Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout

Episode 12

I hate it when an anime ends immediately after the big climax is resolved—like the final blow is struck, and the credits start to roll with any remaining plot threads tied up over a minute and thirty seconds as the theme song plays one last time. So, when we get a show like Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout that uses its final episode as an epilogue—well, I'm already enjoying it on principle alone.

Of course, that's not to imply that this is a bad episode—quite the opposite. This episode does a great job of tying the whole series together. While Ryza and friends are on a super low-stakes adventure—finding the pieces of an old treasure map around the island—it provides the perfect excuse to check in on all the people Ryza has helped throughout the season.

This helps show how far Ryza has come—not just as an alchemist but as a person. Far from the troublesome kid of the island, she is now seen as a responsible young woman able to do things no one else on the island can (or is willing to) do. Better still, while there is very little danger in this quest-of-the-week, we see once again that her growth is a permanent thing. Upon entering the treasure cave, one with an unknown ruin at its center, she and her party immediately switch into work mode—becoming as careful and thorough as they would in any other expedition.

All this ties into the point of the episode—and the entire anime overall. The series began with Ryza and the others playing at adventures. Here, in the end, they are doing much the same, running around the island hoping to find a hidden treasure—despite the group now being a party of professional adventures. The point here is that growing up is not leaving behind the things you loved as a kid. Rather, it's about becoming safer, more responsible, and smarter—evolving in a healthy way along with your passions.

The treasure hunt itself ties into this. Its reason for existing—i.e., why pieces of the map were scattered all over the island in the first place—was to create a fun way to teach future generations about the island and its past. Simply put, it's a reminder to not forget to treasure the things that allow you to be able to do what you enjoy—be that friends, family, community, or the bumper crop that allowed people to live on the island in the first place.

All in all, this is a solid place to end the story. After numerous trials and tribulations, Ryza and friends have stepped into the world of adults—all while keeping the child-like wonder that makes life worth living. Four outcasts have found a place where they belong—and discovered that their “ordinary” island isn't such a boring place after all.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I love that, in the end, killing the dragon was a waste of time and effort with Lila and Empel killing the monster responsible for the dragon going berserk in the first place. All that the islanders had to do was be patient and everything would have worked out.

• So Jonna has become a warrior and is starring in her tournament arc? Man, there is a story there and I'm sad we aren't a part of it.

• Hmmm. So Ryza's parents and Lent's father have some kind of pre-existing relationship. Makes you wonder who Ryza's father was before becoming a farmer.

• And with that we've come to the end of Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout. While it had an incredibly rocky start, the back half of the series shows why the game has so many fans—and two sequels. Thanks for watching it with me, and I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.