Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin – 13 [END]

That spoon was seriously not for show!

Ajsdhaksdhakjsdhasd…… Did your mind just blow after watching this episode? I was about to face a personal version of Ramachandran-Fischer Conjecture, on the verge of passing my mind’s genkai (limit). If look back, everyone remembers the first episode, right? In which a naked man descended from the sky with a silhouetted rotating penis. EVERYONE (ones who matter at least), talked about it on aniblogs, twitter and tumblr. It was THE show of Summer after all. Original animation coming from Aniplex, A-1 Pictures and XEBEX boxed by Anime no Chikara; this was pretty much cheat proof in case of plot and animation. Directed by Tomohiko Ito as his first big project, it began incredibly and somehow kept up the pace throughout. Some of the mid episodes were make or break for most of the watchers; people who couldn’t take the weird mix of supernatural with sci-fi left, still around 70% stuck through and watched till the end. For the latter; KUDOS, you did GOOD! You ask me why? Do I have to say anything after that awesomeness filled EPIC WIN episode?

It all started from Jun’ichirō’s perspective when Chihiro sent him to the future after many attempts on his life. This clearly tells us that he trusted her completely and from the previous episode we know for a fact that she did everything to not only protect Maya but prevent the future events from happening. She didn’t know where he would end up but she at least knew wherever he went, his search for the Nostradamus’s Key would continue and that it did. He turned up in the future, where aliens ruled the planet with most of the land destroyed because of their invasion. It was almost ironic that the Key he had been looking for appeared in his own Academy and at a time when he was not around. After knowing this, he accumulated a group of people and spearheaded the time travel project, sending Time Agents to the past after his faked death to search out the Key. As Chihiro’s information wasn’t complete about Jun’ichirō; Fumiaki could only tell Maya that her father was alive somewhere. Maya’s elation is speechlessness and a surprise for him that she had invited his mother along his kid-self to the closing ceremony that was postponed to the twenty-first from nineteenth July due to the whole witchery sequence. Did your ears perked up on this? The rift was supposed to occur on 21^st after all, which pretty much proves the point of Fumiaki being the Key rather than Mikaze, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  That is when he realizes the fact that he never remembered coming there due to memory loss. I had a disturbing feeling form that quick montage of his memories, showing someone zooming into the mouth of an alien spacecraft; it sure turned out to be significant.

Fumiaki calls the future station and they confirm his worst nightmare. He should not meet his kid self and return immediately because it would cause a dimensional rift due to the limit crossing of threshold of information process as proposed by Ramachandran-Fischer Conjecture. The future was not changed because the rift was still to occur. He is the Key (proven with the camera) but not alone; he will become the Key when he’s faced with his past self. That is the reason his memories blacked out.

On the other hand, the little Bunmei-kun is super pumped to visit the Occult Academy. From his mind’s eye it’s even better than the planetarium that he so wanted to visit. It was something majestic and mysterious yet welcoming enough for him to call his place; more so because of his powers and not fitting in the real world. Unlike his own home, where his mother bosses him around and control-freaks his every action. Even after being reprimanded for treating him as a golden-egg-laying-goose by Maya and canceling the Bunmei act, she kept on appearances of being high and mighty with perusal in court. Yeah right, as if.

Though, however one’s parents are, children always love them and same is the case for Fumiaki, who decides to return to the future because if he stayed; he will always wish to see her and his past self, which is all in all a bad idea. As his farewell party, everyone gathers around from JK, Smile, Kozue, Ami to her father. They have one hell of a drinking game, even to make Maya blush but Fumiaki is more affected by Ami’s words about him being complacent and a wuss. This is nothing new for us because we have been saying the same thing since episode two. He’s a pushover and goes in any direction that he’s led in. The fire, the spark that you would expect from a Time Agent is nowhere in sight when you look at Fumiaki; though, he has been manning up since he found out about Mikaze’s identity and even before when he started getting worried about Maya, Ami and even Kozue (who for some odd reason always gets overwhelmed by the supernatural). It was high time for him to realize his shortcomings and that is what he told his students in the closing ceremony: “Keep your two feet on the ground and take your own path.”

The kid-Bunmei had his own plans and he runs to the Waldestein Academy to discover it by himself. He stares wondrously at everything creepy with a big smile on his face unlike his old self, who could only wince and gape (episode 2 reference). He falls asleep in the academy grounds after his adventurous journey only to wake up next morning exactly when old-Fumiaki was about to be teleported out of the present. Of course, his plan was changing due to Maya’s request but he never had the time to tell her what he really loved the most.

The two Fumiakis come face to face and of course the said rift happens exactly on the date it was supposed to. If you went OMG! And OH-FU—! here, be by guest. However, the pre-determined events can suck ass as Fumiaki takes the matter in his own hands seeing his kid-self being brave in front of danger. On a spur of moment yet he’s been ready for some time now; he takes his prized spoon and destroys the incoming aliens with telekinesis, closing the rift and disappearing from the past that he never belonged to.

HECK YEAHHHH!!!

Future sure looks promising…

The future finally changes, proving the fact that Agent number six, Fumiaki Uchida aka Bunmei-kun was successful in his mission to find and destroy the Nostradamus Key, even if it was part-himself. Jun’ichirō’s years of work finally pays off and he faces a future where he’s together with his daughter and her Bunmei. Also, note the Uchida nameplate on the house he enters and the fact that Bunmei was returning home early to eat his favourite dish, curry with his family! Happy end? HELL YEAH!

Moments:

RIP Chihiro! Not everyone can pull a Touko… T_T

Thank you for the blurred effect. I so didn’t want to see her!

It was easy hating her, she resembles someone….

Peekaaaboooooo~ (Damn, this reminded me of Shiki still on hiatus…. /random)

DAAAAAWWW~

Like father like daughter :3

Little kid, you were AWESOME!

PUT YA GUNS ON!

Walk with me…

Ittadakimasu~ <333

This is what you call chemistry…

Final Thoughts: WHOA!!! I watched the end almost thrice before I sat down to review this. Even then I took time in taking in all the information given; I almost missed the nameplate and was ready to cry for Bunmei too; I’m glad, I noticed. This was exactly something like the first episode with brilliant pacing, twists and turns that kept you guessing and a BAMF finale. I can tell you one thing, my expectations were not only met but exceeded, which rarely happens.

I’ve been screaming from the top of buildings (well, not literally), for Fumiaki to man up and WOW, he sure did! Finally, his special ability of Psychokinesis (aka telekinesis; mind over matter) was the thing that saved the humanity from a deteriorating destruction. You would ask, how the hell could he use the ability he had supposedly lost? Well, poppet, in time travel a lot is possible as described by many quantum physicists and according to them the same identity from different times co-existing in one timeline is impossible. As already proven by the premise of this show, whenever it happens the scenario has too many possibilities distorting the space and time continuum, not only causing rifts but transference as well and what a better time to remember the ability that you always had? The old Fumiaki could always perform telekinesis but due to his memory loss from shock, he lost it. However, faced with his kid-self and remembering the last time all of this happened, he recovered his ability and decided to change the future, closing the open rift with all his might.

This gives rise to the question: is Fumiaki dead? The Key was definitely destroyed because it was both the Fumiakis being together but I can’t be sure about the old Fumiaki’s death because there are three possibilities for this one: firstly, he’s somewhere in a very unwelcoming alien planet (NOOO! Somehow I’m reminded of Evil Dead III ;A;); Secondly, he died by using every inch of his power to close the rift and disappeared in existence because the time he belonged to had ceased to exist (which is kinda sad too); or thirdly, he’s in a parallel universe where these events have not occurred and everything is alright (Yeyee, but the chances of this are the slimmest). Whatever it is, the Fumiaki we all came to know has a very slim chance of getting back to Maya, even though he loved her. However, with the ending evidence given, it’s clear that the kid-Fumiaki grows up to be her life partner or does the old one returns? It’s all up to speculation and you can count on Occult to keep you guessing till the end. However the reunion occurs, what is a few years of age gap anyway? Love is what matters, right? Whichever Fumiaki it is, we’ve seen these two together and they sure have fated chemistry. (Right music to play here is LOVE machine).

For the curious cats, the symbol we have been seeing since the beginning is supposed to be of Ummo, an alien planet that has contact with earth. The plot didn’t explain why the dimension rift was sometimes referred to as the gate to hell, when War of the Worlds aliens factor was more highlighted. It must have been put in for adding the good versus evil flavor but wasn’t a very big factor that would bug me.  In the end, the wuss turned out to be the bravest of all, saving everyone’s skins at that. Who doesn’t love an underdog’s story, who realizes his potential? And that is how it ended, giving more than feel-good hope of everything turning out Medetashi Medetashi~

The supporting cast didn’t get to do much in the end, which reduced their cool points. However, whenever they were around they sure put in life to the series. All in all, it was a worthwhile story with an EPIC end. There are chances of more development to be shown in the four spin-off specials to release in fall. Hopefully they would show more of Maya and her Bunmei. Please just no more screen time to that witch! I would rather than like a side-story to Smile or even JK.

End Note: Interestingly, I talked more while reviewing this 13-epi series (around 13,000 words) than Kaichou wa Maid-sama which was 26-epi long (15,000 words). Just gives you an idea how an interesting series can make you yap, yap and yap! So, Constant reader, what did you think about the end and how has your whole Occult experience been? I hope you liked our reviews (Masu reviewed few episodes too) and hope to see you in fall. Till next time, Ja ne~

About Kyokai

The Boss lady of Metanorn, who makes it all happen. An animanga enthusiast, who watches/reads almost anything that strikes her fancy. Just beware of her Death Perception and always keep her happy. Regularly found at @KyokaiTM & #[email protected].