I loathe this ending! Several volumes are spent building Azusa up as someone who refuses to yield and fights back, but for what? In the end, no one tears down the system; the game merely fizzles out, only to resurface a decade later, while the rapists, abusers, and people responsible face no consequences. No one gets justice, and nothing really changes outside some character's personal growth.
The lack of accountability is astonishing. Taisho stabs Eno, only for the story to turn around and have him visit Eno in the hospital. Atsumu even gives a speech about how anyone can become a victim or a victimiser. The ending acts as though everything can simply be pushed aside, forgotten, and forgiven. This makes the resolution feel emotionally incomplete.
I feel as though the initial societal commentary the author was going for was about how arbitrary hierarchies can distort human behaviour. When people are ranked and rewarded for dominance, they quickly turn on one another. In a society where status and social hierarchy are everything, and people have to fight for safety, everyone ends up becoming either a victim, an opportunist, an enforcer, or a silent bystander.
But, the problem is that the ending makes everything seem hollow. After all the brutality, psychological damage, and abuse we sat through, the story simply wants everyone to move on and forgive. Atsumu even talks about the castes as something that tore them apart but also brought them back together (excuse me?!)
Consequences matter. Without them, actions become empty spectacles with no real substance. If the ending had committed to some kind of fallout, shown psychological damage, real accountability, or even an emotional cost and healing process, then perhaps it wouldn't have felt so flat and forced. As it stands, the disconnect between what happened and how the story ended muffles any meaningful message that this could have made. It almost feels like the mangaka wanted to use the emotional weight of trauma without having to deal with any of its consequences.
I’m trying to find meaning in the ending, but I’m left with this: love and control remain forever tangled, and instead of changing the system, the best you can do is hope to survive it, forgive and forget. What in the Jesus is this “turn the other cheek” ending!?
I loathe this ending! Several volumes are spent building Azusa up as someone who refuses to yield and fights back, but for what? In the end, no one tears down the system; the game merely fizzles out, only to resurface a decade later, while the rapists, abusers, and people responsible face no consequences. No one gets justice, and nothing really changes outside some character's personal growth.
The lack of accountability is astonishing.
Taisho stabs Eno, only for the story to turn around and have him visit Eno in the hospital. Atsumu even gives a speech about how anyone can become a victim or a victimiser. The ending acts as though everything can simply be pushed aside, forgotten, and forgiven. This makes the resolution feel emotionally incomplete.
I feel as though the initial societal commentary the author was going for was about how arbitrary hierarchies can distort human behaviour. When people are ranked and rewarded for dominance, they quickly turn on one another. In a society where status and social hierarchy are everything, and people have to fight for safety, everyone ends up becoming either a victim, an opportunist, an enforcer, or a silent bystander.
But, the problem is that the ending makes everything seem hollow. After all the brutality, psychological damage, and abuse we sat through, the story simply wants everyone to move on and forgive. Atsumu even talks about the castes as something that tore them apart but also brought them back together (excuse me?!)
Consequences matter. Without them, actions become empty spectacles with no real substance. If the ending had committed to some kind of fallout, shown psychological damage, real accountability, or even an emotional cost and healing process, then perhaps it wouldn't have felt so flat and forced. As it stands, the disconnect between what happened and how the story ended muffles any meaningful message that this could have made. It almost feels like the mangaka wanted to use the emotional weight of trauma without having to deal with any of its consequences.
I’m trying to find meaning in the ending, but I’m left with this: love and control remain forever tangled, and instead of changing the system, the best you can do is hope to survive it, forgive and forget. What in the Jesus is this “turn the other cheek” ending!?