The final volume of Saishu Heiki Kanojo wraps up the story nicely, taking a more light-hearted approach than volume 4 did. This change was helpful to the story, because its emphasis all along was on life and love more than death and sadness. In retrospect, Takahashi's romance saga is sure to turn some heads, favorably and not.

The characters had to deal with a good amount of sadness in episodes 9 and 10, almost to the point where it feels removed from conceivable reality. Thankfully, the mood lightens up a bit in Episode 11, Futari Dake no Toki (A Time for Us), when Chise and Shuji high-tail it out of their town to find a place where they can just be together without interruption. Of course, problems have a way of catching up to us, no matter how far we may run. Episode 12, Love Song is where Shuji finally decides to be a man. The change is long overdue and thus welcome. It's almost liberating, for those who could watch the show through all the misfortunes surrounding the characters. The final episode, Soshite, Oretachi wa Koishite Iku (And Now, We Will Love), is a grass-roots look at what was important in the story. It literally cuts out everything else, and finishes with a few simple words.

Chise sets a new record for clumsiness.	...our voices, and the World's, raised in its final ...love song.

The vibe that this final volume gives off is unmistakably happy and carefree, in sharp contrast to the feel of the previous volume. The two lovebirds make a decision to cast aside suffering and live their lives to the fullest, however short a time they have. It's romantic in a way, but very realistic in another. Faced with such chaos, it left them little choice but to pursue the most simple of desires. Also realistic is the fact that such happiness is short-lived. In the final movement of this well-crafted symphony, Shuji and Chise finally discover what it means to be in love, and their hearts sing the encore of the story. I can't stress enough how uplifting the ending is, despite all of the horrible things that happened during the series.

Volume 5 serves as a large improvement over the previous two volumes in the presentation department, with fantastic artwork on both the cover and the insert. The cover shows Chise and Shuji lying together, barely clothed, and the insert shows Shuji and Chise holding each other in their special meeting place, as a tidal wave approaches in the background. Volume 5 also included a nifty extra: five postcards, each having the cover art for one of the 5 volumes of the show. The nice presentation added considerably to what was already a stellar release.

Saikano was a difficult series to get a real grasp on, and this will most likely turn off some. By contrast, others may find that its subtlety strikes their fancy. I am caught in the middle between the two, in that at times I was unable to relate to what the characters were going through, but on other occasions it hit me like a ton of bricks. I believe this to be a love-or-hate series, depending heavily on the personal experience of the viewer. Despite the heavy material, the story is a romance at the core. It made an attempt to be an epic tale of the world's last romance, but a lack of consistency forced it to fall short in some areas. Regardless, it is enjoyable as an anime series, and might actually teach us something about our own needs.

Video Quality: A
Audio Quality: A
Presentation: A+
Content: A
Overall: A