I can’t help but think of how this episode would have been better if paced out to an entire series. It was very dense with good scenes that would have been better if they could have been expanded on.
The first few episodes could have expanded on Yuu tearing apart that first syndicate, gaining the power to find other power users, and could have dealt with just how monumental the task was. Because Yuu just kept getting more and more powerful, the initial country would have been the hardest, and you could have devoted quite a few episodes to that. Really, this is the section that you could stretch out as long as you want, developing the characters in the region, the plot of the area and everything else. Unlike later arcs, Yuu doesn’t yet have they power to blaze through this country, so he actually has to deal with the region’s risks (2-6 episodes)
Getting the ability to find carriers and incubate them was also pretty monumental, because it allowed him to deal with the future as well. You could have easily devoted an episode to that scene. (1 episode)
The healing ability definitely left Yuu with two big moral quandaries. Perhaps he could see the girl healing the villagers, and maybe she would have some injury to herself that she didn’t heal, leading Yuu to believe that it couldn’t apply to yourself. He could fight with the morality of stealing the ability from her, and eventually decide that he had to. After that, he could realize that she just chose not to use the ability on herself (that would be a cool revelation) and then he suddenly has to deal with the possibility of healing his eye. (1 episode)
The buildup of voices in his head is something that could be foreshadowed for a while, and those scenes with collapse and him losing control in his sleep could really push the show in a new direction for the second half. By this point, he’d already be so powerful that the task would seem doable, but now the psychological aspect is catching up to him. That arc could develop towards the Arizona scene, where Yuu still can’t remember himself fully, but still finds resolve because of those memories buried deep within. (3 episodes)
Here we would see Yuu at the height of his power and resolve. He has all of these abilities, and can only remember his mission, not even himself. We could have that same short montage of Yuu teleporting around, saving the ability users from the scientists, etc. This is where we throw in the last wrench of his plans: his abilities are starting to go away. Now he’s been on the journey for over a year, and his powers are fading. Moreover, his plunder ability is showing a weakness, the more powers he takes the shorter he keeps them. Now he’s rapidly powering down, and his mission is not yet complete. Soon he reaches the last country, and fights against time to incubate the remaining carriers. With those taken care of, we see him lose the powers he gained at the beginning of the journey. He has to track down the last handful without the aid of his map, and we see him relying on the abilities of the student council to get the job done. We end with that scene of the random guy; Yuu still has one more power user to find, only plunder left to use, and his end is at hand. The girl comes to save Yuu, and he completes his mission. He’s completely lost recognition of the world and considers his journey to be at an end. But as he gets shot by the assassin, he faintly remembers a promise he made, a promise to come back home…Cue epilogue.(2 episodes)
That would have been a pretty intense and full series, but instead we got it all in 24 minutes. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I do feel like it’s a bit of a missed opportunity. The ending we got was satisfying, but I can’t help wondering at what might have been. It would have been a lot like (REWRITE SPOILER)the Terra arc in rewrite. A long solitary journey.
