Omggg I was totally wondering about Ferid & Crowley too, but didn’t bring them up bc there’s so little info about what they’re up to rn. I truly get not wanting to get too deep into theories about it, especially with Rigr himself acknowledging the climax of the story, I got no clue to whether quite a few of the side characters are gonna come back into play. I’m hopeful we’ll get some more scenes with them for closure’s sake at least before everything is wrapped up.
Also, I’m super glad you brought up Yu’s personality. When I see other ppl talking about it, it’s usually just criticism of him being too happy-go-lucky, but I totally agree with addressing it from the perspective of a coping mechanism. I definitely wanna see how Yu and Mika are affected by being together again in a new way. And how Mika’s gorgeous demon sword power is gonna stack up against the 1st.
Oh and thank you for once again assuaging my fears about the well-being of the characters lmao. I love these little check-ins. Your feedback never fails to help me process the chapter better and get me more invested in the story <3
Aw, that's really sweet anon! I'm glad you enjoy my little rambling thoughts. <3
That's the whole reason I left it as a crossed-out line. I wouldn't be surprised if they were yet again left as a sort of deus ex machina and are currently doing something to help further the plan off-screen, but *shrug* who knows. Then again, Ferid was left as a head last we saw. He'll... probably(?) be whole when we see him next? Idk
What I want to know is where Narumi is. WHERE IS HE?? He went with Kimizuki and Yoichi and then dropped off the face of the planet. At least with other characters that have disappeared, we kind of saw them go their separate way. Narumi just faded out of existence. You and I both hope that everyone will get a proper wrap-up.
Yeah, I've seen that too, and I mean, it's fair to complain about, but I really do think it's a coping mechanism. If you track Yuu's character progression across the series, Yuu did genuinely become a more happy-go-lucky person after he reunited with Mika. However, it wasn't to the degree it is now. That was a very sudden change that didn't appear until after Mika died, and if you compare it to his optimistic moments prior to that death, these moments feel almost forced now. I'd have to go back and check if it's consistent, but the actual text lends itself to this idea a bit too, at least in this last chapter. The more over-the-top moments are in a different text font. It's not something I really noticed before this chapter, but I couldn't not notice how often it was used here. The only time Yuu wasn't really using it is when he was talking about family, which all that talk is just typical Yuu.
I don't want to get into a full breakdown because that would be long, but here's some "quick" analysis. Yuu has developed a sort of twisted belief that everything will be okay as long as he has his family with him. Losing the (arguably) most important member of that family broke Yuu. We can see how it tore him apart. Yuu was at his absolute lowest when Mika died. He was so hurt that he was ready to die too. He only came out of that when he heard Mika could be saved, and the second he heard that, he smiled while tears streamed down his face. He hasn't stopped smiling since really. Yuu hasn't properly acknowledged what happened to Mika in a serious way since then either. You don't ping pong personality-wise like that unless you're repressing how hurt you actually are. I suppose it could just be absolutely terrible writing, but Yuu lives for other people. Mika dying showed us that. He's also shown us countless times that he doesn't think his own personal pain and suffering matters so long as his family is happy and safe. This wouldn't be the first time he brushed off his own pain and suffering to help someone else. The only difference is that this is emotional rather than physical, and that kind of pain is very hard to brush off. Emotional pain doesn't heal instantly like physical pain does in OnS. We see it with how much Guren is still suffering and agonizing over his friends' deaths. Forcing a smile and saying everything will work out just makes sense for Yuu, after all, he has to be strong for others right?
There's so much else I could say, but again, I'm trying to be conscientious about length.
Anyways! I too am excited to see just how powerful Yuu is now. Probably ridiculously powerful.