Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi – 12 [END]

Ready or not, here’s Ookami-san episode 12!


It’s the last episode of the season and unfortunately they’re back to introducing one-episode-characters. This time it’s a girl from the poor side of the tracks, meant to be playing the little matchstick girl, Machiko-san.

She spots Ryoushi taking his cute but ‘expensive looking’ dogs for a walk early in the morning and quickly decides that he could be her chance to marry into a rich family.

The next day, she’s up and running and with the intention of literally crashing into Ryoushi cliché style dashes into the school with the token piece of bread in her mouth. Unfortunately for her, Ryoushi is quick to dodge and lands her almost on her face. At least she advertised her name on her panties…

Is she alright in the head?

In class Ryouko and Ringo ask Ryoushi what’s got him so down and Ringo quickly analyzes the situation to a galge plot, complete with a smug look on her face. Machiko-san takes the opportunity to march straight to Ryoushi and losing her temper at the last moment, drops the act and asks him out while skilfully tagging a proposal at the end of her sentence.

The class, including a frozen Ryouko and Ringo takes the opportunity to freak out. Tarou and Otohime show up in the class midway through the freak out, probably because they need to be in the last episode, to say that Ryoushi already has Ryouko for rabu-rabu feelings and dream engagements.

Machiko-san quickly jumps on Ryouko to find out if this is true but Ryouko is just as quick to deny that they have any sort of relationship between them. Relieved, Machiko attaches herself to Ryoushi, says something about fostering their budding love.

Normally love triangle set-ups really stress me out but in Ookami-san we really don’t have to worry about much since Ringo is on the Ryouko-Ryoushi team. Machiko-san marches up to Otogi Bank to demand Ryoushi for a Saturday date.

Machiko-san is as happy as anything to finally have a date set up with Ryoushi who she still believes is a “rich guy” type. She gets back home and we get a bit of insight on the life she actually lives. She turns on a candle  for light and Kuronarrator picks up that she really must be going through tough times.

Meanwhile, Ryouko plays her cards pretty close to her chest but lets her stress over the situation break loose at the boxing gym. When she gets home, she has to deal with Ringo who reads her like a book and suggests they tag along for the morning date just in case Machiko-san is plotting something weird.

Ryouko ‘reluctantly’ agrees and the following day, they tail the new couple. Weirdly enough… they actually look cute together when Machiko-san isn’t talking… or revealing her underwear ;x Machiko has also made a bento to which Ryouko mumbles something about being able to do that herself.

The date continues with Machiko leading Ryoushi along at her own pace. They end up talking about themselves for a bit but Machiko changes the subject when the talk moves along to her family.  Machiko ends the date rather abruptly and Ringo and Ryouko soon find out why when two thugs try to jump her. They end up being loan sharks her dad ran out on.

Just when the trouble is about to get serious, Ryoushi shoots a smoke bomb from his slingshot and saves Machiko. On a park bench nearby, Machiko tells Ryoushi the truth of her problems which immediately sets off his manly mode.

More of the loan shark thugs show up and Ryoushi starts taking them out along with Ryouko’s help. This of course gives Ringo the opportunity to stand behind Machiko and mention how well they’ve always fight together.

The trouble ends with Machiko’s debt being taken care of by Otogi Bank and with her moving into Okashisou, the place Ryoushi lives. Machiko asks Ryoushi for a private moment since it seems she’s actually fallen for him. Ryouko ends up tailing them and it’s just as well seeing as Ryoushi took the opportunity to explain his feelings and why they’re all for Ryouko.

All in all it’s a pretty sweet ending for Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi.

End Thoughts:

Let’s get the bad stuff over and done with first shall we?

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi if seen as a happy-go-lucky, something to watch in between waiting for the plot animes then it delivered just fine.

The core problem is though, that halfway through being a happy-go-lucky something-or-other, the series decided to pretend to bring in a pretty angsty bad guy that they set up to absolutely need destroying. He was 100% bad guy and even in fairytales… especially in fairytales the bad guy needs to be vanquished for the hero to earn his stripes and ultimately get the girl.

There was no vanquishing.

Where’s my vanquishing?! Well, since they left that part out, Ryoushi couldn’t really earn his stripes with his big training hurrah with Nekomiya ending up being more for Nekomiya’s sake than Ryoushi’s or Ryouko’s. The big thing that really bothers me is that Hitsujikai is kind of just lurking in his Onigashima hideout… still being a bad guy because Ryoushi didn’t get a chance to defeat him. Fail.

Ok to prevent this from ending up as a totally negative and disappointed review, for the next part I’m just going to believe that it was my fault for expecting a big fanfare finish for this show when to begin with they didn’t really promise one.

It’s characters were interesting, it was relatively funny throughout the series and generally kept me amused whenever it came time to do a weekly write-up on it.

Let’s look at the humour first of all, there were some pretty stand-up episodes within the lot, the ones that come to mind include Jizou-senpai and Jin-senpai’s little romantic interlude which in my opinion tops off the list for humour as I was lolling on that one.

Drama-wise it’s a tie between Ringo and Ryouko’s relationship reveal back in episode 6 and Ringo’s relationship reveal with her older sister. I preferred the latter since it got an actual resolve and I liked the title twist.

As for action, the best have to be Momo-chan-senpai’s first episode when everyone goes rushing into Onigashima and the Longest day episode which was such a great set-up, it made me wicked sad to see them waste it.

Taking a closer look at the episode itself the best part is the fact that Machiko-san is voiced by none other than Satomi Satou who of course voices the awesome Ritsu Tainaka. I’m gonna miss the K-ON kids quite a bit so the seiyuu popping up here and there is pretty much gonna be it for me ;_;

To be fair, the episode was pretty funny and had it not been the finale I would have been able to class it a lot better against the other ‘regular’ episodes because as a finale it really does fail quite a bit and I don’t even know what they were thinking putting it at the end.

Ryoushi and Ryouko didn’t get their be all and end all moment but in my opinion they did get a satisfying beginning to a would be relationship which fit the tone of the ending perfectly well so I can’t complain.

Preview:

Obviously there isn’t a next episode for this one ;p but I’d just like to drop a line to say thanks to all of you that followed through with my Ookami episodics and that we’ll be seeing each other again soon when Fall comes rolling in with all its titles!

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23 Responses to “Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi – 12 [END]”

  1. Joojoobees says:

    I wasn’t as disappointed with this episode as an ending to the series, but I get what you mean. The series was clearly uneven, but I enjoyed the flashes where it came together, so I was entertained by this show on the whole.

    • Ryuuko says:

      I was entertained too so I can’t complain that much. Honestly, I did think that it was half-way fine on it’s own but how much better could they have made it had they picked one main idea and stuck with that one ’til the end >,<

  2. BK201 says:

    I was disappointed. Everyone’s thinking it. I’m just saying it. It was a giant cock tease the entire way through.

    • Ryuuko says:

      The series truly was fillerific. It was good filler at times but I get you, filler is all it was. If they’d smacked Hitsujikai in the face like his arc promised I would have been over 9k times more satisfied than I am now.

  3. Starry says:

    I was also disappointed by the last episode… But it made me think that the chances of it coming back for a second season is high. I think that’s what they are planning anyway. If not, why the tons of unresolved problems and lackluster last episode? But well, it could just be my own hopeful wish. =/

    • Ryuuko says:

      I think the problem with that is would it be worth making a second season? ^^; They did leave lots of stuff unresolved but if they wanted to, they could have solved everything with the 12 episodes they had and ended up with a much better series… which would have left more fans wanting a lot more to do with a follow up season.

      To be honest though, I’d look into an S2 if I thought Ryoushi and Ryouko had a shot at ending up together lol.

  4. Dan-go says:

    pssh,@BK201, u were watching it for the wrong reasons then…it’s light anime, watch it lightheartedly maybe? it never claimed to be serious and constantly mocked itself kuronarrator often emphasized the oddness of the situation, or the 3 pig brothers or the constant twisted references to the fables that the characters are based on…i thought it was cleverly and cutely done, and will now go back and lament the lack of keionbu in my life

    • Ryuuko says:

      K-ON’s finish leaves such an odd gap in my life lol. When Strike Witches 2 finishes and all the cuteness is gone I may have some sort of mini-break down! Here’s hoping to a couple more series like them to come >.< I know there have been some guesses that the era of moe is over but I'm still holding out for a lot more.

  5. Dan-go says:

    U guys were watching it for the wrong reasons then…light anime is meant to be watched lightheartedly, it’s not an epic that requires several hundred filler arcs of background to bring about a climatic finale, it’s just cutesy humor, and i think it was rather cleverly executed, ie kuronarrator’s sardonic tone, the references to the various fables(all the characters representative of other characters, Onigashima high (Onigishima=devil island from jap myth)) and the mocking of generic characters (ringo’s black black heart…it scares me) Also don’t hold ure breath for a new season…they summed it up quite well (minus stupid onigashima pres) the anime never had romance as core to the story, the relationship between ryouki and ookami was central, but it’s development much less so…and also things get less funny when things get more serious…anyway ily’re reviews, they’ve been a blast, cya in fall then ;D Use Show ▼

    tags for spoilers! | Insert smilies here:

    • Ryuuko says:

      Lol I loved kuronarrator! Coupled with Ringo’s black heart it was killer humour. A flashy finish with a satisfying battle would have tied the whole thing up and packaged it with a bow but I understand what you mean with the whole light hearted feel of the show. I think that way of thinking is the best way to enjoy the series with no issues.

  6. Kyokai says:

    I agree with you throughout. I wanted a good finale to this and didn’t get it. There were too many things left unresolved for that tight end, not to mention a new character being introduced who ate away most of the episode that should have been spent on showing more about the main lead and the side characters. In the end, this was just OK for me, something that goes to my complete list that I won’t miss at all. *shrugs*

    • Ryuuko says:

      Your last line is totally the same for me and it makes me a little sad. I did end up liking the series quite a bit but without being ultimately memorable the experience lacks that mega punch that ensures I didn’t regret sitting down to it week by week lol.

      • Kyokai says:

        Oh, another thing. Good job in regularly reviewing this, more so because you started in the middle. :thumb:

  7. Alux says:

    thanks you, gracias por el excelente trabajo se va estrañar este anime alguien sabe de una next temporada

    • Ryuuko says:

      Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. It’s not so much work but more like hanging out with other mates into anime lol. Hope to catch you in the Fall season!

  8. vang665 says:

    somehow, i enjoyed this epi more than the previous one. i think the draw in the fight just really left a bad taste in my mouth

    • Ryuuko says:

      I felt like a bit of a dork waiting for the FINAL final battle… I totally thought they were going to storm Hitsujkai and finish him off once and for all but alas I was wrong. I did like this episode but my brain was wicked confused with the difference between episodes 11 and 12.

  9. Kushi says:

    Loved the series as a whole, great experience, BUT it was sad how it was presented like this:

    the most expensive and delicious dish was shown to you, then put theough a blender, then served. At times the flavor was great, but in the end you sit there wondering why they didn’t serve it un-blended.

    It could have been better, but I agree that the anime never really started off as blockbuster either. 🙁
    (BTW, I am not too happy at JC Staff this season D:< )

    • Ryuuko says:

      Your description definitely made me lol. It took me a couple of read throughs to get the picture perfectly in my head but I got it haha.

      The issue pretty much is why would you mess with something that was set up so fine on its own right? I have no idea. Even though it didn’t start off as a blockbuster as you said, they had the chance to end it with one had they wanted to.

      It’s a great experience until you get to thinking about how much better it could have been.

  10. Overcooled says:

    Ookami-san had potential, it really did. But then it threw it all away and became mediocre. I WANT SOME HITSUJIKAI VANQUISHING TOO!!! *shakes fist* That would’ve made a way better ending than some one-shot, anti-climactic little antic. D= Meh, can’t be helped now, it had it’s good moments.

    Thanks for all your lovely reviews, Ryuuko~ :3

  11. BlackLagoon187 says:

    Yeaaaa Ritsu fix done. She also voiced the president when he dressed as a girl a few episodes near the beginning.

    Now that I got this series out of the way I can catch up to Amagami SS and finish up K-ON ;_;

  12. Decre says:

    I liked this anime. It was…odd. Ringo was by far the best character, I mean….I think I could watch a whole anime of her plotting so many evil things. All in all, I didn’t even realize this was the end episode, I guess it’s like everyone said. “There are too many loose ends.” After realizing this was the finale, I just kinda sat here….saying to myself,”DoubleYew, Tee, Eff.” lol.

    And I know how you feel about the animes ending. :< I just got done with Campanella, K-On! HoTD, Ookami-san, and Black Lagoon, just to name a few. I really hate when an anime ends. You feel so lost…trying to find another anime to fill that void. It suckssssss. It's just like when I finished Kurokami, or Magical girl Nanoha. I wanted to cry, but beat someone up at the same time. :tantrum :orz

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