Otogizoushi Ep 26 - Miyako (Capital)

If I have to use one word to sum up how I feel about this episode, it would be DISAPPOINTED. Well, I wasn't expecting very much in the first place since in effect, Ep 24 would have concluded the entire Otogizoushi series. The two specials (Ep 25 and 26) are supposed to have no major effect on the main story but somehow, I wonder what is the meaning of having these two SPs in the first place? As mentioned before, Ep 25 was plain and went around the bush before they showed how Urabe came to know Hikaru and gang. Although I expected more from Ep 26 because Mansairaku was around, the only thing he did was keep lamenting where time comes and goes as well as chatting with that ordinary old man whom Mansairaku had thought was like him. Well, I almost fell asleep even though I was paying more attention due to the fact that I was watching a RAW so you can see how bored I was. It didn't help that I was already exhausted from work and it really defied my expectations.

Anyway, my previous conclusion still stands. Otogizoushi would have been a VERY GOOD anime in my personal ranking if it had ended at Ep 13 when Hikaru and Mansairaku died together. Sure, it was a bit sad that they cannot end up together but the quality of the anime up till that point was consistent and well done. Somehow, the Tokyo arc went downhill with weird looking characters and a bit non-sensical storyline which got worse with the two SPs. Besides, Hikaru and Mansairaku cannot get together in modern day Tokyo. It's as if their paths cross but their destinies is not in the same direction. Mansairaku can never age because he is Abe no Seimei while Hikaru is still an ordinary human being after all. No matter how long he waits for her, they cannot be together. I'm starting to think what if, Mansairaku had decided to be with Hikaru in the Heian arc and stopped his plans to destroy Kyo for the sake of the world's rebirth, would they have been able to stay together happily ever after?