Short Synopsis: Haru heads off to find Akiyuki.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10 (Good)
I must say that this has turned into a really emancipated series. While there are enough male characters, and this definitely isn’t a shoujo or josei-series, it’s nevertheless the females who do most of the work in this case. I originally thought that Haru would end up being the damsel in distress, but in the end this honour was for Akiyuki. In fact, he really has been atypical of your typical lead character. He’s not someone who’s out there to change the world, but he’s just a victim himself. Instead, it’s up to Nakiami to prevent the destruction of the Tessik people, although I do suspect that Akiyuki once he wakes up isn’t going to sit still and let the northern empire just do as it pleases.
So in the end, Nakiami’s sister (half-sister, I guess, based on her skin colour) has also started making Xam’d, and plans to head into war as well. I already suspected that something was not kosher about her, and I guess that that’s it. In the meantime, Akiyuki’s Hiruko (or at least, that’s what I suspect it is) does seem to be interested in Akiyuki getting his name back. I believe that it’s in the interest for both of them surviving, and I think that it knocking away the teacup is a sign that it’s going into berserk-mode if Akiyuki doesn’t hurry up and remembers his own name.
this series had so much potential in episodes 1-3, and now it’s just being dragged on and on with Nakiami being more and more melodramatic and Akiyuki becoming more and more counterproductive – victim or not, he should at least try to DO something.
Based on your recommendations, I’ve got this series, and will watch it presently. However, you mentioned a “rushed finale”. That’s just what I’d like to comment about. I understand that series like “Ergo Proxy” should feel like they need a more rounded ending, but it’s ok because the focus is on character development, not on action plot. However, almost all anime I’ve watched have this characteristic. What’s with that? Do they always run off money at the end and have to rush things up? Or is it that, just like 95% of American animation and movies, most Japanese don’t know how to write good endings? Of course, some do: Evangelion (not the movie, the actual ending that’s episodes 25 and 26) has a perfect and fully rounded ending. So does Haibane Renmei (my all time favorite anime). Any thoughts?
Alexandre: My biggest guess is that most series are written at the point where the total amount of episodes isn’t known yet, so they probably have to guess how to pace a manga, before even knowing how long it’s going to be.
Still, this is mostly the case for manga and light novel adaptations. Ergo Proxy and Xamdou were original stories, so I’m not really sure how that goes.