"XII"
Wait, who did you say tried her hardest again?
There was quite a lot of irony in the finale for
Amnesia, though I doubt most of it was intentional. Still, I was far more amused than I was affected
the way I'm sure the story was supposed to make me feel and I think that alone justified my sitting through the whole thing (well, that and Kaori Nazuka on the verge of tears, though she unfortunately didn't get to go into full crying mode). I suppose the first and most obvious irony is Ukyou's situation; he wished for a world in which his lover would live after she died in an accident, and unfortunately in every world where she existed, he did not. In an attempt to remove the invader (much like Secrets in
Astral Ocean, I suppose), the world tried to kill him off and succeeded repeatedly, forcing Ukyou to travel to new worlds to seek his luck in an endless cycle. Even more ironic is that in the process of wanting to be with the woman he loved, his
split personality developed as a response to the pain and fear of being killed so often, and this part of Ukyou wished to kill Shujinko for self-preservation. Because of this, his whole wish was ultimately made in vain, had his love for his girlfriend not prevailed at the last moment and prompted him to commit suicide for her sake.
Of course, that would make Ukyou the hero of the piece, though I'd just as likely call him an antihero. However, since he was more or less as flat as the rest of the cast, and still a shoujo boyfriend through and through, I can't say I liked him all that much,
or that I was touched by his sacrifice. What I find funny, however, is that despite Shujinko just standing around and listening to Orion's directives while Ukyou battles himself over whether or not he wants to kill or save her,
Orion and his boss, Neil, still credit her as having been strong and doing her best. Really? Where was I when this happened? What about all the times she passively let everyone boss her around, or stuff her in a cage, or stared blankly while she
drowned? Even when she dodged a couple of Ukyou's attacks, she was just listening to Orion telling her to run or move; I've rarely seen a heroine this useless
and boring to boot.
The ultimate irony, however, comes in the fact that it isn't Ukyou whom Shujinko grieves over (though he is saved, according to the fairies), but Orion. For a moment I really thought she was going to choose never gaining her memories back and
having Orion be at her side forever, and as controlling as he is as well (being Shujinko's brain and all), I'm kind of sad he isn't a love interest. Orion has consistently been the only semi-interesting character throughout the series' run, and in some ways he's been a much better protagonist than our heroine herself. He's also been the one who's looked out for Shujinko since day one, even if part of that was due to a sense of guilt at being the cause of her amnesia. I'd argue that he probably loves Shujinko just as much as Ukyou claims to have done, though that doesn't necessarily have to be romantic love. They shared a bond longer than she and the others ever did, and I'm kind of unsatisfied that she chose to leave him behind for a life with one of the other controlling jerks,
whichever one she decides to be with in the end.
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