Otaku Elf

Episode 12

Otaku Elf isn't a show I was expecting a big, dramatic finale from. It simply isn't that kind of series. It's dedicated to its ideas of spending time passing days with our friends and family in a way that understands that life goes on, even if we stop watching slices of it in anime form. And so that is, indeed, how this series closes out its season, with Elda and Koito continuing to get into goofy antics all the way through to the end, just reinforcing their closeness and the positive effects their relationship has on each other.

The show had stepped up its stakes just a little bit leading up to this, with an honest-to-elf story arc kicking off last week that flows into the first half of this episode. It's funny since Koito has always felt like more of the straight man here, the one who keeps on top of Elda and her duties. So seeing Koito thrust into a situation that both acknowledges that she still has areas where she can grow and allows her to do some of the said growing is a smart move for filling out her character. It feels like a rare earnest play on her personality gimmick of being in a hurry to grow and mature since instead of dunking on her for it, the narrative confirms that she might be able to work her way up to that.

Not that there isn't plenty of dunking, since all of Koito's archery practice in the run-up to the Yumimimi Festival ends in slapstick screw-ups. It's funny, yes, but it also creates a unique conflict for the Miko. Koito's always been effectively competent in her duties, which primarily focused on herself and Elda. But in this case, she's got everyone in the town counting on her for the one thing she's utterly incapable of doing. It's funny, but also engaging to see her sweating like this, since it further clarifies how much Koito genuinely cares about the people who depend on her, the shrine, and Elda.

It's good-natured then to see those vibes reciprocated, in how all the people who turn out to see the ritual are visibly rooting for Koito. It effectively demonstrates the opposite of Koito's unfounded worries of the denizens being disappointed by her, letting them support her the same way Elda's presence has reassured them. How could they not be won over, as Koito and Elda get to show off some of their funny rapport out there on the water for everyone to see? And Elda manages her own moment of selfless reassurance. Her jumping off the boat to catch Koito's arrow on the target is all the heartwarming payoff a last episode like this one needed to feel like some sort of capstone.

That'd be a sweet enough sendoff, but as I said, Otaku Elf knows its true strength has been in its warm portrayal of the day-to-day dealings of our dippy deity, and so that's how it finishes. It's just one more half-episode story about Elda dealing with some mildly goofy inconvenience, and then drawing Koito (and Koyuzu) into it, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The setup here is funny, as we witness Elda having a truly relatable low-key bad day full of tiny tragedies like spilling pepper all over her eggs or missing a package delivery. It's completely within her personality that she'd conclude she is "cursed" due to these minor misfortunes.

Small-scale as it is, the writing is still able to use this to lead back to a finish focused on the core ideas of the value of spending time with loved ones. Koito correctly deduces early that Elda only feels like she's experiencing more bad things happening because she's fixated on them as they occur. Truly these are the perils of spending too much time by yourself, so lo and behold that when she sneaks out to play with the shrine's fortune slip box with Koito and Koyuzu, her unluckiness seems to be washed away. Elda may chalk the success up to borrowing Koyuzu's four-leaf clover and Koito's lucky pencil, but really, it was simply being with them and focusing on the good energy of fun times spent together that led to things feeling like they were on the upswing. Even if they did get immediately busted by Koito's grandpa.

This isn't the best episode of Otaku Elf for it to go out on, but it's still pretty fun and feels true to itself in doing so. There are several remaining rounds of edutainment elements sprinkled through this last round, including an explanation of the tsujiura fortune-telling technique that leads into a good little gag about Elda's social anxiety getting in the way of her being able to properly engage in it. And the show wisely doesn't worry about checking off appearances by the other elf and shrine characters, keeping the focus firmly on Elda and Koito. Though we do get a quick little scene of Kado and Akane impulsively clapping their hands together before looking away embarrassedly, making this one a win for me. I wouldn't say no to more of this show after this season, and I know there's a whole manga out there that lets us see even more days in these dorks' lives. But for now, I'm happy to regard Otaku Elf with the main lesson it's been imparting over its whole run, and be grateful for the time I did get to spend with it.

Rating:

Otaku Elf is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

Chris is keeping busy keeping up with the new anime season and is excited to have you along. You can also find him writing about other stuff over on his blog, as well as spamming fanart retweets on his Twitter, for however much longer that lasts.