"The path of the hermit... is one of salvation."
As a story about a friendship, it would be expected that there would be moments that make us go "Aw!".
Unmarked spoilers below.
- For the flashback of episode one, after witnessing Kasen making mud dumplings and claiming that her mother said they were tasty, Suika tries one and, predictably, finds it gross. She then admits that if her mother was willing to tell her that such a disgusting thing she made tasted good, she must have really loved her.
- The Good-Times Montage from episode two has us witness as Kasen slowly opens up and bonds with Yoshika.
- After Kasen's Heel Realization, she tells Yoshika the truth about who she really is and that she used her. Instead of rejecting her, Yoshika admits that she is glad to have met Kasen, and that she wants to live together with her as a hermit.
- Episode three has Yoshika tell Seiga about her Mortality Phobia caused by her Soap Opera Disease and how meeting Kasen is what gave her hope, and that she wants to become a hermit because she wants to be the one to help her next time they meet.
- Seiga's Even Evil Has Loved Ones. A man named Kan Kaku had fallen in love with her on first sight and she was initially reluctant, but they eventually got married. After her Faking the Dead failed and he found out, he became a hermit so that they could continue living together.
- Kasen's "No More Holding Back" Speech has her tell Suika all about how Yoshika helped her to get over her despair, and that she refuses to break her promise and will not betray her.
- There will be a mix of heartwarming and Tear Jerker for the Big Damn Reunion. Kasen finally gets to see Yoshika again and cries and she hugs her friend. Yoshika does not remember her anymore, but soon has her memory restored. It's saying something that Seiga of all people is touched by their reunion, and decides to let Yoshika spend her remaining time with Kasen. In Yoshika's final moments, both her and Kasen sing the poem from when they first met and Yoshika realizes that she was really looking for time to spend with someone rather than immortality for immortality's sake. After crying, Kasen wishes her friend goodbye one last time...
- ...Or so it seems, as to add some light to the Bittersweet Ending, the Distant Finale has Kasen reunite with Yoshika's ghost at the Sanzu River, meaning that they are not permanently separated after all.
