365 Days to the Wedding

Episode 12

That finale wrapped everything up at once, didn't it? I'm a little caught off guard at how much this episode tries to resolve, considering most of the show went through a slow pace. In this episode, we have our main duo come clean about faking their marriage. We have them resolve the fact that they love each other, and we find out who that mysterious voice on the phone is (but we don't learn why he did what he did.) We get an interesting introspection into the boss who ends up becoming the person to take over the overseas job that started this whole crazy plot in the first place, and we bring everything full circle. I don't think this is a bad episode per se, I'm just shocked at how final it tries to feel when I'm pretty sure the manga goes well past this point.

As for the actual contents of the episode itself, a lot of things were naturally handled very conveniently with the biggest one being the boss taking up the job herself. I'm not sure if Rika and Takuya's circumstances inspired her and I think there could've been a way to make that feel more organic. But as of right now, it feels like something that's there to wrap up the story.

Rika and Takuya came clean about their arrangement and removed any pretenses about why they needed to stay together. I like the scene of them slowly going over all the practical reasons why the relationship won't work out and almost treat separation like the end of a business transaction, which is how things were originally set up. But just because that's how things started doesn't mean that that's how things are going to end.

Marriage does a lot of things for a lot of different people. To some, it is the peak of relationships and life. For others, it can be glorified for the wrong reasons. For Rika and Takuya, marriage is a new beginning. The prospect of marriage is what forced them together in the first place, so now the prospect of marriage is the basis for their relationship. There wasn't any grand romantic encounter. It was just two people who discovered they unconventionally enjoyed each other's company. The episode at least gives us a bit of a glimpse into what their relationship life looks like but that makes me wish that we had more of that either throughout this season or in a potential season two.

Looking at the show as a whole, it's not structured as well as I wish since a lot of dead space could have either been cut out or arranged differently. The character writing was a highlight and I appreciate the show's willingness to show some of the more uncomfortable aspects of marriage. This more unconventional adult romance manages to keep a relatively pure tone without feeling off. I wish nothing but happiness to all of the couples out there.

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