Can Someone explain me the ending ? (2024)

ReaperCZ

Hoshimiya1 said:
I watched the movie in english and English is not my mother language so I might be VERY wrong on what I understand, but If I understand this correctly, Shouko managed to change her past, Her future self never met sakuta and Mai made a film about a girl needs a donor Which ended up saving shoko in the future right ? But How Shouko managed to save herself ? How Her future self not meeting with sakuta changed something ? Did she involved in making of the movie Mai will play or something ? and If Sakuta never met with Shouko Why He chose his current high school ? If I understand it right He saw dreams about the previous timeline Where He met with Shouko was that the reason ? I just don t understand How Shouko changed the future and Why Her future self never meeting with Sakuta was necessary If a movie mai will play is enough to save her in the first place, Please explain the ending to me as detailed and clear as possible

ReaperCZ

Digitizer

Hoshimiya1 said:
I watched the movie in english and English is not my mother language so I might be VERY wrong on what I understand, but If I understand this correctly, Shouko managed to change her past, Her future self never met sakuta and Mai made a film about a girl needs a donor Which ended up saving shoko in the future right ? But How Shouko managed to save herself ? How Her future self not meeting with sakuta changed something ? Did she involved in making of the movie Mai will play or something ? and If Sakuta never met with Shouko Why He chose his current high school ? If I understand it right He saw dreams about the previous timeline Where He met with Shouko was that the reason ? I just don t understand How Shouko changed the future and Why Her future self never meeting with Sakuta was necessary If a movie mai will play is enough to save her in the first place, Please explain the ending to me as detailed and clear as possible

:thinking: ok, i'll try my best to explain *WHAT I UNDERSTOOD* about the ending...

So... Sakuta managed to change the "past" because he saved himself with the Bunnysuit on but then in turn, Shouko died , so Sakuta then goes back to past the past because he wasn't happy of the outcome, in this "new" past Shouko's mother calls Sakuta to "see Shouko one more time" and after Sakuta and Mai sees Shouko's unfinished homework he then added the big flower to finish it up, and this saved Shouko because her Puberty Syndrome is not finishing this homework and not imagining a future for herself.

At the end of the Movie we see Sakuta get a flashback of the past happenings and it stops on when he first saw Mai in a Bunnysuit, this hints that way before the anime's timeline Sakuta died and Mai is the one who went back to the past to meet Sakuta.
Also at the end Shouko survived because she said in one scene "Trust modern medicine", this made Shouko surviving more realistic not just her surviving just because she finished the homework.

I think thats all...

(English is not my first language so forgive my bad English.)

"As someone who deranked from Legendary Eagle to Gold Nova, i can really say that war is hell."

Ne_fi

-How Shouko managed to save herself?

She developed the syndrome that day when doing her homework. Then, the events of the movie happen. But she never wanted to accept her fate (her future possibly dying waiting a heart transplant and her future where he lives with Sakuta's heart). At the end when Sakuta visits her, she finally accepts her fate and decides to change her homework so she never develops the syndrome, she never meets Sakuta and Sakuta doesn't die.
Lucky for her, the story of a girl waiting for a transplant resonates in Mai (as it's explained in the movie) she makes the movie, it's a success, now everyone wants to be a donor, Shouko gets a heart, she is saved.

-If Sakuta never met with Shouko Why He chose his current high school?

I guess he went to the same high school because he unconsciously remember having good memories in that place (from the other timeline).

Nigerianotaku40

1.Shoko could not complete her homework in fourth grade because she was worried her heart disease would 'stop her from acheiving her dreams'

2.She starts transiting between times, probably to see how her 'future would look like'..and in the process gets linked to our MC and Mai.

3.Due to the link up, her future looks like...she survives only if Mai or MC dies...either way, people get sad.

4.The ending works like this..1) she accepts her fate 2) sends back enough information so that she never ever meets Mai or the MC...which 3) resets the timeline...4) leading to Mai taking on a role as an actress in a movie about organ donation in the new timeline..and 5) in accepting her fate, she orchestrates the events where neither Mai or MC don't die.

(Thanks to Kenpls here for this idea).

5.As a result, Shouko creates a new timeline where she survives...via a third option.

6.Which begs the question...someone else died in the new timeline so that Shouko got a new heart...

7.IMO...the film is about accepting the inevitable. Shouko could not accept the fact that a) someone had to die in order for her to live b) probably felt that she was a burden on everyone else. c) probably wished to die....

However the third option (ie..she creates a future where Mai and Sakuta don't die...and where in finishing her homework...then...creates a series of events that lead to her getting a new heart thanks to a film being created possibly inspired by the homework...which Mai stars in...and which leads to more organ donor awareness...which leads to Shoko getting a new heart...).

That's my silly theory about this whole film.

Marcus5768

"When There Is Evil In This World That Justice Cannot Defeat, Would You Taint Your Hands With Evil To Defeat Evil? Or Would You Remain Steadfast And Righteous Even If It Means Surrendering To Evil?"

CaioOlive

Are you sure? Isn't that because, you know, it's where the story starts? I really think it has nothing to do, really. Mai was an instrumental part of changing the present, because Shouko only changed the present because of the thought she would be bothering both Mai and Sakuta's lives. And as I said before, Sakuta would believe in Puberty Syndrome anyways (and he didn't have puberty syndrome itself, it was a side effect of Shouko's in reality) because of Kaede.
But if you can explain more this suppose hint, I'd be glad to hear.

MonsieurPapillon

Actually, if you closely analyse this scene, you see that everything is turning to white while Sakuta falls asleep, everything disappear bit by bit, lines and contrasts are blurred, etc. The big flashback is probably there to suggest that everything will "revert back" and a plausible way for Sakuta's memories to resonate with him while timeline is changing (you know, Nodoka, Koga, Mai, all having dreams of alternate timelines), so CaioOlive's explanation seems correct.

It's either the "self" of the falling asleep Sakuta or the "self" of the dying Shouko that "maintain" the current timeline "as the present" (as Shouko explains to Sakuta when he goes back to the past the first time ; his self sense need to be stopped so that the timeline can go back).

I still can't figure out if it's Sakuta or Shouko that is causing this timeline shift => It goes directly to Shouko finishing her homework, so my first guess is that it was Shouko that moved the timeline. But we are strongly led to believe that Sakuta falling asleep is the one that is doing it, so I'm not sure.

But I think that ElneFasto has the most plausible explanation

That means that this WHOLE serie was an alternate timeline created by Shouko's Puberty Syndrome and everything was reverted back at the end of this movie (in the end, it's the exact same, except for Sakuta and Shouko meeting at the beach and becoming his first love).

The only thing I couldn't figure out while watching was the relation between Mai's film success and the increase of heart donnors (and thus, why was Shouko still alive in the end). Was it ever explained explicitly ?

CaioOlive

Well, I actually disagree on this. I don't think that Sakuta's the one doing it, I just think his memories are shown because he's the protagonist, the main focus of the series, and he was the only involved on all the events, so it's the obvious pick to rewind all the things.

Now, about the timeline, is not that she created an alternate one, she was taking looks at possible futures, as explained as the teory of relativity, so what she did affected what could be the timeline, but it's not like it actually happened.

And about Mai and donating, I think it's slightly hinted when she's talking about the movie, she says she was touched and it was her way of helping, similar as Sakuta donates his money (I can't see to remember/know for what he donates money tho).

RobertoCampos

So basically there's only one timeline and they're just changing it?

CaioOlive

From what I understood, there's only one timeline, which is mainly affected to what Shouko does on her 4th grade home work. What they're seeing is just what can happen because of Shouko's condition as time passes differently for her. All the other things are possible side effects. In the movie, is the fact that either she, Sakuta or Mai has to die. But this is a side effect. When she did things differently, it had a major difference, and none of the three died. And it's different to Tomoe's condition, because she looks into possible futures and loops it accordingly to her feelings. If she's not with her feelings set, she'll loop until she does. And she remembers it, as well as Sakuta, as they both were the main factors, while no one really remembers with this change caused by Shouko, it's just some blurry dreams.

RobertoCampos

It makes sense, thanks for the explanation! It warms my heart believing there's no timelines where Sakuta or Mai has to die, also I didn't want the anime to follow another Sakuta and another Mai from a different timeline, even knowing they're the same.

Dealka97

CaioOlive

No problem.
Just to clarify, this is how I think it happened.
Kaede had her syndrome -> Sakuta throws his phone -> Sakuta either has the dreams about Shouko comforting him now or he finnaly understands them -> he wants to go to his high school because of the dreams -> he is probably still a nobody because of his personality -> he meets Mai and believes on her story because of what happened to Kaede.
The rest is basically the same except he didn't met 8th grade Shouko, but I still think either him or Shouko managed to save Hayato, the cat.

Dealka97

Yep, for me it's all because of Shouko decided to back to the past (4th grade) when she'd being in the ICU, after Sakuta and Mai gave perfect score on Shouko's task. Maybe that's why Shouko can still remember Sakuta clearly when she meet him at the beach in the ending, because it's Shouko that did the time rewind, not Sakuta neither Mai.

salarx

Does Mai make the movie before the homework incidence? If yes it would make sense that Shouko had her transplanted before the homework assignment and thus her goals changed.

Or the movie and transplant occurred much after the homework assignment, but Shouko already evaded her puberty syndrome.

So basically I want to know saved Shouko, she herself or the movie made by Mai? What happened first, the transplant or the day of homework?

windymountain

DuogtyTran

Bibimbee

Shouko's syndrome allow her to dream of the future (as Futaba has pointed out during the movie) and going back and fourth. Basically everything we have watched is her vision of reality in the future, like the movie title "Yume miru shoujou - A dreaming girl".

Before she die , she went to sleep and return to her 4th grade self, and somehow stop her highschool version to see Sakuta at the beach, to prevent him from knowing her, thus prevent him from sadness of her death. When Sakuta went to sleep at the end, the butterfly effect crept in and change the reality. (or we could say the dream has ended?)

However, when she (and also Sakuta's case) go back in time, people could see their future experiences while they are dreaming (Nodoka's dream of Mai's death). Sakuta still enrolled to the same highschool due to those vague memory, met with every one and fall in love with Mai again, even without any impulse from seeing highschool Shouko at the beech

For Mai, she also got the "dream effect", which made her accept the role about organs donation, which miraculously allow Shouko to get her heart replaced from another donor, and cured, which mark the end of her Puberty syndrome since she has no fear about growing to adulthood now.

So in the end, Sakuta didn't know Shouko, but (a wild guess) since he was also one who have been using the same kind of fake time traveling, he regain the memory about her. . Personally, I think Shouko is the only one who still have memory of everything since she's the one who do the rollback in her dream. That's why she looks incredibly happy when hearing him calling her name. Happy Happy ending

DieuMivas

And also if I understood everything (which I clearly may not) what we saw in season one has no longer happened exactly like we saw it happen right? Many of the things did happened apparently but not exactly as it has now that the past (or the future?) has been changed. It seems like Sakuta did meet Mai and cure her syndrome but there relationship can't be exactly the same right?

Like the simple fact that she made this movie has necessarily changed their relationship even if it's a tiny bit (I'm not saying that specific thing is important but just that it means that they are things that they lived in season one but that they haven't anymore at the end of the movie and things that they have lived in this new timeline that they hadn't lived before).

So what changed? I feel like a really tiny thing can change a lot. What have they lived and what haven't they? With who are they closer or less close than after season one? (Don't Futaba and Sakuta felt less close when we saw them at the end of the movie than at the start of it?) Did the syndrome of Kaede has been cured too? (It seemed weird to me that she was training to go at school if it was). I feel like it brings so many questions.... I may be completely wrong about everything tho. (Especially the things about Futaba and Kaede and how I "felt" them at the end of the movie since tbh I don't remember that much about season one so it may be normal).

Anyway I hope I'm not completely wrong and understood at least a few things and that what I said is comprehensive enough (I have doubt especially with the conjugation and time used since English is not my first language and that all the time travelling thing doesn't help).

Sollertia_

Basically in the "actual reality", Mai has the urge to make the film to attract more awareness of organ donations which allows Shoko to get a transplant and live on, while Sakuta has parts and pieces of memories to go to the same high school and survive his depressive state when his sister gets bullied. (also, the trying to go to school Kaede is back!!!!!!! ...no idea if this is a good thing tho.... then again, she doesn't seem to love pandas very much, so it's probably Sakuta and Kaede, with the knowledge of the future, learning how to cope without puberty syndrome)

Bibimbee

Ok. Lets start i watched this movie twice.

Just remember the timelines

YoungerShoko refused her own future due to illness so puberty syndrome of her was started.
It was start 3yrs ago when she didnt finish it. Because she thought its gonna useless because she had illness.

Younger shoko ( present timeline for Sakuta)
Older shoko (came from future due to syndrome)

During the Car Incident

Present timeline for Sakuta is Dec 24
Future Timeline is Dec 29

Sakuta got puberty syndrome as well. If you will recall Dec 29(future timeline for Sakuta) when Mai was dead already. Shoko and Sakuta met again and inform her heart came from Mai. It means the future for Shoko and Sakuta was Changed.

Shoko said that the Dec 29 is the Future timeline for Sakuta. Sakuta created it due to puberty syndrome.
Shoko older said "just like my youngerself, was there a time you refuse your own future?"
We all knew that the younger Shoko(younger at her present timeline) created a puberty syndrome because she refused her own future.
Like for Sakuta during present time..
Mai was over cried to Sakuta. Because Sakuta cant forgive Mai's request because sakuta wants to help younger shoko.

Future Sakuta decided to save Mai and shoko older accepted it. They both knew once the situation was fixed in present timeline of Sakuta. The older Shoko will vanish. Due to changing the timeline.

(I hope youll understand this. Hehehe then go back..)

Ok then the Sakuta future managed to save Mai and present Sakuta(present timeline). Mai knew the future Sakuta will show on present timeline.

Older shoko and Future Sakuta was Vanished because the timeline has changed.

So Sakuta went back to hospital to visit Shoko. Sakuta notice that the future plan of Shoka was not even finish. Sakuta knew that the puberty syndrome of younger shoko is not finished yet.

Dec 31st
Shoko is aware of her Puberty syndrome. She knew that the future Shoko(older) was real. We knew that the Older shoko was vanished due to timeline change. But because of quantum analysis those memories of Older shoko was sent to Younger shoko but as a dream.

Shoko decided to accept her life and own future. Her future plans was filled up and finished.
Shoko knew once she accepted her future she will never met Sakuta.

Remember Shoko knew about her Puberty Syndrome. Remember the quantum analysis ? Futaba said that those 2 shoko (younger and older) have puberty syndrome. Younger shoko syndrome refuses her own future. Older shoko didnt want to grow up(it means she has a regrets because she has a lot of wish being with Sakuta but Sakuta was died on her timeline which is future)

To be short Sakuta met Shoko due to Shoko's Puberty syndrome.

For last PART

Actuallty there is nothing different.

If you will notice on last part when Mai and Sakuta went to shrine. Which is after new year and present timeline.

Sakuta says
" I wished i wont encounter stranges things in this year" (pertaining to puberty syndrome)
Mai replied
"Stranges things eh? But you were able to meet me because of one"
Sakuta replied
"Ive had my filled of Wild bunny girls"

Sakuta managed to meet this people again in same situation even the time was reverted.

For the last last part lol
Sakuta mentioned to Mai he met a girl on her dream. He said that girl on her dream they are always dated in the sea. (We knew it is Shoko haha)

So sakuta and mai went to sea. They saw a younger girl is playing at the sea. It was shoko. Mai asked if sakuta knows that person. And it wasnt. But for some reason maybe due to Quantum Analysis some of memories went back again to Sakuta and he called shoko. Shoko was happy that Sakuta remember her.

If you will ask why Shoko still remember Sakuta even the puberty syndrome was fixed. Because she was the one who created the syndrome. Even though she accepts own future, the feelings and memories didnt lost to her :)

Chazea

ReplyCodeOmega

Chazea said:
These theory's have me more confused now.

Same here...(15 characters)

Kuraya

Empty2

I think this is the right explanation. Sakura never met with Shouko because she changed the past. He chose his current high school because the memories of himself in the other timelime ( the one where he met Shouko ) have merged with him like a dream.

Akarinnnn

We already know memories from old timelines are retained (Mai's death and Shouko and Sakuta remembering each other for example) so Sakuta still had his talks with grown up Shouka (just not in physical form). And subconsciously Mai and Sakuta did their part to raise awareness for transplants. With that in mind, there is no reason for the events of the original timeline to not have repeated as close to the original as possible.

....Except I'm not sure about Kaede. I can't tell if her arc ever happened in this new timeline or not and Shouko was very involved in that arc - probably too much for simple dreams to have fixed unless Sakuta read Kaede's diary in his dreams. So Kaede's involvement in the new timeline may be more different than the original, which throws my whole theory into question.

CallmeDrakenace

Ending was Shouko went to sleep and then changed her past, just like Sakuta did before, in Mai's accident. 4th grade Shouko didn't develop Puberty Syndrome and finished her assignment.

Everything in the original timeline happened again in new timeline even though without Shouko being there, (probably) because everyone retained their memories, without awareness of the original timeline.

I can tell that because it's clearly stated in movie that Sakuta donated regularly and Mai really wanted to play (and played) a movie about heart transplant; without any reason at all. And somehow later in the timeline Shouko was saved from her illness, and that was because the movie Mai's involved in raise awareness of transplant demands. We can see in the end scenes of the movie that when Sakuta suddenly remembered and called Shouko in beach, she directly recognized him, implying that she was aware about the original timeline.

And for Kaede, I can tell that the memory loss arc was never happened because in her last scene of the movie, she tell Sakuta that she was training to go to school. Since she, in the memory loss arc, gained her memory back, there is no reason she was afraid to go to school.

I watch the movie in Japanese audio. So, misinterpretations (if there is any) probably only come from me because I'm not a Japanese even though I know the language haha.

Naota34

If you remember the episode in the laplace arc, kaede was embarrassed to go to school because of the bullying, that's why she was training to go back. Even with the bullies gone, I still think she had her fears. The only thing that really changes is shoko never appears in person and sakuta only dreams of her because of the "future" memories.

iVanz

Bringerof_D

Hoshimiya1 said:
I watched the movie in english and English is not my mother language so I might be VERY wrong on what I understand, but If I understand this correctly, Shouko managed to change her past, Her future self never met sakuta and Mai made a film about a girl needs a donor Which ended up saving shoko in the future right ? But How Shouko managed to save herself ? How Her future self not meeting with sakuta changed something ? Did she involved in making of the movie Mai will play or something ? and If Sakuta never met with Shouko Why He chose his current high school ? If I understand it right He saw dreams about the previous timeline Where He met with Shouko was that the reason ? I just don t understand How Shouko changed the future and Why Her future self never meeting with Sakuta was necessary If a movie mai will play is enough to save her in the first place, Please explain the ending to me as detailed and clear as possible

My assumption is that in the altered present, due both to Sakuta making regular donations (I assume to medical causes) and Mai starring in a film about someone waiting for a heart transplant, potentially resulted in more people registering to become organ donors.

Alternatively the Shouko with a more positive outlook on life, and also having a role model in a movie about essentially her, was probably more willing to jump on an earlier opportunity to have the transplant done, or take on experimental procedures/medications. They never specified that a matching donor had never come up. It's entirely possible she turned one down due to fear of the procedure failing. In this timeline she was willing to just go for it.

With regards to how everything else plays out. My guess is that due to the "dreams" Sakuta still chose to go to the same high school. Like "Hey i dreamed i could meet a hot girlfriend...sure i'm going there!" It's also believable that his outlook on life remains largely the same due to those dreams, as opposed to requiring direct guidance from Shouko so he still ends up helping everyone.

Waveshaper

You all (well, most of you) try to explain the story on basis of science, usual timetravel concepts, etc. pp. - but that's clearly not how this story wants to be perceived. Not that this is even uncommon in asian literature and especially anime - I would even say that it's the norm. The story is not told through the lens of an objective spectator/narrator - what's important isn't that much what is 'happening' in the screenplay - the whole story is told by painting metaphors.

The problem with this fact is, that it all comes down to interpretation of the viewer - at least as long as there is no official statement of the author about what he meant to tell us with his work. But even then - works like this one often are made for nothing more; igniting interpretation.

So what we've seen could mean many things. What I took away from it is the moral about lack of expectations for ones future. The girl Shouko struggles with her known heart disease and the fear that she won't get old anyways - it leads to her losing faith in experiencing all those things she dreams about in her future. But there is still the part of her having those dreams - the 'dreaming girl' simulating all those possible (even if unlikely) future achievements in her dreams/unconsciously.

As long as the part of her that lost faith tells the story, every possible outcome ends with people suffering - suffering for her sake - something that shouldn't be what ensures a happy life. Especially in the japanese culture and society, being a burden to others or making them suffer is seen as an abhorrent vice. In her 'dreams' - portrayed as some esoteric 'time travel' - she experiences all those possible future encounters she fears she might never experience, what restores her will to live, to fight and to experience those things for real.

It's in the end of the movie that we see the 'version' of her who came to peace with herself filling out the form with her plans & dreams for her future - something she was able to do after rekindling her hopes and expectations. This might be actually the most important part of the whole story - it's the implication that even if chances aren't great, one can only experience such things if you actually believe in them to happen. It's something you can encounter quite regularily in regards to terminally ill people. If one loses hope and the will to live, the medical situations of those people often worsen rapidly. While there are many cases of people with low chances of survival overcoming their situations after they regained their strength and will to live.

Imho the story never was meant to tell us the technical details of the time travel aspect - how those (possible) alternative (dream-) realities got implanted as (subtle) memories into the other people, etc. It's not necessary to assume that what we got presented visually is meant to be seen as a fictitious/narrative 'reality' - it's just the medium to narrate a concept, an idea, a lesson.

Another important part is the fact that what we see in the end implies quite A LOT of things. Because even if Shouko found her will to survive through her dreams of experiencing all those things with Sakuta - the implication is that all this things actually can't possibly happen in her actual reality. She never really mets him as her older self on the beach, they never will go on their (fake) date, she won't live at his place, etc. And that isn't actually necessary - because she has a whole life in front of her where she can experience all those things with different people, at different places at different times. It was never about experiencing these things with the protagonist - as is even implied by the fact that the 'dreamed' experiences weren't actually 'real' - it was a show to sooth her pain, but it actually was never based on 'real' feelings and emotions. Maybe something that is also hinted as subtext in Sakutas wound - it opens every time she is near him - but I would say that it isn't actually meant as hint of an actual heart transplantation (the scar doesn't look anything like you would expect in that case) - I'm actually not completely sold myself on this, but it could be a another metaphor explaining his role in this story. Her dreaming self had him fall in love with her - something that wasn't 'real' - she was a mere crutch to him at the scene on the beach. It's easy to 'fall in love' with someone who's there for you when you're on the edge - but it's questionable if that really can be considered a real form of love.

She might as well instigated the whole thing just to set up the scene for her own dreamed reality. He approaches Sakuta at the beach, so he falls in love with her - enabling every other 'fantasy scenario' she dreams about where he is involved and needed as potential love interest. He might just be a pawn - a placeholder - in her dreams, someone who enables her simulations of possible future experiences. That might be the case why his wound opens when she's near him - there even is a brief mention of two hearts beating in his chest with different emotions. Maybe a hint that what he feels for her never was meant to be real love - just dreamed by her so he can play his role in her dreams. His dissonance (as well as the scars) disappears as soon as he realizes that the one he really loves is Mai. But at this point I have to admit that this are just superficial attempts of interpretation and I would have to re-watch the series to expand on this thoughts.

"It doesn't make sense that the others remember her 'dreams' then." you say? Yeah, it doesn't. But the story is set in a mystery setting for a reason I would guess. It's not told in a hard-fiction setting, where everything has to be explained through a scientific and technological lens of realism. Sure, it talks a lot about scientific concepts & theories - but it also does so in a MASSIVELY esoteric way without explaining ANYTHING really. So it doesn't break the immersion that even in the end, there are no scientific explanations for basically anything that has happend. It's simply not necessary.

Well... it's gotten way too late and I fear that large parts of my post might be on the lower end when it comes to proper grammar - so not sure if I managed to bring my points across. If it is any help to understand my thoughts I will refer to a movie that uses quite similar methods of narration. 'The Fountain' (2006) tells a similar story about a man who tries to accept the terminal illness of his wife. And while his wife has already come to peace with her situation, he struggles to accept this reality. His struggle is portrait via three different arcs/timelines - there is the present, where he tries to find a cure for his wife as the medical researcher he is. Using experimental medicine and substances they extract from newly discovered plants from the Amazonas. In the past timeline he is portrait as an explorer & conquistador in the 16th century, searching the 'Tree of Life' in Mayan territory for Queen Isabella. This timeline is actually purely fictional for it is a story his wife is writing at the time of the plot - a story she knows she most likely can't finish so she asks him to finish it after her death. The future - more 'transcendental' I guess - shows him traveling in a bubble traveling through space, on board the 'Tree of Live' he found and trying to keep the tree healthy until they can arrive at the 'nebula of Xibalba' what is a reference to the mayan 'underworld' where the souls of dead people go according to mayan mythology. His goal is to defeat death itself that way...

Of course, the movie presents a slightly different moral and meaning - but its narrative structure shares many similarities. It's not about what the actors show us in the scenes - it's about the message that is transported. About hope, strenght, acceptance, etc. Sometimes a metaphor is nothing more than a vessel for a bigger message. And especially japanese storytelling uses iconography, metaphors and symbolism A LOT. So I see no real reason to perceive 'Seishun Buta' through a more realistic lens.

StxDii

For one, Shouko ultimately defies her pre assigned fate of dying in her childhood, it isn’t made terribly clear how she does this following her conversation with Sakuta in the ICU but it is shown figuratively by her completing her aspirations list: the very thing that spurred on her AS of not having a future, leading into the events of not only the movie but also the 13 episode anime.

Because of this fact, Shouko decides for herself, this being crucial to what happens - compared to Sakuta and Mai deciding her future because Shouko showed reluctance - as she then proceeds to attempts to rewrite the timeline as best to avoid Sakuta having ever met her two years prior on the beach, following his desperation at Kaede’s dissociative syndrome spurred on from her AS.

Henceforth, Shouko’s aforementioned timewipe isn’t made known to anyone other than herself (for the most part) and she turns the clock back to her time in 4th grade, the day in which she completes the aspirations list. This wipe is made evident by Sakuta’s recollection of the anime’s events and the eventual white screening of the timeline, signalling its collapse and restart.

Emphasis on restart however, as all Shouko does is, as previously mentioned, remove herself from Sakuta’s life - but not before tweaking the course of events slightly. Here’s the most important point to understand about the ending and it’s made clear during Mai and Sakuta’s interaction on the “new” January 6th, as opposed to the “old” January 1st wherein the timewipe occurs:

Becuase Sakuta is spurred on to attend the same highschool as everyone involved in the anime by having met Shouko’s highschooler self at the beach, Shouko realises that everything that happened in Sakuta’s life wouldn’t have happened before the two year flashback following Sakuta’s attempt on his life following Kaede’s AS. So Shouko changes it by having Sakuta dream about “a highschool girl” who he’d regularly date and go to the beach with, assuming she wore the same uniform as Shouko’s “old” highschool self then Sakuta’s timeline would have been similar to what happens in the anime, except in the “new” timeline. He also becomes incredibly charitable and donates regularly to what is assumed to be medical charities, hence Mai mentions his charitable nature - this is also showing Shouko’s love of Sakuta by making him an incredibly generous person, because she fully believed he was in the “old” timeline.

Mai’s involvement in the “new” timeline comes when she ends up being an actor for a play that very much matched Shouko’s “old” childhood, and it happened to be filmed at the same beach as Sakuta’s. Her popularity as an actor and her involvement in a film about organ donation may very well have inspired people to donate organs.

This as well as Sakuta’s generous nature with donating basically consolidate Shouko’s chances of finding a donor that isn’t Mai or Sakuta, hence the events of the movie don’t take place and the two can make each other happy just like Shouko promised they would. It’s extemely difficult to notice at first.

As such, the “new” timeline is exactly identical to the “old” timeline that they’re practically identical besides these slight changes, and the more crucial change being that Shouko is never involved one Sakuta’s existence. But because of how time is elaborated and exlpores upon in the anime, the events of the “new” past aren’t really the “old” past and because that “new” past was made in place of the “old” past, the two effectively cancel out and the “new” present wasn’t really ever “new” it just is the “present”. It’s quite convoluted, but in short: everything that happened in the “old” timeline again occurred in the “new” timeline regardless of their consequence contemporarily; meaning that everyone has no recollection of the “true” past, but rather just the “absolute” past. Therefore, everything happened as it had done in the anime, despite Shouko changing her own existence to ensure Sakuta and Mai’s happiness.

This attempted change made by Shouko to remove her existence from Sakuta’s life works presumably until Sakuta recognises her on the beach. Thereon, all of his memories of Shouko in their “shared” past (due to Quantum Entanglement, presumably as they now share hearts without the consequence of the movie hence Sakuta clutches his chest after seeing Shouko again) come flooding back to Sakuta and he is overwhelmed and surprised to have found Shouko again, hence both his and Shouko’s clear emotional moment right at the end, when they both eventually recognise each other.

To summarise, Shouko’s removes her self from Sakuta’s “true / old” past, and everything happens as it does in the anime to make an “absolute / new” present, but no one realises the past was altered and takes it as matter of fact, including Sakuta. Shouko’s removal is paired with some slight changes to the timeline to reinforce what happens in the anime, just in case it weren’t to. But due to the “absolute” timeline, Sakuta and Shouko are entangled by their hearts and then Sakuta realises that Shouko’s plan to change the past was a success as his heart remembers the “old” past whilst existing in the “new” present.

It’s all very confusing, but when you get a better understanding of what everything means then it just makes you appreciate both the anime / movie and the manga even more.

P.S. To everyone asking whether so and so are alive or not, did you watch the movie, everyone survives and the ending is very much real and by no means is a dream sequence. Shouko’s plan worked, end of story, literally.

Dr4kon

With the ealier replies, we have the Watsonian explanation of the movie. With this reply, we have the Doylist one.

As for me, I find having both very satisfying.

ArcadeMissiles

I think this one definitely makes the most sense. I think the ending is caused by Shouko going back in time once more and hence bring back a bunch of information with her. All these memories are distributed through the relevent characters and cause them all to have a "dream about the future." Through this dream everything was able to change. Mai was inspired to make a movie about a girl needing a heart donor; Shouko was able to finish writing her future plans and thus not develop a syndrome. Etc.

junichicinque

1. There are 4 world lines in the story, and only 1 exists at a time:
(a) Shouko and Mai live, Sakuta dies (can be considered as the 'original' world line)
(b) Shouko and Sakuta live, Mai dies
(c) Shouko dies, Sakuta and Mai live (not shown in the movie)
(d) All of them live (similar to the ultimate world line 'Steins Gate')

2. In world line (a), Shouko came from the future to prevent Sakuta from dying for her, as indicated by her hidden plan on Dec 24 to let Sakuta stay away from the accident spot. If succeeded, world line (a) will shift to (c). Sakuta realized this and wanted to sacrifice himself to save Shouko; however, knowing that Sakuta would die, Mai interrupted and died instead of Sakuta and helped Shouko live, thus shifting the world line to (b).

3. Shouko then shared with Sakuta, who's in great despair, her ability to travel back to the past to save Mai. Back on Dec 24, Sakuta put on a bunny costume to try establishing his presence and avoid a time paradox when encountering his past self. He came up with an idea to 'die' for his past self and succeeded. So both Sakuta and Mai live but Shouko will die, which is world line (c).

4. Sakuta was not satisfied with world line (c) as it signifies Shouko's inevitable death. Finally he realized the fact that Shouko's unfinished assignment is both the root of her puberty syndrome and the potential key to unlock world line (d), where Shouko lives without the sacrifice of Mai nor himself. However, the curing of her puberty syndrome will trigger a reset of all the events he's experienced thus far. Sakuta wouldn't have met Shouko on the beach, which means he might not have entered his current school and met his friends and Mai, etc. Even whether Shouko could have a successful heart transplant remains uncertain. Despite all these, Sakuta and Mai agreed to take the risk and pulled the trigger, i.e. draw a flower on Shouko's assignment as a symbol of completion. This consequently led to world line (d). It's similar to the act of sending a 'd-mail' in Steins;Gate, as we can see in the movie that time continues moving forward with the past already been altered.

5. Shouko clearly retains all the memories of different world lines as an 'active' time traveller, resembling Okabe who has the Reading Steiner. For others, they only have bits and pieces of those memories through dreams and deja vu. This explains why many things in world line (d) happened the same way as world line (a) even with Sakuta not having met Shouko, because all those vague memories from other world lines have affected the characters' choice making, e.g. Mai taking up a role in a film about organ donation. This, in particular, is a significant change comparing to world line (a). Though not explicitly stated in the movie, it's highly possible that Shouko survived because of increased voluntary organ donations, which can be attributed to the publicity of Mai's film.

6. There is no confusion about the last scene with the above reasoning. The sight of seeing Shouko on the beach revived Sakuta's broken memories in other world lines, thus making him able to recognize Shouko; as for Shouko, she surely knew Sakuta because she's the one with the Reading Steiner.

Hopefully the above explanation doesn't sound too far-fetched. Frankly, this movie did give me some good nostalgic vibes of Steins;Gate.

"People who are confident in themselves never talk about expectations. 'Expectation' is a word rooted in giving up." -- Hyouka

takkun_

Excellent, excellent analysis. It's the most comprehensive and easiest to understand explanation. Some things in the ending were a bit far-fetched, like how Mai's movie lead to more organ donors, which in turn caused Shouko to get a transplant. But ultimately everything makes sense when stated like this.

Shining_Star35

You see: Shoko's thing (the little one as she is presented at the beggining of the movie 3 years ago) is that she can run future simulations in her dreams (that's the "Dreaming Girl" thing in the movie and novel title) so she can have a life where she gets a heart donor and continue with her life and do all the stuff she wants to (go to the University, have a husband, etc...). She also has the power to reset the simulation via back-traveling over it and tweak until she finds her ideal future. (As evidenced by we see her in the series meeting Sakuta on the beach but later he conforms that there was no one in the school by that name)

In the first run she got Sakuta's heart and goes to the university, but wants to save Sakuta too so he can live a happy life with Mai, so she goes back in time (into the simulation) to start a new run. It doesn't matter if she doesn't live as she already encouraged and accepted her fate.

In this 2nd run she plans to save Sakuta telling him that he will die and giving wrong info about the accident (she would know that if she gave him correct info he would sacrifice anyways for the Little Shoko) but things go different and it is Mai who ends sacrificing herself for Sakuta and giving her heart to Shoko. Shoko did not expect this. She managed to save Sakuta but at the cost of Mai's life. Shoko still isn't happy with this future as Sakuta feels a deep grief for Mai's death, so she starts a new simulation run but now makes Sakuta go back in time and do the job himself.

In this 3rd run neither Mai nor Sakuta die but Shoko will do as she hasn't got a heart donor. This is where Sakuta realizes that he meeting Shoko is what is making her worry about the future and hence got her Puberty Syndrome so to make sure she never has it ,he has to never meet her. They are still in the future simulation, Sakuta knows it and he also knows that the future simulation will end soon as Shoko is dying there. Sakuta and Mai realize this and hence they cry their hearts out because they know they are in a simulation and so Mai offers the pencil to Sakuta and tells him to write her a message on the questionnaire. Sakuta draws a flower on it meaning that young Shoko had done a great job (ganbata na).

The simulation finishes, little Shoko never meets Sakuta on the beach nor with Hayate under the rain. But this little Shoko has a renewed hope, courage and a new outlook at life. At the beginning of the movie we see young shoko struggling to finish the questionnaire of "My Future Goals", but after finishing the simulation and meeting Sakuta and Mai, she has found a new will to live. She may die soon in a few years but she does not regret it because she has experienced a life and love that not many people have the good fortune of knowing. Hence, we see the same scene towards the end of the movie but Shoko completes the questionnaire, then smiles and says "Sensei, I finished it". The drawback of the simulation is that everyone who participated in it and are entangled will keep fuzzy memories of it's events as cognitive dreams in real life (this also happens between future simulation runs).

These fuzzy memories are the ones that trigger the characters to do stuff like Sakuta getting enrolled in Minegahara High School Beacuse he dreamed about an unknown girl from that school meeting him at the beach, Mai accepting the main role in that movie about a girl with a heart disease because she dreamed of a girl with it (Shoko) and so.

The movie raised heart disease awareness so there were more heart donors available and Shoko got one from someone else who wasn't Sakuta or Mai.

Then on January 6th during a date and walking on the beach they sight Shoko and her parents, and he gets to remember her due the fuzzy memories (Just like he remembered Mai in the first volume). I could go into further more details but that would be very long here is the crux of it.

The Japanese film goers were also given a short light novel something that we in USA and Canada did not get. This short LN acts as an epilogue to the film and clears up the confusion of Shoko's syndrome.

PS. I have also read the next volume 8. It is not like Sakuta has remembered everything about Shoko and her simulation. He has remembered her name and some good memories. He has no memories of Mai's death or other negative things.

hacker09

addiction08

Timeline 0 - Sakuta dies, Shoko received his heart. She went to future to save Sakuta.

Timeline 1 (current timeline) - Shoko met Sakuta at the beach, changing his life, starting the events of the anime series. Mai saved Sakuta but died, Timeline 0 Shoko helped Sakuta go back to past (timeline 2) to save Mai

Timeline 2 - Sakuta saved Mai, his future self disappeared along with Timeline 0 Shoko as she therefore shouldn't have existed as Sakuta nor Mai did not die and no one to give her heart donation. Present middle school Shoko went back to past to tell 4-yr old Shoko to finish her homework.

Steins;Gate timeline - everybody lived as 4-yr old Shoko became stronger mentally due to middleschool Shoko helping her. Sakuta didn't met her at the beach as highschool Shoko but as middle-school Shoko as she in this timeline never did time travel.

paiser

What happened is all three (Sakuta, Mai and Shouko) characters had traveled back to the past simultaneously. This is where I was confused at first, where, on a very quick glance--first time watching the movie--where Sakuta saved his present self and thus completing what future Sakuta sought out to do; thus disappearing. This is not the case, where they actually did fuse together, meaning that the saved Sakuta (present Sakuta) understood why he saved himself and robbing of Shouko's life (please go back watch that scene where he saved himself and the dialogue he had with himself). As the scene with Sakuta and Koga at their work made it seem that Sakuta was joking with Koga. Mai also understood how Sakuta came back from the present. This means that all three characters had knowledge how they traveled back into the past - but in the movie it is omitted that it's actually the future.

As others have pointed out, reason why Mai played the lead role for the movie is to get bunch of people to become organ donors, why she did it is also because she traveled back to the past. And why all the events (in the anime) happened chronologically without intervention from future Shouko is because Sakuta retained all the memories and was past down to his past self; meaning, that it was enough of a catalyst where the anime's Sakuta didn't have to meet future Shouko for any of the chronological timeline to take place. Otherwise, the plot wouldn't make any sense; thus the reason why I rewatched certain scenes to made sure what I watched was what I had been following.

Humble pie and a bit of deeper analysis of Shouko: I honestly thought Shouko's character was a big plot hole, but that isn't the case. Where future Shouko and the present Shouko had to exists for how the ending played out. My initial hunch as I was watching the movie started to hate her character, because it seemed like a simple fix as future Shouko never intervened beginning of the movie--at Sakudo's house--then none of this would've have happened. Well, I was wrong as the movie progressed if that would've happened then we would have Sakuta's inevitable death; thus, why future Shouko existing in the first place. Meaning it would've been a loop. Another thought came into my mind, that Shouko's character was the most selfish character because I thought she was reassuring her survival. That was also wrong, because Shouko future self and past self towards the end, fused together; thus, reason why she choose back to end the start of her puberty syndrome--where it is the most selfless thing anyone could do.

If future Shouko never existed then none of the plot would had begun. Sakuta had to die, for future Shouko to exist. Mai had to die for Sakuta to realize why he wanted to save Mai. Shouko knew that she wanted to save Shouta because she felt guilty and felt responsible for Sakuta's death. And all three traveling back in time (in the anime, going back to the present) to ensure each others survival. Sakuta ensuring that the anime timeline will take place without the catalyst of future Shouko. Mai ensuring that Shouko had someone as a heart donor as that is one of the influences that big celebrity can do. Shouko to trigger her puberty syndrome so she doesn't interfere with Sakuta and Mai's lives. Honestly, the movie is more meta than I thought it would be. As a viewer jumping from the anime and then right towards the movie. As the anime had basically three episodes to explain enough time for the dialogue and gimmick to sink vs. the movie had critical scenes, although powerful, but at a quicker pace.

Maybe it was my perception and I had to rewatch it to confirm what I'd seen. But as I rewatched the critical scenes I had to rewatch, made much more sense and letting me wrap my head around the story.

zannett

Think of there being many alternative/possible endings.

• Ending 1: Sakuta dies in an accident and his heart is donated to Shouko.
  
• Ending 2: Sakuta is misled by Shouko and does not die, and Shouko never receives a heart transplant.
  
• Ending 3: Sakuta is not misled by Shouko but Mai sacrifices herself to save Sakuta. Shouko nonetheless receives a heart transplant.
  
• Ending 4: Sakuta accepts Shouko's fate, and Shouko never receives a transplant. This is similar to ending 2, except different in Sakuta's intent.
  
• Ending 5: Shouko returns to the past and never meets Sakuta.
  

The story began with Shouko, after ending 1, using her power to return to the present. Her goal was to sacrifice herself and get to ending 2.

However, now presented with the knowledge of ending 1, both Sakuta and Mai responded in unexpected ways. Sakuta figured out Shouko's intent last minute and decided to go to her. I think there's some ambivalence here in whether Sakuta was determined enough to sacrifice himself for Shouko, but in any event, he was clear prepared to accept his death as the car slid towards him. Then Mai stepped in, and we entered ending 3.

This was a hopeless dead end. But Shouko guides Sakuta to go back to the present again. After experiencing the pain of losing Mai, Sakuta now intended to enter ending 4. His intervention was successful, and his present and future selves merged.

Then we had the conversation between Futaba and Sakuta where she told him three crucial facts: (1) it was highly unlikely that any intervention on Sakuta's part would succeed, (2) should he go back in time and save Shouko, it was possible that he would lose everything that he had now, and finally, (3) memories could be passed back after time travel.

Despite Futaba's warning, Sakuta made up his mind to save Shouko through time travel and secured Mai's agreement to do. In the ICU it was revealed that Shouko found out about everything from her dreams already. Crucially, her last words before falling asleep was that she would take care of everything and give Sakuta happiness. The conversation that followed between Sakuta and Mai signaled that Sakuta changed his mind yet again and could now accept Shouko's fate. He now understood that she knew everything (including her own power) and still accepted her own death. I think that's why he agreed in tears to complete Shouko's assignment at Mai's suggestion as the only thing Mai thought he could do now--it would make no sense for him to cry if he was intent on going back to save her. As Sakuta fell asleep with Mai next to him, Sakuta had a flashback to the events up to now and we see a fade-out. We generally see fade-outs when things are being erased or wiped out, so it's reasonable to assume this was because Shouko went back in time before her death.

Shouko, with her new memories and most likely a merged self (like Sakuta was when he saved himself in the bunny costume), beat back her own puberty syndrome by staying positive. She knew that if she allowed herself to develop puberty syndrome again, she would meet Sakuta and one of endings 1 through 4 would happen, so instead she chose to enter ending 5.

At this point you can think of endings 1 through 4 as occurring on the "original" timeline, and this timeline she entered as her new self as the "new" timeline, but I think that distinction isn't terribly important, because it's clear everything we knew up to the end of season 1 happened the same way based on the sequence after the fade-out (for instance, Sakuta's interaction with Koga). The only differences were:

1. Sakuta never met Shouko but did dream of her.
   
2. Mai starred in a movie about a girl waiting for a transplant for reasons unknown to her.
   
3. Shouko received a new transplant and became fully healthy.
   

Now, I don't think Shouko could have predicted all this before she traveled back in time. Her tone was not optimistic for herself back in the ICU (it was entirely focused on Sakuta), and even if she knew memories could be passed back she had no way of knowing how that would've worked for everyone, and even less possible could she have guessed there was some role Mai could pick up and directly contribute to her recovery. So ultimately she was probably just fortunate that her life too was saved alongside Sakuta and Mai's.

One question I guess is whether Shouko should've just turned the clock that far back in the first place. Of course she should've, but I think in the beginning she rightfully assumed that a simple fix was available and she probably didn't want Sakuta to forget about her. It was only after witnessing the series of failures and the struggles that Sakuta and Mai went through that she recognized that she really needed to completely eliminate her presence in Sakuta's life to give them true happiness (without either dying or living with the guilt of her death). None of this would have worked out if not for her newfound resolution to change the past completely, and it was nice to see a happy ending for everyone, not least of all Shouko, who was probably going to hold her secret forever if Sakuta didn't call out to her.

DeathHero001

Thats why the director is pushing to have Tv series and Movie beacause the TV series happened because what shoko do in the movie. After the movie ending the Story will continue in the real world where shoko is alive and we Will see shenanigan where shoko know everything. Is i am correct

Gxbrixl

As a Steins;Gate fan, I must say, this has been a very satisfactory explanation. The concept of time-travelling in this movie is not the same as the one in Steins;Gate though. If world lines = dreams (simulations) by Shouko's puberty syndrome, then, everything would make sense.

As for Kaede's arc, I believe everything happened as shown in the anime except the fact that Shouko wont appear. The white cat might still appear though, maybe due to the Sakuta's fuzzy memories and his unyielding desire to help.

One thing confuses me. It could just mean a plot hole but Sakuta's personality is built on his desire to help others and "live everyday to be kinder than yesterday". The person who told him this is Shouko. This would just mean that Sakuta's personality has changed and Mai, who fell in love with Sakuta's personality, might not be "helped" by Sakuta. The touching part of him not sleeping for a few days in the anime would not happen. It could also be a matter of realism, where Sakuta's character is shaped by his fuzzy dreams.

As a fan of the anime series, I feel like i have been deceived. We went through 13-episodes of touching moments only to find that it is a simulation. :(

junichicinque

That’s why I didn’t quite like the role of Shouko in this anime series. In the end we are presented with a fact that almost everything happened in the TV series was just part of Shouko’s puberty syndrome, which is a dream. A bit cruel, isn’t it?

In contrast, all the events in Steins;Gate did happen, albeit in different world lines. While it may not be a fair comparison, SG is definitely a better show in my opinion. The ending in particular gave me huge satisfaction.

"People who are confident in themselves never talk about expectations. 'Expectation' is a word rooted in giving up." -- Hyouka

HeiroMarc

Thats why the director is pushing to have Tv series and Movie beacause the TV series happened because what shoko do in the movie. After the movie ending the Story will continue in the real world where shoko is alive and we Will see shenanigan where shoko know everything. Is i am correct[/quote

This is the only explanation I can completely agree with.

Shoko did die in their future simulation which resulted on resetting back to the past. The only thing different is that everyone dreamed of living in that future simulation. Which resulted of Sakuta having blurry memories of Shoko.

This phenomenon already happened the time Sakuta when goes back to the past to save Mai. Futaba even said that she dreamed of bringing Sakuta into her house after Mai's death.

Orvin9

Rivacoop

Thank you for this. Makes sense now.

Douknow_anas2020