Check-out Station: Flowers of Evil

I knew I was gonna regret delving into this casually.  This episode definitely requires a sound mind before hopping into its world.  Though what I was thrown towards the end I was not prepared for.

I don’t really have words for this final episode, mostly because I thought it was presented poorly.  And I know this is a bit hypocritical coming from someone who has defended and tolerated this show because I believe its wonderfully artistic.  But the jarring presentation at the end I felt was just a furious dump of images and shocking developments that made me feel that we had taken a walk, but dashed from the sidewalk to the doorstep of the house we were getting to.  I really didn’t like it.  And it’s not because of what I was shown, but because of how it was presented.

As for the show in total, it’s been one of the more interesting rides I’ve taken in anime.  The world always seemed normal, but it didn’t seem to match up with the world inside the heads of Kasuga and Nakamura.  The logic I saw didn’t apply.  The sense of scale was way off.  And the general consensus on normal seemed to suffocate these characters.  So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised (though I was) that when these two characters finally got in sync it would turn into a volatile and explosion combination.  Nothing ever seemed “right” about either characters, but I chalked that up to being over dramatic, selfish teenagers.  But it seems that this goes way beyond a need to express, and into a need to explode.

I had a lot to say about this show, but I feel strangely deflated by the ending.  It’s strange, too.  I tolerated the unique animation and story telling style because I generally found it interesting.  I can appreciate a series that makes such effort to present itself differently.  It appealed to me, and I felt like rewarding it.  I’m just disappointed that the show didn’t feel like following that through to the end.  What a flame out.

Further Reading:

• Episode 12