 We've finally reached the end of Kono Minikuku wo Utsukushii Sekai. The most surprising thing about it, is that GAINAX
didn't ruin it - with bitter-sweet endings being a very hit-and-miss
affair (remember Mahoromatic?), alarm bells were ringing from the
moment I realised the direction these final episodes were headed in...
11 - Flowing with Time
Hikari's rummaging around in Takeru's mind, and she's finding out about
things he really doesn't want her to know about. She's trying to
provoke him into losing control, but he's determined not to let her get
to him. Hikari's equally determined to fulfil her programming, though,
leading Akari to try and intervene. Meanwhile, Ryou has realised what's
driving Hikari, and uses the powers he gained from Akari to buy enough
time to explain things to Takeru...
12 - The Song of my Heart
While Hikari and Takeru try to come to terms with each other, the
destruction program continues to run around them. After Takeru's
confession, Hikari no longer wishes to destroy the Earth - but events
have taken on a life of their own and can no longer be stopped easily...
Step back in time a bit, to the end of Mahoromatic ~Something More Beautiful~ - a show by the same team as KonoMini. In an attempt to do a bitter-sweet ending, the GAINAX
effect unfortunately kicked in, and we were left with a final episode
that pleased very few people (and to some, including myself, ruined the
whole premise of the show). With that little bit of history, I was
worried KonoMini would suffer the same fate, especially since this show also makes an attempt at that elusive bitter-sweet ending.
Amazingly, in this case they've pulled it off. There's very little
filler in these two episodes, with almost the whole story being devoted
to Takeru's efforts to persuade Hikari that what he feels for her is
true love. The rest of the cast get a look-in, but not much, with only
Akari getting any significant part in events - thanks to her position
as Hikari's 'conscience', if you like. It all makes for addictive
viewing, especially after some of the mid-season episodes where I was
really wondering if it was worth continuing with the series.
A little bit of selective editing, and you could get the real feel of KonoMini
from probably 5 or 6 of the episodes - the rest is filler, and annoying
filler at that. There's also a little bit of the feel of the 'reset
button' in the very final scenes, but not enough to spoil the effect of
the ending. Overall, the series has been worth watching and has had
some touching moments, but ultimately it's not going to stand out as a
classic. That said, there's plenty here to make it worthwhile. |
