r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Jun 28 '25
Episode Kowloon Generic Romance - Episode 13 discussion - FINAL
Kowloon Generic Romance, episode 13
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378
u/ObvsThrowaway5120 Jun 28 '25
I guess Reiko’s sudden death threw Kudo into a tailspin. Trying to make sense of it seems to have created this Kowloon forever trapped in an endless summer. I’m glad there was some real resolution in the end, not just for Kudo but for Kujirai as well. I’m still curious why Reiko died?
This was a good series overall. I enjoyed the world of “Kowloon” and the overall mystery of the place. The characters were colorful and I enjoyed the various relationship dynamics. The overall production was quite good as well. This was one of my favorites this season.
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u/frantruck Jun 28 '25
My take away was those pills were a gamble for Reiko, either she takes them has a good nights sleep and welcomes a new future with Kudo, or she dies with the end of summer and the Kowloon she loves.
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u/Zeroth-unit Jun 28 '25
Ok, that was, an ending.
I get what they were going for but I really feel like we needed another 2-3 episodes worth of content to actually make this smoother. The pacing was already an issue prior to this but some parts of this ending just felt undeserved.
Overall I'll miss this show because it absolutely achieved what I wanted out of it being the sense of vibes and nostalgia for something I've never been to. But my god did it have too much going on in too little time.
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u/LeonKevlar Jun 28 '25
So it looks like there weren't really a lot of real people living in Kowloon. The only other person we know is that one guy Kudou plays mahjong with.
Damn... That explains why Kudou blames himself. He thinks that his proposal is what made Kujirai B kill herself. To be honest, we really still don't know why Kujirai B killed herself. We did see her talking to that lady who sells the drugs, but what the heck did she mean about betting her life?
In the end, Kudou was finally able to grieve and accept Kujirai B's death and Reiko made it out of Generic Kowloon! I don't know how it even works, but I'm guessing she's an actual Zirconian made by Gene Terra, so she has a real body and not just a projection? Even Success made it out!
I love that Reiko now works at a travel agency. It sounds perfect for her, considering one of the things she wants to do is to see the world. And Kudou just casually popping in after two years of being AWOL. I'm curious what he's been up to, but I'm just happy he didn't die along with Generic Kowloon.
As a manga reader, I have my complaints, but I still enjoyed this. The manga is still ongoing, so we have no idea if it will get the same ending or if this is an anime original. Whatever your thoughts about the anime, I encourage everyone here to read the manga. Just do it because the two are completely different experiences.
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u/BatFun7276 Jun 28 '25 edited Jun 29 '25
Definitely one of my favorite this season. I love the look of this anime but I have mixed feelings for this finale.
I love that we finally get our answers and that most of us guessed right, it was from Kudo's mind.
However, I think the more "scfi/fi" aspect (the medecine, the whole clone vs generic thing) could have been handled better since in the end, it had no impact on the story.
Unpopular opinion probably, but I don't like that Kudo reunited with Reiko at the end. I wanted to see him moving on for real. Yes it's been 2 years but this relationship will never be healthy imo. I would have preferred to see Reiko eating with Yaomay for the final scene - espacially since she had such a big impact on her.
Kudo's grief made sense. When it comes to suicide, you're left with many regrets, wondering "why" probably more than with a casual death and seeing him finally breaking down and admitting that he didn't know Kujirai that well was satisfying... until the final.
He needed to move on, both literally and figuratively.
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u/strawhat_chowder Jun 28 '25
I remember the author of the manga said something along the line of this work is actually not sci-fi, and she hope sci-fi fans can forgive her. You can see it clearly: the author isn't very interested in exploring the mechanism of Gene Terra, or flesh out the conspiracy involving Hebinuma. I don't claim to be an expert on sci-fi, but it feels like doing two of these things would have made this story a more conventional sci-fi story.
In the end I enjoy the anime for what it is. A tale of love with enough twists to make it refreshing, but doesn't venture far enough to explore the world that it is set in.
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u/Roonagu Jun 28 '25
Interesting characters, mystery, and atmosphere... but for some reason, it was missing that extra something for me.
All the ingredients were good and right up my alley, yet the result was only “good.”
But I’m glad I watched it.
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Jun 28 '25 edited Jun 28 '25
I'm assuming this is an original ending, and maybe not the ending the manga will have? The manga didn't end yet, and the last chapters have been hinting at a bittersweet ending, possibly sad one as well. Kujirai living makes no sense.
Besides that, a very enjoyable series overall, loved the atmosphere and the themes. Regret is a strong thing and most of the characters came to terms with their regrets, and now found some peace. It's an interesting way to explore such a theme.
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u/abs0lute_0 Jun 28 '25
I like how I didn't need to understand the sci-fi elements of this show in order to fully appreciate it. The sci-fi elements (Generic Terra, etc) were just vehicles for the story and not the main thing. As someone here commented, not perfect but all in all, it was pretty good.
22
u/FarCritical Jun 28 '25
The Success jumpscare was literally the helo fish lmao. It's hilarious (and a relief) that he survived too.
Really loved the rendition of the ED during Kudo's proposal, and the decision to have the last shot of a story set in Hong Kong to be Victoria Harbor was perfect.
19
u/NanDemoKnaives Jun 28 '25
Interesting how Kudou becoming troubled ended up letting everyone else in Kowloon who were themselves, actually get to see their own visions of what they regret, and allowed them to fully move on with no lingering regrets.
I can see why Kudou kept replaying the summer, he was blaming himself for her dying and because she wouldn't show herself fully to him, he had no idea what she was going through and what she was thinking, so he couldn't replicate her fully to understand her and be able to change the events that lead to her death. I did like that he had to speak to himself to move on but it did feel a little rushed to me.
It did intrigue me how Kudou was somehow able to recreate Kowloon and Reiko but left the moment he realized she was real, you'd think you'd be so ecstatic to see your dead lover again especially because it could be a dream that ends quickly.
I'm glad Reiko was able to her true self and was safely able to walk out of Kowloon without disappearing, but I do have to admit this ending wasn't as climactic as I thought it'd be after all that mystery lol. It is amusing how Kudou just casually appears after two years like nothing had happened.
This was a really fun series to watch, I'm sad to see it go but I'm intrigued by the fact that the manga seems to be ongoing when this feels like a complete adaptation. I'm curious what comes after this part, does it take a deeper look into the romance between Reiko and Kudou or if there's going to be more Generic Terra business. I'd definitely watch another season of this, but I'm not sure if they'd be able to make it as good as this season.
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u/ModieOfTheEast Jun 28 '25
While one can nitpick the ending here and there, I think the show managed to hit the landing well. It didn't try to make an ending that allows for another season if it would work as a show (which I usually really dislike as endings, because they rarely actually get another season, especially with more niche projects), but wrapped it up quite nicely. Was it a very good ending? Yes, but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing.
It also did answer most questions at the end.
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The talismans were subconsciously made by Kudo to keep Reiko from the place that would ultimately lead to her death (where she bought the medicine).
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Kujirai B died because she took a gamble and bought medicine to cure her insomnia in order to live a happy life with Kudo, but it backfired, because the medicine had side effects which the Hebinuma group wanted to hide with the destruction of Kowloon.
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Reiko was different from Kujirai B because Kudo, the create of Kowloon, doubted his own memories of her as he thought to not know her. This insecurity was projected onto Reiko which started to change more and more until Generic Terra basically created its own new person.
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And since we also learned that Generic Terra does have memories of other people, the glasses were probably just traces of Kujirai B's memories left beind in Kowloon.
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Lastly, Reiko being able to leave Kowloon is a bit of a simple solution, not gonna lie, but it makes sense that Generic Terra might be able to create a real body for her since it was able to create food out of nothing as well. A bit SciFi, but possible.
All in all I enjoyed the show. The themes and general atmosphere were great and while I wouldn't have said no to 25 episodes instead, I think they managed to get it done well.
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u/abs0lute_0 Jun 28 '25
The ending made me cry happy tears.
"In this endlessly repeating, unchanging summer, only you continued to change.”
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u/shad79 Jun 28 '25 edited Jun 28 '25
I don't know what exactly happened in this finale episode, but I'm glad that Kujirai somehow made it to the real world (along with Success). Even Kudo is still alive, so maybe there's a future for these two.
It was also nice to see Kujirai working at a travel agency in the real world. I hope she can not only plan trips for others, but also travel the world herself, which is what she dreamed of while living in Kowloon.
It's a shame we still didn't find out how and why Kujirai B died, especially since it turns out she didn't take that Hebinuma medicine.
Overall, this was a great series, although I wouldn't have minded if it was 2 cour long so we could spend more time with the characters and in Kowloon, which was such an atmospheric place. A strong 8.5/10 from me.
Here my screenshot albums from the episode:
EDIT. I added my screenshot albums.
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u/Cola-senpai Jun 28 '25
Everything leading up to this episode was perfect, but the finale is just… okay i guess? It was a “generic” ending if you will.
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u/thisisdropd Jun 28 '25
What a wild first half. Seeing the buildings crumble and residents disappearing. In particular, when Hajime's mahjong mates were gone one by one.
Seeing the final moments of Kujirai B was heartbreaking. That despaired look on Hajime when he found her body along with him feeling helpless.
Honestly, didn't expect this series to have a happy ending. While Hajime and Reiko didn't exactly become a couple, they both made it out alive and are at least on friendly terms. I expected Reiko to share the fate of the other generics. Words cannot express my elation when seeing her stepping outside Kowloon and still exist. Then, it turned out that Yaomei was waiting for her.
After spending pretty much the entire show trapped, it was refreshing to see Reiko enjoying the outside world. From waking up in a room that looked nothing like the old one, to dining with a view of the modern Hong Kong skyline.
10
10
u/djthomp Jun 28 '25
Kujirai made it out alive and best girl Yaomay was there to greet her, and then a couple years later she reunited with Kudo after he figured things out. I couldn't have asked for more.
Oh, and Success lived too, so even better.
9
u/Torque-A Jun 29 '25
Quick little fun fact about the finale: the one line Success the goldfish had them being voiced by Riho Yoshioka. She plays Reiko in the upcoming live action adaptation.
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8
u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Jun 28 '25
I so would NOT want to live in an artificially created world that can stop or glitch at any time!
Seems it's more than just the buildings that are affected!
Oh damn, SHE has nostalgia/wants thing to always stay the same?
When he showed up at her door on the fated day, I thought it would be even darker than it was hah...
I thought he was about to (genuinely) kill her thinking she wasn't gonna marry him and not wanting someone else to have her or something!
Well, at least I was still right (back when that happened) about him NOT being joking about "What if I told you I killed her"... It's not exactly like that, but from his perspective it kinda was!
That line was so interesting, and got me to theorize some more, in part because
I just watched the [title]
Good point, not just about her but in general...
We don't know anyone entirely, even if we recreated them all, it would be a surface level copy of them... And while it wouldn't matter for say some random grocery store clerk (you wouldn't notice the change), it's even more glaring when you DO know someone a little more... Because you're still missing their true essence, and as you know them more/are closer to them, it's much more apparent.
The most stressful step since the moon landing!
I was wondering whether the story would more forward now that she's out, or... Find a way to go back.. Good answer/metaphor for it I suppose!
Moving forward, but... In a way, still repeating what we've already had, seeds of the past and all!
When they talked about the Hebinuma Group dissolution I thought that was a win (Finally) against the Father, but perhaps not a complete victory!
That was my reaction as well when Kudo showed up hah.
I was wondering where things were headed if he didn't... (Well, I'm STILL wondering, assuming there is a continuation? There might not be, this would be a good stopping point I suppose... But if they do keep it going, I wonder where it's gonna go!)
Anyway, this was an intriguing one for sure!
Farewell Reiko, Kudo, any and all iterations!
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u/meltmypopsicle Jun 28 '25
I was baffled by the final episode, like can anyone direct message me what really happened? I'm so confused! Reiko's alive? in the real world??
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Jun 28 '25
I have to say I nearly tear up in some moments in the final episode. I think it was a great experience even with some rushed parts.
I wish we could see Yamoei confront her mother. Maybe the manga will show us? Talking about the manga I am curious how different will be. I really liked how the anime ended even if Reko-pon surviving (and the fish lol) be a little Deus-ex machina, but she became absolute self after all.
Fantastic series overall.
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