You know that empty and depressed feeling you get when you finish a really good series or come out of a really good movie?
I get that feeling maybe once or twice every few months, usually for a great show. In the spring, it was when Mai-Otome ended, and in the summer, it was when Fate-stay night ended. More recently, I got that feeling after I finished playing Xenosaga III during that one week break I took.
But if you asked me which finale gave me that feeling this past week, the answer might surprise you.

It wasn’t Blood+ or Ouran High School Host Club or ZEGAPAIN. It was Strawberry Panic.

Why? I’m not really sure myself. I ended up watching the end of Strawberry Panic a couple dozen times (not exaggerating), beating out by far how much I enjoyed the endings to all the other series. Even though I consider Blood+, Ouran, and ZEGAPAIN to be overall great shows with great endings, I loved even more how Strawberry Panic ended, despite it being fairly predictable and despite the show as a whole being not the best. Maybe it was because my expectations for it were low, or maybe it was because I loved the music in that final episode. But for whatever reason, Strawberry Panic’s finale gets my vote as the best one of this past week (see Poll at right). And now I’m going to stop writing before I start talking about the magical effect of yuri or something. 🙂

48 Comments

  1. yeah i get what you mean… i too feel the same. maybe there’s something humane in us that evoke that kind of emotion. For me, gals in a relationship portrayed much much more impact on me as they care more and are more sacrificial. And that music at the last part was like whoa, truly fitting for that kind of simple and happy ending. Cheers to this great yuri anime

    S
  2. yes! of course, i did the same thing i watched the ending over and over again and still can’t get enough of it. well i have not seen ouran’s last episode yet or even ZEGAPAIN but Blood+’s ending is a nice end but not one to be watch over and over agian. So..maybe its the way SP ended and how everything turned out the way some people think it would be. Who knows just let the mysteries feeling go on~

    Rin
  3. I’m with you Onmi.

    I have to hit myself a couple of times to snap me off becasue I wasn’t ready to see the final episode… but everything that has a beginning has an end… good times.

    I’ll keep the final episodio in my HD for a long time…

    Syaoran Li
  4. Hmm….I can understand how that really feels like Omni. Strawberry Panic’s ending was predictable, yet even though I see it coming, I’m still not really prepared for it. But sometimes, its those simple and predictable endings that leaves a great impact in our minds.And since I’m the emotional kind of person, I’ll feel really depressed after watching any endings that have a certain amount of sadness in it.

    dward
  5. strawberry panic’s ending was pretty strong, but the sense of pity i had for Tamao when she had to relegate to onlooker as Nagisa ran off to Shizuma kinda ruined the feeling a little (mind you this in no way suggests the ending was executed badly, as stated above, but because of the lack of my own personal enjoyment). as such, i suppose, i found Ouran’s ending to be the best, despite it being out of the source material. The decision for Bones to animate the series was a brilliant decision IMO

    Aesir
  6. Wow, that is suprising that you found the ending so good… (I have not seen it yet, I stopped after episode 13… that one yuri scene in 12 kinda threw me off)

    Hopefully, within a few years I will be able to watch raw versions of anime and understand most of what is going on. It sucks having to wait for fansubs to be released, especially since Megami-Anime has had problems with staff or something, which has caused them to be far behind on Zegapain.

  7. Usually I love shoujo-ai and I love th strawberry panic manga, but I was rather disappointed by the SP anime and its ending. As allready said, it was highly predictable, and the characters reactions were so cheezy and steriotypical.
    Maybe you have missed the Honey and Clover2 ending. This was a masterpiece of a show that has ended deep, bittersweet and satisfying with lots of interesting reflections and thoughts. I think its the best show of 2006 and has the best ending of 2006 so far. With this show I got the sad feeling that Omni described.

  8. It was so cool ^^
    I cannot believe that strawberry Panic is ending.How sad 🙁

    But i hope another yuri-anime comes and hopefully is so great as Strawberry Panic ^^

    Nagisa&Shizuma 4-ever!!11

    Carina
  9. i cant watch to many shows at one time cause of this…if they all finish around the same time ill end up failing classes cause ill be all zombiefied cause its over….that or ridiculously euphoric i which cause i get send home cause they think im high…

  10. The trend for all the shows that you said left you withthat empty, depressed feeling was that they were all less than masterpiece works which nonetheless had potential. Are you sure that you are not misinterpreting your feelings? That the dissatisfaction you feel is actually from the fact you just want more out of the show? If a show that I thoroughly enjoyed ended I will feel a sense of closure even if the ending did not go as I predicted and I can turn my back on it and move on to something else.

    Zzz...
  11. Omni, I love you.
    And I’d love to see you write an essay about lovely magical yuri and how it affect us.. Hehehehe..

    As a shoujo ai fans myself, I love the entire Strawberry Panic very much, and the ending was so~ beautiful. ShizNag and AmaHika FTW!!
    Damnit, I want an OVA for this so badly >.

    Sunsh
  12. You will be suprised hoe strong the power of Yuri really is.

    It made me stop watching shows like Honey et Clover, and those girls for one guy animes.

    This means that I might not watch any new shows this year till next year for Striker S and Venus vs Virus.

    SP’s ending was greatness. I think my face is stuck in its grinning form. Only sugery can help me.

    It is all about the yuri. Long live the God Of Yuri

    And yes, I too want to know if there is a yurific show(Not necessarily as strong as SP) that is coming out this late year. Not that cross dressing one by the way.
    That is an insult to major yuri fans.

    Demon Eyes
  13. Such a shallow show compared to Simoun, the other yuri-esque show of the spring season, which had better acting, better music, a far more interesting setting, far deeper emotions, a more complex and interesting plot…and a much stronger ending. I could go on and on. It is so disappointing that Simoun is not getting the attention it deserves, and that its outstanding finale wasn’t even one of your choices. I liked SP, but to compare it with Simoun is laughable, in my opinion. Only Honey & Clover and SHnY can compare with Simoun for quality this year so far, among the shows I’ve watched. But monsters and mecha turn me off, so Blood+ and Zegapain passed me by (after eight and one episodes, respectively). Ouran was mildly amusing, but ultimately remains rather ordinary, for me. One thing Simoun was not is ordinary.

  14. I found Strawberry Panic to be a shocking yet simple show. All the cliches that come with a schoolgirl anime were there, muddled with the Yuri. Regardless (and it is beyond me how they pulled this off given the overall quality) both season finales had a very powerful effect. The ending was somewhat of a cliffhanger. Just from the anime, nobody will know exactly how Nagisa and Shizuma turn out… there’s always that tiny cynical part of a person that says “maybe it won’t work out” and usually that person will want to see the characters through the rest of their trials…

    That said, I felt a bit cheated by the end, not being able to make sure it is a truly happy ending. Bah, this must be how mothers feel when they send their children off… *stabs self in face to prevent the thought*

    Doom Knight #2
  15. Every Strawberry Panic episode has always left me with a big smile. Its just so damn FUNNY!!! When i finished the last episode, I really really wanted a 2nd season. MAKE ANOTHER SEASON PLZZZ

    Strawberry Panic fan
  16. Yo that yuri is cool. The ending really touched me. I felt happy and sad at the same time. I was happy about ShizumaxNagisa but I felt Tamao’s sadness. I have a bunch of questions that I hope will be answered trough an ova or a second season. Cheers to Tamao for letting
    Nagisa go to Shizuma.

  17. I loved this anime thoughout the entiredy of it and i can’t seem to stop watching it (watched the whole series 3 times so far) I feel that this series while the animation wasn’t all that extravagent had a plot to it that seemed to capture my emotions like few other animes that i have watched in recent mounths. I don’t know about everyone else but this will be one of those few series that I will never forget and also for all the perverts out there who only watched this show for the yuri i feel sorry for you in the fact that you would watch this show for such a lowsome perpuse.

    moragan
  18. unfortunately by mistake i saw the end episode first so i started watching it now from episode one.the web page i went to with the links had it posted backwards.well i love the show and im sad its gonna end.i wish there was more.im soo sad.i dont think the show sucks.i think its awesome and unique.its something different than ive normally seen.Im not ready for it to end.i got 6 more episodes to watch.ive been obsessed.The finale episode is good just not enough for me…what happens after??nagisa-chan came back in the end…what does that mean???I wish i had more episodes to watch.=[ all fans all me or send me a message at my myspace cuz i would love to talk about the show!!!!ITS MY FAVORITE ANIME OF ALL TIME!

  19. Shizuma’s wife coming back to her room means that she cares fnd or tamao and feels guilty for leaving her, tamao saying welcome back means that she doesn’t mind because nagisa has found her soulmate and is happy (just like yaya and hikari) and that they always will be friends as you can see on the credits before that scene :miyuki adressing shizuma ,tamao and nagisa doing funny stuff (like they did on the rest of the anime) meaning that even though nagisa and shizuma will be together from now on their relationships with their best friends will always be the same.
    And that tamao and miyuki will start a relationship…..
    that’s all

    ps:the last part was a wishful thinking lol >:3

    buhobuho
  20. I have the exact same feeling as you do. I’m the kinda guy who likes yuri, but can’t stand something that’s too girly. About a year ago I started to watch this and after two episodes it was too blah for me. Just set at it again to fully watch it and by no means did I expect such a great ending. The story is quite predictable just like the finale, but with the wrench between Tamao and Shizuka there’s still a good deal of heart trauma left only not on a scale like KGNE.

    Or it could be the Yuri =D

    Galooza
  21. Omg… i can’t believe that im writting those lines right now. I’ve watched so many animes ending and i’ve really felt this deep emptiness when each of them ended. But this time for strawberry panic , this feeling goes even deeper unexpectedly, it seems that i just can’t get that feeling of emptiness out of my heart, the final episode really touched me somewhere and i kept thinking about all the key moments of the series… For once in my life i’m being surprised with myself.

    JusTice

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