Porfy no Nagai Tabi – 51

Short Synopsis: The final bit of build-up before the big climax!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10 (Awesome)
Well, so it really looks like the creators planned to reunite Porfy and Mina at the very last episode from the beginning. Ooh! It’s going to be epic!

The episode starts as Porfy is very glad to meet up with his old friend again (who changed significantly, actually. In fact, Porfy’s character-designs have also very subtly changed throughout the series). As it turns out, Zaimis has managed to win an international competition that’d allow him to study music in Paris (if I understood correctly). He asks about what happened to Mina, after which Porfy answers that he might have found her, and shows him the poster. Zaimis wants to see the movie to check for sure.

After the movie is over, Porfy still doubts whether it was really Mina, but Zaimis is utterly convinced that she’s the one, and that Rose was the one who was wrong. Porfy refuses to believe that, and figures that maybe it was Amelie who made a mistake. Porfy then introduces Zaimis to Rose, taking him to her apartment. She’s been waiting for him, actually. It also seems that Porfy has written a lot about Rose to Zaimis, so he’s already heard about her. He tries to convince Rose that it was really Mina who he saw, but then she starts yelling and leaves.

Zaimis then suggests to confirm it once more. Instead of leaving it to rose, he plans to go along with Porfy to the movie studios without letting Rose know. Porfy is a bit puzzled as to why he has to keep it a secret for her, because he still doesn’t suspect that he lied to her. Mina meanwhile is in awe at the huge Christmas tree that Tiffany had planted in her back garden (that’s rather cute, ending the series at Christmas).

The next day, Porfy tries to find an excuse of getting out on his own. It almost backfires, since Rose offers to go along with him to show Zaimis the city of Paris, but luckily she realizes that the two of them haven’t met for a while. She then gives Porfy some money, and asks whether he’d like something for a Christmas present. Porfy really doesn’t have anything he wants, aside from meeting with Mina.

Because of this, Porfy is late and has to apologize to Zaimis, who avoid the question of why Rose know about their little trip. At the movie studio, they face the same problem as before: the annoying gate keeper. In the end Porfy gets in by letting Zaimis distract the guy so that he can sneak behind a large prop. In the studio, Porfy accidentally meets someone who takes him for someone who works at the place, and ends up accompanying him, carrying boxes.

The next person Porfy meets is a guy who mistakes him from yet another someone who has fallen in love with a certain actor, and managed to sneak in (apparently, the guard hasn’t been doing his job that perfectly). He doesn’t know Porfy, but he does know Amelie. Amelie then tells Porfy the same that she told Rose, and also how she told Rose about Mina. This is where Porfy realizes that Rose lied to him.

When Porfy returns, his sad look first makes Zaimis think that it was indeed a misunderstanding, but instead Porfy is wondering why Rose lied to him. Mina meanwhile is asked the same thing as Porfy was earlier: what would she like as a Christmas present. Obviously, she only wants to meet Porfy. ^^;

That evening, Rose returns and is shocked to see Porfy in a room without lights. Porfy then says that he’s met Amelie. He first believes that it was because of Tiffany, but then Rose tells him the truth, while crying. That she doesn’t want Porfy to leave. After that the episode ends.

There’s only one downside to this whole final arc: NO ALECIA! Apart from that, it’s been such a creative and solid finale for this series. I’m also really surprised. I originally believed that the creators were planning to turn the finale into an even bigger tear-jerker than the earthquake-arc, but instead they’ve chosen for a much more quiet pacing, that instead is building up to the two of them finally meeting again. After the very dark episodes of Porfy’s journey in France, I really never expected this.

And yeah; so what if the creators are recycling their old background art with different colour filters run through them! They still look freaking awesome!