So. Here we are. After this episode, we have one more to go. The question is, how was it, and will it resolves everything that needs to be resolved? Well I can tell you that the answer to the second question is a big fat no. There is no way this is going to be resolved in one more episode. But…I might as well talk about what happened this episode.

So the episode starts off where we find out that the storyboard was rejected for the final episode by the author. When they try to find out why, he basically tells them that he doesn’t want an ending where Aria flies again as he himself hadn’t written that far in the manga and he doesn’t even know if he IS going to have her fly again.

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So that’s when the anime people shrug their shoulders, and make an ending that suits the author’s taste.

Oh wait. No? They don’t? Oh, they whine and the director refuses to change the ending and interpretation HE came up with? Ah. that sounds more like it.

Yeah. That’s right. Fuck respecting his wishes. Instead, the director decides he wants to have a meeting with him to see if he can change his mind to write the ending he wants.

He does eventually get to have a meeting with the author, and due to plot contrivance, manages to get the author to be happy with his ending with the director basically giving up nothing in return.

How about I change the tone of your show for my own agenda. Agreed?
How about I change the tone of your show for my own agenda. Agreed?

The new ending however has an added scene where one of the characters sisters shows up and talks to the main girl. However, since it’s a new character they need a voice actress. Who do they get? You guessed it. The voice actress chick. And the episode ends with her reading the lines for it.

That's her creepy face
That’s her creepy face

(exhales) I have to say. I was incredibly underwhelmed with this episode. Why is this? First off, I do not like what the overall message of this episode was. It fundamentally bothers me. To end a series in which the manga hasn’t ended is a tricky business. You have to make everyone happy, but especially the original author. Without his approval it won’t work.

The director of the series however didn’t deem this necessary. He got a vision of an ending HE wanted in his head, and what HE wanted to say. Unlike a professional, he basically whined and cried until he was able to get his way, almost attempting to portray to us, the audience that the manga author was the bad guy for not changing his entire story because the director wanted to show HIS vision.

I do not like this. I completely understand that the author did eventually come to the director’s side, but not only should that scene not have happened, it felt INCREDIBLY forced. For such a strong resilience to this ending, the director was able to change his mind in record time. To me, it was unbelievable, and at the same time, the director didn’t have to give up ANYTHING he wanted, and got everything. For a show that usually lauds it’s realism all of the elements in this episode seem to contradict this. I think a lot of people felt the show was realistic to the industry and that justified many of it’s issues, but even as a Zuka fan I feel like this is too convenient. It feels now like the show is trying to solidify it’s own story rather than do what actually makes sense with itself.

Hooray for me!
Hooray for me!

I am very displeased with the message this conveys. If an author has a vision, an idea that they wish to show the audience, a person creating their story in another medium has to respect that author’s wish, not complain and try to change their mind.

If this was played off as the director’s childish goals, that would be all right. But it wasn’t. It was played as if he was in the right, and the author wanting his own original vision was not fair to the animation people, and THAT is unfair. In fact, it changes the entire feel of the series. The  manga was written with the intent of the anime ending being oblique and sadder. The director on the other hand wants a happy ending. This isn’t just changing a tiny detail, this is literally changing the ENTIRE IDEA of the show.

The other thing that entirely pissed me off this episode was how they handled the voice actor girl’s first role. From the MOMENT they created the sister character I knew where they were going it. It didn’t make me happy she got a role, it made me groan in displeasure.

Shown above. My face for the entire episode.
Shown above. My face for the entire episode.

To me, her getting this role did not show her tenacity, it did not show her character development, it showed the writers of this show needing to throw her a bone before the season ended. There’s only 1 more episode left of the season and they had to at least give her a single voice role to make her a viable character.  However, this was done the wrong way. A character who seemingly wasn’t good enough during the auditions over 5 episodes ago just happens to get a role because they need someone at the last minute.

I don’t feel a sense of her accomplishment, I feel a sense of lazy writing. I was so excited to see her succeed. I didn’t see that in this episode. I saw some writers scrambling at the last minute to make her seem as if she still mattered.

One of the five main characters deserved a better start out than that. a better break through performance than an additional tacked on ending character. I know people have to break in, and sometimes it’s dumb luck, but the fact that not only were they trying to push their “convincing the author was a good idea” agenda but used it as a springboard to say “see? Without that complaining, she would never have gotten a role” and that also bothers me. You’re boiling her success down to the director complaining about not getting his way. That’s not fun for me. That’s depressing.

All in all, I did not like this episode. I felt uncomfortable and was disappointed. I don’t know what they’re going to do next week for the last episode of the season, but…I hope it’s better. I feel it really contradicts the theme of the show and that’s my major issue, I can’t help but feel that in order to make a possible end cap to this show they are making sloppy decisions that don’t showcase the same feeling the rest of the show has held. And I’m hoping they can fix that. . .somehow.

Episode 3/10

Hideki