[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I really need to compose my thoughts after watching an episode of this show before blogging it, so much happens every damn week - but it's churning around and needs to come out. The review:

Just a couple of general thoughts, somewhat in response to RRR's post:

Spoiler for Speculation on the River Scene:

I don't think the hinting here is that Menma is coming back to life - rather, I think the hinting may (and I hate, hate, hate suggesting it) that Jintan is going to die. Consider:

- The river representing the barrier between this world and the afterlife is nothing new - it's literally older than the Greeks. But the symbolism here was pretty obvious. From the moment Menma felt that cold breeze and saw the ghost carp, that river scene was magical - and ominous. Clearly, it was a hugely important moment for the series.

- Jintan finally admitted that he wanted Menma to "stay around forever". Immediately afterward, he looked at the water and noted with a frown that she had no reflection. So she can't stay around forever - not in the world of the living. But what he said could be interpreted as "I want Menma to stay with me forever."

- Please note the long, lingering, slow-motion shot of Jintan jumping into the water. The splash, all of it. The river that has such obvious symbolic import, the river he was so adamant that Mernma not step into that he almost broke his neck racing down the embankment to stop her.

In some ways, I think a case could be made than Jintan died when Menma died. He'd already lost his mother, and how his beloved childhood sweetheart. He retreated inside himself - became a hikikomori, had no joy in his life at all. Until Menma came back, anyway. Maybe what Jintan really wants is to be together with Menma and his mother, and the only way for that to happen is for him to cross the river.

Mind you, that's speculation. I'd bet my house that the river scene was colossally important, but there's enough potential symbolism there for me to be off base. Did Menma die in that river? That could account for a lot. And I certainly hope that this isn't the case - indeed, I've resisted the notion that he could be dying since it was first proposed. I hope that isn't the way this is headed - but for the first time, I really feel as though it might be.

Spoiler for Brief response:

Hhmmm... you could be right. That is another way, and perhaps a more natural way, of taking Jinta's comments.

While I'd actually prefer this to Menma magically coming back to life, it also wouldn't be how I'd like to see the anime end.

So, yeah, I don't like the idea of Jinta dying either.

Truthfully, I don't think Okada needs to do anything plot twisty at this point. The premise of the show is different enough as is, and that alone gives it a distinctive feel.

So, at this juncture, I agree with the opinion that you've been voicing for awhile now. In other words, that a simple end where the gang gets back together and Menma moves on through her wish being achieved (while the gang comes to grips with losing her) would probably be for the best.

But the more I think about it, the more I think the idea of Jinta dying could very well fit the hints that we've seen. The question of "Why does Menma only appear to Jinta?" is one that still hasn't really been answered concretely yet. Maybe it's because she can't move on to the afterlife until Jinta comes with her...