Fantastic Children: Finale

Parting with such lovely series is a saddening ordeal. With the exorbitant number of titles which solely rely on eye-candy released each year, Fantastic Children is a wondrous find amidst a vast array of poorly written scripts. From mesmerizing music to impressive cast members (see Junko Minagawa’s ep24’s performance), the series hardly disappoints. However, the solid storytelling — a rarity these days — is FC’s strongest selling point. A second look at the earlier episodes will reveal little seeds carefully sown for the latter half’s blazing pace.

While I am utterly in-love with FC, the title is not without faults. The romantic entanglements teeter towards a soap-ish nature. The Cook character does not comfortably settle into the main plot thread. Dumas’ father remains as a cookie-cutter villain. And Chitto simply became an extra in the season’s second half. But for the jaw-dropping and mind-numbing episode twenty-four alone, these are readily forgiven. *cough*biased*cough*

To echo BluWacky’s sentiments, Fantastic Children is indeed one of the best shows to hit the small screen. Sadly, the art-style seems to deter quite a number of anime enthusiasts. This piece of gem deserves to be recognized by more audience members. So I urge regular readers and first-time visitors to take a sneak peak at a couple of episodes and be enthralled by the series. And to fellow FC-fans, be sure to grab the DVDs once they’re available.

BTW, in case your wondering about the coda, here’s my take on it.

I knew that was coming a mile away but did I listen to my intuition? Hell, NO!! I even had the gall to plant the smallest seed of hope for the ending that I wanted. Damnit, damnit, damnit. Fantastic Children should’ve plastered something on screen that said, “Childhood friends need not apply”. I am intellectually satisfied with how the series ended, however, my mushy-side and inner-schoolgirl scream for a better romantic closure. Oh, well. That’s what fanfics are for.