by A spring anime season filled with masterpieces
The spring 2024 anime season has ended, and the ending of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Pillar Training Arc” was particularly moving and exciting. Not only “Demon Slayer” but other works have had touching endings that are impossible to watch without crying and are a hot topic on the Internet.
This article describes the final episodes of “Night Jellyfish Can’t Swim,” “Grandpa and Grandma Rejuvenate,” and “Sound! Euphonium 3.” Please be careful if you have not watched them. For example, the ending of “Night Jellyfish Can’t Swim,” which has been a hot topic since the beginning for its beautiful drawings, was moving.
The work is a youth ensemble drama depicting four girls’ growth through the activities of the anonymous singer “JELEE.” The main character is “Kozuki Mahiru (CV: Ito Miku ),” an illustrator who does not want to become a “mass-produced version of herself. ” Mahiru forms the group “JELEE” with former idol “Tachibana Nonoka” (Voiced by Takahashi Rie ), “Takanashi Kim Anouk Mei” (Voiced by Shimabukuro Miyuri), who composes the music, and “Watase Kiwi” (Voiced by Tomita Miyu), who produces videos. In the final episode, Kanon, who feels that her mother no longer needs her after retiring from idol activities, appears on stage as “JELEE” at an event hosted by her mother and performs a song.
The event ends successfully, and the four are immersed in the afterglow as they watch the ending credits projected on the screen at the venue. Then, when Kanon sees the stylish direction from her mother, she can’t help but break down in tears. The ending, which shows that her mother acknowledged Kanon’s existence, elicited emotional comments such as “What a perfect ending!” and “I’m glad for Kanon… (crying).”
The ending of “Grandpa and Grandma Rejuvenate” also drew moving comments. The main characters are a married couple, “Shozo (voiced by Shinichiro Miki )” and “Ine (voiced by Mamiko Noto )” who run an apple farm in Aomori Prefecture. One day, they discover that the apple tree they planted when they married has golden fruit. After eating the mysterious apple, the couple wakes up in the morning to find they have returned to their youthful beauty.
In this work, the couple’s lifespan is represented by the “hourglass” that appears in Shozo’s dream, and by the end of the story, there is only a little sand left. In the final episode, while preparing the apple orchard for winter, the couple sits down, leaning against the apple tree, to take a break. As if they have realized something, the couple begins to reflect on their lives. At the end, the couple leans their shoulders against each other, holds hands, and closes their eyes with gentle expressions. Various reactions were given to the ending, such as “It made me think about what it means to live,” “Tears flowed from my eyes,” and “This is the ideal ending.” Another spring anime with a tearful ending was “Sound! Euphonium 3.”
The popular series depicts the struggles of Kumiko Oumae (CV: Tomoyo Kurosawa), a student at Kitauji High School who devotes her youth to brass band music and aims to win the gold medal at the national competition. In the 12th episode, which is just before the final episode, a re-audition is held to decide the soloist (the person who plays the solo) at the national competition, and the club president Kumiko loses, which is a surprising change from the original story that became a hot topic.
The final episode, which came in such a situation, focuses on the performance scene at the competition. Then, as the performance began, a flashback-like performance was played out, with the music playing in the background, showing the worries and conflicts of each character and the famous scenes of their passion for brass band music from the previous series. Fans who saw this commented, “I’m glad I followed it for three years,” “Is there anyone who doesn’t cry at this?”, “A divine performance,” “I was moved when Kumiko didn’t play the solo,” and so on. If you have not seen it, why not take this opportunity to check it out?
