And another series where its finale has begun. So far, it hasn’t been anything amazing yet, but I never expected this series to deliver an awesome climax. For now, it was entertaining and without flaws; it was built up well, so I’m happy. The fights were entertaining, and the themes on friendship may not have been as well-developed as in, say, Higurashi, but still there’s nothing wrong with it.
In this episode, Seijuu basically gets his hands on the path that leads to god. It turns out to be the music box that Mayuki’s mother gave him when he was one… which makes me wonder why he didn’t just get it in the first place, but I think that that can be explained because Mayuki unconsciously led him towards it. So anyway, the end of the episode shows Seijuu getting into God-mode, and if things go as I think they will (which is very likely), then the next episode will feature a very flashy fight as a climax of the series, where Mayuki defeats Seijuu.
The entire success of that episode will probably depend on how Seijuu will develop. There’s still one question left: why did he leave is wife to become God? I’ve seen this series long enough to know that it can very well give background and push its story forward at the same time, so there should be no worries about this series having a rushed ending, or questions that are left unanswered, that plague quite a few other series.
One thing I do hope is that Seiran, Sanae, Hitsumi and Byakko find something to do in the next episode. One very common pitfall is that final episodes very often neglect side-characters, and these guys often end up cleaning things up after the main character and his antagonist. My prediction is that Seiran/Sanae/Hitsumi will give Mayuki the final edge in defeating the big bad Seijuu because of their friendship, but Byakko could prove to have one final card up her sleeve.
In any case, I think that this explains pretty well why I like endings that try to do something different. I’ve seen so many anime end now, that I’m getting better in predicting how they’ll end, especially the ones with generic formulas. Series like The Third and Night Head Genesis are great examples of series that really tried to be different in their endings. Series like Bokura no and Kemonozume both really succeeded in their endings that had a completely different mood, and Ooedo Rocket greatly subverted the overdone ending-trope. I’m hoping that the end of this season will add one more series to this very small list, but that one most definitely won’t be Suteki Tantei Labyrinth. 😛
I LOL’d so hard during the fight between Seiran and Seijuu. You gotta admit the animation was bordering on cheesy (stinking bishop level) during that scene 😛 Still, points for being entertaining all right. Ah I need a new source of cheese to watch after Labyrinth finishes. Any suggestions?