Subculture Anime Blog

Lean on my shoulder? My final impression is included.

Summary:

When Miharu approaches Yoite in the church, he is warned to stay away from him. Yoite has been putting the blame on himself for the deaths of Hattori and Raiko, but Miharu states otherwise. Putting such things aside, Miharu reminds Yoite that he is his important friend. If he were to simply die alone, the wishes of those around him would not be fulfilled. When Yoite finally starts to listen to him, Miharu asks what his wish is. To the surprise of the listening Kotaro above, and the Shinrabanshou inside Miharu, Yoite claims that he does not need the Shinrabanshou. Miharu reminds Yoite that he could erase the kira’s existence as well, but Yoite denies because he was able to live until now because of it. With this, Miharu agrees to solve his problems without the use of the power inside of him.

On a latter day, Miharu returns home very actively, only to go out for a bit right after. This surprises some of the people in his family’s shop, but Miharu’s guardian recalls that Miharu was just as active when his parents were still alive. Miharu, Kouichi, and Raimei stop by Kumohira’s house, finding that Gau and Yoite are knitting a scarf there. During a small conversation, Raimei notices that Gau is wearing Raiko’s charm. Gau had presented this charm to Raimei on a previous day, claiming that it was the only thing he could find while searching for Raiko’s body. Raimei allowed Gau to keep it, however, claiming that Raiko would be more happy this way. When Kumohira returns home, he assists Hanabusa with things in the kitchen. As Hanabusa mentions that having so many people over makes it seem like she has many kids, Kumohira realizes that he is indeed happy with this peaceful lifestyle as well.

As everyone continues to spend time with each other later, Miharu notices Shiratama’s appearance outside of the house. He then takes the chance to ask if Kouichi is alright, having heard his secret from Raimei. Kouichi confirms that he is okay, planning on living in the Banten as he is. As for Shijima, he can only wonder what her plans are. Shijima appears before Kotaro somewhere close by, wondering how he felt about the recent turn of events. Kotaro mentions that Miharu’s actions were actually different from those until now, in that the previous Shinrabanshou users died trying to use their power, and that he is happy with watching what will happen from now on. Shijima reminds Kotaro that he is not the same as she or Kouichi, having a mortal life, but Kotaro replies with the mention of his vast source of knowledge in the Fuuma village. As Shijima leaves, she transforms back into Shiratama in search for food.

As Miharu parts ways with Yoite and the others that afternoon, Hanabusa tells Kumohira to accompany him. While Kumohira follows him, Miharu recalls that he was the only one who had retained his memories from the past before recently. Miharu wonders if Kumohira had thought about things like those he lost when he saw him, which Kumohira agrees to. When Miharu wonders if Kumohira had ever wished to forget these things, however, he denies. Kumohira states that he is grateful for the present, crediting Asahi for allowing him to experience it. Stopping by a shop to buy supplies, Miharu reminds Kumohira to keep his mother’s memories precious. Yukimi and Amatatsu meet the two after seeing them in passing, taking the chance to give them Yoite’s usual medicine. Kumohira wonders why Yukimi will not simply see Yoite himself, but he states that he cannot as a Kairoshu. Before leaving, Yukimi leaves Miharu with a slip of paper in hopes of leaving Yoite to him from now on. Inside is a simple recipe for lemonade. As they leave, Amatatsu wonders if Yoite may be saved. However, Yukimi’s expression states the obvious. Not letting this get to them for long though, the two decide to find a place to eat.

One day, Miharu travels with Yoite to see a small house. The owner wonders if the two need anything, but Yoite simply mentions how nice the scenery looks. The two disappear soon afterwards, and Yoite brings up the memories he had about the house. Yoite expresses how glad he is to have met Miharu, before falling onto his shoulder with a bit of exhaustion. On a later day, Yoite wonders to Miharu when the others will be appearing for their usual gathering. As Miharu leaves to make lemonade, however, Yoite beings to disappear. Raimei, Gau, and Kouichi notice the glitter in the sky while on the way to Kumohira’s house, and when Miharu returns to Yoite, he finds that all that remains is his clothing. Clutching onto his scarf, Miharu states that he will never forget Yoite.

ED: The ending sequence brought us through the characters’ now usual activities after peace has finally been brought to their lives. Shijima teases Kouichi at school, Gau has taken up kendo, Raimei frequently visits her brother’s grave, Hanabusa continues her work with the feeling that she has a family around her, and Yukimi and Amatatsu enjoy each day at their shop.

Impression:

Man, you knit a scarf? …A freaking scarf!? Oh god, why don’t I just start watching full out yaoi now? Putting that aside, this was a pretty good ending for the series. I didn’t feel like it was rushed at all, which is a problem I see far too much in similar anime. So, even if I’ve complained about Nabari’s pacing in the past, I will at least give credit this time around. I really loved the theme of memories and enjoying the present as well. Yoite’s decision to live on without the Shinrabanshou’s help (poor Shinrabanshou) was a pretty clear indicator that he would die soon, especially after all the hints we were given up until this point. I did find it kind of strange that he simply turned to dust in the end, but I suppose that did kind of make his wishes come true. Miharu’s statement that he would never forget Yoite made for perfect words to end the series. Raimei, Gau, and Kumohira revealed similar thoughts about those they lost, while simply keeping their memories precious. I loved the skip to the future, showing everyone live peaceful lives in the Banten and elsewhere. I guess I’m just a sucker for slice of life type stuff like this. I found it pretty funny when they finally revealed that Shijima is Shiratama too. Really, who hasn’t figured this out already?

Final Impression:

I have to admit that Nabari no Ou is not a series that I would usually cover, and that I probably wouldn’t have picked it up two seasons ago if it wasn’t for my scarce amount of shows being covered back then. With that said though, I’ve found that I really enjoyed talking about Nabari each week until the end. As much as I liked to joke that the series had taken the yaoi route, and the problems I had with the pacing in the middle/end of the series, I can really say that I actually liked this show quite a bit. If anything, joking with Aroduc on IRC each week about the Yoite x Miharu pairing got me through what I disliked about the series at times. I will definitely have to say that the series did have its share of problems, but it also had some great potential that would otherwise counter these at other times.

Probably the biggest inconsistencies of this series would be the animation, which went from great to lazy as time went on. Why did the awesome fight scenes from the first few episodes have to turn into a big mess of motion blurs by the end? Sure, the turn to development was nice, but that doesn’t mean the animation team should just go to sleep otherwise. I’ve also heard from readers of the manga, and even read for myself at times, that the anime made quite a few changes from the supposedly more superior manga version. From what I’ve seen, many of these changes were not even necessary. Things like changing characters completely served no specific purpose in the story, only annoying fans of the manga. But not having read the original material consistently, I could be wrong. How different is the manga from the anime? Is the manga even finished, and if it is, did it end like the anime?

I will say that I probably enjoyed Nabari a bit more when it first started airing, as it really caught me off guard as a show that I had originally skipped over until I saw how appealing it was. Judging from the first episode, I would have never guessed that the direction would almost take a complete change though. Heck, even if he was a big focus in the OP, how could I have guessed Yoite would have such a big part by the end? This isn’t a bad thing though, as some of the themes that were played on throughout this series really hit base with me. I loved the focuses on death, friendship, memories, and various other things that I have already discussed in the past. Again, I am glad that I picked up Nabari no Ou for the past two seasons. It certainly fulfilled my fighting deep character development anime quota for both time spans, and JC Staff probably continues to be my second favorite production studio for works that I can have faith in.