Golden Time follows the story of Banri Tada, who suffers from amnesia due to a tragic accident. He cannot remember his past, his hometown, his loved ones or even his best friend Linda. Now a college freshman, Banri looks forward to leaving his past behind. After befriending Mitsuo Yanagisawa, he decides to begin a new life at law school in Tokyo. However, just as he is ready to adjust to his new life, the enchanting Koko Kaga barges into his life. As Banri tries to find his real self and let go of the person he was before the accident, the relationships surrounding him grow and change and prepare him for a brighter future.
When it originally aired back in October 2013, Golden Time was an instant hit among the shojo audience. Coming from J. C. Staff, a studio that has previously produced some of the biggest shojo and josei hits, the success was no surprise. Many who watched Golden Time remember it as a realistic and compassionate story with constantly evolving characters. However, it is also not a lie that many were confused by the finale and left with various unanswered questions. Here’s an explanation of what exactly happened.
How the Golden Time Anime Ended
To start, here’s what happens in the 24th and final episode of Golden Time in a nutshell. During the University festival, Banri regains his long-lost memories. However, this time he loses all his more recent memories he’d built up throughout the series and moves back home. While spending his vacation days with his high school best friend Linda, Banri discovers his email account has been hacked.
Meanwhile, to see him one more time, Koko visits Banri’s hometown and introduces herself as Oka Chinami. The little conversation they had somehow triggers Banri — when he looks in Koko’s mirror, he gets his post-amnesia memories back. With a cliché running-after-the-lover scene, Banri catches Koko on the bridge and reconciles with her. However, the scene in-between is mainly the cause of confusion among fans.
Just as Banri gets to the bridge, the scene gets fuzzy as if he is changing dimensions. Together with Banri, the audience finds itself in a metaphysical world. Banri’s spirit — the ghost-like entity that possesses all of his memories prior to the accident — comes back after falling into the river and disappearing a few episodes ago. The long-awaited confrontation between the real Banri and ghost-Banri finally occurs.
The real Banri tells the ghost version that even if people take different roads along the journey, they will all be in the same place in the end. Ghost-Banri accepts the current situation he is no longer in charge of and says his farewells. However, at that moment, Linda rushes toward ghost-Banri. By declaring her love to everyone, including the two Banris and Koko, she makes peace with everyone and herself.
Golden Time fans were perplexed that Linda could also see ghost-Banri. The reason is that up until that moment, the only person who could see ghost-Banri was Banri. Is Linda really there? Is all of this only in Banri’s head? These questions are unanswered, and the audience is left completely confused. However, the assumption is that the anime provided a metaphorical resolution where everyone came to accept who they are.
The last scenes show all the characters going back to their regular lives. As for Banri and Koko, the anime leaves them holding each other’s hand with a special emphasis on Koko’s ring — which maybe can stand for a happily-ever-after.
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