What They Say:
Banri Tada is a newly admitted student at a private law school in Tokyo. However, due to an accident, he lost all of his memories. During his freshman orientation, he encounters another freshman from the same school, Mitsuo Yanagisawa, and they hit it off at once. Without any memory of each other, their lives become more and more intertwined as if set by the hands of fate. But what is their fate, and will it lead to happiness or another memory to forget…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The slow but sure changes going on with Banri since he first went back home awhile ago ended up bringing us to the position we were in during the previous episode where his mind started collapsing around him. Having it happen amid the festival was just the extra icing on the cake to really crush him mentally and the fears are really starting to rise at this point. The idea that he’s going to lose who he is now is definitely painful for him to think about, but he also wonders what will happen to the old him, in that he’d be picking up right where he left off in high school and have to live life while being a bit behind in some ways since Banri has progressed and advanced a good deal since then. And you know there are issues in the back of his mind over Koko as well.
Koko is putting more and more together about what’s going on, which isn’t quite easy since Banri does keep a lot of things in, and the two of them have a pretty engaging discussion about it late one night where she once again makes it clear to him that he really needs to trust her more and talk to her more. It’s pretty nicely done, even if it doesn’t come to a real conclusion, but it does put them on a better path again as they work towards being a stronger couple. Which includes the start of putting together a bit of a dinner party for everyone so they can reinforce those bonds in a fun way. The show also spends some time with Oka-chan in the first half since she’s still having conflicted issues with Banri because of her feelings with Mitsuo and the kind of weird view of things that exists with Linda and so forth. It’s nicely earnest, but the story simply has not clicked for me.
But that conversation turns badly for Banri as his mind again starts to break and he reverts to his old self in a panic, not knowing where he is and completely freaking out. It’s a scary situation and as others come to help, you realize even more just how frightening it can be. What becomes interesting is that we see how Banri finally starts telling his male friends what’s going on and it leads him to eventually recording a video that has him explaining who he is, should he be lost to his old self. He’s so intent on trying to make sure he doesn’t disappear that he wants to make sure there’s some sort of record and he knows that his time could come to a close soon. But the most painful of moments is when he goes to try and bring a stronger sense of bonding between him and Koko, she essentially gives him the cold shoulder, likely just to protect herself, as she seemingly reverts to who she was at the start of the series, unable to handle what Banri is going through. It’s brutally rough to watch and as it hits the ending here, it leaves you feeling completely empty.
In Summary:
It’s obvious that the really difficult times would hit here in the final episodes, but since we’ve had shades of it for so long in this second half of the series, it doesn’t feel forced or like the drama is being wedged in. This is an issue that Banri has faced for some time that has been getting progressively worse. While he does get support from his male friends as his breakdown gets worse, it’s made worse by the way the girls seemingly push and prod him more, which makes him more susceptible to things. So when it does all come out, there’s a lot of issues to deal with. Naturally, the final moments are what’s most striking here, rightly so, and it leaves you both desperately craving the next episode but also incredibly apprehensive about it.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
I agree to what you have written there. I just finish watching the episode 21. kinda felt empty.
I don’t know what’s happening there but to me what happened in the bridge is clearly a plot to kill banri. (Base on the width of the bridge and not helping him.)