Episode 12 – “The Things I Want to Tell You”

In this, the final episode of Kotoura-san, the series takes the opportunity to wrap a few loose ends, reaching a mostly satisfying conclusion. Life returns to normal after the craziness that was the student assault case, and Mifune declares that the ESP Research Society is no more. Since she’s come to terms with how her mother was treated, she feels there’s no more reason to use Kotoura for her own ends. However, Kotoura admits that she’s been using Mifune as well, by giving her a space in which she could be herself, and thanks the president for it. The club’s new function is now to simply have fun with a psychic, but we all know that’s what it’s been doing all this time.

Kotoura’s mom makes another return by randomly showing up at Kotoura’s apartment. They get into an argument, and Kotoura finally stands up for herself and her friends, accusing her mother of being friendless and having bad taste in men. This leads to one of the strangest pillow fights that I’ve ever seen before. Her mom eventually falls asleep, and Kotoura gets to see the truth in her heart for the first time. When she left Kotoura as a child, there was enormous regret for her actions and she blames herself for not being a good enough mother. That scene where she coldly leaves the manor is totally turned upon its head and was wonderfully done. It shows that despite having ESP, Kotoura was only able to see her mother at the surface level. Kotoura wakes up to find her favorite food, eggs over easy (mentioned all the way from the first episode), on the table made by her mother.

I was wholly pleased with this series, and I think it handled the balance between drama, romance, and comedy fairly well. The comedy was the high point for me, but the dramatic moments were quite powerful at times (the rich orchestral music really helped set the mood). The characters were all likable (my favorite ended up being Moritani), and I think Manabe started to even grow on me.

The romance gets some closure, too! Well, sort of. Mifune reveals to Kotoura just how hopeless her situation with Muroto is, but they’re childhood friends so it’s to be expected. Moritani gives Kotoura her okay and even helps her with confessing her feelings to Manabe. We get a cute confession scene between Kotoura and Manabe in front of a Christmas tree, and the series closes almost how it began: an aerial shot of Kotoura walking to school. This time, there’s no longer an empty circle surrounding her. Her friends run up to her, and the world is bright. Love it, love it, love it.

B.W.