(L) Evergreen

[Sejuro]

Originally Posted by rpapo

Received the latest Dengeki Daioh last night, opened it up about an hour ago. After being unable to answer the questions from another person as to how exactly it turned out, I went through every page of the chapter and wrote up a brief summary of each page.

Spoiler:

Page 1: Hotaka riding up the mountain on his bike in the rain. Nikki looking out the window at the rain.‏

Page 2: A bridge breaks as Hotaka passes over, but he makes it up to the cottage and bangs on the door, calling for Nikki.‏

Page 3: She answers the door, and explains that she would have left, but her bike won't start.‏

‎Page 4: Hotaka is trying to get her to leave, asking her why she came up there in the first place.‏

Page 5: "Enough! Come with me! This isn't the place to talk!"‏

Page 6: Outside. Niki: "I'm scared!" Hotaka: "Try your best!" She gets apologetic.‏

Page 7: Running in the rain and dark in the forest, they reach a fork in the path and must decide which to follow. He doesn't know which way leads to town.‏

Page 8: The lightning bug shows up, and Hotaka says, "Father?"‏

Page 9: "That's it, of course! That's our Father! Can you see him, Niki? He's calling. Father is calling us!" Niki: "Eh?"

Page 10: They spot the light, and we have a vision of their Father reaching out his hand for them. Hotaka: "He's calling for us!"‏

Page 11: Running in the dark, following the light. Many commentaries about how they were being led, together.‏

Page 12: Father truly loved us, both Niki and I. Father's love for us continues. Father chose me. That is something I understand now.‏

Page 13: They make it to the road.‏

Page 14: They see civil defense force out there trying to evacuate the area. A patrol car is summoned.‏

Page 15: They're in a local school building, serving as a shelter. Both of them are thinking "Thank you".‏

Page 16: The lightning bug is seen dead on the window sill. Hotaka and Niki are sleeping on the floor near the wall, holding hands. One last thank you.‏

Page 17: Hotaka's mother shows up and wakes him. She scolds him a bit for making her worry.‏

Page 18: Hotaka's mother spots Niki and remarks "You two look alike." She goes over to Niki and offers help, but Niki refuses, saying her own mother would come soon.‏

Page 19: Niki apologizes for having put Hotaka in danger, but she admits that if Hotaka had not come to help her, she would have been in real trouble. A smile from Hotaka's mother, and a silly scene where she offers her a snack.‏

Page 20: Hotaka's mother: "I'm glad your safe. I'm glad both of you are safe. I'm relieved."‏

Page 21: Hotaka breaks out balling. Both women look back at him in surprise. Niki: "What's wrong, Hotaka!?" Hotaka: "I'm crying your share!"‏

Page 22: "We are plainly the sun and the rain. That is the sum of our existence."‏

Page 23-24: Nikki in the sunlight in the forest, with a lot of philosophizing in the background text.‏

Page 25: Back to school. "And then, to you eternally..."‏

Page 26: Conversation. Summer vacation is over. Soga showing off his bald head. On-chan clapping, "Sexy, sexy!"‏

Page 27: Banter with On-chan. Hotaka notices Niki approaching.‏

Page 28: Some commentary from the other two guys to Hotaka about how they'd expected Hotaka to be an item with Niki by now.‏

Page 29: Hotaka narrating: "Nikki and I dated for a little bit, but soon broke up. It was awkward. We decided to ignore each other at school.‏

Page 29: In reality, though...‏

Page 30: A scene where Hotaka sees her down by the pool, cleaning the deck. She looks up, spots him, waves and gives him a beautiful smile. He clutches his heart, as if in mild pain.‏

Page 31: The watermelon seed they planted is sprouting.‏ And it says the fourth tankobon will come out in May.

<facepalm> Well, at least nobody died.

[RightSaidFred]

Originally Posted by Sejuro

<facepalm> Well, at least nobody died.

Not bad. I didn't think she would actually kill off Niki but it's about the best ending you're going to get without it be some gigantic ass-pull ending where it was all a mis-understanding. Takemiya stuck to her guns and I applaud her for that.

[csuree]

but still, the love of your life turns out to be your sister....ohh i wanted something happier.
Gigantic ass-pull ending .... What rpapo described in his brief summary is actually the ass-pull ending:
- lightning bug = father (ass-pull #1)
- Hotaka having visions = psychosis (#2)
- "We are plainly the sun and the rain. That is the sum of our existence."‏ What the f*#&? From where was this copied? (#3)

If this is the ending to the series, then I am going to ignore every chapter after the festival, until that point it had future, it had potential to be something.....from there...downhill.
Most likely budget cuts, personal issues or anything, but this was a pathetic way to end the series. I'm a bit pissed but I am also thankful that it did not have a worse ending.
Even Golden Time's ending was better than this, at least they stayed together even after his amnesia. But I hated how he forgot about her.

[obnuchious]

just a fanfic imagination of mine....

storywise; they could still end up together . . . move to another town/city, enjoy life there or whatnot, and then get married . . .

this would be my preferred ending for these two . . .

[theshade1]

Well this endings about as expected. I mean it literally reeks of the series being axed, and the author ending it the best she could. So not much else to say really.

Originally Posted by csuree

Even Golden Time's ending was better than this, at least they stayed together even after his amnesia. But I hated how he forgot about her.

Eh? Why'd u think he forgot about her in the end? I could've sworn he remembers her, its just that he forgets the events of his life in that time when he was the new Banri. Maybe I'm mistaken cuz its been quite long since I read/watched that.

[rpapo]

I am only speculating here, but regarding Yuyuko Takemiya, we have seen several things happen:

(1) Golden Time (the light novel) had its ending rushed. Too much stuff was packed into the eight volume, which turned out both very thick, and very rushed. This may only have been because of the pressure to publish the last volume in the same week as the ending of the anime, but the bottom line was that Takemiya was under very great pressure to wrap things up.

(2) In August, Takemiya published a new story under a different, totally independent, publisher. As I understand things, that's a big no-no in the Japanese world, tantamount to treason.

(3) Now Evergreen gets a rushed ending too. Evergreen was being published in the monthly shounen magazine of the same publisher that originally discovered Takemiya, and with whom she wrote all her prior works.

I may be wrong in this, but it seems to me that Dengeki and Takemiya have had a dispute, and they are going their separate ways. I have heard nothing about any future plans from Takemiya, which is also unusual, since she has, up to this point, been continuously busy.

Anybody who knows better, feel free to correct my opinion.

[BlackGaruda]

Originally Posted by rpapo

Received the latest Dengeki Daioh last night, opened it up about an hour ago. After being unable to answer the questions from another person as to how exactly it turned out, I went through every page of the chapter and wrote up a brief summary of each page.

Spoiler:

Page 1: Hotaka riding up the mountain on his bike in the rain. Nikki looking out the window at the rain.‏

Page 2: A bridge breaks as Hotaka passes over, but he makes it up to the cottage and bangs on the door, calling for Nikki.‏

Page 3: She answers the door, and explains that she would have left, but her bike won't start.‏

‎Page 4: Hotaka is trying to get her to leave, asking her why she came up there in the first place.‏

Page 5: "Enough! Come with me! This isn't the place to talk!"‏

Page 6: Outside. Niki: "I'm scared!" Hotaka: "Try your best!" She gets apologetic.‏

Page 7: Running in the rain and dark in the forest, they reach a fork in the path and must decide which to follow. He doesn't know which way leads to town.‏

Page 8: The lightning bug shows up, and Hotaka says, "Father?"‏

Page 9: "That's it, of course! That's our Father! Can you see him, Niki? He's calling. Father is calling us!" Niki: "Eh?"

Page 10: They spot the light, and we have a vision of their Father reaching out his hand for them. Hotaka: "He's calling for us!"‏

Page 11: Running in the dark, following the light. Many commentaries about how they were being led, together.‏

Page 12: Father truly loved us, both Niki and I. Father's love for us continues. Father chose me. That is something I understand now.‏

Page 13: They make it to the road.‏

Page 14: They see civil defense force out there trying to evacuate the area. A patrol car is summoned.‏

Page 15: They're in a local school building, serving as a shelter. Both of them are thinking "Thank you".‏

Page 16: The lightning bug is seen dead on the window sill. Hotaka and Niki are sleeping on the floor near the wall, holding hands. One last thank you.‏

Page 17: Hotaka's mother shows up and wakes him. She scolds him a bit for making her worry.‏

Page 18: Hotaka's mother spots Niki and remarks "You two look alike." She goes over to Niki and offers help, but Niki refuses, saying her own mother would come soon.‏

Page 19: Niki apologizes for having put Hotaka in danger, but she admits that if Hotaka had not come to help her, she would have been in real trouble. A smile from Hotaka's mother, and a silly scene where she offers her a snack.‏

Page 20: Hotaka's mother: "I'm glad your safe. I'm glad both of you are safe. I'm relieved."‏

Page 21: Hotaka breaks out balling. Both women look back at him in surprise. Niki: "What's wrong, Hotaka!?" Hotaka: "I'm crying your share!"‏

Page 22: "We are plainly the sun and the rain. That is the sum of our existence."‏

Page 23-24: Nikki in the sunlight in the forest, with a lot of philosophizing in the background text.‏

Page 25: Back to school. "And then, to you eternally..."‏

Page 26: Conversation. Summer vacation is over. Soga showing off his bald head. On-chan clapping, "Sexy, sexy!"‏

Page 27: Banter with On-chan. Hotaka notices Niki approaching.‏

Page 28: Some commentary from the other two guys to Hotaka about how they'd expected Hotaka to be an item with Niki by now.‏

Page 29: Hotaka narrating: "Nikki and I dated for a little bit, but soon broke up. It was awkward. We decided to ignore each other at school.‏

Page 29: In reality, though...‏

Page 30: A scene where Hotaka sees her down by the pool, cleaning the deck. She looks up, spots him, waves and gives him a beautiful smile. He clutches his heart, as if in mild pain.‏

Page 31: The watermelon seed they planted is sprouting.‏ And it says the fourth tankobon will come out in May.

The hell... I was expecting a suicide attempt...

Then Hotaka comes in and tells her ”The love father couldn't give, I will supplement with mine.” or something close.

They start over, as siblings. Good end.

OR!

Nikki commits suicide, Hotaka becomes depressed and tries to do it too but On-chan and Soga stop him. He then explains everything and convinces his mom to move out, and they all go their separate ways, Hotaka at the end saying something like: " Father... Take good care of her this time...” Bad end.

OR!

Nikki attempts suicide, Hotaka arrives just in time to stop her. Saying how he'll always be there for her and how he won't abandon her like their father. The two have sex or kiss, and start over their relationship. Incest end.

And it's always Nikki who attempts because Hotaka, according to previous events, didn't seem like he would.

Incest is neither good nor bad... Simply... Wincest.

[RightSaidFred]

Originally Posted by csuree

but still, the love of your life turns out to be your sister....ohh i wanted something happier.
Gigantic ass-pull ending ....

The ass-pull ending would be if it was revealed that Niki and Hotaka were not related. Takemiya spent the entire story promoting Niki and Hotaka being related. We knew from the beginning they were related - it wasn't a surprise. It was a good soap opera surprise but not unexpected given the heavy foreshadowing. If in the final chapter Takemiya said just kidding - that would be the ass-pull.

Originally Posted by BlackGaruda

The hell... I was expecting a suicide attempt...

Incest is neither good nor bad... Simply... Wincest.

Yup, I was hoping for that but I didn't think Takemiya had the courage to do it. She wasn't going for a Romeo & Juliet or a Tristan und Isolde ending. But then I don't think the children would have liked that since they had a hard enough time getting past Niki and Hotaka being related.

It was a better ending than Sankarea; that was an epic ass-pull ending.

[TonyC1994]

He say's they decided to live their high school lives without seeing each other just so no one else will figure out the truth.

So does that mean they still interact outside of school? I'd like to believe so, otherwise we're right back where we started in Ch.1. Or maybe, they rekindle their relationship after graduation? Incest or not, I really want an actual conclusion.

This really needs an epilogue...

[SuitUp]

It could be the translation, but I undestood from the ending that they stuck to the "she dumped me" history and continued their relationship, with the wave at the end and all that...

[wuhugm]

The side characters got good ending while the main characters got bad ending....... the hell......

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by TonyC1994

He say's they decided to live their high school lives without seeing each other just so no one else will figure out the truth.

So does that mean they still interact outside of school? I'd like to believe so, otherwise we're right back where we started in Ch.1. Or maybe, they rekindle their relationship after graduation? Incest or not, I really want an actual conclusion.

This really needs an epilogue...

I thought it was pretty obvious that they made up in the end. They just decided to keep things a secret so that no one would find out what happened between them, and how they're actually siblings.