Revenger

Episode 12

“So beautiful, yet so melancholic.” A fitting line for the show and its finale. Revenger ends its great season on a terrific note in episode 12.

Our big action set piece is as exciting as you could want or expect. There are plenty of great one-on-one fights with interesting weapons and gory aftereffects. This has to be the biggest fight yet despite there having been action most of the season. Basically, everyone gets a chance to do something outrageous or interesting. Thrown blades being redirected by tossed cards, arching bow shots that kill long after the shooter has been wounded—it's exactly what I wanted from the finale. Revenger has managed to ride the line between over-the-top absurdity and grounded realism quite well. This amps up the absurdity while making the consequences just as palpable as they should be. There are no dramatic escapes or lucky turns of fate here—only violent ends for violent people.

Usui's fight with the big bad is perhaps the best kill he gets all season. There's a brief monologue, but it goes exactly as you'd expect: the villain gets his just desserts, weeping as he looks on Saint Mary and then plummets to a gory splat of an end. It's cathartic, visceral, and ever-so-satisfying.

Raizo's ending is bittersweet yet fitting. He never really forgives himself despite the art that he made and ends up passing on though he was arguably a dead man walking this whole time. Perhaps the firefly at the end was Yui forgiving him after all. Perhaps, it was merely his spirit leaving his body. Regardless, revenge has been done: the villains defeated, and the opium destroyed. It is as happy an ending as one can get in a cruel world.

Overall, I can't recommend the series enough. Excellent concept, terrific characters, heavy themes, and interesting characters contained in top-shelf writing from Gen Urobuchi. I'm going to miss this being in my rotation next season.

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Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Revenger is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.