The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated – Episode 20 / Season Finale (ANN)

I knew when the piano version of the first OP started playing that this was the only way for the cast to close the show. It’s the perfect, mellow ending to a show that’s had its ups and downs, though The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! has had many more ups than downs. As you watch the ensemble cast watching the fireworks, there’s this sense that they’re going to be okay, moving forward. Of course, there’s also the fact that the manga’s ongoing: I feel immensely gerateful for that, especially since I’m going to need a Jahy fix in 2022.

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The aquatope on white sand – Episode 24 / Season Finale (ANN)

Episode 24 comes full circle on The aquatope on white sand’s narrative, depicting a story about community, communal care, and love. The latter is especially true in this series: aquatope is a series about love, whether or not that takes the form of queer platonic romance. Much like Korrasami, a queer romance that was quite formative for me, aquatope’s final moments feels impactful and earned: like the build up of a season’s worth of effort. The romantic plot with Kai gone, and instead… we see two young women who love each other on a multitude of levels continuing to love each other, even if that’s necessarily confirmed. I think that’s the beauty of the story we’ve been presented: at base, it truly is about love in all its forms. Readings can occur around that, but the story is still a passionate one with two girls finding their hearts and dreams through being kind to the other.

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The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated – Episode 19 (ANN)

In its own way, episode 19 feels like the culmination of nineteen weeks (roughly) of thoughtful character growth. It feels like the anime is exactly where it needs to be: on the cusp of the end with a good amount of loose ends that leave me eager to see them get tied up. It’s the rise as we look towards the penultimate episode in four weeks and the finale in five. It’s good stuff, and at times in this episode, great and even excellent stuff, and I’ll gladly continue to eat up every second of the rest of this cour.

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The aquatope on white sand – Episode 23 (ANN)

A lot of episode 23 is spent on beautiful, interstitial moments centering around Fuuka. We see her growing as an attendant, striving for the chance to study in Hawaii, and coming wholly into her own. And it all feels incredibly authentic, largely because there’s enough hard work done in previous episodes to make you want to root for Fuuka. The plot isn’t just giving her this opportunity: aquatope has demonstrated just how much she deserves to be here, which is what allows the ending of this episode to hit just right.

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The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated – Episode 18 (ANN)

Episode 17 is a mixed back: the front half feels like a loaf of bread that’s been left unsealed, and the back half feels like a fresh loaf that’s still warm. Whether we’re talking about Jahy getting dressed up in various outfits to her struggling through her day to day life, this series still has so much to offer, and honestly, even in its weakest weeks, has still wrangled a chuckle out of me. As a comedy, that definitely feels like the series gets a hanamaru and a gold star.

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The aquatope on white sand – Episode 22 (ANN)

Now, more than ever, I feel like I can see the trajectory of things, especially since episode 22 leaves us on something of a cliffhanger. I’m truly looking forward to next week’s episode, hard as it is to say goodbye to Kukuru, Fuuka, Gama Gama, and Tingaara. There’s something bittersweet about knowing we’ve got so little time to enjoy the series.

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The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated – Episode 17 (ANN)

Episode 17 is a mixed back: the front half feels like a loaf of bread that’s been left unsealed, and the back half feels like a fresh loaf that’s still warm. Whether we’re talking about Jahy getting dressed up in various outfits to her struggling through her day to day life, this series still has so much to offer, and honestly, even in its weakest weeks, has still wrangled a chuckle out of me. As a comedy, that definitely feels like the series gets a hanamaru and a gold star.

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The aquatope on white sand – Episode 21 (ANN)

All of that blendsSo much of The aquatope on white sand is about connections: about forging bonds, strengthening friendships, and reaching out to others. Thus, it makes sense that the way for Kukuru to heal is through the bonds of her community, through being reached out to, rather than her having to seek help herself. 

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The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated – Episode 16 (ANN)

A lot of the comedy this episode treads familiar territory: Jahy gets kicked in the non-existent pants by life, Druj simps for Jahy, Jingu continues to try to be her best friend, Saurva’s bad luck lands her in painful situations, and the Dark Lord eats a lot of food, though she does mix things up by sneaking into Jingu’s school bag and causing trouble. Familiar territory isn’t bad though, and the jokes still manage to wrangle chuckles out of me. However, it also means that Episode 16 as a whole is just kind of okay despite getting a lot more of the cast together, which does feel like a bit of a lost opportunity.

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The aquatope on white sand – Episode 20 (ANN)

All of that blends with Kukuru still trying to find her place in Tingaara as she continues an internal – and often external – tug-o-war between settling into her current responsibilities and her desire to continue taking care of sea creatures. And it’s not that Kukuru isn’t serious about her work, which is an accusation leveraged at her about midway in episode 20: it’s that Kukuru still cares deeply about caretaking, and at her core, loves sea creatures enough to always keep them at the forefront of her mind, even to the detriment of her actual staff position.

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