Like expected, this episode feels nothing like a standard final episode. There’s no aftermath, or anything that hints at a closure of the series (heck, Caroline and her father are completely gone now), and instead this episode brings us back to the essence of this series: Kitarou and Nezumi Otoko trying to make money, other people dying because of it, and Kitarou’s father cleaning up the mess a bit.
It wasn’t the best episode of the series, but most definitely not the worst. Nezumi Otoko makes some kind of youth-serum out of his whiskers, while Kitarou sells the manga-artist of last week and others some kind of special holidays to the underworld (of course, with one-way tickets). I’m still surprised at the ease at which this series is able to kill off its characters, with as little melodrama as possible. In the first case, an old mafia-boss gets rescued by the medicine, and grows younger again (with whiskers added). He then gets greedy and starts searching after Nezumi Otoko. When he tries to capture him (in a locked safe, of all things), Nezumi Otoko releases his usual gasses and takes back his whiskers, killing off the guy.
In the case of the manga-artist, he gets brought to the underworld, where he sees the remaining scenes that were in the OP. As he tries to get back, he realizes that another guy has taken his place, and he’s turned into a ghost. What I really liked about this episode is that things aren’t as they seemed. The guy or ghost who took over the mangaka’s place suddenly finds out what kind of a busy life his counterpart was leading, and he wasn’t used to the pressure at all. His wife then drags him and orders him to work until his death. Nice wife, isn’t it? Meanwhile, in the underworld, the real mangaka is quietly enjoying the local wonders, along with all a bunch of other people who were tricked by Kitarou. In the meantime, Kitarou as usua notes how hard it is to work and gain money in the human world.
So it’s finally over. This series really has served its purpose in making me appreciate Noitamina even more. That timeslot is really perfect for showcasing all kinds of short series with original ideas and premises. And the fact that it’s been the most popular late-night timeslot for years only makes this better. There’s going to be a good chance that I’ll be blogging the upcoming Library wars, that’ll be taking over this timeslot, but I’ll leave that final decision to when the series actually airs.
