Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove it

Episode 12

The final episode of Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It begins shortly after the end of the last episode with Himuro having not returned to the hotel after her botched attempt at reconciliation with Yukimura. Getting worried, Kanade tells Yukimura and Inukai and they begin their search for her.

It is at this point that Ibarada enters the scene. Over the past few episodes, she's taken a step back from Himuro and Yukimura's relationship⁠—especially since Yamamoto has started worming her way in. However, just because she's hasn't been directly involved doesn't mean she hasn't been acting as a good scientist and observer.

Of course, it's actually far more than that. From the start Ibarada has been against Yamamoto's involvement with the lab members⁠—obviously due to her own past experiences with Yamamoto. Instead of fighting her openly (and thus becoming a pawn in Yamamoto's games), she's placed herself where she can gather the most information and make the biggest possible impact when the time comes⁠—all while having plausible deniability.

So when Yukimura voices his bafflement at the shattered glasses case, Ibarada is on hand to lead him to the correct conclusion⁠—all without saying outright that Yamamoto is the one behind sabotaging Himuro's attempt at patching up their relationship.

This leads to Yukimura confronting Yamamoto about what she's done and why. When she dodges his accusations, he explains how he has figured out that only she or Kanade could have been responsible for the case's destruction⁠—and Kanade would never do such a thing.

Of course, after she admits to being the culprit, he backtracks, saying that his stated “scientific logic” was pure conjecture, designed to make her admit the truth and nothing more. This in turn gives us a rare glimpse into his heart: proving exactly what happened scientifically⁠—his passion in life⁠—is far less important to him in this moment than finding Himuro and protecting her from things like this happening again.

From there we get the big reconciliation scene. However, instead of accepting her apology or opening up about his own feelings, he instead lays into her⁠—criticizing her apology research paper as bad science. To which she responds by telling him that of course it is. She's been so emotionally messed up since the trip began she is unable to separate herself from her emotions⁠—and tons of scientific data to back that up. At this point, all she wants is for him to hold her and be with her.

Yukimura, to his credit, responds emotionally as well⁠—well, “emotionally” in his own very special, scientific way. Noticing the situation around him, he sets about making his promise from episode six into reality: to give her the most romantic possible kiss. It's a fantastic capstone to the series showing not only Yukimura's growth as a character but giving added meaning to all that came before.

Rating:

Looking at the series as a whole, Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It is a cut above most rom-com anime. It doesn't rely on the typical cliches⁠—be that in setting, characters, or situations. In fact, it spends most of its time deconstructing those clichés humorously.

The anime is at its best when its focusing on either multiple episode arcs (e.g., the first date or the Okinawa trip) or the side characters and their different, yet no less complex, relationships. While the day-to-day silly experiments in the lab are funny enough, they tend to fall into a predictable pattern and do little for character development or major story progression. Still, if the worst thing to be said about this anime is that “sometimes, it's just funny and nothing more,” that should be a sign of just how enjoyable it is.

Things I loved:

• Inukai is searching trash cans for the missing Himuro. I find that both worrying and hilarious.

• Despite being in crippling emotional pain, a part of Himuro finds her own unstable emotional state super interesting.

• Off screen, after Yukimura and Himuro's first kiss, the two checked their oxytocin levels.

• Ibarada punishes Yamamoto for messing with her friends in the way that will hurt her the most: her wallet.

• During Yukimura and Himuro's second kiss, Ibarada is in the background with a blanket over her head⁠—but neither one (nor Kanade) notices.

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.