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An amazing ending to an amazing anime. Lots of tears in this episode but that is to be expected. I was surprised that a dramatic story like this could be told brilliantly in only 11 episodes. Definitely one of the best shows of Spring 2011. I don't want to leave any spoilers in this short paragraph so all I can say is: prepare yourself a box of tissues if you are the emotional type because this episode will get to you very quickly. Hope you enjoy this finale as much as I did.
A summary doesn't do justice to this amazing episode so I really recommend you watch it.
With the group now realizing that the fireworks were not part of Menma's wish, they each head home separately, most likely wondering what Menma's wish really is. After taking a quick shower at home, Jinta gets a sudden phone call from Yukiatsu who tells him to make his way to the shrine without Menma noticing. Once he gets there, he is surprised to see everyone else gathered there too. One by one, they start admitting that they only wanted to grant Menma's wish because of their own selfish desires. As tempers flare, Anaru and Tsuruko start arguing, with the missing pieces of the past slowly being put together, creating the bigger picture. It's quite a lot to explain it all so I recommend you watch it instead. After seeing all of them crying their hearts out and admitting their selfishness, Jinta realizes that it isn't just only him who was selfish and that they all had their reasons for granting Menma's wish. The tension in the air is soon eliminated as Jinta points out that Anaru looks like she has two sets of eyelashes when it is just her extensions that were coming off. This caused the others to laugh at the extremely embarrassed Anaru who later notices that they are all calling each other by their nicknames again, evoking another chorus of laughter from the group. With the atmosphere now less tense, Jinta decides to reveal that he, too, was selfish when he didn't want Menma to go to heaven and that he is happy that he is the only one that can see Menma. However, he tells the others that Menma isn't like that; she wants to talk to everyone and not just him so that is why she is deciding to go to heaven so she can be reborn. With that, the others agree that they should have a serious talk with Menma about this situation. As he is the only one that can communicate with Menma verbally, Jinta is left with the task of bringing Menma to the secret base. So now he rushes home, with a sense of joy as he feels like the group is able to finally start moving again.
However, when Jinta gets home, he sees Menma lying on the floor, looking dead. When he rushes over to see what was wrong, Menma reveals that her wish may have already been granted. To the best of my understanding, I think that Menma's wish was to make Jinta cry because she had promised Jinta's mom that she would do that due to the fact that Jinta started to act tough by keeping all his tears inside him when his mom was in the hospital. Although Menma accepted this as the end, Jinta would not, telling her that everyone waiting for them at the secret base. While carrying her almost lifeless body, Jinta runs barefoot towards the secret base, wanting to make it there before Menma's time runs out. However, right when he reaches the secret base, Menma seems to have disappeared from his sight, with her voice only audible to him. As he frantically screams for her to come back, Menma, who was obviously saddened by this development, uses the excuse of hide-and-seek in order to prevent Jinta from knowing that her time is almost up. After Jinta and the others run outside in attempt to find her, Menma starts writing messages on the pages of her diary, using every last bit of energy that she can gather.
When morning finally comes, the group is still unable to find Menma even after a whole night of searching. Just when they thought all hope is lost, Anaru spots a few pieces of paper (from Menma's diary) lying at the foot of a nearby tree. As they unfold the papers addressed to each one of them, the tears start flowing once again. After seeing everyone read their letters, Menma is relieved as she is finally able to say good-bye to her friends. However, Jinta isn't satisfied with this and, thinking that she is still playing hide-and-seek, reminds her that the game will be unable to end if he can't find her. After he and the others repeatedly scream "mou ii kai?", Menma finally responds with a "mou ii yo!" which everyone surprisingly heard. However, the shock of actually hearing Menma's voice turns to joy when Anaru spots Menma sitting beside the tree where they got the letters earlier. After everyone else expresses their love for Menma, Jinta thanks Menma for granting his mother's wish before expressing his love too. With that, Menma starts crying, telling everyone that she will be reborn so she can be together with them once again. To end off this emotional hide-and-seek game, the group shouts "Menma! Mii tsuketa!" before she fades away with a smile on her face. The short epilogue following the ending, shows implies a Jinta x Anaru relationship along with a possible Yukiatsu x Tsuruko relationship. Poppo also resumes his studies and all is well with the Super Peace Busters. The anime ends with a scene showing that Menma had added a "are friend forever!" after the engraved "Super Peace Busters" inside the secret base before she disappeared. An excellent experience overall!
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