Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu episode 12 + Final Impression

Well, I obviously had to make a double post because I wanted to get this series done with before it would be considered “too late”. Also, I told myself that I had to get this post done before I can watch the last episode of Code Geass, so I’m pretty excited to just go and watch it. We start off the episode with Yuuto still nervous about his gift, which was actually really starting to get annoying because we all knew that she wasn’t actually going to be upset about getting it. Anyway, the birthday party begins and we don’t even get the opening song, which means that the creators were seriously trying to get down to some serious business. A giant birthday cake is given to Haruka, she’s all happy and so is everyone else who she probably doesn’t even know. The whole event was kind of annoying, in the sense that it just wants to point out how Yuuto is poor while everyone is filthy rich. Finally, it’s time for Haruka to open her gifts, but there is a line up to do so and Yuuto ends up being like 536 to giver it her. Lots of rich snobs from before start insulting his present and kicking it to the floor. They really build up the suspense thinking they will break it, but they don’t even do that, instead they just shove it to the side. Though, they probably damaged the box anyway, which is still pretty mean if you were a serious collector.

As expected the old man with an annoying voice comes back rooting Yuuto on and indirectly telling him that his gift is really awesome and she’ll love it. We then get a classic flashback moment of all the time they spent together, which was pretty sweet and the music in the background was very good. Yuuto realizes that his gift actually isn’t all that bad because between him and her, anime is the one thing he knows about her that nobody else would. So he gives it to her and we get the predictable reaction from Haruka, which was sheer enjoyment. Blond hair kid continues to complain and the old man with an annoying voice reappears once again, only to confirm his identity as Haruka’s grandfather. The blond kid, who I believe was named Sutherland, was then kicked into the rest of his friends, which was what we were all waiting for. I think Shiina and him would make a good couple only because they both go after things they can’t have. Later on that night, Harka shows off her collection of anime merchandise and Yuuto once again notices the first issue of Innocent Smile and he then really recalls the moment he gave it to her. When they both realize how they knew each other form the past, we finally get the impression that we’ll get the romantic scene we’ve been waiting for!

Though, even when everything is perfectly set up for the two, it all ends up ruined when everyone falls into the room from outside the door. Naturally, they started blushing, which really just pissed me off and it was even worse that they ended this series on a joke rather than something romantic. Though, I admit that it was cute that as the two of them were running away from Haruka’s dad’s wrath they agreed that when they got out of this mess, they would go visit Akihabara once again. This episode was once again a disappointment, especially for a finale. I wanted it to be a bit more romantic and I wish we at least got our long awaited kiss! Tons of things were still unsolved, like if anyone remembers in episode 6, the one about Comiket, Nanami dressed in a costume as she gave Haruka one of the issues that were all sold out and Yuuto mentioned how that person looked familiar. That was actually never answered and that isn’t the only thing either, there is many things involving many of the characters that were still left unclear. I also thought that Yuuto should have at least taken off his glasses once in the episode, but we didn’t even get that treatment. As a positive, I really liked the music throughout the episode, there was a lot of it and for the most part it was all fantastic! In all, it was a predictable ending, there wasn’t much to it at all. All I wanted was a kiss and we didn’t even get that, at least we got some cute moments…

Final Impression

Overall, this was just an average series. At first I didn’t think the series was that bad, but after only a few episodes it continued to go down a steep hill. Many of the characters turned out to be pointless, such as Shiina who never actually played an important role at all. I presumed that she was meant to be part of the love triangle, but she just disappeared by the end entirely! I didn’t really care for Shiina anyway, but it did annoy me that her character had never really a point. They always had a few scenes with her wondering what Yuuto was doing, but that was it! She wasn’t the only pointless character because most of the others were just as pointless as well. The series was for the most part, a comedy, but I can say for sure that there wasn’t many good jokes in it. Sure, it was entertaining to see some of the anime references here and there, but it doesn’t add anything towards the series because it wasn’t something they really focused on, so it basically became a needless addition. It also had many stupid fanservice moments (not as many as Strike Witches of course), which just made the series less enjoyable once again. One major fault of the series was that it tried to be so many different genres in so little time, which is why in never accomplished at being good at whatever it really wanted to be. Though, I don’t think this is really the end of this series, I think it might actually get a second season or at least some sort of OVA. At least the series managed to somewhat entertain me while it lasted, but I wouldn’t really recommend this for anyone to watch. Also, I don’t really think it will be one of the series I remember and think back on, an average series is just an average series.