Paradise Kiss - 12: Future

Title:Paradise Kiss
Episode:12: Future
Synopsis
Arashi urges George to design more practical, casual clothing that the Parakiss team could actually earn some money off of. At school, Yukari's classmates are thrilled by a photo of her posing with her boyfriend, George. After all, "Tokumori-kun would never fall for someone like me" she says. After a Christmas party at the atelier, Yukari and George are alone at his apartment when the doorbell rings. Kaori has come to urge George to continue his training as a designer, but he feels that working solely as a designer would force him to continue depending on his father. He hasn't told the other Parakiss members about his decision, and Yukari can only wonder "Why didn't he tell me anything?". Later, Seiji comments that "Koizumi-kun (George) will be smashed if he becomes a professional. For him making clothes is like a drug that helps him escape from reality". Hamada-sensei confronts George--"Why are you giving up on life when you are still 18?" she asks. Meanwhile, Arashi catches Miwako communicating with Tokumori via cell phone E-mails. George goes to see his father, who tells him about a talk he had with Kaori recently. "She said she wanted me to give you freedom"...
Comments
The final episode; to make a long story short, not what I was expecting! More than once I have disagreed with the choices of boyfriends and girlfriends that the characters in romantic anime series made at the end, and wished that some scriptwriter would dare to make the lead character make a radically unexpected selection. I don't want to give too much away, but this might just be when my wishes come true! Also unexpected was George's conclusion that he couldn't make it as a professional designer. He had always seemed so cocksure, so much a smart-alleck, that such a lack of self-confidence didn't seem possible. So, you might say it wasn't just Yukari who was struggling to make up her mind what she wanted to do in life. The first time I watched this episode, it seemed like a sad, disappointing conclusion, but having carefully rewatched it, I would say that either this ending is too good to be fully appreciated by a mere amateur critic like myself, or maybe it was slightly flawed (probably the former!).

One problem: Why the hell was that Noriji character introduced back in episode 10 (complete with a narrator urging us to pay careful attention to him)? He never even appeared in this episode!

Community Anime Reviews

anime mikomi org