Oreshura Review: Episode 13: Fin

Warning: This is a long post.

Although I will not review the other 11 episodes in between, I will admit that Oreshura has been quite the roller coaster ride for me, over the course of the entire series. It has been a while since a series like this has stuck with me and plagued my thoughts with its finale. When I finished Infinite Stratos, I didn't think twice about the characters or the plot, and I simply moved on the next series. However, I will admit that I have found a soft spot for this series in my heart, and it won't be leaving anytime soon. 

For those of you who have not watched the episodes in between, I will warn you now that this post contains SPOILERS!

This episodes starts right where the last one left off, with Eita (literally) crashing into Mana, who explains a little about Masuzu, and urges Eita to go find her, which leads to him running into the Oredere contest that Saeko introduced to the girls earlier. This sequence is complimented by a title sequence that is melded with the events of the episode, which means that the theme song Girlish Lover(which I am a huge fan of) is nowhere to be found, which is to be expected in this kind of episode, and is actually the right move, considering that this episode is noticeably less comedic than the rest of the series in general.

After a remarkably candid confession from Chiwa, which fits into her more straightforward character, Eita meets with Hime, who gives a confession of her own and leads to Ai getting disqualified from the contest, which is a nostalgic scene that reminds us exactly how far the characters have come since the start of the series. 

And then, comes the most memorable ten minutes of this entire series, which starts with Masuzu going onto the stage and stating that Eita has broken up with her, a reference to the previous episode when she "released" Eita from their agreement. In response, Eita walks up onstage to convince her otherwise, leading to a surprisingly touching exchange during which we see Masuzu truly lower her walls for the first time in the series, revealing her own feelings of inadequacy, which have been hinted at all series. 

Eita then makes a surprisingly bold move of admitting that he loves Masuzu, with quick cuts to the other girls that make you realize exactly how much weight Eita's choices have, because in choosing Masuzu, which is a decision that most series would not make and gave me more respect for Oreshura, he is truly doing damage to the other girls. Added to the power of his confession is the type of self-deprecating rhetoric he uses, which really reflects the kind of conflicting and confusing feelings that they have for each other. I thought that the choice of dialogue was really strong, and accurately fit into the characterization of both Masuzu and Eita. 

In addition, Masuzu admits that, despite hating Eita early on, she has grown to have conflicting feelings for him, leading to a heartfelt and emotional kiss between them, leading up to a quick shot of the other girls once more, again reminding us of just how important Eita's confession was to the status of the collective relationships he has built up over the course of the entire series.

Then the episode cuts to the next morning, where Masuzu and Eita are in bed and she delivers one of the finest lines I have ever heard by telling Eita, upon embracing him and acting like a true girlfriend that, "When I do this, I feel like I'm rotting from the inside out. But if I am to rot and return to the earth with you, then maybe that won't be so bad, after all."

Just the way that Masuzu words it, after she seems that she is fully accepting of her feelings and lowering her walls for a small moment, makes you realize that their romance is not perfect by any means. But in the end, it doesn't matter, because neither of them are interested in perfection, being the fake people that they are. They are the outcasts, the pariahs, the untouchables, in their own distinct ways. And perhaps, that is the exact reason why they deliver one of the most intimate and moving moments of the entire series.

Following that, Saeko tells Eita that he must get rid of the harem, unless he wants to incite conflict. And, to his credit, he tries, failing horribly in the process, with a particularly memorable moment with Ai that is a bit ridiculous and draws you a bit out of the moment, but is enjoyable nonetheless . And after a particularly honest and well executed confession by Chiwa, the series is left ending ambiguously with Chiwa and Masuzu staring each other down, hopefully hinting to a second season, although nothing is official yet. And immediately following is a quick run through of the events of the series and some new material, all set to my new favorite anime ost, Girlish Lover, and like that, Oreshura is over, for the time being. 

SPOILERS END HERE

If you couldn't tell from my rant above, I really enjoyed Oreshura. It started off auspiciously enough, looking like it would be an enjoyable series to have a few chuckles with. However, over the course of the last thirteen episodes, it really grew on me, and I found that by the end, I genuinely cared about the characters and where the plot was going. 

Oreshura was not just another harem series, as it shook off boring and predictable fan-service for a well executed and interesting plot, that really kept me locked in for every episode, wondering about what was going to happen next. It wasn't really anything particularly inventive or different, but it was a well made product on the technical side, with consistently good animation and voice acting that was right in line with the characters they were portraying. 

Beyond that, Oreshura touched me emotionally, and I found that, upon finishing this series, I felt a certain emptiness that only an engaging series could evoke. I felt a similar feeling at the conclusion of Ouran Highschool Host Club, Code Geass, and Fate/Zero, to give you an idea of exactly how attached I became to this series over time. Now, that's not to say that Oreshura is on the same level as these shows, but the fact that I could even be reminded of such accomplished series is a compliment of the highest order. 

As I said initially, I think that Oreshura is a great series that anyone can get into for a few laughs, but also, with the final few episodes, it has the ability to really draw out some emotion that elevates it from being more than just another harem show. Overall, I think that this was a great series that anyone can really get into and enjoy for a well made romantic comedy show that has an interesting medium between hilarious and touching moments.

Rating: 9.5/10.0

This episode was an extremely satisfying and worthy conclusion to an well made and interesting series that I really enjoyed.

Series Rating: 9.0/10.0

With consistently strong elements in every episode, Oreshura has been quite the enjoyable ride. It consistently goes above and beyond the normal conventions of a harem series and admittedly grew on me as time went on. It is definitely a series that I would recommend to everyone.