In my more recent reviews, I always tried to classify the anime I reviewed in some kind of genre. Strangely enough, I can’t seem to do this with Simoun. There is just not one typical category it fits in. It’s got some yuri-romance, it’s got action, it’s a character study, it deals with heavy themes, it’s got all of these tiny elements which somehow form this beautiful result.

I really mean it when I say that Simoun is an awesome anime. Probably one of the best who aired during the spring season. It’s mostly because of the characters. These characters are so incredibly fleshed out that as the anime progresses, it’s able to invoke their deepest emotions. The anime, however, starts out a bit fragile. The first episode is not necessarily a bad one, but it did turn many viewers away. After this first episode, the anime picks up in a steady pace, already giving the viewer small tastes of the awesomeness which is about to come.

The best of this series appears in episodes 14, 15 and 16. Seriously, at those episodes, this anime will have you clinging to the screen in order not to miss even a single millisecond. These scenes are just too good to be described. Afterwards, the series continues with an excellent average level, until another very good climax comes at episode nineteen and twenty.

From that point, the anime takes an incredibly original turn. It’s something only very few anime attempt. The overall theme suddenly gets shifted from the action and tension towards a more thought-provoking one: saying goodbye and living on. A great deal of time is spent on this, in comparison to other anime, and if I have to say so myself, the last episodes give Simoun a very fitting ending.

This anime shines because of its characters. Each and every single one of them is unique. Each has her own struggles, and when you combine these struggles, tensions can rise incredibly high. It’s also one of the very few anime who doesn’t mess up with the love-theme, and this makes the romance-aspect also one huge success, significantly contributing to the overall mood of the show.

The soundtrack which comes with this anime also is superb. There are certain tracks which will really help bring the best out of the scenes. In the graphical department, this series also shines. Especially with the character design. Each character looks absolutely gorgeous. The battles also are a very nice watch.

Still, like I said, the character-driven episodes are awesome. But they do make the story-driven episodes rather bland in comparison. That’s about the only down part of this anime. The characters are far more interesting that the general story behind all of this. That’s about the only bad point.

And so, I’m afraid to say it, but Simoun has come to an end. And it certainly has been one of the most unique endings ever. It was nothing that could have blown me off my chair, but instead, this ending did leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. I can happily say that this ending succeeded. Still, the ending was puzzling, and there are a small number of questions left unanswered.

Anyway, the episode takes place a few years in the future, in order to show what happened to each of the members of the chor tempest. Extra focus is put on Limone and we also see a flashback of what happened with Aaeru and Neviriru before they got to perform their Emerald Ri Maajon.

What happened to Aaeru and Neviriru afterwards wasn’t really spectacular. They headed off, a spokesman of the Highlands sends some Simoun to retrieve them, though the priestesses have no intention of capturing them. They perform the Emerald Ri Maajon, and disappear. It’s not the huge spectacle with Limone and Dominüra. Still, the fact that the only scenes we see of them is at the end of the episode, in which they’re dancing in the debris of the Arcus Prima does make you wonder what happened with them afterwards. It’s one of the few unanswered questions. I’m suspecting that they travelled a lot of different worlds.

Surprisingly, we never get to see Amuria. We never know what happened to her. Same with Mamiina’s body. She’s been shot down. What happened to it? Those are the only bad points of this episode.

Limone was awesome in this episode. She looks beautiful when she’s grown up, and it seems that her arrival triggered other people of her age to try flying with the Simoun as well. We never find out whether she’s in the future, or in the past. If I had to guess, it’s the future. Don’t know why. Dominüra hasn’t been willing to fly the Simoun ever since she arrived in this timezone. Limone, however, wants to fly again, though not if it means forcing her will onto Dominüra. She’s been bothered by quite an amitious Sybilla, who aims to be paired with Limone, but Limone refuses to fly with anyone other than her beloved pair. How cute. The last scene we see of them is Dominüra, who finally agrees to fly again. She and Limone happily walk off, while Limone casted off the same strange stuff Onashia did. Does this mean what I think it means?

Next up, the characters who remained in the current world. First up: Morinasu. She now works as a female employee under Wauf. She’s been married with Waporifu, and she’s pregnant of her second child now.

Wauf also got a little daughter. The identity of mother is never mentioned. But it does seem clear that he has a very strong bond with both Morinasu and his daughter. He was very cute to see. I also loved him as a minor character in the series.

Remember Eri? Well, of course, he had to end up somewhere as well. He renamed himself to Erifu, and works at the same place as Morinasu and Wauf. It seems that he pilots Simire, in order to transport goods from one place to another. He’s been exceptionally busy, as it seems that the highlands and the archipelago are going into war.

Next up, Paraietta. Talk about character growth. I think that she, along with Dominüra and Mamiina changed the most, out of all of the characters in the series. She’s just so laid back now. She has really learned not to worry so much. She also put her time into a very noble job: providing a home for children who have lost their parents. Surprisingly enough, she ended up along with Rodoreamon.

Rodoreamon seems to have decided to take the management of Paraietta’s orphan home. It seems that they’ve got some problems with the upcoming war. She’s a bit worried, but determined as well. Also a HUGE difference with the way she was before.

Kaimu and Aruti decided to live together after all. After they grew up, they just returned to their original home, in order to spend their days quietly. Cute, very cute. ^_^

Yun still is at the spring, though she did decide to choose her gender. In the end, she became a female. Right now, she’s still standing at the spring, devoting her entire life to changing genders. In a way, that’s really sad. But she did choose for it. I remember noting that Jun was a tough nut to crack, back when she was just 100% objectivity. Well, in the end, she definitely had her moment of glory.

Furoe changed the most in terms of appearance. But that’s only logical, as she had the most feminine looks of the entire cast, and she suddenly switched to being a male. He named himself Furoefu. He’s been working as a farmer, right next to the debris that was once the mighty Arcus Prima. I can imagine that it works quite nostalgic. He even visits it some times, on a Helios Motores-powered boat.

Vyura (or Vyurafu) looks so cool as a man. He’s got a really laid-back attitude. And it seems that he’ll be fighting on the side of the enemy. I think that’s one of the messages of this final episode. “Ah well, that’s life.”

Anubitufu and Guraghief look so totally badass, in their new outfits. ^^;

And of course, I knew it was coming when around the final moments of the episode, the creators decided to show a few last shot of the ruins of the Arcus Prima. It really had it coming, and indeed. It’s a perfect way for a finale. We first see Aaeru and Neviriru dancing a bit, symbolizing the journeys they made. Then we switch to one of the hallways, in which Paraietta was doodling on the walls, two episodes ago.

Really, she was more enthusiastic than I thought she was. She made an incredibly cute chibi-drawing of every single Simoun Sybilla. That was so cute to see. A fitting ending for such an awesome series.