Warning: For those who haven’t read one of these in the past, the ‘Additional Thoughts’ column is entirely dedicated to discussing the ending to a particular series. As such, there are major and minor spoilers throughout the article which will not be clearly marked.

I can admit that, for the most part, I haven’t had the greatest track record with yuri series. I’ve enjoyed a few over the years but it’s still not really a genre that I seek out. I mention this because when I got to the end of Blue Drop, there were a lot of feelings of resentment that stuck with me. At first I thought I was being overly harsh so I stepped back and thought about it for awhile and realized something: the last episodes of Blue Drop are really freakin irritating.

Throughout the series, one of the biggest struggles that the series had was with its inability to juggle two genres at once. In every episode, the staff works really hard at blending the line between school romance and Sci-fi action but ends up never being able to do either. In the final episodes of Blue Drop, this problem is amplified to its peak with the action packed climax that is happening at the same time as the somber dramatic climax. To be honest, credit is due to attempting something like this. To mix two climatic moments that are completely different tones is not something many would think to do… and perhaps this is why.

In the final episodes, a series that really didn’t play up the action all that much in the build up becomes all about the action; war ships are flying in from every angle, Ship 5 is damaged but the loyal Tsubael is fighting back with everything she has and an incredibly dangerous weapon is about to be used. Meanwhile, every few seconds the action will completely stop and the series will go dead quiet as the play written by Michi is performed at the school. Both of these moments could have been powerful moments for the series instead of jarring and uneven.

In all honesty though, I’d have forgiven that if it weren’t for the large pile of half finishes and loose threads that audiences are forced to look at after it’s all over. This is particularly true with the roles that characters play in the series and they are everywhere! The homeroom teacher/secret agent, Yuko, finds out about the invasion too late (mind you this after she already blew her cover to Mari) but is unable to do anything, was her role really to be the most incapable special agent ever assigned to the field? Akane is accosted by thugs who say they have a beef with her and yet disappear after Mari is rescued, anyone want to fill us in on them? Azanael spends eight episodes as a fierce, tough soldier who just missed her one true love. In the end she is cornered, scared witless, shot in the back and eventually left defenseless in the sky… so we spent all that time just because the staff needed a character to beat up and show that the invading aliens were really tough?

Thinking back, I am hard pressed to think of another series that treats its characters as poorly as this one does and these were just the little examples. In reality, if anyone in this series represents the tragic figure it would have to be the meganekko in the background, Michi.

In the beginning, Michi’s really only purpose was to act as Mari’s buffer. When Mari needed someone to listen as she said bitchy things about someone, you could always count on good old Michi. Later in the series though, Michi starts to play a much more important role; the playwright for a performance to be held at the culture festival. Alright, first of all I need to divert here to say that as I writer I was absolutely pissed with how Michi was forced into this. She says that she likes to write stories to entertain herself and so that means she’s qualified to write a full play and direct it? What the hell kind of logic are they teaching these kids?

But I got over that. It’s how it is; if Michi is going to play a more important role she’s gonna have to earn it. So she does and for the next half dozen episodes, the series shows Michi working harder and getting praised for doing it. Truly she is headed for a happy ending. Finally the big day comes and her play is shown to the audience… that is until the bombers come and everyone has to evacuate the building.

Now, from the view of the storyteller, I can see this as a chance to create an amazing catharsis or memorable moment. The audience has just watched this character push herself to her very limits to create something wonderful only to see her moment of triumph crushed. So, what does Blue Drop do to capitalize on this amazing moment of drama? Make her last scene in the series standing in an empty building crying at her dream being crushed. In the end, Michi’s entire role in the series was to be someone you could watch being built up only to have it all taken away from her in the end. You know what’s even worse? The audience doesn’t even get to spend that long feeling bad for her as it’s real purpose is to make sure the audience is already in a depressed mood when they see Hagino die moments later.

The ending wasn’t the only place Blue Drop was running into problems with unevenness though. The second biggest issue that made the first half such a trial to get through were the relationship issues that constantly surfaced between Mari and Senkoji. I’m not referring to the antagonistic relationship between the two characters but more the levels that it played at through the episodes.

Early in the series, Senkoji and Mari are already off to a rocky start. That’s perfectly fine for the first couple of episodes but from there it became a guessing game on where the feud stood from one episode to the next. Early on, audiences are safe: if the two heroines are together you can figure that Mari is going to be saying something bitchy. Later on though, the two finally share some secrets and there is a new warmth to the relationship which even turns into playful teasing. Then Mari is pissed again and before long I found myself left not really caring about how either of them felt about anyone anymore.

So when Senkoji decides to sacrifice herself in the end, even after the girls have manged to share their true feelings for each other, it was hard to feel particularly upset. To be honest, I was still a little busy being bummed about Michi to be that sad about Hagino. She was a decent character to watch but eh, it happens.

While researching the manga series, I finally understood the true origin story purpose to the series. In the manga, the setting takes place years after the aliens have invaded and taken over the Japanese government. If you look at it this way, you could understand why these loose ends were left over… but then you realize that the manga series takes place far into the future that it’s not as though any of these characters are ever going to find their real moments or even conclusions.

As a concept, Blue Drop had a lot of potential to start with. After thirteen episodes though, I’m ready to put this one off to the side and forget that I ever watched it. Maybe I’m not the right guy to review yuri series but I know that the genre has produced better stories than this!