Mayoiga pretty much wraps up its story this week and for the series that focus much about anti-climaxes and inconsistency, this ending neatly conclude all of its main loose end. In the final twist of Mayoiga, it turns out that Koharun is God’s daughter (now I understand the inclusion of him in Mayoiga) and all she does was to prevent a Nanaki from fading so she could take her father’s Nanaki back. Sounds vague, right? But this is Mayoiga we talking about so I have no complain. The thing I notice in this last episode was the main confrontations this week: from Mistsumune and Hayato, Koharun and her father, to Masaki and Reiji; are not at all feel ridiculous but are quite emotionally effective. This result for me not come from the writing, but comes from the director who knows how to make a shot that bring out the most effective drama.
But also true to Mayoiga, the amount of ridiculous and (un)intentionally hilarious moments are still all over the place. Lovepon again proves that she’s one of the most consistent character in the show, with her remark “We’re going to be executed” while being chased by Hayato’s Nanaki. I also enjoy the way Dahara keeps betraying himself, telling people that he’ll stay one moment, then completely change to go back like nothing happen. Or the fact that Yotsun appeared in God’s house at the end credit, where previously he was stuck in the bus in the Lost Village, but then, Who Cares? Or many out of nowhere but equally hilarious punchlines “so her dark past was a boy” / “Guess I‘ll call off the engagement when I get back to reality” – “So you coming back?”/ “Koharun is a villain” that really explain why Mayoiga is one of a kind anime series out there. I also love the fact that after going through all kinds of Nanaki troubles, personal conflicts, all the cast reflect were people having the same painful experiences, so we might be not that unlucky to begin with. I’m still amazed with the train of thought this group has. Moreover, the decision to split, majority of them leave, some of them stay, was natural for me but seems so random as well.
So in the end, as far as the last episode goes, I’m happy to say that Mayoiga succeed. The episode tied up all the narrative loose end here, while still maintaining its own silly beat. All the things that shouldn’t work in other anime: namely the over the top characters, awkward conversations, silly themes and most of all ridiculous situations; all worked here. I won’t go as far as saying the whole thing is a success, because damn sometimes I still can’t put my finger on whether all the silly incidents are intentional or not; but it is really a feast to witness a series that offer something so different than the rest of your typical anime out there.
~SuperMario~
I read somewhere on MAL that Mayoiga was actually supposed to be intentionally funny. I remember the post saying something along the lines that Tsotomu Mizushima was frustrated that his friends found Another hysterical when he tried to make it a horror. So he decided to do a parody of horror with The Lost Village. I wish I could find the post though, anyway I enjoyed the show surprisingly, gave me a lot of good laughs. Thought the ending was actually perfect for what it was.