Well, that settles it: the end of this episode really hinted that in the next episode, the finale is finally beginning. With that, we should get away from the random storylines and back to the main storyline, which is bound to be a lot more action-packed.
The big question is obviously going to be: did this series take up too much time, trying to develop Maya? The thing with the past two episodes was that the direction was nowhere as interesting as the rest of the series, which can really hurt with a 13-episode series. I mean, the first half of this series was full of wit. The absence of this wit throughout most o this episode was rather unnerving. There were some parts I liked, especially the part in which Fumiaki tries to talk to Maya (seriously, more anime characters should do that), plus the development of Maya was also quite nice, but right now this series is in the danger of spending so much time on development that it sacrifices too much of its entertainment, story, Anime no Chikara tension and atmosphere.
Having seen Sora no Oto, this is something that worries me, though thank god it’s not as extreme here. At this point, Sora no Oto had novels full of questions that it had yet to answer, and that really showed in its final episode in which it tried to do way too much at once. Senkou no Night Raid in contrast did have a great build-up with its finale, and that’s because it abandoned its build-up phase very early after episode seven. Occult Academy looks to be somewhere in the middle. Three episodes will be plenty of time to resolve all of the questions it has left hanging, but can it deliver? With its excellent script and direction it has built up expectations for its ending> I really want to see something more than a simple ending that just attempts to answer those questions. I want to see something that rocks.
Ultimately, the ghost girl felt shallow to me. This series really has the opportunity to toy with new ideas, and here it comes with the ghost of a dead girl who was neglected and can go to pass on after hugging her father. I can understand that the creators wanted Maya to relate to her, but it’s all “been there, done that”, with no need to spend two whole episodes on it. A skilled writer could have put the past two episodes into just one episode and make them work just as well.
Rating: * (Good)
Yeah, the last two episodes were a bit boring, especially as they’ve been pretty predictable – but without the funny over th e top moments of the monster hunt episodes.
Though I really liked the scenes at Maya’s house.
And I’m really getting suspicious of Mikaze. I mean, she ALWAYS shows up when Bunmei either wants to talk or do anything together with Maya.
It’s too much to be only because of her being jealous, isn’t it? It’s almost as if she’s trying to keep them from their search for the key…
I didnt even bother watching these last 2 eps… This might just be the biggest disappointment of the season for me considering how awesome the first 2 episodes were
There was so much potential, yet they waste it in random episodic crap… I bet you can cut out ep 3 to ep 10 and not miss anything story wise
This ghost story has been rather disappointing for me. It was kind of over-dramatized and dumb, without being very funny. The whole premise behind the girl and how she died made my head hurt, and the shift in the nature of the school’s origins and Maya’s change of perspective toward her father seemed ridiculous. The girl’s father should be in jail, and despite all of their considerable efforts I fail to find him sympathetic. Since the fate of the world is at stake, using this side-story as a proxy for redeeming Maya’s father and justifying her warming toward the school seems unnecessary.
I did wonder if the buyer’s of Maya’s house were looking for something and if Mikaze was monopolizing Fumiaki’s time intentionally. After seeing the preview I can add wondering how they’ll pretend-kill Maya to the list.