I’ve just finished watching Mahoromatic and after seeing the ending, I was left with a feeling of shock, dismay and emptiness. Here it is, a week later, and I still feel depressed; very similar to the feelings I have after someone close has died. “It’s a stupid anime”, I tell myself, “and I shouldn’t have these feelings.” When I watch anime, I’m supposed to have a bunch of laughs, have fun and be left in a better mood. Not this time. There should be a warning at the beginning of Mahoromatic which states: “Caution – the ending of this anime will depress you.”
And yet – there is – right in the first scene where Mahoro is told she has only 398 days left. You know there is going to be something heavy to deal with at the end. And just in case you try to forget – there is the countdown at the end of every episode. But just like everyone else, I kept watching, assuming they would figure it out somehow. They didn’t.
Why did this ending affect me so? This is probably because Mahoro became endeared to all of us. The positive upbeat attitude of this android was an inspiration to us all to be better people. I could only wish for a Mahoro-like co-worker, next door neighbor, or heck, why even a Mahoro-like maid! Witnessing her violent demise was indeed painful.
But worse yet was the raw deal which Suguru got. Lost love is undoubtedly one of the most powerful emotions there are. We all have or will go though it at least once. It is such a painful emotion that it hurts to see someone else go though it. So here is poor Suguru, who has finally figured out, after 26 episodes, that he is in love. The next thing you know, he is blown over by a tremendous blast and all he can find is a battered piece of Mahoro’s broach. All of this is playing out in the wilds of Mexico, thousands of miles from home. It is absolutely terrible.
And it gets worse. Suguru forsakes his roots and friends and exiles himself to an awful place like Silvaplanna, surrounded by plotting androids. He ends up being a shell of himself. Heck, he doesn’t even look like Suguru, even with aging. What did Suguru do to deserve such a horrible fate?
The last episode was totally botched. It seemed to me that the studio felt that the death of Mahoro was too much so they tried to make amends. But it didn’t work. Many think the entire last episode is not reality, but just a dream. And when I see the anime again, I view Mahoro as someone departed. In other words, the 20-year later “second coming” was simply not credible to the point where my mind doesn’t believe it.
We can point fingers at the writers and the studios all we want, but the plain fact is that never has an anime had such a powerful effect on this many people. We have to give credit to the creators that no one simply walked away from this with neutral feelings.
So if you find yourself at the end of the anime feeling down, there are two things to do. First get the Manga – specifically volume 8 - and read that. You will get to read what the author intended instead what the studio tried to botch. The ending is similar but it is done very differently. I felt better after reading it. Specifically, the manga goes into great detail on who Matthew of Saint is, how Mahoro came to be, what the various relationships are and why there was a 20-year wait for Mahoro’s return.
Second, read the fan fiction by Doctor Memory, “Mahoromatic – New Beginnings”. He does an excellent job picking up from the mess of the anime and telling a very credible and nice story. I’m about 5 episodes in and find it excellent and can’t wait for the plot complications to kick in.
Sorry for rambling on.
drdx
