#final thoughts

I was surprised that the breakup between Hirose and Hana was went by fast. I was assuming it’d get dragged a bit longer, but the breakup happens around a quarter of the way through the episode. Then after that, it’s just cute Nakahiro moments. There are a lot of changes from the second half of the Hana chapter that the anime adapted from in that the reveal that the two had kissed was omitted as well as any traces of Otogiri talking to Hirose after the breakup. Some of the things Otogiri said in the chapter are said by Hirose in the episode. The most important quotes are mostly Hirose saying how he doesn’t understand girls and Nakamura telling him how charming he is. Congrats, Nakamura, you just solidified a possible path!

Other than that, I liked the mostly anime-original aspects of the Nakahiro moments. The part where they went on an unofficial date was so cute. I think this is the first time Hirose is seen in casual clothes, which is honestly a treat for Nakamura as it does feel as if his hard work on wanting to be Hirose’s friend and still hanging onto his feelings is rewarded! Honestly, Hirose looked adorable in that sweater and cap and he looks really good in dark blue—it compliments the light brown very well! I like that they didn’t just stop at the movies but also went to the park. It’s like Hirose finds Nakamura’s presence special and it does hone in on how some people have someone they like to hang out with outside of their usual friends.

I do like that the ending is also a montage of most of the characters who appeared in the story both on and off-screen. Poor Matsumura—he still gets forgotten by Hirose. Nakamura definitely has something he can rub in his face later on. Also, I was surprised that Reiko and Tamura are second years? I thought they were third years?

If there’s anything that I don’t like, whether it be about this episode or the series overall, it’d be that this definitely only got an adaptation because it’s a BL that’s not explicit and “easy” to work with. What I mean is that since Nakahiro aren’t explicitly together, the animation staff definitely did whatever they wanted with the source material and even added in original content to add in extra run time for the season. While they’re not bad choices, it does show that the lack of BL anime is mostly due to stigma and other stuff. Regardless, the adaptation was good, probably one of the better BL anime adaptations by far. I love the color choices, voice cast and that the ending song always changes each episode. It was definitely something made with a lot of care. I just hope there will be more BL anime of this quality in this future.

Anyways, it’s also funny how people are begging for a Season 2 when some of them are the ones who bullied Syundei off the internet and caused them to lose motivation in writing a continuation. And those bullies are still badmouthing the author to this day… Will there be a Season 2? Definitely not. Was it worth the delay? Absolutely. Let me know your thoughts on the finale and the anime as a whole!

There are a few things I wish they had wrapped up better- what will happen with Clarissa and Eleanor in more detail, for example.

Can the Skyscale Rathalos Twins cure Crystallisis?

Since the Covenant was rewritten, how many Vermeilans will cross the Maridian for a new start? How about any Azurians?

All of these are things I think the story could have wrapped up better. But there is one thing I think they handled well- Amara's amnesia.

I am honestly fine with the fact she doesn't get her memories back, and stays with the Scriveners. As satisfying as it would have been for her to remember it all and come back to her husband, King Arken, and the player in Azuria... I think this is also a good outcome.

Not everything needs a perfect, happy ending. Instead of waving away her amnesia with a trope or something, the writers allowed Amara to remain an amnesiac, but also showed that she and the player are able to have a new, healthy relationship. It isn't perfect, and maybe one day Amara will remember it all, but for now, she is at peace with not knowing, and the player still gets to have her in their life again.

It isn't clean-cut, it is messy, and honestly it is a real representation of what can happen when a loved one loses their memories in real life. The game presents a valid and positive outcome for the Azurian royal family, without a magical fix-it.

Even the things I wish were clarified more that I listed above can also fall into this category. And as much as I want to know more, I also appreciate the open-ended approach the developers took. And if we never get those answers, that is okay.

I will just go to my own head canons and fanfiction, as I am sure many of us will do.

Ok so here's what I'd say first off the bat - I think the episode absolutely killed Jihyuk dead lmaoooooo. And I'm not just saying that from the perspective of a gtopper, I mean that ship is literally floating around in the water as a wreckage of its former self. My reasons for this are:

in the beginning where Daesung is talking about Soohyuk, he says that, although he's known him for a long time, he's not particularly close with him and only sees him at Jiyong's stuff and doesn't really talk to him much. If Jihyuk were real, I figure they'd know each other better, right?? I'm close with my best friends' partners because I love my besties and I want to be part of their lives which involves their partners, but I don't know my best friends' other friends because like.... what would be the point lol they're not MY friends, you know what I mean? idk it just struck me as the 'strike one' of the ship imo

I will say, Soohyuk is brilliant in this ep, he's so dry-witted and sarcastic, but I think a bit too... boring for a relationship with Jiyong 😭 like, the dynamic between the two of them feels more like two aging queens who are just catty bitches to each other but they do it with yeaaars and years of friendship behind them, rather than people who are besotted with each other. We've seen Jiyong's love-eyes and we've seen the sort of weirdness and stupid sense of humour he's attracted to, and I just don't think Soohyuk has it, I'm sorry!

Think about it logically lmao how could Daesung's plan have worked if Jihyuk were dating? Surely they'd both know if they'd been asked to be on his show if they were genuinely in a relationship hahahahaha

I think Dae bringing the fact that they seem like an old married couple and people think they've been matching each other a lot... isn't that weird actually? He's smart lol he knows that's what the fans would want them to talk about, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was possibly used as an in for them to dispel any rumours and clear up any weirdness between them. I do have my own opinions about Jihyuk as a ship, but I don't think there was anything really there between them, especially not from Jiyong's end

In terms of my general GTOP thoughts that came up in the ep:

Baby Jiyong telling baby Soohyuk that he can't be in BigBang because he's too tall is HILARIOUS to me because he went and tracked down...... another tall guy with a deep voice lmao he's been nursing that crush on Seunghyun for forever, hasn't he

I do not believe for one SECOND Jiyong's nonsense about liking things so quickly he doesn't realise what he's liking because that's simply not the truth, Ellen - I know we're not taking his likes as seriously anymore but I absolutely do not believe that he's scrolling past them so fast he doesn't see them, and Soohyuk's smirk tells me I'm probably right

And him talking about how he puts a lot of effort into his instagram stories, so all those references to Seunghyun were absolutely him and were absolutely deliberate and something he spent a long time on, ok Jiyong, I know your game!

Jiyong himself says "I hate doing things halfway" and that he's a perfectionist, so I 100000% believe all the hints and references he's been making are intentional, nothing gets past him

and then, in the FINAL MINUTE, he drops the "multiple perspectives/another dimension" line, which makes both Daesung and Soohyuk freeze up - I think even Jiyong knew he'd possibly crossed a line because he immediately jumped in about Daesung's phone to cover their terror hahahahahahaha, he's such a fucking sneaky little shit and he absolutely LOVES his man and he loves supporting him and bigging him up in little ways where he can 🥰🥰🥰