You know, I almost feel sorry for the die-hard fans of tropey anime when it comes to Just Because.  Their consternation when it comes to Komiya-san (who, let’s face it, pushes all their buttons) is so predictable that it crosses the line from amusing to kind of sad.  The irony of that is that as the fan reaction has gotten more and more unhinged, my sympathy level for Komiya herself has grown.  I still find her rather annoying if I’m honest, but she’s kind of a disposable character here – her role since the beginning has been to push things forward for characters who matter more than her.  In a funny sort of fourth-wall breaking way, she acts like she realizes it.

We’re in a funny sort of position ourselves as an audience, because as far as I know there’s been no official announcement as to the fate of the finale for Just Because.  The series was slated for 12 episodes; it famously lost a week in the middle due to production delays.  Will there be a 12th episode at all – and if so, will it “air” as a disc-only release?  Will it be broadcast on the 28th of December – during the New Year’s window when almost no anime are typically airing?  I think the answer is rather important in how one approaches the state of affairs as they currently exist, now that the various plots are starting to resolve themselves at last.

To be honest, if I had no reason to doubt that this had been the penultimate episode nothing that happened would have made me suspicious – there’s a definite sense that things are close to their final resolution.  Though they’ve been the most overtly “romantic”, I don’t think there’s any question that Hazuki and Haruto are basically the “B” couple in this story, so it doesn’t come as a shock to see their plotline resolved early (though if there are to be two more eps, it is surprisingly early).  Their situation is more straightforward – there’s no other potential romantic partner (sorry Mio, but that ship sailed long ago) to bollocks things up for them.  It’s just a matter of figuring out their own feelings – or rather, Hazuki figuring out hers.

One could argue that the writer here has tried to have his cake and eat it too with this resolution, and Hazuki too – she rejects Haruto, but only on the grounds that she needs time to get ready to move to Hyougo and three months to settle into college life.  Fair enough, I suppose, and Haruto isn’t the sort to look a gift horse in the mouth – that was surely better than he was expecting, anyway.  I’m still not sold on this couple, really – there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot between them, much less enough to sustain a long-distance relationship.  I think it would have been more realistic to see them go their separate ways – “childhood’s end” and all that.

The real drama here surrounds Eita, Mio and Ena of course, and it’s taking place against the twin backdrops of impending exams and Valentine’s Day.  As usual, I find the more abstract side of Just Because even more compelling than the romance, and I love the way it captures the mood in the school as the third-years slowly detach themselves from high school life and get ready to face the real world.  The seniors about to take exams, in fact, are generally expected not to bother coming in at all – but Valentine’s Day does draw a surprising number of them in (including Eita and Mio of course).

Mio has finally decided to confess it seems, using Valentine’s as the premise – but disastrously, she spots the Ena wallpaper Eita is too technologically illiterate to remove from his phone.  Again, it’s Ena driving the action for characters other than herself – and while this is clearly a setback for Mio (she thinks) it does force her to admit unreservedly that she’s serious about Eita.  She now moves the goalposts, deciding that she’ll confess if she passes her exam.  Mind you she’s managed to avoid admitting her feelings at every turn up to n0w, so a little skepticism here is hardly unwarranted.

For Ena’s part, she at least has the grace to feel badly about what she’s done with Eita’s phone – though not so badly as to back off.  In fact she scooters to every Shrine and Temple she can find, nabbing amulets for academic success to give to Eita (though as he thinks he’s taking the exam to follow Mio, that’s a mixed message).  This one, it seems, is going to be drawn out right to the end – though whether that end is in Episode 11 or not I have no idea.  I just hope Just Because doesn’t short shrift its other main theme in the interest of going out with a flourish on its romantic one.