Episode 10 of Mystery to Ienakare felt like a perfect last episode, and in fact, was labeled AS the Final Episode, as evidenced by the title card at the beginning of the episode: And AS the Last Episode, it it was an AMAZING wrap-up- in fact, one of the BEST "Final Episodes" I’d ever SEEN! True, there were still a few unanswered questions about Totono and his crossings with the genius fugitive Garo, storylines that were hinted at throughout the show but never resolved, but to me it almost seemed like episodes 4-10 were one continuous story involving child abuse, arson and murder, all linked together by the alluring and mysterious Raika, the ethereal young woman who enters Totonou's life and enchants him with her similar intellect and eye for observation, and it's THIS incredible arc that gets resolved the last episode!
Totonou (Masaki Suda) and his very first friend Raika. (Mugi Kadowaki, in one of her greatest roles yet!)
In it, we get all the answers to the questions about the elusive Raika (including the fact that I believe her name actually should have been spelled Leica, not "Raika"? But I digress...) and furthermore, see through her the growth and maturity of Totonou himself, for the first time coming out of his shell completely and experiencing true friendship for the first time in his life.
By the time the show reaches its final scene, we see a new, introspective Totonou, one who, through his time with Raika, is ready to open his heart to friends and friendship out in the "real" world. And when Furomitsu (Sairi Ito) steps up alongside him to be his friend and watch the cherry blossoms, I remember thinking, "This ending is...AMAZING!" And when the screen started fading to black, I thought to myself, "OMG, This drama is PERFECT!"
BUT, it DIDN'T end there. INSTEAD, we got a loud preview announcing TWO MORE EPISODES!!! WHAAT! B-But, I thought episode 10 was the last??? What was going ON???The two episodes, it seemed, continued the aforementioned unfinished GARO storyline, and though they listed these chapters 11 and 12 watching it, these two episodes seemed more like a cinematic MOVIE, with a complete overhaul of style and director and a whole new cast of detectives...
Part of me is wondering if this was in fact supposed to be a theatrically released movie sequel that ended up being split into two regular TV episodes ‘cause it seems so much more PRODUCED that the rest of the series.
Usually I hate when dramas make the last episode of a drama into a movie or SP because it's sometime hard to get ahold of those- (I can’t count how many dramas I’ve seen only to get the rug pulled out from under me when I find the conclusion to the series is a movie-only release- not only does it come out a lot later than the tv show, it frequently isn’t picked up by subbers, leaving me with no IDEA how the show I watched ended!), but this is one time I really wished they kept things seperate. Not only did they take the glow off the Raika Conclusion with this addition, they didn't even really conclude the GARO storyline either!
I've mentioned to friends many times that it Mystery to Ienakare truly ended on Ep.10, it would be one of my ALL-TIME favorite dramas. But with that added two eps, I gotta admit the lustre really fades. True, people have said, "Just don't watch ep 11 and 12 and only count 1 thru 10!" but my counter to that is that is like saying if you don't like how a book ends, stop reading before the last chapter!
