(L) Date A Live [Light Novel]

[Anime-Oppai-Lover]

Originally Posted by Shinji103

Just remember guys, she’s confirmed as an enemy now. She may not be outright evil (though the English translated summary fro Fenrisulfr above does make her sound not so good), but this doesn’t bode well for her. Prepare yourselves for a sad ending for Mio.

Really? The summary Fenrisulfr gave made it sound more like if Shido stops Westcott, he can get everyone a happy ending due this line in particular.

Originally Posted by Fenrisulfr

In order to grasp the sliver of hope, let’s begin the war that marks the beginning of the end.

True, something could still happen to Mio, but this choice of words doesn't really seem like something you'd say if you're killing off a character that's not a villain.

Originally Posted by The Chaos Entity

Her Astral Dress has huge callbacks to Rinne's - and given that Rinne, Mio, and Mayuri are all made of Spirit Power...
Yeah, I expect Mio to go the same way.

Not as a villain, though. If Kurumi can butcher thousands upon thousands of people and still be redeemed, Mio can too - especially as, like Kurumi was planning on resurrecting her kills via time reset, DAB strongly implies Mio had something similar in mind for the Quasi-Spirits.

And Rio, hers was particular sad because she was a child, and she had only had a few days to live.

If that were to end up being true, I'd be pleasantly surprised. Especially if somehow, should Mio actually die, such an act was able to revive her as well, but as a regular Human. It would be a really big insult to Westcott.

With how much he hates Humanity, to have the very being he made with all the world's magic get revived as a normal human? That's probably the worst punishment he could get at this point.

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Anime-Oppai-Lover

Really? The summary Fenrisulfr gave made it sound more like if Shido stops Westcott, he can get everyone a happy ending due this line in particular.



True, something could still happen to Mio, but this choice of words doesn't really seem like something you'd say if you're killing off a character that's not a villain.



And Rio, hers was particular sad because she was a child, and she had only had a few days to live.

If that were to end up being true, I'd be pleasantly surprised. Especially if somehow, should Mio actually die, such an act was able to revive her as well, but as a regular Human. It would be a really big insult to Westcott.

With how much he hates Humanity, to have the very being he made with all the world's magic get revived as a normal human? That's probably the worst punishment he could get at this point.

Eh, given Westcott's tragic backstory, I can see Shido saving him somehow too. Particularly if we go for a reset button ending.

[Triok123]

Holy shit, that one gorgeous!!!!!!!!holy crap..!!!!she look like Reine without dead fish eyes...
By the way, what happened to Reine? I mean she's phantom right? so is she mio? the same person? My apologies for the question, was reading the previous thread and got confused.
^Westcott can go and die in the most cruelsome way

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Triok123

Holy shit, that one gorgeous!!!!!!!!holy crap..!!!!she look like Reine without dead fish eyes...
By the way, what happened to Reine? I mean she's phantom right? so is she mio? the same person? My apologies for the question, was reading the previous thread and got confused.
^Westcott can go and die in the most cruelsome way

Yes, Mio and Reine are one and the same.

So this is Reine on the cover.

[Anime-Oppai-Lover]

Originally Posted by The Chaos Entity

Eh, given Westcott's tragic backstory, I can see Shido saving him somehow too. Particularly if we go for a reset button ending.

The only problem I see with a reset button ending is that such an ending could erase a lot of the characters we've come to love out of existence. Who knows how many of them were only born because it happened?

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Anime-Oppai-Lover

The only problem I see with a reset button ending is that such an ending could erase a lot of the characters we've come to love out of existence. Who knows how many of them were only born because it happened?

Reset button endings rarely follow real logic like that.

Plus someone seeing a problem with it doesn't mean Tachibana wouldn't do it.

EDIT: This isn't me saying I expect a reset button ending per se...but certainly there is certainly nothing preventing it, either.
Mio becoming human, however, is a blatant violation of how we know Spirit Power works, so a reset button ending is certainly more likely than that...I'd say Mio becoming human is impossible - and it's certainly highly unlikely; Tachibana likes bittersweet endings - but I wouldn't quite go that far.

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by The Chaos Entity

Her Astral Dress has huge callbacks to Rinne's - and given that Rinne, Mio, and Mayuri are all made of Spirit Power...
Yeah, I expect Mio to go the same way.

Not as a villain, though. If Kurumi can butcher thousands upon thousands of people and still be redeemed, Mio can too - especially as, like Kurumi was planning on resurrecting her kills via time reset, DAB strongly implies Mio had something similar in mind for the Quasi-Spirits.

Mmm, I dunno. When you pointed that out back in your summaries, that idea didn’t really sit well with me back then either. Doing the “do evil to do good that will fix your evil” justification was a slippery enough slope with just one character. But to do that with two in the same series? It not only is pushing the line, it’s leaning heavily towards lazy storytelling and cliched in its own series. So I’m not really ready to buy that theory unless it either comes true or is officially stated to be true. If it’s not officially true it’s not redemption for Mio, anyway.
Like I said, Kurumi’s ”do evil to do good that will fix your evil” is a slippery slope, but since it’s genuine I can get behind it. But like I also said, it doesn’t redeem Mio unless your theory (or some other theory along those lines) is actually true.
That’s not to say I’m condemning Mio or calling her unredeemable evil, but I don’t believe Tachibana is setting her up to be redeemed as much you think. I for one am bracing myself for the more likely outcome; Mio’s death at Westcott’s hands. At best, I expect Shidou will save her by convincing her to stop, and she’ll sacrifice herself to stop Wescott in the end.


I think a good happy ending would be what I stated earlier in the thread: Westcott kills Mio/Mio sacrifices herself, Shidou defeats Westcott, and then Shidou uses the powers of the spirits to reincarnate Mio like she did for him so many years ago. Except for, y’know, the carrying around in womb bit. That role would go to Tohka (she’s pretty much a shoo-in for either the OTP or main wife of the harem), and Shidou and Tohka raise her as their child, together with the other girls if it’s a harem ending.

Originally Posted by Anime-Oppai-Lover

Really? The summary Fenrisulfr gave made it sound more like if Shido stops Westcott, he can get everyone a happy ending due this line in particular.

I was referring to this line:

Originally Posted by Fenrisulfr

In front of Itsuka Shidou, the spirit of origin finally appeared----Takamiya Mio, the largest and worst disaster in human history.

I wouldn’t say this outright vilainizes her, but it doesn’t cast her in a good light either. Clearly this line is to emphasize that she’s an enemy and not one of the good guys.

True, something could still happen to Mio, but this choice of words doesn't really seem like something you'd say if you're killing off a character that's not a villain.

The line you quoted is referring to saving the day/world in general, not to any particular person. As far as that line is concerned, any of the girls could die in this final fight too.

[Anime-Oppai-Lover]

Originally Posted by The Chaos Entity

Reset button endings rarely follow real logic like that.

Plus someone seeing a problem with it doesn't mean Tachibana wouldn't do it.

EDIT: This isn't me saying I expect a reset button ending per se...but certainly there is certainly nothing preventing it, either.
Mio becoming human, however, is a blatant violation of how we know Spirit Power works, so a reset button ending is certainly more likely than that...I'd say Mio becoming human is impossible - and it's certainly highly unlikely; Tachibana likes bittersweet endings - but I wouldn't quite go that far.

Here's what I think could prevent a reset button ending, its the chain that connects Kurumi's power to time travel.

It's most likely the only way for this kind of ending to happen, and she only has this power because Mio gave it to her. Mio herself only exists because Westcott was responsible for her being born, and he only did it because of what happened to his village.

Should Kurumi or Shido do anything to Westcott or Mio in the past... how would Kurumi even get her powers to even travel to the past? If Kurumi could exist outside of time, then I think she could get around this, but her talk with Shido at the end of Vol 17 implied this isn't the case.

Originally Posted by Shinji103

I think a good happy ending would be what I stated earlier in the thread: Westcott kills Mio, Shidou defeats Westcott, and then Shidou uses the powers of the spirits to reincarnate Mio like she did for him so many years ago. Except for, y’know, the carrying around in womb bit. That role would go to Tohka (she’s pretty much a shoo-in for either the OTP or main wife of the harem), and Shidou and Tohka raise her as their child, together with the other girls if it’s a harem ending.

I wonder if that would make her become Mio Itsuka?

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Shinji103

Mmm, I dunno. When you pointed that out back in your summaries, that idea didn’t really sit with me back then either. Doing the “do evil to do good that will fix your evil” justification was a slippery enough slope with just one character. But to do that with two in the same series? It not only is pushing the line, it’s leaning heavily towards lazy storytelling and cliched in its own series. So I’m not really ready to buy that theory unless it either comes true or is officially stated to be true. If it’s not officially true it’s not redemption for Mio, anyway.
Like I said, Kurumi’s ”do evil to do good that will fix your evil” is a slippery slope, but since it’s genuine I can get behind it. But like I also said, redemption for Mio doesn’t work unless your theory (or some other theory along those lines) is actually true.
That’s not to say I’m condemning Mio or calling her unredeemable evil, but I don’t believe Tachibana is setting her up to be redeemed as much you think. I for one am bracing myself for the more likely outcome; Mio’s death at Westcott’s hands.


I think a good happy ending would be what I stated earlier in the thread: Westcott kills Mio, Shidou defeats Westcott, and then Shidou uses the powers of the spirits to reincarnate Mio like she did for him so many years ago. Except for, y’know, the carrying around in womb bit. That role would go to Tohka (she’s pretty much a shoo-in for either the OTP or main wife of the harem), and Hsidou and Tohka raise her as their child, together with the other girls if this a harem ending.



I was referring to this line:I wouldn’t say this outright vilainizes her, but it doesn’t cast her in a good light either. Clearly this line is to emphasize that she’s an enemy and not one of the good guys.

That line is referring to saving the day/world in general, not to any one particular person. As far as that line is concerned, any of the girls could die in this final fight too.

I could buy Mio reborn as a daughter, honestly. Be a neat way to get a Rio cameo like we did Marina for the Nibellecoles, honestly.

But Westcott killing her? At this late state? Remember, we're definitely ending very soon (V18 is clearly not the last, but 19 or 20 will be). Do we have time for a whole other arc along those lines?

As for Mio being redeemed, I'm not saying I expect her to turn good and be done with it...
But Kurumi was lazy writing. If she was to be redeemed in such a noncommital manner as she was in V16, he shouldn't have made her as evil as he did. It's...painful reading Volume 3 and Kurumi Star Festival alongside V10/11 and V16, it really is.
But that lazy writing was justified by the premise - to make the girl fall in love and kiss her/save her.
I...can't see Tachibana denying us that. Like I said, I expect it to kill her like it did for Rinne and Mayuri...but if and when Mio dies...I think it will be because Shido kisses her, rather than anything else.

*shrugs* But then maybe I'm putting too much stock in Tachibana's writing trends and tastes. DAL likes redeeming it's villains - even Westcott has a tragic backstory that paints him as a cute kid who was corrupted by hate, like Darth Vader - so I just expect that even if it results in their deaths shortly thereafter, I struggle to see Westcott and especially Mio not being given that moment of redemption, you know?
There is every chance Tachibana will, indeed, throw us a curveball. He loves his bittersweet endings and shock-value surprises, after all.

Originally Posted by Anime-Oppai-Lover

Here's what I think could prevent a reset button ending, its the chain that connects Kurumi's power to time travel.

It's most likely the only way for this kind of ending to happen, and she only has this power because Mio gave it to her. Mio herself only exists because Westcott was responsible for her being born, and he only did it because of what happened to his village.

Should Kurumi or Shido do anything to Westcott or Mio in the past... how would Kurumi even get her powers to even travel to the past? If Kurumi could exist outside of time, then I think she could get around this, but her talk with Shido at the end of Vol 17 implied this isn't the case.



I wonder if that would make her become Mio Itsuka?

That's blatantly non-canon.
If Kurumi's powers would let her go back in time to kill Westcott and somehow that would stick (and EVERYTHING in-universe so far has said that is the case) then they could sure as hell let Shido go back and save Westcott's village.
Like I said. Reset Button endings very rarely follow real paradox logic. Bad/lazy writing? Yes, but it happens. All the time.
Not every reset button can be as perfect as Madoka Magica's - or, for that matter, what it was based on; Kamen Rider Ryuki.

And yes, I imagine she would become Mio Itsuka if reborn as a daughter to Shido and the Spirits.

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by The Chaos Entity

But Westcott killing her? At this late state? Remember, we're definitely ending very soon (V18 is clearly not the last, but 19 or 20 will be). Do we have time for a whole other arc along those lines?

We wouldn’t need a whole other arc for that. He can kill her, take her powers, and we go straight into the final confrontation with him there.

But Kurumi was lazy writing. If she was to be redeemed in such a noncommital manner as she was in V16, he shouldn't have made her as evil as he did. It's...painful reading Volume 3 and Kurumi Star Festival alongside V10/11 and V16, it really is.
But that lazy writing was justified by the premise - to make the girl fall in love and kiss her/save her.

I can’t really disagree with you there. Tachibana did make her a little too evil to become a “planned to make it right all along” character.
Though we do know that’s what Tachibana planned from the beginning, as shown by when Phantom calls her a good person at the end of volume 4, the implication being that Phantom saw through Kurumi’s plan to kill the first spirit as a plan to save all the people who died because of her.

I...can't see Tachibana denying us that. Like I said, I expect it to kill her like it did for Rinne and Mayuri...but if and when Mio dies...I think it will be because Shido kisses her, rather than anything else.

That would be the third time Tachibana gives us the “kiss and die” end. That would be getting old. Though I do believe Mio will get her kiss with Shidou one way or another, and probably at her death, but not from pulling the same shtick a third time. Unless maybe it’s as her sacrifice to stop Wescott; kiss Shidou to give him her powers so he can stop Westcott.

*shrugs* But then maybe I'm putting too much stock in Tachibana's writing trends and tastes. DAL likes redeeming it's villains - even Westcott has a tragic backstory that paints him as a cute kid who was corrupted by hate, like Darth Vader - so I just expect that even if it results in their deaths shortly thereafter, I struggle to see Westcott and especially Mio not being given that moment of redemption, you know?
There is every chance Tachibana will, indeed, throw us a curveball. He loves his bittersweet endings and shock-value surprises, after all.

Well I think Mio, and yes maybe even Westcott, will get some form of redemption in the end. Just not a “redeemed and they live happily ever after” end. I fully expect them both to die, but with some form of redemption/satisfaction at the end like Vader.

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Shinji103

We wouldn’t need a whole other arc for that. He can kill her, take her powers, and we go straight into the final confrontation with him there.

I can’t really disagree with you there. Tachibana did make her a little too evil to become a “planned to make it right all along” character.
Though we do know that’s what Tachibana planned from the beginning, as shown by when Phantom calls her a good person at the end of volume 4, the implication being that Phantom saw through Kurumi’s plan to kill the first spirit as a plan to save all the people who died because of her.

That would be the third time Tachibana gives us the “kiss and die” end. That would be getting old. Though I do believe Mio will get her kiss with Shidou one way or another, and probably at her death, but not from pulling the same shtick a third time. Unless maybe it’s as her sacrifice to stop Wescott; kiss Shidou to give him her powers so he can stop Westcott.

Well I think Mio, and yes maybe even Westcott, will get some form of redemption in the end. Just not a “redeemed and they live happily ever after” end. I fully expect them both to die, but with some form of redemption/satisfaction at the end like Vader.

Wow. I agree with...pretty much everything here?

First of all: Yes, good point.

Secondly...I'm not denying that she was always meant to turn good - you can very easily see that. Honestly I think he just got carried away having her be charmingly crazy and then had an epiphany later along the lines of 'oh shit, I've made her too evil'. I wouldn't be surprised if DAB is supposed to aid in that, as...she;s not crazy or evil at all there. Just very done with Hibiki's energeticness and very in love with Shido.

Third, it would technically be the fourth seeing as it's Shidou kissing Maria that results in her having to die - and you could argue it would even be the fifthgiven that he re-seals Rinne in Rio Reincarnation. I'm not sure it being done to death before matters XD
Especially as all of those other times (bar Rinne Utopia, maybe) were non-canon.

Oh definitely. I certainly can't see Mio surviving - not unless she's reborn, as you say.
For Westcott...I can't see Shido killing him, but I can't really see him surviving either. Maybe he will have a redemption and do a heroic sacrifice, or it'll be Woodman that does it.

[Anime-Oppai-Lover]

Originally Posted by The Chaos Entity

Wow. I agree with...pretty much everything here?

Secondly...I'm not denying that she was always meant to turn good - you can very easily see that. Honestly I think he just got carried away having her be charmingly crazy and then had an epiphany later along the lines of 'oh shit, I've made her too evil'. I wouldn't be surprised if DAB is supposed to aid in that, as...she;s not crazy or evil at all there. Just very done with Hibiki's energeticness and very in love with Shido.

I can see the DAB novels being this, in fact... maybe the way Kurumi was during Volume 3 was how she was before he put her in DAL, but he realized too late that it didn't work the way he wanted to use her in the story.

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Anime-Oppai-Lover

I can see the DAB novels being this, in fact... maybe the way Kurumi was during Volume 3 was how she was before he put her in DAL, but he realized too late that it didn't work the way he wanted to use her in the story.

This is...actually very likely.

[Estzero1]

Originally Posted by Anime-Oppai-Lover

I can see the DAB novels being this, in fact... maybe the way Kurumi was during Volume 3 was how she was before he put her in DAL, but he realized too late that it didn't work the way he wanted to use her in the story.

Well, it could be, but I doubt it, especially if you think about how old the character really is. If you ask me, than Tachibana had a long term booking in mind and the only thing I can see which could have change the direction a bit is that she became way more popular than he thought she would become.

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Estzero1

Well, it could be, but I doubt it, especially if you think about how old the character really is. If you ask me, than Tachibana had a long term booking in mind and the only thing I can see which could have change the direction a bit is that she became way more popular than he thought she would become.

No, Anime is probably right. Tachibana described original Kurumi as a violently possessive, psychotic yandere little sister (I can't recall if she was the protagonist's sister or the heroine's). Like Belarus but sweet.

That's...not the Kurumi in DAL. At all.

[Estzero1]

Originally Posted by The Chaos Entity

That's...not the Kurumi in DAL. At all.

Yeah, that's for sure. The DAL Kurumi started more as some kind of unhinged character, to become an Antihero and than some kind of a different tsundere.
In my eyes, she was never evil to begin with.

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Estzero1

Yeah, that's for sure. The DAL Kurumi started more as some kind of unhinged character, to become an Antihero and than some kind of a different tsundere.
In my eyes, she was never evil to begin with.

I don't think Kurumi or Mio are evil tbh.

[Kuroageha]

Lossless image in the main website btw.

[Cayas]

Originally Posted by Mizo

will they not ? Mio giving chance to ex spirit to live in 2nd world and kurumi just want to rest the world so it returns the way it is , if Mio did never meet up shidou she will eventually get caught by DEM and use her power to whatever or however they want since she's was nothing but a blank page at that time...idk who the real antagonist is but i still believe it's issac cuz the way the author write it off like his SUPER evil .

Mio can't really just kill off the other spirits just shido can be hers , think she would never do something to make shido upset , still i think the way author did this is gud cuz will Mio is perfect at everything seems so ? going to the wrong path for a character that almost know to do everything is a gud thing to have ...and god plz i want a harm ending or shido be a god and rule 2nd world (it's impossible but will still hope for it >_> ).

P.S. aww forgot poor mana :S hope author doesn't forget here i really want more interaction btw her and shido

Mio and Kurumi are not evil but they have done a lot of bad things for a 'good' reason. Based off of Shiou's personality I really don't think he would accept that all those people who were used and 'died' because of him as a good outcome. I honestly think he would hate to learn that some many suffered for him. We also know that Mio can seal away memories so she could use that to make Shido all hers.

Westscott seems to be MIA in the last fight so he could try to pull out a victory here (if that happened i would expect another volume)

I could see Shidou trying to save everyone. Trying to save Westscott's village so that he does not make the first spirit that killed millions as to prevent her from feeling the despair of his death (he would have died and left mio alone at some point) and that would prevent the making of other spirits to purify the crystals and the others who were make into full spirits that had their original life (and in tokha's case, name) taken from them.

There are a lot of ways this could go. Let's see if it goes darker. I'm excited.

[Dark Rose Princess]

Originally Posted by Cayas

Mio and Kurumi are not evil but they have done a lot of bad things for a 'good' reason. Based off of Shiou's personality I really don't think he would accept that all those people who were used and 'died' because of him as a good outcome. I honestly think he would hate to learn that some many suffered for him. We also know that Mio can seal away memories so she could use that to make Shido all hers.

Westscott seems to be MIA in the last fight so he could try to pull out a victory here (if that happened i would expect another volume)

I could see Shidou trying to save everyone. Trying to save Westscott's village so that he does not make the first spirit that killed millions as to prevent her from feeling the despair of his death (he would have died and left mio alone at some point) and that would prevent the making of other spirits to purify the crystals and the others who were make into full spirits that had their original life (and in tokha's case, name) taken from them.

There are a lot of ways this could go. Let's see if it goes darker. I'm excited.

Shido isn't the kind to hate Mio. He doesn't hate Kurumi after all.

We're at the end now, and Tachibana likes 'bittersweet endings' not 'dark endings' so there will be no 'Shido goes nuts and bloodthirsty' crap.