It won´t matter if Shin ends up with Aiko, Noe or Hiromi, or none at all, i predict (and yes , i know everyone know this since chapter 1) this sunday(?) there will be hordes of rabid fanbois crying because their favorite girl lost the game. But what makes me laugh even more it´s that even if shin doesn´t end up with any of the girls they will be mad at the producers calling them “n00bz” “Fails” and other stuff.

Why is this? becase it´s completely imposible to make a show where everyone ends happy, because anime fans (Actually, fans in general, not just from anime, it aplies in games, movies, tv, etc…) don´t know what they want.

If you give them a happy ending, they complain
If you give them a sad ending, they complain
If you give them an “open” ending, they complain
If you give them Nice boats, yup, they complain

Best advice i could give to all of those waiting for: “OMG HIROMI ENDINGZ NAO”, “OMG I WANTZ MY NOE ENDINGZ”, “LOL, I WANT AIKO OWNING THE OTHER BITCHES ENDING”, “OMG I WANT SHIN TO STAY RONERY”… guys, don´t watch the final episode, do us that favor please, because you know, we know, they know you´re going to end up dissapointed an flaming on “X” forums about True tears ending.

And you know, in the end, Jibeta will own them all :D

Regarding Hiromi’s claim to being Shin’ichirou’s girlfriend: After watching Episode 12 a second time with subs, her claim felt more like she was speaking to herself rather than declaring out loud to Aiko that she is THE girlfriend. As for telling Noe those selfish stuff, I think many are forgetting the agreement made between Jun and Shin’ichirou. Hiromi did have the impression that if one couple broke up, the other shouldn’t continue too. She broke up with Jun, hence it was only right for her to expect that Noe stop looking for Shin’ichirou. Granted, she doesn’t know that Noe is still ignorant of the agreement.

As to Hiromi becoming more like Mrs Nakagami.. In terms of actions, yes. But Hiromi does realise the consequences of her actions (without the need for others to tell her). From the way she voices her thoughts, it is clear that she doesn’t really belong in Mrs Nakagami’s league.

That said, I can’t quite see what the ending will be. Trying to predict would be futile since we do not know what’s going on inside the writers’ minds.

I think of Noe and Shinichiro as representations of the two chickens in Shinichiro’s picture book.

Noe = Jibeta

Shinichiro = Raigomaru

Noe was the first to try and fly, Shinichiro witnesses this helplessly. Just like the story. Lets say Noe dies from the fall.

Shinichiro will sink deep into depression therefore feeling discouraged to attempt to ‘fly’. Just like Raigomaru realises he is just another chicken and he can’t fly. He will work himself out of the depression and Hiromi will realise how bad she has acted after Noe’s death.

Shinichiro X Hiromi end.

Far fetched?

Mr. and Mrs. Nakagami’s names, have so far remained shrouded in mystery… I believe it’s intentional too.

This.

Fact is I’ve read blogs/comments of Hiromi fans who think a Hiromi ending is destined, and gone into all the reasons why(including this one though you eventually went with the tossup).

I’ve also read the blogs/comments of Noe fans who think a Noe ending is destined and gone into all the reasons why.

The fact that both sides have presented arguments which I couldn’t find fault with is proof enough to me that it’s still very much up in the air.

But lets go further.

Arguements as I see them:

Noe ending:

-Fact is, Noe is the one that Shin is constantly thinking about, she’s the one that has fostered his growth(whatever your opinion of her own maturity), she’s the one that seems to have invaded every aspect of his life, and since HE’S the one that ultimately has to make the decision, what matters is what HE’S thinking about, and the fact that she is monopolizing his thought processes so much suggests he could very well be leaning towards her.

-Shin has this annoying(or sweet depending on your view) tendency to want to “be there” for his companions, try and solve their problems(even when he makes them worse), and I think at times really wants to be the “white knight” as it were. Hence all his defending of Hiromi. Yet now Hiromi needs no defending. She is no longer oppressed and in many respects has learned to stand on her own two feet. We of course see that she still needs Shin desperately, but does he see it? Might he not see her as no longer needing him just as Noe, what with her current emotional downspiral DOES seem to need him? Might this not trigger his white knight syndrome and lead him to Noe after all? Again it’s what’s in his head, and this is all speculation on my part, so take it as you will.

-While previously Noe was portrayed as being super insightful into the hearts of others, some might have used her declaration “the one in his heart is Hiromi” as a sure sign that surely the all-knowing moe Noe(because rhyming is fun) must have also pegged this one correctly! Yet in episode 12 she is forced to admit to herself, and to the audience, that she really doesn’t know anything about the true feelings of those around her, making her previous observation possibly moot.

-When they were kids Shin left Hiromi on that path. Might he do that again? For all his defending, the fact that they keep bringing up her shoe, a homage to earlier days, an appeal to the ever present “childhood friend” syndrome, and yet that memory is one of abandonment. Foreshadowing? Will history repeat itself? Unknown, but it could point to the Noe ending.

-Hiromi is likened to Kanae, and many have noticed it. The viewers have seen the ill effects of Kanae’s jealousy, have been made to be repulsed by it. Might not that serve to make viewers not want the Hiromi end because that’s not the intended one instead of foreshadowing that Hiromi is destined for the end girl slot?

-Hiromi has, from the beginning, been the tragic girl. An orphaned girl, early associated with tragedy, she goes to live under an oppressive adoptive mother, finds that the boy she has loved since childhood could possibly be her brother, by her own hand does everything necessary to distance herself from said boy. Might not her tragedy be complete? Might not she be shown the first few glimpses of happiness only to make the final tragedy all the more bitter when it comes?

-As Crusader points out, and like Kanae(again the comparison comes up), she lives in the past, yet as Noe declares, the theme of this show might be moving forward, into the future. As long as Hiromi clings to the past she cannot move into the past, and might the tragedy of my last point serve to truly illustrate the fate of all who insist on clinging to the past instead of walking(or flying) boldly into the future?

-Finally, as Crusader also points out, Hiromi has been much MUCH more interested in getting Noe OUT of the picture then getting herself INTO the picture. She declares herself his girlfriend, confronts Noe, but is she really getting on with the actual relationship? Might her attempts to secure her place from outside assault have blinded her to the lack of integrity within the relationship, and have kept her from making any relationship secure where it truly counted?

Hiromi End:

-Childhood Friend. Let’s face it, as Kimikiss was wont to hammer into our heads, the Japanese culture places a pretty huge emphasis on the childhood friend card, and Hiromi has that big time. I mentioned earlier that when they were younger Hiromi was abandoned but might that not lead Shin to keep from repeating that mistake again? Might he now do right what he did wrong all those years ago, and in a way that matters infinitely more?

-Hiromi has grown alot in the past few episodes from the tragic and despised liar she was at the beginning of the show. She is finally being honest with herself, proudly declaring the feelings she once took such pains to deny, moving all in with everything she has to make Shin understand in no uncertain terms that HE is the one that is in her heart. All she needs to complete her redemption is for Shin to acknowledge her feelings and return them. And if she can make Shin see that she does in fact need him, and needs him badly, can his “white knight” syndrome resist running into her arms and letting her know that he meant what he said, and that he’ll never abandon her again?

-So much of her narrative seems to almost depend on this redemption of the tragic heroine. Might not that be the strongest indicator of a Hiromi ending? That the transformation from poor tragic girl to redemption into full happiness take place, that she after everything can truly fly? After such a tragic past, what better could Hiromi ask for then after suffering so much to find her beloved Shin waiting for her.

-Hiromi has been likened to Kanae, as I mentioned earlier, and like Kanae she has lived in the past. While Kanae lived in the past she was a hateful, petty, jealous overlord. Yet when she let go of her past and moved on into the future she became the beautiful woman we have seen in this episode. She has shown she is quite human, and a decent person afterall. The entire household has improved with the change. Might not the parallels continue? True Hiromi lives in the past now, and while she does she shows all the qualities(and even the body language) that made Kanae so hateful earlier in the series, and yet she too can let go of her past in the span of an episode, and find happiness. And lest we forget Kanae did end up married to Mr. Nakagami. The parallel is there, and very strong, and that could be a strong indicator of a Hiromi end as Kurogane himself has pointed out.

-Noe might have been mistaken on the feelings of others in the past, and yet was she right when she said that Hiromi was the one in Shin’s heart, and that his place to fly wasn’t with her(Noe)? Afterall, Shin HAS loved Hiromi for a long time. This led him into foolish action in the past when he was mistaken about her true feelings, but now that she has made those feelings known, can Shin honestly say that he doesn’t love her anymore? Sure Noe was his muse, his inspiration, his catalyst for making himself a better person(as in many ways the accident was Hiromi’s catalyst for becoming a better person), but is that the same as romantic love? Shin may have mistakenly confessed to Noe out of some desperate sense to fill the void of having lost Hiromi forever, but now he knows the truth. Whatever his feelings for Noe might she have been simply a replacement for Hiromi, and now that the real thing is within his grasp again, why continue the farce of a substitute? As others have pointed out, you don’t want to be the first girl the main guy talks to in the last episode.

As you can see the ending could be argued either way. So many events and themes depend on really knowing who he chooses in the end. An event which argues and supports one ending in one light argues directly against it when seen in another light. This leads to the ambiguity of the ending, and shows all the more that the ending WILL be the central piece of the whole story. The ending is what will make sense of everything we’ve seen so far, will show us the true themes the show has been about, and since it’s so central, it makes trying to deduce the center from everything around it so hard, because in many ways we don’t know what we’re seeing MEANS till we know who he chooses.

Many say that she was selfless when she sang “the one in Shin’s heart is Hiromi,” but the audience should be able to sense that she is NOT going to move on. She knows that going to that deck, jumping off the tree, and going to the festival is going to keep Shin running after her. All of those acts that she pulled is TOO COINCIDENTAL to be innocent. If she was going to give Shin and Hiromi her blessing, why did she go the the festival? She even asserted herself that she was not going to go. All of those acts that she performed did make her seem like better person, but she most definitely is not as innocent as she appears.

Another question: how did she fell in love with Shin again? I don’t even remember the transition; one day she was obsessed with Raigomaru and then BANG! She fell in love with him.

At any rate i know that Hiromi feels a bit insecure now, but for me this episode really hammered home how much jealousy and insecurity were rapidly becoming the only things she had left. We see her having less out ward affection for Shin this time than we see Hiromi desperately trying to get rid of Noe or otherwise raging at Noe.

The thing is that Shin did build himself up to protect Hiromi but now Hiromi needs no protecting. Hiromi got pretty much everything she wanted after losing her parents she has a family again, and a home. Noe however pretty much lost Jun, the only family she had left. I cannot help but wonder if in the end Shin will try and protect someone properly by looking after Noe. It still remains to be seen whether or not Shin and Hiromi are still somehow related as Kanae did wince (ep 9) when Hiromi asked if her being Shin’s half sister was a lie. Even if that aspect has not been seen since it remains to be seen whether or not the truth behind Kanae’s hatred of Mrs. Yuasa may yet come into play. Had a Hiromi victory been set by now I would not have given it a second thought but now that card has suddenly become viable again. i just hope if igets played that it will be used wisely though, but if they can’t I’d rather it not be used. Nevertheless I remain wary of what cards can still be played on Sunday.