goa’s situation nicely. In a sense everything she needed ended up happening. It wasn’t just Toto waking up and giving her a further reassurance that she’s important. Putting some extra oomph on it with making sure she knew he loves her (and the other two) was an important step for sure. But I think equally critical was Anemone and Ciel making clear that Goa herself was the one that stopped this from going down the worst path. If they all just broke free that wouldn’t be enough. Goa needed to know that she’s not as much of a lost cause as she thinks she is. Before she considered Ciel and Anemone people with good sides that could be loved. But she simply saw herself as a monster. But now she knows that part of her cares so much as to interfere in what she was doing.

It was all good fun between friends. They threatened to kill her and she pretended that the illusionary version of herself wasn’t her subconscious. Classic stuff with those three. The important thing is that their friendship is as rock solid as ever. They’ll mess with each other and do fairly dangerous things, but there’s a sense of trust. None of them truly despise Goa over what happened. They aren’t going to push her away out of fear.

It’s ok to be a work in progress

Getting back to the chat at the end of the episode, I liked the tone of it. For Toto it’s not as simple as just telling him he’s not useless. His lack of confidence and self-doubt is rooted deep. Instead, Ciel frames it in a more positive light. So what if he’s not what he wants to be quite yet? Isn’t that the point of a journey and adventure? To reach the version of oneself that you want to be? They are all on a journey where they are reforging who they are. And I love everyone getting heated about whether or not they are fine with him being with them. Obviously there’s the layer of them needing him close by in order to try and kill him! But that’s clearly not all of it. They want Toto around and will tell him that as often as needed.

Loved this episode

Far as a final episode goes this was really solid. It wrapped things up while leaving the story open for what might come next. Heck, it even managed to kind of be a Halloween episode which is relatively timely! Obviously that’s a next month thing, but for a show that won’t be airing at that point this was as close as they were going to get. I don’t know if this show will come back, but I sure hope it does. This was everything I was hoping the show would be.

This was done well

Final Thoughts

Going into this show I was really worried that it would become too one-note and just lose me over time. Toto passing out could have gotten so annoying played out that nothing was allowed to ever happen in the story. But instead his condition was used in a good way. It was a decent excuse for everyone to have open assassination talk while hew as around. But the bigger thing was that it was used to show Toto’s determination. In moments when he felt he absolutely couldn’t afford to pass out…he powered through and held on. Someone passing out in such a silly way could have been purely about comedy, but instead it was about character.

The group matters

In a harem I think the toughest thing is to make sure everyone is enjoyable. It’s easy to find one favourite in a group. But it’s another thing to make sure the group itself works. Ciel, Anemone, and Goa just work as a trio. They aren’t just love interests. It can be easy for the relationship between everyone that isn’t the protagonist to be distant or just not engaging. But these three have a really enjoyable friendship. And that friendship itself is a major part of the plot. Ciel didn’t fail to kill Toto in an episode simply because she likes him. But rather it was because of that and she didn’t want to lose what she’d gained. The banter, arguments, and games played between the girls meant so much to her and means so much to all of them.

There was truly enjoyable growth in the cast

This show knew when to focus on the characters, to show a bit of flashy action, and to just have a bit of fun with an absurd concept. It is a goofy thing to have three girls seeking to kill this overpowered hero. But I still loved the whole journey. Seeing them all grow closer and having their feelings shifting was great. They still leave the show openly discussing their assassination attempts. But their hearts are much more mixed on that. Even Ciel thought to herself that she’s fine either way. If she kills him that’s one thing, but if he can win them over and find a path of coexistence then that’s fine too.

S2 confirmed or not!?

Some shows are just fun and this was one of them. This season was a bit tough for me since I really needed to whittle down what I watched to something reasonable. But this show was never in danger of being cut. I just loved the weird sweetness of it all. All four of these characters were isolated in some way and didn’t have strong bonds. They were distant, combative, business-like, or controlling. But they all found something in this group that was special. A dynamic where the girls balance each other out and Toto is tough enough to survive their attempts at his life. So the journey gets to continue. And here’s hoping we see that animated someday.