One of the most emotional endings to any anime series I have seen, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 comes to a close with the wrap-up of Mirai’s and the characters surrounding Yuuki’s death, including their parents and Mari. In the screenshot above, with the title “Dear Yuuki…” (or “To Yuuki”), we are shown a water fountain of sorts that is no longer serving its function, implying perhaps that the fountain of life has nearly gone out for Yuuki, who continues to exist only for (or in the mind of) Mirai.

I particularly liked how, at the start, they used quality animation such as these to denote a sunset, implying the end of a life, such as Yuuki’s. This part was very well-done, especially how the canal’s water reflected the setting sun’s rays and their light, giving a surreal atmosphere akin to how Mirai must be feeling at the time.
 

Mirai cannot find the courage to go home by herself, because both her parents would be sad that she would be coming home alone, without Yuuki. That is why I said the surroundings reflect how Mirai feels – she is almost in a dreamy state, still trying to accept the harsh reality of Yuuki’s passing. She does not want to go home not only because she is going home alone, but she is also going home to a home where she will always be reminded of Yuuki.
 

Yet the dead Yuuki would not give up on her, living up to his namesake (in the simplest case, the word “yuuki”, as has been mentioned so many times, is “courage” in Japanese), and appears one last time to Mirai in order to get her to go home together with him, even if he no longer is around.
 

Indeed, Yuuki is kind, yet he also loves his sister, something that has been evident from the start of the series. He does not want her to give up, because she, unlike him, has a future (”Mirai” in Japanese means “future”). This particular screenshot also finally captures what viewers had been missing, or have been led on by – Yuuki no longer has a shadow and Mirai has always been alone since his death in episode 8.

Further, Yuuki wants his sister to keep the promise they made since the quake occurred – to get home together. Now it is not Yuuki that needs to be reassured that they will get home together, but Mirai. A turn of the tables, albeit a very sad one, for Mirai.
 

And at last, they do get home together, and Yuuki finally vanishes for good there, though not without leaving his own words for Mirai even as he fades from her life altogether. Indeed, Yuuki will always be right here in their home, full of the memories of him and the life he spent there. I also like the fading effect of the sun setting behind the apartment blocks and thus slowly erasing Yuuki’s image from the door, driving home the point that he is finally gone for good.

Yuuki’s getting home and finally disappearing there is reminiscent of another homecoming earlier in the summer season, that of Bakemonogatari’s The Lost Snail.
 

I had expected this scene to be very emotional, but I still cried a lot when I watched this. It was just so heartbreaking to finally see the Onozawa family reunited, though with the notable absence of Yuuki. And Yuuki did stay with Mirai till the very end, giving Mirai the courage she needed to get back home. Yet I still debate whether or not the ghost of Yuuki was indeed a real ghost or a figment of Mirai’s imagination. I still tend towards the latter explanation however.
 

I find it difficult to believe that the father can get out of a cast and be able to carry heavy weights around after just a month in hospital. This was the only inconsistent point throughout the episode I could not live with.
 

I  was used to seeing Mari in her riding attire (or work clothes if you prefer), so seeing her as a more mature and feminine character is kind of a throw-off, especially compared to her personality.
 

Mari’s description of how it felt like even as she lost her husband was not just a consolation to Mirai, but also a way of advice. After all, the dead have gone, but the living go on. Even as she mourns the loss of her brother, Mirai must still realize that he is gone to her, and continue living with that in her life.
 

The scene in which Mari talks to Mirai in her bedroom was also very emotional. First of all she hands Mirai Yuuki’s bag, which Mirai, as you recall, left behind at the hospital in episode 9. Then she passes to Mirai the cell phone that the latter had thrown away. Yuuki had picked it up and kept it for her. He then sends a text message (or email) later to Mirai’s phone using Mari’s phone, stating how much he wanted one to. For us, it is the last in the series we will hear of Yuuki, and it is also Mirai’s final redemption as she breaks into tears once again.

Yuuki had sent the message after the quake had occurred, and thus the impact of the message is made that much more poignant. Mirai finally realizes intuitively, not just superficially, that Yuuki is gone for good, and these tears are the last she will shed for Yuuki in the series, the last of her mourning for him.
 

It was good seeing Mirai’s mother finally getting the present that Yuuki had picked out for her as well as the drawing he had made for her. After Mirai presents her message to Yuuki, the scenes of Yuuki’s life to that point flash past the viewer, showing the past, with the next set of scenes showing Tokyo as it is after the earthquake, and the repair work that is being done to it, roughly representing the future. The past, that is Yuuki, has gone, but the living, and the future, remain.
 

And now Mirai takes over the role of Yuuki, keeping this chestnut tree, the symbol of determination in this series (for it withstood the earthquake, something Mirai did not expect it to have done), well taken care of. And the tree also signifies the end of the series, and the start of Mirai’s life without Yuuki, even as she keeps walking on with him in her heart.
 

General Impressions

Certainly this was one of the most emotional endings to any anime series I have seen, and even if I did see this coming, it was still more than enough as I sat through the episode and cried my eyeballs out. Though at the start I had expected their parents to die, BONES did put the twist on it by having no one else die but Yuuki. Yuuki, who was a main character from the start. Yuuki, that always cheerful kid. Yuuki, the one who did his best to make his sister happy, to the point where he paid his life for it.

The ED sequence was interesting as well, showing the characters that we had been shown throughout the series in photo stills carrying on with their lives, and I liked it very much, a fitting closure to the episode itself.
 

Something interesting about Yuuki’s name is that in Kanji, it is not written as “courage” (my lack of knowledge in the Japanese language might mean I am incorrect though), but as something else. I can see the Kanji for “valuable” in there, implying that Yuuki is not merely the namesake that we think he is, but also a person of value.

But for Mirai, she does keep her namesake. From the beginning of the series where she was a whining little teenager, to the result that she became after the death of Yuuki, she indeed now has a future to look forward to, even if it means facing it without her greatest source of courage – her brother.
 

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 remains one of the best anime I have ever seen, but as Animewriter pointed out, the narration from episodes 8-10 was a little iffy, part of the reason why TM8.0 will most likely not make it to “Best Anime of the Year” for me, even though it will certainly be in the nominations.

Related posts:

1. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 10 – Oneechan, Ano ne…
2. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 09 – Kyou, Sayonara
3. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 04 – Tokyo Tower Collapse
4. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 06 – Abandoned Choice
5. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 05 – Painful Glimmer