Higehiro would probably always end up like this. The show was, at the very least, aware that Yoshida couldn't actually sleep with Sayu without completely ruining his character. But what if we get a flash-forward where Sayu comes back into Yoshida's life as a completely legal 18-year-old? Well, that's fair game... right?
To the series' credit, this isn't exactly what happens in "Future", but it's mostly because the finale spends an inordinate amount of time thinking rather than dealing with the whole "future" thing! Whose title promises. The opening scene is, frankly, a little off-putting because it's essentially the emotional climax of last week's episode! Except it was weirdly sutured on the front end of this ending.
Content Index
Sayu and her mother in – Higehiro
Sayu goes to her mother after talking to Yoshida and her brother, and after delivering an apology that seems like more than a minor insult! And in her own name, she makes her mother show the least amount of maternal affection.
If idiotic attempts to resolve years of childhood trauma in the course of a single conversation aren't your bag, then don't worry! Because the show will have you covered with another 10 minutes of old-time replay. Sayu sneaks into Yoshida's bed one last time and tries to see if he will have sex with her. And it's cool because this time she's interested in it or something, and once again, Yoshida refuses and insists he doesn't see her that way.
That's a good thing, as always, but outside of the most pointless romantic tension that will never lead to anything because the show will be over in less than fifteen minutes. Where the only point of this scene is Yoshida reaffirming that he will never forget Sayu, and so on. The big blow of this exchange is when Yoshida says he will always remember Sayu. Because “A man and woman who are not family or lovers spent half a year together.
Experience between Yoshida and Sayu
It was precisely at that moment that I realized that Higehiro would never recover from the setbacks experienced in the last half of the season. For it reveals a lot about the mentality of the series. When Yoshida and Sayu turned out to be knowledgeable, interesting, and realistically written people in the first batch of Higehiro episodes, it was so refreshing! Because it felt like the series was going to put the “won't they” romance aside to focus on more pressing dramatic issues.
All these weeks later, however, and all Higehiro has done is remind us over and over again that Yoshida is an extremely nice and respectable guy! That's because he doesn't want to have sex with a teenager. He even lived with a girl for like six months, and he didn't do anything dark! It's like the series is so proud of itself for accomplishing something so basic, and I honestly have to wonder if the author of the light novels is genuinely surprised at the idea of a guy and girl living together as platonic roommates.
Especially since, you know, Sayu has never shut up about how much she wants to sleep with Yoshida, and the final long goodbye is punctuated with Sayu asking Yoshida to wait until she's an adult so she can finally "have a chance." ”. In other words, just as I feared, Higehiro chose the completely cynical path in the end.
Future?!
Of course, the ending spends all the time complaining about how he's not interested in Sayu. But it's not because the show wants to make any sort of heartfelt statement about her character, or the healing nature of his relationship with her. He just needs to make sure the wish-fulfillment harem fantasy is alive and well until the credits roll.
The only glimpse of the future we have comes during a credits montage and a post credits stinger, where the status quo is exactly as it has been for months. Yoshida is back at work, with a boss and a colleague who have expressed their love for him, though neither of them has acted after two years for some reason. Asami is even very intimate with Yoshida now, too, and she's sporting a stylish new haircut to boot.
Why is he the one who helps her fulfill her dreams as a writer now instead of Sayu? I suspect it's the same reason the show ends with Yoshida walking over a "all grown up" Sayu in the same alley where they first met, so she can ask him for a place to stay all over again. Higehiro can pat himself on the back all he wants for Yoshida's gentlemanly demeanor, but it all feels a lot less healthy when the end result is simply that Yoshida adds some new route options to his dating sim life.
Closing
The choice was to tell a full and meaningful story about real human emotions, or to make sure that every fan of the show can perpetually argue about which of the girls is Yoshida's "canon" ending. Higehiro chose the option that was easiest, safest, and most likely to generate long-term merchandise sales.
Finally, the anime brought a little-seen theme, which may please some, and not others. But that doesn't change the fact that Yoshida is an extremely nice guy, and reliable! So, in that regard, they got the character right, which ends up generating a certain comfort.
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