Some series trade on suspense, but I don’t think this is one of them. For me at least, the endgame of Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid was always written in ink, and anything else would have been a surprise. In that sense it’s like a tragedy, where you know the end and the pathos is in seeing how the characters’ mistakes bring it about. But it’s more of anti-tragedy, since Bocchan’s whole life is a kind of tragedy that’s slowly being unraveled, coil by coil.

That brings us around to Sade. And the whole denouement – the first stage of it anyway – hinges on whether you buy the “lets be friends”/forgiveness angle. Which if I’m totally honest I kind of don’t. Lots of people have traumatic upbringings and don’t turn into sociopaths. I’m sort of with Nico-sensei on this one – after the things she did to him, to Bocchan, to Alice’s mother, to Daleth for goodness’ sake – does she deserve a clean slate? Not to me. Nico is willing to give this a shot because it has a practical upside, but for him (and me) that would be the only reason.

But that doesn’t really bother me all that much for two main reasons. First, it’s Bocchan. It’s true to who he is. I may not buy it but he totally would – he tries to see the best in everyone no matter how badly they treat him, and most treat him pretty damn badly. In his position one could cope by turning into a sociopath (like Sade) who hates everybody, or you could do what he did – since (almost) everyone is awful to you, just give everyone the benefit of the doubt. True, he was on a downward spiral of self-pity when Alice came (back) into his life, but she brought out something that was already in him.

The other thing is his promise to Victor. One can see why Victor would have asked what he did, and you can totally see why Bocchan would be so intent on keeping his word. So when the time comes when Nico has the chance to end all this by ending Sade, of course Bocchan is going to stop him – that’s who he is. As for Sade, jealousy is as plausible a reason for her actions as anything. And loneliness, which was sort of why she cursed Victor’s grandson. I don’t buy it but I can see why Bocchan does.

Besides, in the end this isn’t really what I care about. It’s what comes after Sade that I’ve been waiting for – that’s what’s enticed me along for the whole series (which is a fun ride to begin with). So whatever quibbles I have with the showdown in the end don’t really matter all that much. And some of this is quite good – like Bocchan and Nico’s curses fighting a pitched battle and basically ending up in a draw. Alice going inside Sade to drag her out of her shell? Sure, why not. And Daleth getting her scars removed was a nice moment.

Is it always the case with witches that their magic is like a separate entity inside them, as it is with Sade, or is hers like that because she’s so singularly powerful? It’s easy to see the difference between witches and sorcerers here. Sade in a final showdown against her own magic is a sort of twist I suppose. And what does come after all this is a little bit more uncertain – there are still a number of ways that could go, enough to retain some sense of suspense about how the postscript of this battle will play out.