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My thoughts on the ending of volumes 10 and 10.5
#1
mitchjay
Jan 23, 2015, 11:11 AM
I see a fair bit of hate for how light novel volume 10 ended (although people seem pleased with 10.5, same as I am), but I think it fit in with the theme of the show and just wanted to give my thoughts on it. Of course, spoilers are ahead.
I like how the light novel ended. They broke up because neither could concentrate on their own goals, but they still loved each other and it seems that they spent the four years bettering themselves for each other with the intention to always give it another go.
Sorata mentions he was too busy to have a girlfriend and that he still loved Mashiro, and it's said that Mashiro was always busy with her manga as it became a hit, and that their friends would still update each other on the others lives. Considering how both the characters were portrayed and how they felt about each other, neither of them would've wanted to date anybody else - it's clear Mashiro was happy that Sorata still loved her when he said he always did, as she obviously loved him all those years too.
It states that she was surprised when he told her he always loved her, and this would be as she always loved him and was waiting despite the fact that he might've moved on - this was probably why she was nervous to meet with him again too because if he did move on, she'd not want to face that. Luckily, they both waited. Towards the end it's revealed that the Sakurasou lot had set it up to make them meet again, so it's implied that the main two spoke about one another or just never seemed that happy, prompted the group to give them another chance to work things out so they could finally be happy again.
Four years isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, and definitely not long enough to get over someone when you broke up like they had done, as they never wanted to be apart in the first place. I've seen people worry that what if one had seen someone else in those four years, and whilst I'm not the author, all signs point to that neither of them would've seen someone else and it doesn't seem like they even made other friends in their time apart as their current friends and work were keeping them both satisfied and busy. Their friends aren't stupid, so they would've been rooting for both of them all the way and kept them both in check. If anything genuinely important had happened that could have a great affect on them, I'm sure it would've been mentioned or at least hinted at in volume 10 or 10.5, but the way it was written and the characters were portrayed already shows that they just spent the four years working and had little time - both Sorata and Rita had stated how neither he nor Mashiro had free time to the point that even their friends sometimes struggled to see them.
It's more or less stated that in the four years all they really did was focus on themselves and their work, then it later mentions about how Mashiro smiled like she hadn't done since she lost Sorata once they meet again. It was clear that they both wanted to be together and weren't working on moving on from each other, just they wanted to be able to be proud of themselves as they'd only be letting each other down if they weren't. With the way the characters were written, working towards their dreams was hugely important to them, and so it's obvious that work ate most of their free time and the free time they did have was probably spent with the Sakurasou lot.
Sakurasou was always about how difficult life can be, that no matter how much you try you might never succeed, and this was true in both love and work. All Sorata and Mashiro wanted was to be able to make their dreams come true in manga and games, and to be able to make one another happy. I'm glad they both eventually succeeded in their roles through determination and hard work, but they knew they couldn't whilst they had someone else to worry about. They worked, they waited, they succeeded and ended up together again in a truly happy ending that they struggled and worked towards.
It was sweet, and I'm glad that they got back together whilst being more comfortable in their own skin. To me, the light novel made it clear that they were always in love with each other, but they both had things to work out for themselves before they could make each other happy. In those four years, they managed to both become successful in their chosen lines of work, could rely on themselves and grew up a little, so they were both ready to pick up from where they left off like they both always wanted. In 10.5, it's shown that they're still together two years later and ready to meet each others parents, ready to take the next step forward together and that they've managed to find a way to balance love and work. It's a fitting ending to the show about working hard and love.
You can't love someone else until you love yourself and all that!