Yamato’s brief stint as a Male Model has nearly lost him
his relationship with Mei, who cant bring herself to trust him around the
beautiful Megumi Kitagawa. But Megumi
isn’t about to let Yamato off so easily when he tries to make things
right. Meanwhile, Kai Takemura, an old
friend of Yamato’s returns to town with some old scores to settle. But he has an unexpected goal in mind as
well: winning the heart of Mei Tachibana.
If Mei and Yamato are to find their future together, they’ll have to
come together to face the ghosts of their past.
Only then can they find their Happily Ever After.
Man…that was something.
This final set of episodes was a roller coaster of challenging emotions
and ideologies.
But above all, the
finale of Say, I Love You was about making one final point on the key theme of
the series: more than romance, more than being a couple, one strong friendship
can make the biggest difference in anyones life…and it’s the most beautiful
thing ever.
Yeah, yeah we got to see Mei
and Yamato’s romance fully blossom and see them happy together.
Wont lie though, it was seeing the full
completion of Mei’s arc and the reveal of Megumi’s true character and backstory
that really brought me to tears.
It
might’ve gone on a bit too long though, but overall, this was a really, really
good finale.
Let’s get to it, shall we?
While Mei is always the central focus of the show, more
so than Yamato, most of the finale found her story tied to two others: Megumi
and Kai.
Turns out my hunch about Kai
being Yamato’s old friend was right on the money.
While I do think the resolution to his story
was pretty quick, Kai was a nice addition to a cast of already relatable and
likeable characters.
He’d worked hard to
harden himself against those who’d bullied him in Middle School but quickly found
that the leader of that group didn’t even remember him (he seemed like a
nervous wreck the guy).
Once again, it
was Mei who managed to talk Kai out of his revenge plans. “Even if it takes a
long time, I would be happy if the people who bullied me got to know me,” Mei’s
got a bigger heart than Yamato and it’s grown so much over the course of this
series.
I should hold off more on
talking about that til after I’m done talking about Kai and Megumi though.
Like I said, the biggest problem with Kai’s
arc is that it’s over and done in about an episode, even him figuring out his
feelings for Mei.
I did like that he
stood up for Mei and gave Yamato a good piece of mind when Yamato thought Mei
was cheating on him (dude really?) and Kai even reaffirmed his faith in Yamato
later to Megumi, “If confessing my feelings did that much damage, it would
prove how weak our friendship really is.”
Glad to see the dude still has a lot of faith in a friendship Yamato had
sworn he’d messed up.
Really though, Megumi is the biggest draw of the finale
because, in a way, she’s the final test for Mei and Yamato.
Like Nagi, Megumi and Mei have a lot in
common when it comes to toxic friendships and hurtful gossip.
The only difference is Megumi didn’t lock
herself away, instead she redid her image and put herself out there to be the
new center who could control the group of friends she gathered, kicking out
anyone she didn’t care for anymore and accepting newcomers as she saw fit.
There had been signs of this in the last
review, especially since Megumi wanted Yamato first and foremost.
As it played out, however, Megumi only found
her cruelness sabotaging the few true friendships she had, like Asami and her
own best friend, Momo.
Seeing it all
come crashing down around Megumi turned out to be a tough watch.
She fell into a despair so great it could be
a darker version of how Mei began the series, locked away in her own sadness
and anger.
And this is where the final
test bit I mentioned comes into play.
It’s Yamato who comes to Megumi’s aid, backing up Momo, and telling
Megumi the girl she despised the most knows exactly what’s she’s going through
and has gotten out of that dark hole thanks to the people she’s found since the
start of the show.
To see Megumi open
her door and embrace Momo and slowly begin to clean up the mess she’s made (we
saw that’s gonna take a while), was such a good moment.
Mei showing up to see everything ok was an
especially good addition.
Her and Megumi
sharing a look of acceptance and relief was just so good.
But what about Mei and Yamato?
Well after Yamato quit being a jerk because
now he knows how bad rumors can dent a relationship, the two had a pretty nice
adventure at an amusement park known simply as “Land” (…ok?).
Yamato’s excitement to go on all the rides
gelled perfectly with Mei trying to hold down her lunch and not give into her
fear of theme park rides.
This was the
first time in the entire show that I feel like these two were a really good
couple who were still figuring each other out but still loved to be around one
another.
They even spent the night with
date crasher Nagi in tow.
BTW I loved
the scene where Asami and Aiko were talking about the trip and Aiko suggested
they buy the couple condoms (Aiko is this shows MVP).
Probably my favorite moment in this entire
set of episodes, maybe even the series, is the one that couldve ended the show
and I would’ve been fine with it: Mei sitting with Yamato, Asami, Aiko, Kenji
and Masashi (Aiko’s boyfriend), smiling and laughing.
THIS is what the show has really been
building to in my eyes, more so than the titular “Say, I Love You” moment
between Mei and Yamato.
This show has
always been about finding that one friendship that can bring out the best in
people and show them that the world isn’t as cutthroat and despicable as one without
friends might think.
Mei’s found people
who worry and care about her and will stand up for her against all odds.
Looking back again at Aiko, the girl who
couldn’t stand the thought of Mei hooking up with Yamato after all she’d tried
to do to be with him.
Now, she’s
arguably Mei’s strongest and toughest supporter, not afraid to tell her to just
do what her heart tells her.
It seems
kind of sappy to say that “Friendship is Magic” is the true lesson of Say, I
Love You…but there it is.
Everyone’s found
someone in the end.
Even Megumi’s
repaired her friendship with Momo and there are hints that she and Kai might
hook up. You cant ask for a more hopeful feeling for a finale.
That said…the final episode is a mixed bag for me.
It leans towards a more humorous side than
I’m used to in this show…but it also feels like a step backwards after the
beautiful Summer Festival Ending of the previous episode that should’ve been
“THE END”.
I mean Mei and Yamato getting
bent out of shape over mixed up messages and their own paranoia?
We’re still doing that?
I did like that the entire supporting cast
got in on the action and were getting a kick out of predicting how Mei was
taking Yamato’s sickness.
But overall,
this seemed like a pointless epilogue and, I know I’m gonna get some flack for
this, but it affirms my belief that this show is a good 12 episodes and doesn’t
need more than that.
Mei’s story has
been told in amazing detail in such a tight knit amount of time with a perfect
amount of emotional payoffs that are a huge triumph.
To stretch things out an extra 12-14 episodes
or do an entire Second Season feels unnecessary.
The love story might’ve been trying at times,
but the bigger discussion over the power of true friendship was always
something that kept me watching.
For me,
Say, I Love You ends nicely at Episode 12 with a near perfect final
episode.
Anything else…doesn’t need to
happen.
All that said, time for Final Thoughts.
Say, I Love You works better for me as
commentary on the power of friendship than it does a romance most of the time.
Mei’s journey from isolated and closed off to
open, honest and full of hope tugged at the heart and pumped it as well when
she found a way to power through a new obstacle.
Yamato might’ve worked out as a romantic
interest in the end but his constant “Yes Man”ing of most situations bothered
me, as did his introduction in general.
He had far less character growth than Mei, which again makes me feel
like this was more her show than a shared one between them.
Everyone who had a character arc dealing with
their own inner turmoil got the right amount of screentime and payoff,
especially Aiko and Megumi.
Studio Zexcs
did a great job animating this beautiful story with nice character designs and
backgrounds that make me think they could by solid Kyoto Animation rivals.
Overall, Say, I Love You surprised me with
its honest and unflinching look at how one little bond can save a life and show
them there’s more to the world than toxic gossip and people who don’t
care.
One friend is all it takes.
And if you’re lucky, maybe that friend might
turn out to be the love of your life too (hopeless romantic talking here folks
*waves*).
Say, I Love You receives an 8.5/10
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