Fate/Fake Strange Whispers of Dawn was pretty good. I give it 9.5/10 and the post-credits scenes Cringe/10. Those weren't needed. Now we're getting a series and that shit could've been in the series proper.
I'm sure the thought behind including them was "well, we wanted to animate those characters and we didn't know if we would get a series to do it in" and I say "too bad." Just show Richard at the end asking if the girl's his master and leave it there. The rest of that was ick. A blemish on an otherwise solid special.
Some peeps in the r/Gundam subreddit feel Witch from Mercury's ending felt a bit rushed. I think it could've been better. I've seen enough anime that are inconclusive and shit the bed that I ultimately don't mind too much. The whole thing's still a bit confusing as far as what the Mom's motives were and why the people were shooting their giant space laser at everyone.
I think the show suffered from cast bloat. At the end, there were just too many characters and if this were a longer show, it probably wouldn't have mattered as much. But in a 24 episode series, it didn't have the room for all of the characters it had.
Specific ending talk/ranting below if you want courtesy spoiler space or just want to skip that shit...
It felt like having so many characters make it to the end--whether because they lived or because they were too involved in the latter episodes when they didn't need to be--robbed all of the characters of their involvement in the story mattering. Examples:
Lauda's weird grudge against Miorine. This added nothing to the story. This show squeezed him into parts of the end episodes where all he did was take up space.
The Earth Kids and Shaddiq's Girls should've had casualties. The ending was technically "happier" because they are all living their best life now but there's no stakes, no tension, no moments where you gasp that people are dead. They feel like the worst offenders when it comes to cast bloat.
The Elans. I really like them. All of them. They added so much to the story. Confusion, tragedy, creepiness... But, again, there's so many characters there was no time at the end. The real Elan and 2nd fake Elan are regulated to sitting in a room for a portion of time. 2nd fake Elan gets further involved in the story but his role at the end is an interchangeable role: it could've been any other character that shoots Mom. The whole thing between him and Norea felt so empty because there wasn't enough time for it.
Guel. Guel got so much good shit at the beginning of the 2nd season. It was ramping up to something really good. He got a resolution but it didn't feel satisfying at the end because once he returns for good, he more or less becomes a cheerleader and does nothing than spank his brother.
Kenanji. I really liked this character but something should've came from him being present, especially given his role in the prologue. As cool as he was, he was ultimately superfluous and his role could've been filled by other characters.
Same issue with Nika. Nika a cute and I like her. But probably should've died or rode off into the sunset.
Same issue with Shaddiq. Now he just sits around in a chair. He didn't even seem to care about his fate. "Oh, well, I'm in prison." Shrug. What about Daddy? He doesn't give a shit either? In fact, I'd say having his Dad visit him instead of Miorine would've been a much better scene for the both of them. They could've had a tearful moment together. Instead it's Miorine, someone who actually doesn't give a shit about him if we're being real.
Why wouldn't Suletta's Mom and real daughter go off into the ether? I found it sadder seeing the Mom sitting in her wheelchair lifeless and expressionless while her daughter's trapped in damn keychain for, uh, forever I guess? How's that a happy ending for them when they could've gone into the data storm afterlife with Dad and their friends?
Why do Mom and her sidekick get away with murdering people including a woman doing her job and trying to broker a peaceful resolution? Where's the justice for Feng?
Rainbow powers save the day? HOW?
Why the fuck are you making a school with your wife on EARTH? Your goal was to make one on MERCURY. What the fuck? That's what happens when the end goals conflict, I guess. If you put it on Mercury, what happens to Miorine's dream of being on Earth? But now you ruined Suletta's dream of making a school on Mercury instead. The dream that was part of her motivation to succeed in school? HUH?
Dissolving the Big Bad Space Group or whatever was such a cop-out. I don't have a proposal on what the better solution would've been but not that one. This was primed to circle back around to Miorine's negotiations with that group of Earthians we got in one of the earlier episodes. But, you know, fuck those guys; let's just Oprah away all of our assets to corporations because, as well all know, corporations look out for the little guy.
End of spoilery rant.
Anyway, for all my bluster I still think it was a decent show. I was just hoping for something that gave me more drama and feels after Suletta tomato'd that dude at the end of the first cour and I don't think the show lived up to that level of, uh, ahem, impact with the ending. 9/10 though. The show looked pretty, the effort was made. This show did characters--in terms of making likeable people and people you could cheerfully dislike (except for Sophie, heh)--rather well and I think the strength of those characters carried this show hard.
