Celestial Method

Episode 11

Eventually everything has to change, be it little by little or all at once. In Celestial Method, they take the latter route, using this eleventh episode to finally get everyone to face forward. In one sense, it is a huge relief to see Shione, Yuzuki, and Souta really face what has been bothering them for at least the past ten episodes, if not the last seven years, and Koharu once again proves herself to be the emotionally strongest of the group, breaking away from their immature handling of the situation before Souta confronts his sister about their joint behavior. I do have to wonder if without Koharu's quiet support Nonoka would have been able to go ahead with her plans – running on blind faith can only take you so far, after all. Regardless of whether she needed the confidence boost or not, Nonoka at long last truly confronting Shione about her actions is a satisfying moment. Seeing Souta barge into Yuzuki's room and have it out with her is even more so, because while Shione has been unrealistic, some of Yuzuki's behavior has been downright insane. Souta has the brains to realize what neither Shione nor Yuzuki wants to see – that their actions are really doing no one any good and are most like making them all pretty miserable. Koharu and Noel seem to have known this from the start, but now with Koharu actively backing Nonoka, Souta's realization can really do some good.

The unfortunate part about all of this is that it feels fairly rushed. We've had ten episodes of frustrating behavior on the part of pretty much everyone and it takes about a quarter of the eleventh episode to resolve it. Yes, it is heartwarming to see them all finally coming together as they vowed they always would. Essentially it's what we've been waiting for this whole time. But having it happen so quickly is too little payoff for what's come before; even with the school festival bringing most of them together, the conflict/resolution balance feels off. That the show then shoehorns in Noel's big moment in the last few minutes also takes away from the poignancy of both the friends' reunion and the saucer's wish-granting. Surely this merited more than just a coda to an episode about something else – Noel has been the draw for a decent amount of viewers and certainly the heart of most of the show's action. She deserves more than she gets here.

It is entirely possible that the next episode will have everyone thinking back on their time with Noel and that it will fill the gaps left by this one. It could also veer deep into melodrama territory, which I sincerely hope it does not, or simply show everyone moving on, which could be interesting. The fact remains, however, that this episode didn't quite do the series' penultimate moments justice, so the next one has a lot of responsibility to its viewers to try and set things right.

On the plus side, there are some beautiful moments in both art and animation here. Noel using a leaf as an umbrella (as she has done before) reinforces the koropokkur imagery that has been used with her to great effect, reminding us that she is not of this world and subject to her own set of rules. A scene of Souta plopping down in a chair is very well animated, capturing his mood and attitude in the way he sits and his posture afterwards. This helps to make up for some of the other issues, although it clearly isn't enough to make the episode all it could have been. After all of the painfully poor behavior and decisions made by the characters, I want a satisfying resolution and conclusion. It doesn't have to be a happy one – but it does need to do better than this rushed effort to wrap the story up.

Rating: B

Celestial Method is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.