Ugh, what do I even say about this conclusion other than it’s so painfully anime. As always, Inako and Kihachi’s relationship concludes with a wink and a nod. Wait, no, not “as always.” Recently, we’ve been spoiled by plenty of series where the primary couple definitively seal the deal and get together — sometimes, they do it right in the first episode! — so there’s no reason why these two kids can’t do the same. But alas, those romances belong to the Reiwa era, and our awkward lovebirds are firmly in the Meiji era. As a result, their romance has to be subtle and understated — practically unstated, if you ask me. After all, Kihachi has a vision of him and Inako marrying one day, but he doesn’t confess. He predictably gets embarrassed and starts storming away from the girl he likes. Likewise, Inako literally drags the guy outta bed early in the morning to the Married Couple Rocks. She does this because she wants them to share a moment together at sunrise; she wants them to glimpse Mount Fuji from afar. But the Meoto Iwa dominates the scene, and I suppose that’s the show winking at us about the kids’ future. I’m not satisfied, though. In fact, I’m highly dissatisfied with this batshit insane finale. Unsurprisingly, Inako doesn’t confess her feelings either. These knuckleheads inspired each other! They helped achieve each other’s dreams! What more do you want!
Unfortunately, what this story wants is to also flirt with the idea of Kihachi and Yosuke, and I think that’s insane. Yosuke practically despised the kid for the majority of the series, but somehow, Kihachi now insists that he needs Yosuke’s help to bring about the Age of Electricity. That’s so dumb, but we’ve been on this path ever since the story took this hard swerve towards BL after Kihachi crashed Yosuke’s engagement party to Inako on the boat. Hell, even between Seiroku and Yosuke, it barely made sense. From all the flashbacks we’ve seen, Seiroku had never shown even the slightest hint that he was romantically into dudes. His one short-lived relationship was with Noriko. Everything else was just a product of Yosuke’s own delusion. You would thus have to be equally deluded to think there’s anything credible between him and Kihachi, and yet this is what the anime has tried to shove down our throats for the past few episodes. I’m deathly curious to know what the original story is like. I might have to look it up, because I can’t help but wonder if what we ended up with is ultimately a KyoAni indulgence. I also wonder if this is why Yosuke gets to go unpunished.
But the craziness doesn’t end there. At some point, Yosuke falls unconscious, then finds himself speaking to Seiroku one last time. The watercolor aesthetics in this scene directly remind me of that overwrought Robin Williams movie called What Dreams May Come, but that would imply that Yosuke is somehow speaking to Seiroku in heaven or whatever. Well, I don’t believe in that sort of thing, and he’s been quite nutty in recent episodes, so I’m just going to attribute this to nothing more than a feverish mind cooking up yet another delusion. But that’s the thing, right? Kihachi wasn’t just inventing stuff for the hell of it. His devices actually gave people a religious experience, starting with Inako. Unlike a lot of Japanese fiction which often cautions the dangers of technology, the science in this anime wasn’t alienating people from their faith this time; contrary to expectations, it was doing the exact opposite. But what Yosuke’s seeing right now isn’t the result of one of those inventions. Rather, Inako and Kengo’s actions have destabilized the underground area, so it now threatens to collapse on top of everyone. The Seiroku puppet ends up falling onto Yosuke and… well, that’s it. There’s no connection between technology and religion anymore unless we want to argue that the Electric Brain deliberately embraced Yosuke at that moment, thereby sending him to some heavenly dimension to talk to the real Seiroku. That’s… patently ridiculous. I can’t help but feel like the anime has given up on its own thematic underpinnings.
As soon as Kihachi is back on his feet, he is determined to save Yosuke. But… why? The Mizoe heir is irredeemably horrible. Not once throughout this whole series has he done a single thing that you can even regard as morally good. There’s actually a better reason to dive back into that mechanical hellhole: the Electric Brain is still in operation, and if it keeps running, it’s going to destroy all of Kyoto’s steam engines. Since the kid has done little to actually replace steam power with electric power — y’know, actually bringing about the Age of Electricity that he so often talks about — the country still needs those steam engines to function. So sure, this suicidal mission isn’t completely pointless. It’s just the saving Yosuke part that is pointless. But this isn’t what Kihachi emphasizes. He’s determined to save the same bastard who tried to kill him.
Kihachi initially nominates Yajiro to accompany him, but the other kid is scared of heights. Kengo and Izo wanted to tag along, but Inako hops into the plane instead. She insists on helping Kihachi bring about the Age of Electricity, which I just don’t see. Aren’t they simply saving Kyoto and also Yosuke? Where does the Age of Electricity come in? All of the adults just let her volunteer herself too. Noriko walks up and does a pinky promise with her little sister. Am I crazy for thinking this is bizarre? Nothing here makes sense. KyoAni has thrown all thematic relevance out of the window for the sake of some bombastic, action-packed rescue mission that isn’t even going to deliver an emotional payoff! Sure, in a vacuum, this looks cool as hell, but nobody wants to see Yosuke get saved! If Kihachi was going to take Inako flying, it should be to see Mount Fuji and help her complete the Electric Nishiki, not this foolish quest to rescue an abjectly horrible person!
Yosuke wakes up to find himself strapped to Kihachi’s plane as the kid is trying to fly them to safety. Nevertheless, the man still can only scream about Seiroku. Kihachi has to tell him, “We’re the ones who will create [the Age of Electricity] now!” He continues later, “To create the Age of Electricity, I need your help.” What a load of bullshit. Kihachi was doing just fine with Inako as his muse for two-thirds of a series. All of a sudden, he can’t do it without Yosuke? Nah, I don’t buy it. Plus, Yosuke doesn’t deserve a second chance. Great, he gets a second lease on life. That means he should be in prison for not just destroying a huge chunk of Kyoto but also attempted murder! But we’re just going to overlook that because… what? He’s a hot character? Because a few people might write some AO3 fanfics about him and Kihachi? This show is even good fodder for that! They tacked on some bizarre love triangle only at the very end!
Yosuke falls from the sky, so he needs to be rescued a second time. Izo somehow reaches him in time only for the asshole to scream “I hate you!” as he watches Kihachi fly off in the plane. What a pleasant character who totally deserves to live. And yet in the aftermath, Saki informs Kihachi that Yosuke is now traveling the world. Yep, he just gets to walk free even after everything he’s done. I don’t know what else I can say at this point. It just feels like the story gave up on itself. Specifically, it gave up on the themes it established from the start — themes about technology and faith, about retaining what is quintessentially Japanese in the face of the country’s rapid industrial revolution, about Meiji-era girls like Inako finding freedom beyond arranged marriages, etc. And we sacrificed all of this for what? A half-baked BL romance that felt tacked on at the last minute? A romance that didn’t even make sense in the first place? If Seiroku and Yosuke actually had a real tryst, I could maybe see it. If Yosuke didn’t thoroughly treat Kihachi like trash for nine outta thirteen episodes, then maybe. But it felt like the show suddenly changed course outta nowhere, so I can’t help but wonder if this is all due to KyoAni literally rewriting the ending. Adaptations don’t need to be 100% faithful. Hell, they don’t need to exceed the source material either. But at the very least, the changes should be interesting. Sparks of Tomorrow was never even close to being the best show of the season, but it was at least competent for most of its run. The last third of the series, however, devolved into a giant mess.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— What is this? What am I looking at? Why is Yosuke shaped like a praying mantis?
— According to the madman, Kihachi’s soul is in the process of merging with the Seiroku puppet — that’s what the strange water-filled tank is supposed to accomplish. But how does he even know that his device works as intended? Has he used it before? Has he conducted experiments with other people or living beings? This anime used to be semi-grounded, because Kihachi was inventing stuff we’re already familiar with. But we’re firmly in fantasyland now.
— Inako really does so much for Kihachi in this one episode. I don’t think she gets rewarded enough for her efforts either. Like Orpheus, she descends into the underworld to rescue her lover, but she actually succeeds! Sadly, KyoAni is hellbent on Eurydice having a… well, for this analogy to fit, I guess it would be a lesbian affair with Persephone.
— We see the kid change out of the wedding dress and into his usual clothes. He then preps his prototype plane for departure, because it’s the only way to reach Electric Brain as well as Yosuke. Worst part is, nobody even questions the latter part of the plan. Inako, who was at Yosuke’s mercy for much of the series, is agreeing to risk her life as well as her crush’s life to save this bastard of a man. I don’t get it.
— Yeah, I’d drink too if I had a brother like Yosuke.
— During this whole ridiculous ordeal, all we get on the romantic front is Kihachi half-heartedly apologizing to Inako for his obsession — for wanting to complete the Electric Brain despite the risks involved. The girl then responds with a short scolding. Everyone around them just smiles like “Oh, those two~” as if they’re a couple already. But that’s just how it goes for a lot of Japanese romances. You don’t always get the passionate declarations of love. Two kids will spend enough time together that they become a de facto couple without ever confessing even once.
— Also, how are the kids going to get out of the hole? There’s no runway down there!
— When we last saw the Seiroku puppet, it had fallen on Yosuke. But now it’s upright and Yosuke is buried beneath a bunch of debris? Huh?
— Nope, gotta hard disagree with Kihachi here. Yosuke’s determination is not amazing. It is deranged. Yosuke is deranged.
— Back in Yosuke’s delusion, Seiroku tells the asshole that he can usher in the Age of Electricity with Kihachi instead. In fact, dream Seiroku believes in them! C’mon, if Seiroku was watching them this entire time, wouldn’t he be pissed as hell that Yosuke literally tried to sacrifice Kihachi to revive him?
— This next part pretty much sums up what has happened in the past few episodes: pulling Yosuke out of his own mess ends up with Inako being buried beneath Kihachi to the point where we no longer even see her. KyoAni wants to give Yosuke a path to redemption so bad, it completely erases Inako.
— Apparently, all the steam creates enough of an updraft to get the plane high above the sinkhole again. Sure. It even clears away the steam clouds blanketing Kyoto, revealing the clear blue sky.
— Inako apparently completes the Electric Nishiki to great success. Saki approves, and she’s the big drinker.
— Kihachi insists that he’s too young to drink, but nobody even cares. In a lot of countries, they let kids have a bit of alcohol around the dinner table and nobody raises a fuss about it. Considering how it was Inako’s dream to follow in her mother’s footsteps, KyoAni should’ve just let Kihachi try the sake. We have kids flying a fucking plane, but they can’t have a sip of alcohol? It’s beyond ridiculous.
— Enjoy the eyecatch, I guess.