[TheJaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I also hate Ryuki's ending, since it feels like a cheap way around Kanzaki having to face the consequences of his actions by diminishing the tragedy of the Rider War.

See I often feel like I watched a totally different show from everyone else because in my mind this point is very at odds with Ryuki's overall themes and messages in my mind... Like I can not imagine a scenario where Kanzaki Shiro was more punished that wouldn't feel strange to me? This is a show about reframing your perspective on the world and humanity as a whole. About seeing the world as a place full of monsters, feeling pressured to become a monster yourself because it seems like the only way to "survive", and then learning to overcome that, and to be a good person because it's the right thing to do

(I'm about to spoil a whole lot of Ryuki's ending)
I'd also say that in a way Kanzaki Shiro is punished? He certainly isn't rewarded in his conclusion of having to accept his sister's death and dying himself... He had a horrible life, and while that doesn't justify his actions he's clearly presented as a victim of trauma trying desperately to undo an event that can't be undone. His "punishment" is failing to save his sister over and over, and having her make him stop and finally let her die. Shiro does horrible things but he is a victim not only of his abusive parents, but of his own actions as well. He is able to find peace and acceptance in the fact that not everyone on Earth is a monster, there were other people willing to fight to protect others and his sister, and that for a moment he and his sister can be together again, but while it's not really a punishment I still wouldn't say this is a reward, more so it's simply closure for these two

For me overall though what makes Ryuki's ending work is that, for me at least, I always perceived the ending from Kanzaki Yui's perspective. And I think this is intentional (especially as a song sung by her actor is played over the final scenes). Yui loses her connections to the cast of the entire show, they're whole history, as we the audience experience the same, we lose the ties and bonds we've made to these people over the course of 50 episodes, we lose everything we've experienced so the fighting can stop, as Yui loses everything she's experienced so the fighting can stop.

Personally I found it to be a very beautiful but tragic exploration of trauma, loss, growth, and acceptance.

But I also DO understand why other people don't like it! Especially if you aren't invested in Yui or Shiro then the ending must feel really weird and jarring, and I see how a "reset" ending can feel inherently cheap to people, even if for me it felt like it pushed the themes of the show to their extreme and past their breaking point in a mesmerizing way

But idk, it's a weird show, I do understand why there's distaste for it. I mentioned before I have a bias for this show, and it's true... As silly as this might sounds to say about a goofy superhero show, Ryuki was a show that I watched at a time in my life when I felt like I was becoming a worse person because I felt like I had to, and to have a show that not only reflected that idea, but that also really hammered home the message that it's more important to be a good person, and to do the right thing. It genuinely had a big effect on my life, and the ending for me just kind of amplified that.

Also just generally, I tend to like shows where the themes resonate with me more so than show's that have a really clean narrative but don't hit me emotionally. (Not that Ryuki's narrative isn't pretty clean, but I do definitely think it bends itself a bit to get to where it wants to go)

I've gone fully off subject from Geats tho so I'm gonna stop talking about Ryuki now lol, I do respect everyone else's opinion on it, it's a very weird ending that is sure to hit different people differently, but I only have my own experience with the show to base my opinions of it on... Anyways, I have a tendency to ramble, and I've been thinking about the show all day so this message kinda got away from me sorry lol