(L) Mashiro-iro Symphony

[amoirsp]

Look at it this way, Manglobe or Palette made the girls interesting enough to not make an unbalanced allocation that people can like in different ways.

Yeah non-preference of Miu is due to a non-preference not on distaste of the character.

I will admit the show did feel like two halves. Thus I don't exactly disagree with the overall discussion, for or against.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Originally Posted by thunderhawk77

I agree that its a lose/lose situation, conclusive endings are always preferred over the open endings, but then you will always have the fans upset that their girl wasn't chosen.

Its funny cause you have people who don't like the "Harem end"...but technically....we BARELY ever get a true Harem end, as in he ends up with ALL the girls. It makes you question if Harem is even the right term used for this Genre considering its more of a "The Bachelor/Flavor of Love" type of flow, of who will end up with the main guy.

Aside from one person, I don't think any of us are criticizing (of those of us even doing that) the show for the *wrong girl*.

Well yea, HERE, everybody has been logically fleshing out different sides of it. But on other sites *cough* MAL *coughs*....

Its pretty much a good amount of "Miu was chosen, it now sucks"

[RWBladewing]

This is just a silly and only half serious observation on my part but - if I were a character in this series, I think I'd be legitimately worried that Airi was stalking me. She always seems to be observing every situation, understands everything that's going on, and most of all appears at the perfect time every time. It's definitely understandable that she'd have been following Sana in this case but I've noticed this happening in the past bunch of episodes too. I know it's just because she cares about her friends but I couldn't resist mentioning it.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Tenchi Ryu

....Well yea, HERE, everybody has been logically fleshing out different sides of it. But on other sites *cough* MAL *coughs*....

Its pretty much a good amount of "Miu was chosen, it now sucks"

Seriously?

On a similar topic though - I must admit that I have been surprised how much traffic this thread has gotten since ep 10 aired.

Originally Posted by RWBladewing

This is just a silly and only half serious observation on my part but - if I were a character in this series, I think I'd be legitimately worried that Airi was stalking me. She always seems to be observing every situation, understands everything that's going on, and most of all appears at the perfect time every time. It's definitely understandable that she'd have been following Sana in this case but I've noticed this happening in the past bunch of episodes too. I know it's just because she cares about her friends but I couldn't resist mentioning it.

Hmm ... I guess if Shingo noticed it he might think that, but I am not so sure he is shown as seeing Airi watching him that often ... could be wrong, of course, never thought of it from the angle you presented, though.

[sikvod00]

@RWBladewing
I'd be amused if someone were to make a collage of every individual scene where Airi had a worried expression because she was concerned with Sana. The writers really overused them IMHO.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Originally Posted by Flower

On a similar topic though - I must admit that I have been surprised how much traffic this thread has gotten since ep 10 aired.

Well, back then, I remember the general idea of this show was it being "slow" and "boring" to many. And even I have to admit that most of my post were about it being laid-back and easy going. But the plot has kicked into high gear with the drama, so it does make sense now lol.

[amoirsp]

Originally Posted by Flower

Seriously?

On a similar topic though - I must admit that I have been surprised how much traffic this thread has gotten since ep 10 aired.



Hmm ... I guess if Shingo noticed it he might think that, but I am not so sure he is shown as seeing Airi watching him that often ... could be wrong, of course, never thought of it from the angle you presented, though.

I call the traffic an explosion because it was. On the Airi observing note that's a funny way to say it but yes that was shown a lot. Don't forget that due to Airi independence she wasn't originally with the group hangout nor the club. Well that's irrelevant by now.

I think viewers are more used to something more active, more direct. Even though Shingo confession is an action, although its not surprising it's not like out loud or in the open. Quite private really.

[Guardian Enzo]

For me, I'd hate to see a romance anime with a "choose your own adventure" ending. An anime is not a game - I don't think you can properly develop the characters unless you're building towards a specific pairing at the end. Kudos to Manglobe for picking an ending and building the series around it.

As for Airi, I don't personally feel there's any doubt she was a tsundere at first. She clearly treated Shingo more harshly than she should have because her feelings for him disturbed her. I think the infamous bath episode was when that really toned down to the point where it was marginal whether it applied at all.

[RDF2050]

I am a Miu/Shingo fan since the beginning but........I really feel sorry for Sana (Sana/Shingo supporters)

[DasDingus]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

As a separate discussion, Airi never really struck me as a tsundere.

Airi simply had certain biases and prejudices, and she acted in accordance with them. Once those biases and prejudices gave way, she acted more or less like a good normal person.

And even when Airi still had those biases and prejudices, she wasn't particularly harsh with Shingo. Indeed, I felt she tried to be as polite with him as she could bring herself to be given her passionate disagreement with the previously all-girls school now having a male student body.

Wouldn't the characteristics you described make Airi a classic tsundere? She starts out hostile, regardless of why she's hostile, and treats Shingo like crap because that's how she feels about him (and about other boys). Over time she grows to like him and maybe even love him and transforms into a deredere state that doesn't go away. To me that's the textbook definition of a classic tsundere as opposed to Sana's modern tsundere.

As a side note, I don't know if this was discussed already but I noticed something in the OP

Watch from 0:59-1:06 or so when all the girls are running around in the snow. The focus is all on Airi. Airi, girl runs by, Airi, girl runs by, Airi etc. Then at the end of the sequence Airi moves away and BOOM! Miu out of nowhere. Seems like foreshadowing to me

[Miraluka]

I guess Miu's fans were like this at the current episode.

[Zavie]

More than 40 posts in one night, and several essays at that? You guys sure are passionate

I'm quite happy with the way Manglobe has been going with the series, really. While I understand some of you are not happy with the fact that Airi got cast aside, hyl, relentless and Skyfall have provided enough read to counter those parts, but still, it hurts where it hurts.

However, the fact that Manglobe managed to gather this much discussion and attention for an underdog-like show like Mashifoni is amazing, isn't it? For that I respected the studio very deeply.

[vio5555]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Personally I don't think Shingo displayed romantic feelings for anyone during the first half of the show, that feels like too strong of a word for what we saw at the time. He found Miu attractive for sure, but I wouldn't have been willing to bet that it would necessarily develop in to anything more at the time. (Even though I did note no one else received similar attention from him.)

Airi was most certainly a real possibility at that point - that was the route I had expected the story to take even before the show started, and continued with said assumption up to and through the bath scene, even if the overall signs were pointing in another way. It was episode 7 that sounded warning bells for me for real, and made me think we are actually heading for Miu instead.

In hindsight I realized (and alluded to as much in the game's discussion thread at the time, I believe) the show had been telegraphing the direction it would take regarding romance all along, I had merely dismissed it based on industry tropes and typical storytelling cliches. A disservice to the show's writing really, as I had chosen to wave aside what the show had been trying to tell me all along in favor of believing that typical tropes would prevail.

Except that hasn't really been the case, and as episode 7 made me suspect, the show hadn't been leading us by the nose and there actually were no red herrings. Shingo's obvious attraction to Miu was exactly what it was - real attraction that grew over time, one which he chose to pursue.

I agree almost completely; the one modification I'd make is that I think the end of episode 6 is really where we start to get the big hint.

I think the bath scene showed a lot more about what Shingo was thinking to that point because Airi realizes that Shingo is just showing her compassion like he would show to anyone else. I think she realized at the end of episode 6 that Shingo wasn't caring about her in the romantically interested sense by not inviting her into the kitty club. It was kind of a turn-around of episode 3 where she realizes that she feels differently about Shingo than other boys.

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Mashifoni almost turns that on the head though. There is romance related drama indeed, but it almost takes place on the sidelines in relation to the actual couple in question. We have a close-up look at the "conflict zone", but the actual pairing exists outside of it, unaware it's even happening. There is tension, but little to no actual conflict.

There is no actual competition between the interested females, there is no mutual awareness of the issue, there is no active "love triangle". For Shingo choosing Miu isn't a drama-filled decision where he has to knowingly trample over someone else to make it - it's a natural and genuinely happy occasion. Much the same when it comes to Miu accepting it. In short, the romance in Mashifoni, as far as the actual couple is concerned, is everything that the typical anime romances aren't. Smooth sailing where the two naturally come together without any real drama or obstacles, mutual affection that is allowed to blossom without having to jump through hoops to do so. And as such feels less "dramatic" and less impact-full compared to the sideline conflict that we are being shown at the same time.

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

There's so much stuff happening on the periphery (the stuff that has been completely dominating our attention and focus), but to Shingo it's simply "Miu, you're the only one I love." We go "WAIT WAIT WAIT what about--- what about that time when--- what about how Airi--- what about how Sana---" The things that we see in the audience are not at all correlated to the way Shingo is perceiving things, to the point where we don't even necessarily remember all the perspective changes and visual tricks the anime used to give us insight into characters that Shingo never had. So our role here is really as a third-party observer to all that's going on so that we can see the changes in Airi, the changes in Ange, the changes in Sana, and the romance that develops between Shingo and Miu at the same time. Our "take away" from all this (beyond just being along for the ride) will be defined in the next two weeks, but I do think "the ride" itself has been enjoyable.

I think you've both hit upon the correct interpretation; however, the Mashiro-iro approach is a risky proposition from a storytelling sense. Shingo and Miu have essentially been separated from the conflict swirling around their deepening relationship, but that has to come to a head at some point to be believable.

In the majority of these kinds of situations, you see an actual triangle in which the male lead has to actively take a step forward to break the equilibrium and trample upon one relationship in order to commit to his actual love interest (ignoring the obvious copout anime/mangas). Usually, the male lead goes through the inner turmoil of crushing the third wheel's feelings actively before consummating his relationship (and it's typically a gut-wrenching and often drawn-out process).

Here, we have the rarer opposite situation in which the couple hasn't yet faced the spurned girl and dealt with it. The more interesting thing here is that Miu has a chance to play a much larger part than most female heroines do in this kind of situation. In most of these situations (Ichigo 100%, Maison Ikkoku, VGAI, heck True Tears - I'm not really spoiling anything by listing them), it's the male lead that has to absorb the inevitable anguish before going to the girl that he's selected.

More often than not, we see a relationship that in one direction (male lead to female heroine) is forged through the resolution of the conflict. This time we could possibly see both directions forged because of Sana's close relationships with both Miu and Shingo.

I agree that the ride has been enjoyable, but the ending will almost completely define this anime adaptation. That's the road that this kind of approach leads to, especially since Shingo and Miu haven't dealt with anything like this since their demonstration of compassion has never been directed towards a problem aimed squarely at themselves. They've lead almost charmed lives in which their "general" compassion and kindness has managed to get them through the various problems that have been presented. In this case, a very "specific" compassion is needed because Sana sees herself as a sister to Miu and feels deeply in love with Shingo.

Of course, I don't mean to ignore Airi, and she has played a critical support role in all of this, since she's really the one that's grown as a character through her interactions with Shingo, Sana, Miu, and Ange to this point. However, her progression in the second half is almost parallel to the events surrounding Shingo, Miu, and Sana as an observer that doesn't take an active role in intervening into the conflict. Her growth as a character isn't going to define the ending because hers was the most evenly distributed throughout and with respect to love, I think she'll get the same lesson that Sana learns, so Sana's result is more important at this point.

To connect Airi to the above, I don't think Airi can present the "specific" compassion needed to resolve the conflict here.

Spoiler for Airi's thoughts at the end of Ep 10:

Besides, Airi was wrong at the end of episode 10. She tells Sana not to fall in love if it's going to make her cry. But that's entirely the wrong takeaway here...

[Zodiamaster]

YAY for Miu

Originally Posted by KyriaL

Guess the signs were there early on, but its clear now that instead of being a harem, this is a love triangle. Guess Sena never really was in the contention for the end, but just as a supporting character.

I like that, else the story would have been just that of a cliche harem.

In the first episodes we all thought the story was likely to develop towards Airi, the tsundere with whom the male lead had a fated encounter with. But after those initial episodes the focus noticeably shifted from Airi to Miu(which is in itself is a rarity in harem animes, while Airi was the stereotypical choice, the hardheaded tsundere, Miu was the sweet, calm and straigtforward girl who usually remains a side character througout the series).

Originally Posted by hyl

Also it was probably the first time that Shingo showed his kindness towards Sana, it's just that she misinterpreted that kindness for something else.

I don't think she misinterpreted it, she just fell for that side of Shingo.

Originally Posted by DemiSoda

Well well... I can see why there's two types of reactions for episode 10. Ah... shipping series. How thou you are so entertaining to see the reactions of various fan groups . Sucks to be a Sana fan as you are all probably all raging right now, whilst Miu fans can be like f*** yea as their ship just discovered the Americas for the first time .

<3

If you think it though, it couldn't have had ended in any other way for Sana.

I mean, she acted like a bitch towards Shingo basically in every episode(except the first two episodes I think) , there is no way he could feel the same towards her than towards someone like Miu, it takes common sense to realize that.

Originally Posted by DemiSoda

But with 2 episodes left... how are they going to continue? Continue on Miu's route till they get onto "luvduv" scenes or will they do a switch and bait back to the traditional style of VN adaptations where the main girl (in this case Airi) wins? If they go with the former... then the rest of the series is going to just feel padded and mushy, whilst if they go with the latter, it's going to feel totally out of place. Lose/lose situation imo.

I doubt it, Airi had little relationship with Shingo to begin with, I think even the maid got more lines than Airi in the entire series.

Also it sounds something impossible to do after that sort of confession, particularly because Miu accepted it and there is no doubt or ambiguity about the feelings of both Shingo and Miu.

By the way, episode 11 is the last episode.

There is only one left, not two.

It's called "Mashiro-iro Symphony".

Originally Posted by DemiSoda

Also, this ep was more about Sana breaking down than it was confirming the Miu x Shingo ship.

I agree.

Originally Posted by DasDingus

Watch from 0:59-1:06 or so when all the girls are running around in the snow. The focus is all on Airi. Airi, girl runs by, Airi, girl runs by, Airi etc. Then at the end of the sequence Airi moves away and BOOM! Miu out of nowhere. Seems like foreshadowing to me

Who knows xD, but you are right.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

How much actual screen-time, and how much dialogue, has Airi had the past few episodes compared to the first few? How much screen-time, and how much dialogue, has Miu had the past few episodes compared to the first few?

Keeping these two questions in mind, there has been a considerable shift here in character focus. I don't see the point in denying that.

[...]

The primary plot movers of the first few episodes were Shingo and Airi. Over the last few, the primary plot movers have been Shingo and Miu. I just feel this shift in primary plot movers could have been managed a bit better.

Think a little bit deeper than just "who was moving the plot": what is the story trying to convey through the plot? What characters are being developed as a result and how? That's the true heart of the story. Sure the events of the plot are pushed forward by Airi in the first half and the Nukobu in the second (of which both Miu and Sana are members), but the topics that the story is conveying are primarily:

1. Airi's transformation
2. The discovery/explanation of Shingo's personality (and its impact on those around him)
3. Sana's tragic first love
4. Shingo & Miu's courtship/romance

The latter is actually the last-place priority for the show in terms of development and focus so far (though it may move up a bit in the time remaining to balance things out). It absolutely happened, and was a recurring thread throughout, but it rarely took the spotlight until recently.

All in all, the transition of "plot movers" is only tangentially related to the character development and theme development that are actually at the center of the story. In other words, the main characters in this story are not the ones who the plot is centering around, but the ones who are being most developed by the narrative.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Here's the key I think: If you're adapting a VN, the girl who ends up with the male lead should also be one of the most important girls of the first few episodes of the anime. Anything else will feel jarring to many viewers.

And it isn't just because this is a trope. It is because many people associate this sort of character handling with good storytelling in general, at least for these types of narratives. I myself associate it with good storytelling in general.

You're again making an assumption about the intention of the story. Is the primary purpose of this story to talk about "Shingo & Miu's romance"? No. Some people may "associate this sort of character handling with good storytelling in general", but that's either because a) they prefer certain topics to be the center focus of the anime they watch, b) they're having difficulty discerning the primary topic from the supporting topics and how all that relates to the primary theme/message, and/or c) they don't like the theme/message of the work. Will come back to the last one.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Let me just ask everybody here a question that hopefully will get my point across: When you were a teenager, would you be willing to bathe naked with a peer of the opposite sex unless you had some romantic feelings/sexual attraction for her/him? Heck, I doubt most people would do that unless such a romance/sexual relationship was already established.

This isn't actually terribly relevant to the show. You have to consider how Airi and Shingo were taking it in their own context. You're from a different culture, have different beliefs and values, and don't have a stubborn girl friend like Airi who'd be willing to do something that seems so forward just to avoid losing an argument (nor are you like Shingo who'd go through with something so seemingly-forward with a girl he doesn't love to acquiesce to her will and conscience). Context, characterization, and accepted convention are more important than "how I'd take it if I were me". Now, you might say that this stretches your ability to suspend disbelief and accept the story as presented, but then it's just an argument about whether what was presented was reasonable or not. I think in the context of the show, it's reasonable (and particularly now, in retrospect, we have to accept that interpretation, though I was indeed pushing that interpretation at the time as well).

Originally Posted by Triple_R

In my opinion, it's a bit of a flaw in storytelling for a narrative defined by character relationships to have the main love interest of the male lead be a side-character during the first few episodes of an one cour anime.

Again, this is actually speaking to the intent of the narrative. What if I wanted to write a story where the whole theme is "love that can't work out" and "those spurned by fate"? In such a story, being able to relate with the chosen romantic partner is totally inconsequential and actually counter-productive; you're supposed to sympathize with those who are spurned, not the one who was chosen. Now, to be clear, I'm not saying that this is that sort of show; I think you're supposed to sympathize with Miu as well as Sana and Airi. But I do know an anime where this was the theme of the work: D.C.S.S. And guess what: a lot of people hated that work with a passion. Is it because the approach is flawed? No, not at all -- the narrative accomplished exactly what it set out to do. But some people may not like that theme because they find it frustrating to see characters they empathize with suffer, even if that suffering is the theme of the work! So as vio5555 said in his most recent post, this is approach is risky. I won't go so far as to say "flawed"; that can only be judged fully when we see how all the pieces come together in the two remaining episodes.


One more thing for now:

Originally Posted by vio5555

To connect Airi to the above, I don't think Airi can present the "specific" compassion needed to resolve the conflict here.

Spoiler for Airi's thoughts at the end of Ep 10:

Besides, Airi was wrong at the end of episode 10. She tells Sana not to fall in love if it's going to make her cry. But that's entirely the wrong takeaway here...

Spoiler for Episode 10:

Ahh... but does she really mean that or is she just saying that in a misguided effort to cheer her up? And, did Airi not love? Are we sure that Airi did not cry? These are two best friends who both mistrusted men, both started falling for the same guy, and both watched the guy end up with someone else. I think it stands to reason that she's saying that not without a small sense of irony, and comforting her because she knows a bit more about how it feels than what she's letting on. For all we know, those words may be the defence mechanism she used on herself, ineffective though it may be. While the depth of Shingo's feelings for Airi are rather clear, the depth of Airi's feelings for Shingo before she had that realization are less so.

[Triple_R]

A couple points:

1. In response to Relentlessflame and vio5555, I can compromise on "risky". That's probably a fairer and more accurate assessment than simply "flawed", I'll admit. Even here, I want to emphasize that my observations are based on the heavily ingrained expectations that viewers have for most VN-adaptations (i.e. that a lot of it will focus on romance, and the eventual establishment of one or more). If Mashiro-iro Symphony was a light novel adaptation, say, I'd probably have less issue here. Going into most VN-adaptations (the exceptions being ones with up-front multigenre appeal like Steins;Gate and Fate/Stay Night), the shipping aspect will inevitably focus a lot of viewers thoughts, even if romance is only a small part of the show when all is said and done.

2. Part of the reason why I questioned Airi being categorized as a tsundere is that I think that the true Airi is actually the Airi of Episode 1 (i.e. the one that helped out Sakuno and was initially nice to Shingo). It's possible that Airi doesn't even dislike boys, per se, she just didn't want her beloved all-girls school to change.

That being said, I like the idea DasDingus raised of Airi being a throwback classical tsundere. I haven't seen one of those in ages (the last was probably Fate/Stay Night's Rin Tohsaka), so the idea appeals to me a fair bit for that reason. So that's fine. I can go along with DasDingus there.

[relentlessflame]

Regarding Airi's "tsundere-ism"... I can't really call her a tsundere character because that was just a façade. She had actual reasons for being standoff-ish that were developed and resolved, and now her behaviour has reverted to its normal state (shown at the beginning of the anime). She wasn't being "bitchy" to Shingo particularly to cover up romantic feelings towards him (though she did see him as a bit different than the other guys). And as her "true self", she's still strong-willed and easily-embarrassed (not just deredere all the time), but the temporary standoff-ish nature is gone.

So I guess I'd say she was showing some "tsundere-like tendencies" in the early days, but she's not really a "tsundere character" if you ask me. I'd say Sana, on the other hand, is a tsundere character.

[vio5555]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

A couple points:
1. In response to Relentlessflame and vio5555, I can compromise on "risky". That's probably a fairer and more accurate assessment than simply "flawed", I'll admit. Even here, I want to emphasize that my observations are based on the heavily ingrained expectations that viewers have for most VN-adaptations (i.e. that a lot of it will focus on romance, and the eventual establishment of one or more). If Mashiro-iro Symphony was a light novel adaptation, say, I'd probably have less issue here. Going into most VN-adaptations (the exceptions being ones with up-front multigenre appeal like Steins;Gate and Fate/Stay Night), the shipping aspect will inevitably focus a lot of viewers thoughts, even if romance is only a small part of the show when all is said and done.

I've been fairly tough in terms of how I viewed the transition from the first half of the series to the second half of the series. However, if you really think about it, perhaps Shingo's desires had to be kept mostly bottled up.

The introduction was supposed to be Airi-centric and about her assimilating with the rest of the group as much as the boys side assimilating with the girls side.

If there had been more full ShingoxMiu foreshadowing, I think it probably would have been a disservice to that intent. In that respect, I think the anime chose to keep the focus narrow, while allowing the viewer to openly speculate on which direction the expected romance would eventually go. With these kinds of animes especially, the speculation of a male lead-side character pairing would have probably been a total distraction for most viewers if it had been a lot more transparent than a few minor hints. Thus, the Miu parts did not steal from the Airi-centric nature of the first half. Of course, that all began to change at the end of episode 6.

The risks are going to be magnified any time the viewer is kept relatively in the dark for a half season, particularly in a genre (VN adaptation, shounen romance) where the viewer comes in with a robust (but often small) set of expectations (hence the problem of distractions).

Mashiro-iro is trying to do something more unique than the usual mold of VN-adaptation. It's trying to do that in a genre where very few mold-breakers end up being well received by viewers (especially compared to how safe a production like Amagami SS is versus something that could lead to unhappy shippers).

The reason I don't like the word flaw to describe the transition (although I may have slipped somewhere in this thread, so don't hold me to that) is that the anime did try to temper our expectations during the first 6 episodes before showing us its twist. It's obviously risky because this anime will be judged not on the first 10 episodes but on the final 2 even though we enjoyed the ride. If the final 2 episodes don't manage to resolve the conflict in a satisfying and believable way, then that would be a flaw in execution. But we haven't yet crossed that threshold at this point, since the anime is just entering the resolution phase.

[MasterVampire]

Maybe if Sana wasnt such a tsundere bitch she would of had a chance for him to like her that way.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by vio5555

The reason I don't like the word flaw to describe the transition (although I may have slipped somewhere in this thread, so don't hold me to that) is that the anime did try to temper our expectations during the first 6 episodes before showing us its twist. It's obviously risky because this anime will be judged not on the first 10 episodes but on the final 2 even though we enjoyed the ride. If the final 2 episodes don't manage to resolve the conflict in a satisfying and believable way, then that would be a flaw in execution. But we haven't yet crossed that threshold at this point, since the anime is just entering the resolution phase.

To pull things back around and further this point, if we can accept that the development of Airi and Sana as main characters in this show has a purpose and is meaningful and essential to the theme/message, then the most important thing we need from the last two episodes is some way of reinforcing what they've learned from their experiences and the change in viewpoint that has resulted. Of course, we also need a little bit more development of Shingo and Miu's relationship, which is also an important aspect of the show. Thankfully, I think the show has already set things in motion on both of these fronts, so I am very hopeful for a finish that nicely ties together everything the show has shown us so far.

To be clear, let's say that the show just spends the last two episodes focused only on the Shingo & Miu romance and leaves everything else as is. If they were to do that, I think the transitions would be a flaw. But that isn't what I expect. Instead, I expect symmetry between the first episode and the last episode, and full closure. I think the basic question will be: what is the legacy of Shingo and Miu's kindness? With Miu heading towards graduation, and Shingo now in a relationship with her, I think the other characters will have a chance to step up to the plate on their own. What this does is raise and cement both Shingo and Miu on a pedestal, as the sort of bar that others can aspire to. Actually, if you think about it more carefully, that's actually been the key point/message about them all along, even though we see their flaws as well.

(Darn, now that I think about it, that's really what Sana's releasing of Shingo to go "save" Miu meant. Sana sees Miu as a goddess, and no matter what she does she can never measure up, even though she aspires to be like her. She doesn't want any guy to get close to Miu because she doesn't want her goddess to be tainted. But over the course of the show, she slowly came to see Shingo as a god as well (ref. her idealized memory of his kind gestures towards her in the montage). Sana was never able to stop Miu from working herself to exhaustion, but she realizes at that moment that maybe Shingo can do something that she never could. It's sort of like saying "it takes a god to save another". Even though she fell in love with Shingo, he was always sort of out of reach, and this reminded her of her own shortcomings and failings. But "Shingo is a considerate person; like an umbrella that shields us from the bright sun, and shelters us from the cold rain." If there was anyone that could save Miu, it was him. So she lets him go, knowing full-well that this will only bring him closer to Miu. At the end of the day, the two gods deserve each other, and that's the theme of their romance. The theme of the show is all the rest of us, and that's why everyone else gets the character development.)