Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu - 12(END)

[Beatrice]

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu - 12(END)

「秘密です！」 (Himitsu Desu!)
“It’s a Secret!”
Episode at a Glance:
Pending…

ED Sequence:



Impressions:
So as suspected by myself and many others, the old man last episode is none other than Haruka’s grandfather, Nogizaka Ouki. Also, Shute turned out to be nothing more than a bother as there was realistically no way for him to get close to Haruka like Yuuto has. I was a bit worried that Shute was going to break Yuuto’s present at the beginning of the episode though, after him and his group of “thugs” bullied Yuuto around like kids do on a playground (… which was pretty pathetic). While I would’ve like to see Yuuto punch those guys in the face, all that was really needed to restore his confidence was a little reminder of how far things have come between him and Haruka. While I reveled in Shute’s “wtf owned” reaction, I still enjoyed watching him get beat up by his own father for disrespecting the head of Nogizaka family. I was rather sick of hearing him refer to Haruka as “Fräulein” over and over again too, so I was glad someone shut him up.
Other than that, Yuuto’s realization that he gave Nobunaga’s first edition of Innocent Smile to Haruka way back when finally hit him. I found it interesting how he was able to laugh it off as a huge coincidence and/or destiny and how he decided not to tell Haruka about it. In any case, I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve seen this flashback all blurred out, so I’m rather relieved that finally showed us Haruka’s face, even though we already knew it was her all along. As for their first kiss together, it befittingly turned out to be a big tease, especially with the “dominating approach” that Yuuto decided to use. While I was left wondering about whatever happened to innocent first kisses, I guess this approach gives us a lot more Haruka fan-service (including a brief underwear shot). Seeing as the two of them claim they have another secret now, I’m under the impression that they actually did kiss, but you can blame the illusionary Rainbow Snake for blocking our view when it happened. So yeah, big tease. Oh right, you can blame these people too. =)
As for Shiina, she didn’t have a part in the finale, but did show up in the ending sequence working at a cosplay cafe in Akihabara. Also, Satou Rina played a minor role as the maid in the beginning

Final Impressions:
As I mentioned before, this series didn’t turn out quite like I expected, but I found it interesting viewing things from a different perspective than other series about otakus or Akiba-kei. At first, I pictured Yuuto to be more of a sarcastic type of character that would tease Haruka a bit about her hobby before getting closer to her; however, Yuuto turned out to be the most realistically believable male protagonist I’ve seen in a romance comedy in awhile now. With the series being completely devoid of any sarcasm between Yuuto and Haruka, the whole Akiba-kei thing really took a backseat to the relationship aspects of the series. Personally, I was hoping to see a fair bit of romance in addition to the otaku comedy, but was surprised when it turned out to be basically all romance in an otaku setting. Luckily, this formula proved to work well for me, so I wouldn’t really use it as a reason to knock the series, unless of course you were hoping to see something more along the lines of Genshiken.
In retrospect, I assume that some people will be unhappy with an ending that barely advanced Yuuto and Haruka’s relationship, but I found that it’s the little nuances of their relationship — going on that first date in Akihabara, protecting Haruka’s secret from everyone, going to their first comiket together, defending Haruka’s hobby in front of her parents, sharing in their first school festival together — that made the series enjoyable to watch. As such, I find the series going out on a comedic note rather appropriate. If Yuuto and Haruka’s relationship instantly became more “serious” than an innocent high school-like one, I imagine it would feel out of place given the context laid out by the series thus far. The two of them got closer, struggled their way through various obstacles, and are in a “good place” right now, so I’m content with the “coming full circle” type of ending here.
Overall, I enjoyed the series, so I hope you did too. As usual, thanks for reading!

[Silver_Blood]

i wonder if there will be another coming season for this?

thanks for this though.

[darkness king]

thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanx

[dorky24]

It's a great anime, but still kind of stereotypical in some sense. The ending was cute but by no means did it really do anything. I wish they put in an actual ending where we finally get to see them kiss instead of a numerous amount of close encounters. Overall, not bad.

[kira1128]

Quote: Originally Posted by dorky24

It's a great anime, but still kind of stereotypical in some sense. The ending was cute but by no means did it really do anything. I wish they put in an actual ending where we finally get to see them kiss instead of a numerous amount of close encounters. Overall, not bad.

too bad the script is not according to the novel tat much n i even hear that there omitted a part in the 2nd novel (the anime follows up till the the 3rd book), but the last episode really giggles me especially the guy who speaks "papaa~"

[triplew]

ya it was a good anime but it had kind of like a weak ending but none the less good anime.

[yozyoz]

thanks for the review..

for some strange reasons i feel that the last 2 episodes are more "worth it" to watch.. hahaha

[Kardaron]

the thing i hated most about the episode was when the giant rainbow snake/fish blocked the epic kissing scene >: but the end was really predictable and the plot was very generic, but it was still very enjoyable and overall, i really loved it.