「世界で一番幸せな女の子 -CHTHOLLY-」 (Sekai de Ichiban Shiawasena Onanoko -CHTHOLLY-)
“The Happiest Girl In The World -CHTHOLLY- “

I know I might be alone in this, but I really want more.

Seeing how I’ve said most of what I’ve wanted to say about this show, let me quickly talk about a few things that were running through my head before we leap into the final impressions.

First and foremost, god did it feel good to see Willem kick some ass. We’ve seen glimpses of his power throughout the show, but to see him finally lose it and literally kick the crap out of a timere was probably one of the best things I’ve seen. Second, can we all give a round of applause for best girl Neph who gave everything she had to protect those around her? And not only did she fight until the very end, she even sacrificed her body knowing that she could become a threat if she lost control over the venerem running through her. God, had Ctholly not been the main character of this show I would have loved to see Neph get more time devoted to her. Finally, and even though on a deep personal level I don’t like to admit it, I’m glad the show managed to stick to its guns and gave us the bittersweet ending that we all knew was coming. An ending that managed to rip my heart in half, but gave me enough closure to accept what happened.

God, what a great finale. Even with the show’s flaws and somewhat awkward pacing at times, there’s no doubting that what we were given this week was pretty amazing. Anyways, let’s hop over to the final impressions and talk a little more about what I’ve been saying about this show for the entire season.

Epilogue:

Final Impressions

Overall, I think SukaSuka succeeded in being a great show. It created a bright and brilliant world that sucked me into it while simultaneously showing us glimpses that things were far from what we saw on the surface. We had a world that is constantly facing destruction with just about everyone hiding something in order to protect themselves. it was a world where just about anything could happen, but was still bound to the reality that sacrifices must be made in order to move forward. It was, at its core, a pretty great representation of what real life could be if we were facing a similar situation.

But as I tend to say in most of my final impressions, a great world (and story) don’t make fun shows without fantastic characters and SukaSuka was probably one of the best when it came to giving us interesting characters who we were almost forced to like because of the short time budget. Main character or not, just about everyone who had a voiced line ended up becoming someone you could remember if you thought hard enough. You had cute side characters like the pacman-esque chef, you had that wolf girl whose father was in danger because of his progressive views, you even had that stupid First Grade Technical Officer who became something much more than just an inept person in power. And those were just throwaway characters who didn’t even impact the story! Throw in people like the adorably dangerous Nygglatho, the stern but understanding Limeskin, and even a baby like Tiat and it makes you wonder how we even had time for our main characters! I won’t dive into a long talk about the “main” cast since I’ve already spent a lot of time talking about them in their own individual posts, but suffice to say everyone had their own unique set of problems and struggles that truly made them feel like “real” people.

If there was one other “selling” point I had to pick (since I don’t want this post to get too long), I’d have to give a shout out to the fantastic music that this show has. Always having just the right song playing to match the mood, toward the end I think my body became trained to start unleashing tears when trademark piano song start to play (you know which one I’m talking about). Something that I had to say is a testament to how good the damn song was.

Anyways, let’s bring this post to a close. All things said and done, I think SukaSuka managed to do what it set out to do and I can forgive it for any shortcomings it may have had. There was rarely a dull moment to be found throughout the season and if anything I wish we had twice the amount of episodes to tell this show’s story since there are so many unanswered questions about the world they created that it’s driving me crazy thinking about how we may never get those answers. Its characters were fantastic and the budding romance that was cut short was probably one of the saddest-happiest moments I’ve had throughout the whole season. All-in-all, good show that I’d easily recommend to others if the material meshes with them.

In any case, I’ll see you guys around the bend once the Summer season starts. It’s been a blast reading the comments every week and I can’t wait to see you guys on whatever show I end up covering. See you then!

37 Comments

  1. First they had me convinced that Chtolly died anyway, even though she somehow was still alive after using that explosion and thanking Willem, so I thought she just died afterwards because of energy depletion or something. But Neph also apparently dying, despite Chtolly doing something to revert her eyes and presumably her whole body back to normal, had me confused until I saw mage dude (always forget the name xd) looking for Willem and not being able to find him…
    No way that he’s dead! He’s too important for the story for that to happen and he didn’t seem like he’d die, just heavily wounded and all. My guess is he and Nephren are still somewhere out there and they’ve been deemed dead by everyone. Also still possible for Ctholly’s body still being there, just with Elq inhabiting it now. Que “we gotta find Ctholly’s soul” plot in 3…2…1…

    Ramblings aside, gotta give this show props for making me board the feel train so frequently and it was a great watch with never a dull moment, despite there being very little real action. I’m glad I picked this one up and it’s my personal dark horse of the season.

    NinjaSyao
    1. Neither all 3 are dead, they are alive and even could be Witch-Fairy Arch GateKeepers for the WorldEnd Gateway, Willem is now an Regal Brave-Warlock Dragon Prince married to ChtHolly in the WorldEnd Gateway with the death of Elk Harksten, in that Present-Future Gateway anything and alot of stuff actually happens, seems that Slimeskin married Willem and ChtHolly, in that old series of tunnels in the mountains they may have found futuristic spacecraft from Gundam Seed and Gundam Destiny….the first Gods that arrived on Regal Prime.

      Eric Brian Brewster
    1. The herb refrain came in the 1800’s

      I think one of these earlier refrains would have worked better the second time the song was sung.

      “There’s never a rose grows fairer with time
      Or
      Yesterday holds memories in time”

      RedRocket
  2. I knew this was coming since the very first episode, but I still cried like a bitch. Agreed that SukaSuka is a good show. Not a flawless one, but still good.

    Even though it hurts to say this, I liked how they didn’t do an asspull ending as that would have totally messed up the story and the things it was trying to tell.

    ET
    1. So, you could say that “you cried like a cyka“? (Pronounced “suka”–which is the Russian word for “bi*ch.”)

      And now you know why the shorthand title of this series (SukaSuka) might be hilarious or even downright narm-y to Russian/Russian-speaking anime fans. That said, it still doesn’t detract from the tear-jerker ending. (T_T)

      Incognito
    1. Well if I have my way, my anime will be a resolution to the Sukasuka Animes and Novel like you never seen before, I plan on posting it on YouTube if I don’t get any more strikes against me.

      Eric Brian Brewster
  3. https://randomc.net/image/SukaSuka/SukaSuka%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2038.jpg

    this is reminded me of saito(ZnT) deathmarch but too bad there are no reviving potion or whatever.

    https://randomc.net/image/SukaSuka/SukaSuka%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2039.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/SukaSuka/SukaSuka%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2041.jpg

    stabbed and exploded girls this season, mamika and chtolly.

    damn it..i cried a little when chtolly getting stabbed while Scarborough fair playing on the background.

    maou
  4. My thought when the episode ended was “What the Hell Was That!?” A mix of awe for its story and anger at its 1-cour run. Gosh it hurts as hell to watch this series but I won’t hesitate to watch the 2nd season if it happens. And yes, Nephren is best girl apart from Ctholly as main heroine.

    Now Ithea is the elder, Nygglatho cut her hair, and Tiat is set to be the next fairy soldier, too bad we can’t see it now. Probably will have to wait for “Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka? Isogashii Desuka? Sukutte Moratte Ii Desuka?” season 2 or “Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka? Mou Ichido Dake, Aemasuka?” adaptation. :/

    On another note, I wonder how much the anime covers, the whole “Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka? Isogashii Desuka? Sukutte Moratte Ii Desuka?” series is 5(v1-v5)+1(EX) volume, it’s a bit unbelievable they managed to condense all of that into 12 episode.

    raxar
  5. So yeah, being an adaptation of 3 volume out of 5, I feel that this adaptation has a somewhat proper emotional closure (for a tragedy) but without storytelling closure. A lot of questions are still unanswered and the final episode actually made few things slightly more confusing that it should be, but in the end I am very satisfied with this finale.

    Overall? It has some hiccups especially in the middle. Could use a better execution (both from material and adaptation) but it has an ambition, and roughly achieved it. Definitely a hidden gem — a somewhat rough one but still a gem regardless. Had it been executed with the perfection of Tsuki ga Kirei– just to pick an example, it would become an instant masterpiece (it’s arguably much harder to execute though).

    Not realistically hoping for S2, but I would definitely watch if it comes. Will probably read the LN first regardless.

    zeroyuki92
  6. Man, after silently (read: no commentary) watching the previous episodes, I was already expecting the heartbreak train to hit me real hard this episode…

    But the fact that it’s left to the viewer to imagine how Ctholly, Nephren (NO! Not the best girl!*) and (possibly) Willem pass away (at best, death by blood loss; at worst, zerg-rushed and consumed by Timere) just adds to the sadness of it all. And all while that melancholy rendition of “Scarborough Fair” was playing. The hope spot that comes after this scene suggesting that two of the three aforementioned characters made it out alive certainly doesn’t help matters.

    (* – Close runner-ups for “best girl” being Nygglatho and Rhantolk, though alas, the latter only gets known halfway through the series. If a season 2 is announced, they’ll automatically move to the top two spots by default–but it won’t be the same without Ctholly, Willem and Nephren.)

    Incognito
  7. Maybe I’m just dead inside. I felt nothing at all for these characters. somehow the show failed to make me care at all for the fate of any of these guys. pacing was all over the place. actions and reactions feel awkward or out of place. this show would of been better if the studio was given the chance to actually flesh out their characters and actually show the development instead of just shoving character a and character b together because plot demands it so.
    in the end it feels a lot like your mileage may vary depending on how much you can look past the multiple flaws affecting the show. not good or bad, definitely could of been better.

    vinny
  8. Uhm, what kind of “end” was that? Oh, right, that’s because it was only the end of this anime, but not of the story.
    Nothing was resolved, both Willem and Neph are alive and Ctholly possiby reborn? Unless that was a flashback to the day she was “born” for whatever reason only novel readers know.
    So there’s still hope for a happy end, I guess.
    Enjoyed this anime a lot more than I had initially expected.

    boingman
  9. I’m a little confused guys, I prolly missed something in this anime, but like– who was the little girl Chtholly talked to when she was on the verge of having completely red hair? Her other self inside? Or —

    So pretty much she died protecting them and doing what she was supposed to as a fairy soldier?

    kuroneko
    1. The redhead Elq is the dark “god” that Willem and them all died fighting 500+ years ago. She was also Ctholly’s other self. All the other selves of fairies come from the souls of children that can’t process their deaths, and as the fairies get older and fight more and more the two personalities start to collide, causing the deterioration we’ve seen. Since Elq was essential a child, she fits that profile and was able to kinda game the system, I guess. More on that would probably have been explained later.

      She also died protecting them because that was what she wanted in the end, not because it was her job since she technically wasn’t a fairy anymore. The awesome fight and curing Nephren probably had more to do with Elq’s power than being a fairy in the end, but without reading the LN we haven’t gotten there yet.

      Aex
  10. Haven’t been on RandomC in a while, though I wanted to toss in my “sixpence”. From the first episode I knew it was going to be a roller coaster ride.
    What to thank TakaII for covering this show.

    Not too many shows can blur my eyes but this one is one of the few. The story telling is what grab my soul, even with some of the slight flaws and the more questions I have at the end….. It will definitely be a purchased item on blu-Ray.

    I was half expecting Willem to shout “I am Willam Wallace ” and shoot lighting bolts from is ars€. When he fought the Timeres.

    Timbo33
  11. After watching Kado’s ending… I am just glad I have this anime to go back to and re-watch…

    This was a good anime… Full of feelings…

    I accept that there are many questions that were unanswered… But at least they were hinted… I hope they have a second season. They showed many scenes that need to be explained. For example, who was the guy that picked up elq and Lillian after they died… Where did he take them?… How did humans got turned into monsters?

    Now that I am reading the LN… I think they have enough material for a SukaSuka2. Lets cross fingers…

    Asoch
  12. I went back…after watching the ending…and watched the first half of the first episode again. There is a great deal of meaning, hidden in the first episode. There are flags everywhere, but one can only detect them after watching the whole series. For example, this is the first time the music “Scarborough Fair” plays in the background. This is the first time we clearly see the silver broach with blue stone, worn by a fairy weapon. I think I will need to watch the entire series again.

    pprotus
    1. We do and understand what the view is of Pagans about the afterlife, namely the Scotish and Irish and the Celt British for many years they have been ignored and their afterlife beliefs poopooed by spoiled rotten Catholic Religion, it is sad that Christianity copied the Pagan Belief and used it to get an advantage over them and sadly even today the Pagan Belief is in the background, perhaps the Anime Sukasuka will give Christianity a run for it’s money for I sincerely think that if what happened at Regul Aires happened on our own Earth, what would we actually do against such a horrible threat when we forgot our own MAGIC!

      Eric Brian Brewster
  13. Bittersweet. That describes this anime. Not as tear-jerker as Black Bullet, but in the same feel. Yes, the ending was entirely confusing. And the epilogue left more questions than answers, even the flashback to Ctholly’s “birth”.

    If ever there was a need for a second cour, this anime series screams it. So it’s only 1-3 out of 5? But do our heroes and heroines return? Is the problems of the monster-infested Surface Earth ever solved? Lots of possibilities here.

    jhpace1
  14. Those feels. Sacrificing her memories and sense of self or her loved ones. Only remaining in the memories of others.

    But then it seems she was reborn as a baby. After contemplating about it for sometime, isn’t that how most reincarnations work? Quite different from those with the afterlife in a different dimension or something. So perhaps those with different belief systems might view this rather differently?

    Still, really enjoyed this show. Tugs at my heart strings, but always with a positive and hopeful view. The music really helped in that department.

    theirs
  15. This is one of those endings that had me literally screaming at the TV, mostly when they showed that Neph also died, after some thinking she probably didn’t though. Now to wallow in sadness while playing “Always in my heart” and “Scarborough Fair” from the OST.

    illusion
  16. If I watched this on a weekly basis, I would’ve been depressed much longer. I finished this show almost a week ago and I’m still reeling in from how painful this got.

    The chemistry between Willem and Chtholly was the one that really carried this show for me. I don’t know if this is to be called a bitter sweet ending as Willem just suffered another big loss.

    I’m about to start reading the novels in hopes there’s a silver lining.

    megalith
    1. Megalith it is in POINT OF VIEW, how you really understand the Afterlife and Otherworld. I believe and it is my truthful opinion that there are WorldEnd Gateways that the souls of the dead pass through, Willem and ChtHolly passed through one of these and out the other side into their Present-Future WorldEnd…..I fear they may have to choose from 3 doors of the EndWorld Gateways, 2 in which some of their friends and family die, one of which Slimeskin marries ChtHolly and Willem as Willem becomes an Captain Commander of the Regul Aires Space Battleship Fleet.

      Eric Brian Brewster
  17. Oh wow, this show! I will definitely read the manga for this.
    This show gives me similar emotions as Gunslinger Girl which also features the song Scarborough Fair.

    Motsols

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