The ending was waaaaaaaaaaay too predictable. I cannot overstate that enough. I think its genuinely insulting that the author thought this was acceptable. Wow! Seiko finally finished her character arc, that she should also care about Shio's feelings! Lets kill her now! Nothing else to explore here! Dying for your love is such a novel concept! THIS HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE!!!
I do like the execution of sato snapping back to reality suddenly when she realises what love is (chap 47). But thats all. And so many things were dumb about how they got to the rooftop: firemen have no rescue nets to catch people who are stuck high up? Why not risk running in the fire? Why did they even go back for the ring if they knew aunt would immediately burn everything? Why didnt the 3 try to escape the clearly dangerous appartment when they stopped fighting and waited for shio to decide for like a minute? HOW DOES AN ENTIRE APPARTMENT COMPLEX MADE OF MOSTLY NON FLAMMABLE MATERIAL BURN TO THE GROUND DUE TO ONE FIRE? WHERE ARE THE EMERGENCY FIRE EXTINGUISHERS??? WHERE ARE THE SPRINKLERS?? COULD THEY NOT GET THE ATTENTION OF THE FIREFIGHTERS??? WHY SO CONTRIVED??
And for the post-death...: I do think Shio is right in hating her mother and brother (because he kinda did cause Sato's death). But like... Shio is just schizophrenic now? Even more mentally ill?? That part I hate the most. Shio might be even more broken than her mother now.
Absolutely nothing of value is in this ending. Shio is derranged now. Yay. No one wins. How creative.
Somehow a worse ending than Sachiiro no One Room.
I dont care if its realistic. Its uninteresting. Wow! Traumatised mentally ill people who are codependent on eachother (including the brother) break when they lose that person??? Thats so interesting! An ending where Shio had to (for example) live in unhealthy living conditions with Sato would be way too difficult! Just let everyone be mentally broken! Thats so much EASIER!! GOING DEEPER INTO SHIO AND SATO'S RELATIONSHIP AND MENTAL STATE WOULD SURELY NOT BE INTERESTING AT ALL.
Also Im not knocking whether the manga like beautifully captures these traumas, experiences or mental illnesses. I just hate the ending. ITS SO UNINTERESTING. THERE IS NOT EVEN ANYTHING AMBIGUOUS SO THAT YOU COULD THEORISE.
...
Its just a simple death ending 🙂. Whats wrong with that? You wanted to see how Shio and Sato would cope with all the trauma and dependancy and the legal issues? Maybe even how Asahi would cope? Why? Did you feel like the manga showed real promise in how Asahi Sato and Shio could clash in a calmer environment? Why care? We can just have a real quick death, wow look its so realistic how this unhealthy living situation lead to a death! Thats so cool! It really makes you think! Ill never forget that mental illnesses are bad! Thank you author for not showing me a fucked up living situation instead! I would HATE to see that in this manga!
Also mangakas LOVE redeeming villains up until it could lead to a happy end.
You know what, fuck it. Just put Sato in an unrecoverable coma and have Shui use her as a doll. Now thats edgy! Okay I thought of that as a joke but... I actually think it would be a much better "Shio is mentally broken" ending, since its not just in her head. And it would kinda be a parallel for how Sato saw Shio as a doll. Also its edgy like this whole manga, it fits. A normal death isnt THAT edgy. AND DEFINITELY NOT PREDICTABLE!!! NOT OVERDONE!! NOT A COP OUT!!!
...but ignoring the ending. I enjoyed the manga quite a bit. The suspense, the mystery, the emotions, the sweet moments, the visceral moments... But the ending does ruin a lot of it. Simply because it doesnt explore the themes further. Because in the end, we stop thinking about the many traumas and mental ilness and emotions of each character. Because in the end, every single character has nothing more to do. Shio wants to be alone with her imaginary Sato, Asahi lost his sister, the aunt is imprisoned, Sato, the most interesting character, is simply dead. No loose ends.
Just nothing.
And thats exactly what this ending makes you feel.
