The ending of Bokutachi no Remake anime was perfect for the direction the story was going toward. I've mostly enjoyed it, though the presentation had some unsatisfying issues. The ending left us with a lot of questions to be answered in the Light Novel/Manga and the second season, though chances of the latter happening are still slim.
This review is a follow-up to my reviews for episode 8 in which Kyouya's actions led to his friends giving up on their creative works, and episode 10 review in which Kyouya saw the future he created by messing up. Then realizes he can still fix what's left of his dream in this new world.
I didn't write a review for episode 11. It was's a beautiful episode. Kyouya helped save his company, but he feared that by taking the lead from Kawasegawa and helping her team, he made her want to leave too. She got angry hearing he thought of her that way!
Kawasegawa told him a great "Self-help" speech that deserves an article on its own! Kyouya learns that his mistake wasn't that he meddled in his friends' lives when he shouldn't have been there. It was that he hid his vulnerabilities from them.
He didn't seem to consider them equals. He smiled with them in happy times, but only cried alone in sad times. It naturally led to them thinking of him as an amazing person that doesn't need help, and they can't offer anything to help him. Kyouya learned how mistaken he was.
When he was finally alone. Keiko arrived!
This final episode starts when Kyouya meets Keiko. He seems to know at this point that she can control time or something, but (unlike us the audience) he doesn't question it.
She asks if he wants to go back. She was surprised to know that he does. Kyouya of this timeline has a wife and a kid who love him. He's well respected in his company. This Kyouya is one of the happiest people alive! Yet, he's willing to throw all of that if, only if he shares his creative life with his "platinum generation trio."
"I didn't go back in time because I wanted to be happy. It wasn't about getting a nice girl or cheating to become a hero. I wanted to struggle... To be hurt! To lose hope... To be pushed to the edge. And with them... If I can go through it all with them... I'd take that over a happy future any day. I want to go back. I want to go back to the past, to be with everyone!" --- Kyouya
Yeah... That answers some of the questions we had as fandom. Why doesn't he use his knowledge from the future to avoid disasters? or win lotteries? Because he doesn't want to!! His only desire is to be with his friends and be able to help them and create things with them.
As a creative person myself. (As I'd like to imagine myself anyway,) I totally understand that desire. I wanted to be equal to some of my friends in art and writing, but I'm not as dedicated as Kyouya to the cause.
Before going back to the past. Kyouya asks Keiko to give him time to bid his farewell to the people he cares about most in this timeline: His wife, and daughter.
As he goes back home one last time, Maki greets him saying she found out "Mommy is really good at art!" Aki tells him she played the game his company developed and got inspired to draw again. She wants to draw a lot from now on. These scenes were actually heartbreaking knowing what Kyouya had already decided to do. It'll make Maki fade from existence!
As Kyouya smiles, I can only think of what's going on in his head. Probably something like: "I'll make this happen again, in a better future." (Because I'll be angry if it's anything less than that!!)
I'm so conflicted about this finale, to be honest... It's hard to agree with Kyouya's decision of destroying this timeline, but in the same way, the story started by him doing the same thing to other families. I do love the message the story is trying to convey here. Kyouya isn't a savior, and his selfless side is actually selfish in a way. To fulfill his goal to work with the platinum trio!
"Welcome back, protagonist. Hope you're ready for hell again!" -- Keiko
Kyouya goes back to the day Tsurayki dropped out of school. He wakes up to see Shinoaki and Nanako worried about him, and not knowing what to do with Tsurayuki's situation. He doesn't try to pursue his friend, instead, he thinks about the future, knowing he'll meet him again. "The Remake has just started!"
After a while, he started noticing the signs of Nanako and Shinoaki getting into a creative slump. He dealt with Nanako's dependence on him by pushing her to work alone, but didn't know what to do about Aki's lack of inspiration. That is, until he met a certain girl on a fateful day. The same girl he saved in the future timeline he abandoned: "Ayaka Minori."
The season ends with Kyouya asking Kawasegawa if he's ever in a need of help, will she get out of her way to help him? She asks what's wrong with his head? But if he truly needed help, she might help him. Confirming what the future version of her said to him. He then goes to meet up with Tsurayuki and the final shot of the anime is when they encounter each other...
The season ends with the perfect "read the source material" bait. There's no reason to believe there would be a season 2 since this isn't a very popular anime. As far as I know, there isn't a translated version of the Light Novel for now, and the manga only started to catch up with the parts the anime adapted after it ended.
This is the final chance Kyouya has to redo his life, and I'm betting he'll make it with his friends and form a future even better than the happy one we witnessed the past three episodes!
What do you think?
I started writing this after the episode aired, but it sat unfinished for more than a month until I decided I had to put it out there. I hope you enjoyed reading this review. I love this series, and even though I think the chances of getting a second season are slim, I like to think we'll get it.
The first image is made with Canva using a color page from LN Vol.4. The next images are screenshots of the anime.
This article is also on Hive's Ecency. (Different Screenshots.)
It's looking so romantic and interesting too. You've watched some peculiar anime after all. Gonna try this one for sure.