AMNESIA Review

As the 2012-2013 Anime season comes to a close, I thought I'd review AMNESIA, as the final episode is live today in America. 

I was really excited about the end of this one... I've been following it since Crunchyroll began simulcasting it, and I've been waiting for the conclusion these past 12 weeks, as many others have. And I must say, I was thoroughly disappointed. 

People who played the visual novel know how the story actually ends, but for those of us who haven't, this ending is totally unsatisfying. 

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

If you haven't watched Episode 12 yet, DO NOT read ahead! You've been warned.

I was expecting some grande finale, where the Heroine realizes she was supposed to be with Ukyo the whole time, her memories come back to her, and the two live happily ever after. That would have made this a much better anime, over-all. What I got instead was nothing but expository dialogue and no resolution whatsoever. 

So Ukyo ends up giving her the whole story. How they were lovers, she'd died on August 25th, and he made a wish with the Fairy King that he wanted to see her again, so he was allowed to travel through parallel dimensions to find one where they could be together. But in the other dimensions, he was a stranger to her, she didn't remember their relationship, and because he wasn't supposed to exist there, one of them had to die. Ukyo's "other self," the evil one, was born after Ukyo had died so many times trying to be reunited with the Heroine, because they couldn't both exist in the parallel realities. After all this exposition, Ukyo kills his "other self," allowing the Heroine to live until August 26th, fulfilling his wish. But despite all of that, we don't even get to see the two of them kiss.

She's then transported to what I'm guessing is the Fairy World, where Orion explains everything that happened. According to Orion, Neil, the Fairy King, transferred her consciousness the moment before she died each time to another dimension, causing her to jump from world to world, in order to grant Ukyo's wish. 

The episode ends with the Heroine and Orion parting ways, as she'll forget him when she gets her memories back. From what I've read of the comments of those who've played the visual novel, the player gets to chose which reality she goes back to, which guy she ends up with, at the end. Similarly, the choice is left to the imagination of the viewer at the end of the anime, with no real resolution. We don't get to see her memories come back, or which reality she goes back to.

I understand that they didn't want to spoil the ending of the visual novel for those who would go on to play after watching the anime, or wanted to leave the spirit of the game intact by leaving it to the viewer's imagination, but that is no excuse. In my opinion, it would have made for a much better anime if they had just ended the story, even if they'd changed it or made something up. This anime was really interesting and really pulled me in, and the end was so anticlimactic that I won't be recommending it or putting it on my favorites list. The creators should have ignored marketing and focused on making a good ANIME, because it's a different medium than a dating simulator, and the focus should be on the story. I think that would have sparked more interest in the franchise than the way they chose to do it.

***End Spoilers***

After all is said and done, the bisshies and the opening and closing theme music are the only redeeming factor of this anime. Aside from the Heroine having absolutely NO character whatsoever, the story was alright, but it was ruined by the end (or rather, lack thereof). I know there are a lot of Ukyo fangirls out there, but my favorite was always Shin. Despite his rough language and demeanor, he reminds me of a kitten. But his look is what I go for most in Anime. I like his forwardness, and I know a lot of girls didn't like the way he called the Heroine "baka" all the time, but honestly, I wouldn't mind being called that by him. ^^

I didn't hate Ikki, either. His character turned out different than how he had seemed, and by the end of his arc, I thought he was really sweet. I thought Kent was pretty boring, but his awkwardness was a little endearing, and I liked him, too, by the end. I still think Toma is really hot, even if he is a little psycho and controlling... I wouldn't date him, though.

I also think AMNESIA would have been really interesting if it had been longer than 12 episodes. What if the Heroine were to jump back to a reality she'd already been to, and kept jumping back and forth? Like if she'd gone back to the world where she and Kent were dating more than once, and each time they'd figure out a little more about her situation, but she'd jump away again before they found out anything concrete... I wish they'd played with the story a little more than it just being a straight line. That also would have been more compelling. 

Better luck next time, Showgate!