I ended up writing too many words, so screw it, let’s give this final episode its own post. Anyway, what do you mean the battle to save Odanna is just beginning? Good lord. But let’s start from the top. Remember how Aoi was being chased by a bunch of ayakashi wolves hellbent on eating her? Well, a goddamn Christmas tree shows up outta nowhere to save her. Yes, a Christmas tree. Then a bunch of snow fairies drag Aoi and Ginji to safety. When our heroine wakes up, she somehow finds a fully-equipped kitchen ready for her. Why exactly do miniature snow fairies need a human-sized kitchen? Just in case someone needs to make doria and mochi ice cream, of course! Sigh…

This whole season has been a letdown. Odanna is obviously nowhere to be seen. It’s not like he’s the best character in anime history, but his dynamic with Aoi is one of the few draws of the story. Without it, the anime feels incomplete. Without him, it’s just Aoi hanging out with a bunch of side characters. Yeah, you’re damn right I’m including Ginji in that. He already told Ranmaru that he’s taking himself out of the competition. He little bro’d himself without anyone even asking him to, so fine, go be a side character.

To add insult to injury, Aoi doesn’t even know if she loves Odanna yet. She just knows that she really, really wants to see him! Look, you can’t close the door on Ginji even though he’s trying his best to slam it shut! You gotta leave it cracked open just enough to satisfy the shippers! So great, we basically got twelve episodes with barely any character development or progress in the romance.

I mean, what exactly are we ending on? Kasuga and Kiyo making up? I don’t care about them! Hell, their love was so important, Kiyo had to delegate the task of saving his wife to someone else. What did he do in the meantime? We’re told that he helped hunt down the pirates. This was so important that it practically happened offscreen, so whoop-dee-fucking-doo. Here’s a still shot with some action lines. Impressed yet? Hell, why not delegate this task to his soldiers as well? Why is getting violent more important than directly finding the magical mushrooms needed to save your wife? Just sayin’, if he’s strong enough to take out a bunch of pirates, maybe our heroine and her self-defeating nine-tailed fox wouldn’t have nearly died to a generic pack of wolves.

In the end, Aoi’s contribution to the northern lands’ tourism is a bowl of tonkotsu miso ramen. What’s the twist? Butter. Apparently, the hidden realm is full of butter-less, shoyu enjoyers. Personally, I like tori paitan best, but that’s neither here nor there. Ah well, the strawberry mochi ice cream looks nice, at least.