r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Sep 20 '19

Episode Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo. - Episode 12 discussion - FINAL Spoiler

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo., episode 12: The Colors of the Hearts of Maidens

Alternative names: Maidens of the Savage Season, O Maidens in Your Savage Season

Rate this episode here.

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Encourage others to read the source material rather than confirming or denying theories. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

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Episode Link Score
0 Link 1.91
1 Link 6.76
2 Link 7.79
3 Link 9.24
4 Link 9.4
5 Link 9.44
6 Link 9.15
7 Link 9.03
8 Link 9.6
9 Link 8.31
10 Link 9.24
11 Link 8.12

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36

u/Bainos https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bainos Sep 20 '19

I thnk my only problem was I hope Momo and Niina was given more time for a better closure but everything else was gucci IMO.

It's a bit frustrating that while everyone else was given an explicit ending, those two remain in a blur. We know that they're at least still friend, so it's a good ending. Whether they are anything more is up to everyone's guess unless the author confirms it one way or the other.

36

u/ZBLongladder https://myanimelist.net/profile/zblongladder Sep 21 '19

I think it's more explicit than people are giving it credit for...Niina pretty firmly rejected Momo in episode 10, so, at least to me, by the finale the question between Momo and Niina wasn't "Will they or won't they?", it was "Will their friendship survive rejection?". Which I think is a perfectly reasonable theme in context...after all, if you're going to explore teenage romance & sexuality, dealing with rejection and its emotional fallout is definitely a part of that. And Momo & Niina's big emotional moment during color tag wasn't Niina accepting Momo's feelings, but Momo accepting Niina despite her being unable to return those feelings.

Actually, come to think of it, Momo has a big theme of rejection...after all, she had to reject what's-his-face, and that quite definitely went poorly. So I think after that, being able to reconcile with Niina and stay friends is a reasonable conclusion to her character arc.

15

u/Bainos https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bainos Sep 21 '19

Niina pretty firmly rejected Momo in episode 10

I don't think she did, unless I missed something ? This is what she replied in episode 10.

If she rejected her it was not in episode 10 but in this episode, with this scene and this one. On the other hand, she contradict herself in this scene and this one.

There are two possible interpretations. Niina could have rejected Momo, being focused on Izumi, despite knowing she didn't have a chance. Or she could have refused to answer her before confessing to Izumi, so that she would be properly rejected and could move forward without regret for not taking her chance.

Distinguishing the two is further complicated by the fact that the scene between Niina and Momo occurs before the scene between Kazusa and Izumi, and Niina only gets properly rejected in the latter.

By comparison, Hongou's interest in Milo was clearly addressed and buried.

14

u/ZBLongladder https://myanimelist.net/profile/zblongladder Sep 21 '19

At least to me, it seemed like Momo definitely interpreted episode 10 as a flat out rejection, even if Niina didn't fully articulate it...I mean, she spends most of the last two episodes jealous and angry towards Niina. And her asking Kazusa if she had to sleep with her or Milo-sensei in episode 11 seemed like the moment she lost the last shreds of hope...basically, at least in my reading, Kazusa's answer of Milo confirmed Momo's fears that most straight people just aren't interested in same-sex intimacy, and there was no hope of her converting Niina to lesbianism. To me, the scene where she asks Niina how she can hold her like it's nothing is Momo struggling with the unfairness of the fact that her crush doesn't just reject her, she doesn't see her as a sexual being to begin with.

4

u/rasifiel Sep 21 '19

She was angry in final episode exactly because she wasn't clearly refused, but Niina wanted to confess to Izumi.

4

u/youarebritish Sep 21 '19

I was actually pretty disappointed that there wasn't a conclusive confrontation with Momo. She came across as incredibly toxic and controlling in this episode, and to have that go unaddressed then try to sell them as best friends forever felt really unsatisfying to me.

6

u/HarleyFox92 Sep 21 '19

Yeah but on the other hand this was the first time we saw Momo taking the lead and facing her demons, the rest of the girls already had done that.

-1

u/youarebritish Sep 21 '19

I get that, but the scene we had with her in this episode should've come much sooner. It needed proper resolution. They just left her character hanging as this selfish, controlling psycho.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 21 '19

i quite like the non-closure between momo and niina. life doesn't always have explicit endings.

2

u/Bainos https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bainos Sep 21 '19

Not a problem and it's a good thing if you liked the ending, but I can't agree. Because it's only an open ending for us - in-universe, Niina had to give an answer to Momo eventually.

Everyone else was given proper closure post-timeskip. So why not them ? I'm trying to think of what is shown, what isn't shown, and why things aren't shown. Unfortunately, this can't be answered without making an assumption about the outcome.

For me, it seems they did end up dating, which is why their post-timeskip scene is together and teased with a physical contact (not quite handholding, but as close as you can get without being a confirmation). And if that was the intended ending, there would be an incentive not to show it : in conservative Japan, it's easier not to end with two character canonically in a same-sex relationship. Same-sex attraction is a common topic in anime and manga, conclusion not so much.

What's shown : that they're close
What isn't shown : how close they are
Why it isn't shown : for marketing reasons

The reverse side of the coin is that if you assume they didn't end up dating, the incentive not to show it would be not to disappoint fans who want them to end up together. But are those fans going to be satisfied with an open ending ? I doubt it. They could have achieved the same or better levels of satisfaction by showing that they moved on and found another partner.

What's shown : they're still friends
What isn't shown : they moved on and are living their life each on their side
But why isn't it shown ?

It's certainly mean for me to assume bad intents from the author / publisher, but I can't think of something positive that is achieved with this ending, unless they literally couldn't decide on what would be Niina's answer.

I'm not claiming that the above is true. There are too many assumptions, wild guesses, and more than a little personal preferences. Still, that's how I view this ending, and why I'm not fully satisfied with it.