Tasogare Otome – In Love With A Ghost

Tasogare Otome runs off in victory – unstoppable as it continues brilliantly with a combination of captivating story, Silver Link’s former foe now overcome, and astonishing visuals, a point which they’ve always excelled.

Seen in the episode prior, Niiya didn’t merely witness, but he relived Yuuko’s final days going into her death – now awakening however, he’s returned to the regular world, yet not without more peculiarities having arisen to meet him. He’s sitting on a bench besides a concerned Yuuko – Shadow Yuuko isn’t anywhere to be seen, and asking of her to the vanilla Yuuko results in nothing accomplished. Shadow Yuuko has disappeared – and Yuuko has erased her from memory once more, again trying to run away from her own past.

Yet the series makes it clear by means of visual indicator – in actuality, Shadow Yuuko has merged with Teichi. Kirie will come to explain this all in her usual sharp-witted fashion shortly later on – however, one can easily insinuate most of the situation alone. Having seen her memories, Teichi joined with Shadow Yuuko – though interestingly, this has made him invisible to Yuuko. As she casts aside her shadow which carries emotions and memories she purposefully attempts to forget, she can now no longer perceive the existence of Teichi either as he’s carrying her memories.

Loneliness starts to stem from two separate ends – Yuuko in her hysteric struggle to exile aspects of herself in order to live within some sort of perfect world with her beloved “Teichi-kun” whom she can now no longer see or sense as an ironic effect of her self-escape, and Teichi-kun himself who can still see and hear his ghostly bishoujo love, Yuuko, yet cannot interact with her in any way, as if such a thing were ever normal to begin with.

The episode exhibits a breakdown – the two lovers not made to be both start to show their own rendition of anguish, yet as result of an intervention by Kirie, the protagonist doesn’t give up as he otherwise intended. Kirie leads him to someone who can assist with his issue, her grandmother, Yuuko’s imouto – not too much is learned, and even less is shared explicitly, yet one prominent detail is said by the little sister herself. She mentioned how she can see Yuuko – yet the one she sees is the spiteful, hateful creature which Kirie once saw.

Teichi is shown several photos of Aka-chan, the girl whom Yuuko would provide care for – and he seemingly makes a realization upon that. He dashes back to the paranormal club room, unsurprisingly finding Yuuko standing there, and then he begins to wreck the place – tearing it apart with a baseball bat. This act makes her able to see him once more as those items he rummaged seconded as part of her memories – and once capable of seeing him, he begins to advance his idea in hopes of it succeeding as a solution.

Having made himself visible, Shadow Yuuko has also become so for Yuuko as well for the same reason – Teichi approaches both, before then concentrating on the more troubled Shadow Yuuko. The shadow denies that Teichi could understand what she’s experienced, and he agrees that he can’t – however, he insists that he did feel what she felt, and he is similarly horrified by it. He essentially convinces Shadow Yuuko that he appreciates, or rather, loves her as well as she’s also Yuuko – coming to terms with herself, accepting of her past, Yuuko merges with her shadow.

Memories recovered, and a problem solved, the aspect which perhaps was the series’ most significant conflict has now been put to rest – alongside even some miscellaneous revelations which are intended to amusingly show that our leading characters were destined to be together, such as the fact that Niiya is actually Aka-chan’s grandson, and on a more comical notice, the candy seen in the flashback of Yuuko’s life originated from the energetic blonde haired character’s family.

A cheerful mood fills the atmosphere as reason to feel sad, lonely, or upset has all disappeared – one would have thought that at this point, surely nothing can go wrong, the grass is green once more, and it’s time for some mizugi service OVAs, yet that’s not the case. In the final scene, as Yuuko walks alongside Teichi – a bell she wore on her wrist slipped and fell. Yuuko reached down to grab it, yet only ended up pivoting around it till actually picking it up.

Her motor skills failed for a moment as if for split second, she either lost her concentration, or more likely turned incapable of physically incapable of communicating with the material world – which if the latter being the case, she’s not going to last much longer it seems.

It’s not entirely clear what is to be faced now – however, it is positive that this conclusion of uncertainty is foreshadowing some unfortunate events awaiting in the snowy horizon which Yuuko and Teichi head. This series has hit hard – now we await the conclusion in hopes that Silver Link can shake the foundation of possibilities.

• 
  Tasogare Otome – A Fate Of Fatality
• 
  Tasogare Otome – Bishoujo Of Good & Evil
• 
  Tasogare Otome – Oppai Fondling To The Rescue
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  Tasogare Otome’s Gorgeous Ghost Gets Wet