i'm still bawling so this may not be coherent
what a beautiful ending, although initially i was so sad to know that shoma and kanba are both dead--then i saw them together as kids like giovanni and campenella and it really is a bittersweet ending.
everything came full circle. i also really love the theme of this series--the real tragedy isn't being gone, it's being
forgotten (and unloved). and the penguins/scars saw to it that kanba and shoma wouldn't be forgotten.
i wish we got more explanation on the boxes, but that's okay. i also agree with the consensus that double h backstory would've been nice as well
i'll be honest, i was envisioning an ending where himari would die and they'd come to terms with it but this was a beautifully done alternative.
so the sentence about sharing all of their love and punishment was between shoma and kanba all along
i should've put two and two together with the black/white bears to symbolize kanba/shoma. i'm also glad my initial theory of the show being about circumventing fate was true, at least fate in sanetoshi's sense. kanba and shoma technically got their happy endings--for kanba, himari was literally his life and so he saved her and for shoma, the ability to save his family and to love (ringo).
i still don't get sanetoshi--i understand his message, but i'm a bit unsure where he stands at the end of the series. not a lot of progression for him or momoka
though his interactions with momoka are a joy to watch.
all in all, AMAZING SERIES. IKUHARA DELIVERED
