Just Because!’s final episode concluded the show as strongly as it could have, offering a welcome reprise of its early character acting and plenty of stunning individual scenes. The show is such a dramatically reserved production that even this climax felt like a pretty quiet affair, but it hit all the notes it needed to, even if that meant the clear best character Ena ended up getting rejected. Don’t worry Ena, being the best character in one of the year’s best shows is still pretty good.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

Ah, Eita actually didn’t pass his exam

Feeling happy for Mio but sad and embarrassed for himself. A tough moment

Mio makes her final speech as student council president

“It is our mistakes that have sustained us and brought us here.” Tying a bow on the series with her speech

This being the last episode means they can afford to make the school feel alive again. It’s so full of lively moving students

Terrific character acting as Mio steels herself

“Today’s the last day, huh?” Mio and Hazuki staring off through a window into the sunlight. That moment

Returning to the bountiful expression work and character acting is particularly great for Mio, who’s far more expressive through her face than her words

Eita calls out Ena

Hah. The picture that won the prize wasn’t actually Ena’s photo – it was someone else photographing her as she was intently photographing him. She thought she was capturing someone else’s moment, but the moment was her own

Ena gives him a custom yearbook

And Eita formally turns Ena down

Aw jeez, the scene of Ena crying is so much

Eita failed, and doesn’t know how to speak to Mio now

The story ends where it has to. Eita challenges Haruto once again

God, the atmosphere of this sequence is so good. The light rustling of the wind, the heavy dust floating in the cold, the clang of the bat

Such a transcendent moment. Great OP drop, too

So many long shots of the school and the town, embracing one of this show’s central characters for one last time

Amazon just straight-up aren’t translating the texts during this cherry blossom sequence. Wow