Rating: A
After seeing the final episode, why this season started so late makes perfect sense. Though the series has a full 12 episodes of content, its final part could not feasibly be broken into two individual episodes (just like with the franchise’s first episode!), so only 11 airing slots would be needed. The result is a 53-minute finale which provides some of the strongest and most emotional developments in the franchise since its first episode, as well as two scenes that have been a very long time in coming. Kudos to the production team for beautifully setting up and executing both of them.
The first of these developments concerns one of the series’ foundational ironies: that the person Ruby has long been looking for in this new life has always been literally right beside her, but neither of them were aware of it. The series has indicated on a few occasions before that Doctor Goro was close to Sarina’s heart in her previous life, to the point that her desire to become an idol was even more focused on getting his attention than it was on following in Ai’s footsteps, but exactly how deeply Sarina was emotionally invested in Goro only becomes clear as Sarina’s mother, The 15 Year Lie‘s advertising executive, steps into the picture. Ruby did try to look up Goro, so I’ve always wondered if she also tried to look up her own parents, and of course she did. And what she finds is emotionally devastating: her mother moved on, had additional kids, and eventually lived a happy life – all without her.
On first impression, this definitely casts Marina Tendouji in a bad light, but it’s not as simple as casting her as a villain here. She ultimately couldn’t deal with Sarina’s illness and had to distance herself both physically and emotionally for her own well-being. That’s supremely unfair to Sarina but not necessarily callous, and her body language in the scene where she’s called about Sarina’s death suggests that she did care. But the fact that she couldn’t provide the emotional support her daughter needed meant that Sarina had to find it elsewhere, so it’s no wonder Sarina latched onto Goro. And Ruby’s confusion about her feelings towards her mother is why she struggles with the one scene in the script.
The series has done a fantastic job before at showing a person descending into the depths of mental breakdown, and the production makes Ruby’s situation here every bit as relatable as Akane’s back in the first season episode “Egosurfing” (which I still regard as the series’ second-best episode after its opener.) The stress Ruby’s under as she tries to navigate her packed schedule while still sticking to her goals and learn how to properly act is palpable, and a break is inevitable. Just like with Aqua in season 2, Kana inadvertently triggers it with seemingly-innocuous acting advice: know yourself and base your performance on that. To anyone else that would be harmless, even insightful, but Ruby has never fully stepped beyond her former identity as Sarina, so that’s the hardest challenge imaginable for her. Combined with seeing her mother with her new family, that triggers the break. And since Aqua just happens to come across her in the midst of it, that leads to the revelation fans have been waiting for since early in season 1 episode 1.
Although the series has impressed me on a number of occasions with the strength and impact of its emotional displays, it’s only brought me to tears twice, and the scene where Sarina and Goro are finally knowingly reunited is the second time. Especially high praise goes to the fine musical work and acting by Yurie Igoma (aka Ruby) throughout this scene, but the staging and flow of it are handled well, too. Especially heartening as well is the emphasis placed on how Ruby shouldn’t try to exactly follow in Ai’s footsteps in her path to becoming an idol – or, for that matter, follow in her brother’s footsteps to become a revenge-seeker. Ai was the ultimate liar, and that’s what worked for her, but that’s not Ruby. Her salvation is that she has to do things her own way; she has to be Ruby, not Ai. Beyond Ai and Goro’s deaths, the other great tragedy of the story is that Aqua did at one point embrace that philosophy, too, but then let himself get dragged back into the pit again.
But Ruby isn’t the only one under a heavy load of stress here. Though she’s not shown it much, Miyako has been under an increasing pressure herself in trying to manage Ruby while still leading the company. The writing has always underplayed the potential conflict between her being Aqua and Ruby’s stand-in mother and their boss, but here, as Miyako is approaching her own breaking point, it’s finally allowed to gestate. The scene where she finally encounters and confronts Ichigo may not carry the emotional weight of the Sarina/Goro reunion, but it’s still quite the fierce release of emotion, and the mercifully-brief flashback showing how Miyako ended up where she was back in episode 1 is an excellent (and very necessary) touch for justifying the strength of her emotions. Also especially impactful was the scene where it zoomed out on her as Ichigo is explaining the modifications which needed to be done to Ruby’s schedule, but credit to Ichigo for not letting her dwell on the sense of how he could have done that task better. And kudos to her for making it clear that she’s now the one wearing the figurative pants in that relationship.
And wasn’t it nice to finally see evidence that Strawberry Pro isn’t just Miyako but actually a whole, proper staff? This is, I believe, the first time we’ve seen any of them except the guy that Ruby picked up.
Remarkably given all the heavy content in this episode, it still manages to work in some humor, too. Ruby’s more-playful-than-ever behavior, Kana and Mem’s stunned reactions to it, Miyako’s “discipline,” and even the snipes going all around among Kana, Akane, Ruby, and Mem all provide welcome light moments. But the episode truly saves the best for last on that front: Aqua’s stunning choice of invite for a child actor for the movie. I must admit, I didn’t see that one coming until just a minute or so before Aqua drops the bomb. It’s an incredible choice of scene to end the season on.
But don’t miss that this episode also has a post-credits scene, one that expands just a little bit on the post-credits scene in episode 1. But that “little bit” is enough to be a major tease, too.
Fans who know how the source material ends can complain all they want about that, but that doesn’t change that this part of the story, at least, still has top-tier writing and production. This is legitimately one of top 3-4 series of the season, up there with Journal with Witch, SHIBOYUGI, and Frieren. And a season 4 that will (presumably) round out the franchise has been announced, too!
USA Anime 