This was a story I remember reading as it came out, years and years ago. A fascinating premise, a really great cast of characters, a fun romance, and a really interesting world. I can honestly say it was one of my favorite stories, and stuck itself firmly into my mind.
… until the ending.
What can I even say about this ending? Over the final few chapters, the entire focus and tone of the story just… fell away. Gone are the subtle political movements. Gone is the fun happy romance. Gone are the complex character interactions. Gone is the carefully, realistically, built out world. In their place is a generic shonen storyline, with a random villain showing up at the final battle with vague, undefined powers. The cast’s storylines all just wrap up suddenly without development. And the main characters just… walk off into the sunset in either A: the afterlife or B: a different world (such as was alluded to by the villain) and that’s… just… not how the story was setup to resolve. Meanwhile the Mage seems to be alive, after clearly dying… and the head maid just lives out the rest of her life depressed and defeated?? WHY?
Ugh. Everything about the final act of this story feels rushed, unsure of itself, and filled with tropes that had not been active in the entire series up to that point and it makes me so very frustrated. Frustrated and sad. I genuinely loved this story. But with the ending as it currently stands, the entire series has left a sour taste in my mouth. I don’t think this will be a story I come back to, and I never thought I would have said that.