WARNING: This post assumes you have watched Koi Kaze.
When Koi Kaze finally ended I was quite disappointed at first. I really expected a sad ending after all that was developing in the last episode, but it just didn’t happen. In spite of this, like always, I kept thinking about what was going on and I actually have to agree that Koi Kaze ended on good footing. It would of been much more difficult to explicitly say what the ultimate outcome of this love story really was and satisfy everyone.
When you think about it, on the surface it can feel like the promises these characters are making are empty and will never truly be fulfilled because of the exterior pressure of society that overwhelms their innate feelings. When Koushiro decides to leave his father’s house and live on his own, Chidori makes her way into his life. Although on the surface it seems like Chidori has innocent reasons for meddling in Koushiro’s apartment, there’s no denying what she had in mind while being hopeful of its development. When Chidori goes back to Koushiro’s apartment to get her I.D. card and finds Nanoka there, she’s immediately struck with surprise and discontent. Her underlying reason for lying to Nanoka wasn’t so thin just to protect Koushiro and Nanoka’s status as siblings, but also to protect what she was after. When Koushiro confronts Chidori and she lets loose her demons, its clear to Chidori that Koushiro has made his decision, as despicable and disgusting it may be to others.
In the last episode, Koushiro and Nanoka decide to go back home to visit their mother. It is here that Koushiro finds out that during her childhood Nanoka wanted to be a beautician like her mother, get married, and have lots of kids. She planned to call her father, mother, and brother and they would all live together. Nanoka’s mother tells them Nanoka’s husband is going to have a hard time and Koushiro just laughs it off. Their trip to their mother’s place ended in disaster because they could not bare to tell her what they felt for each other. They were able to show face, but that was as far as their resolve could take them. Nanoka suggested they commit lover’s suicide, which of course, wouldn’t accomplish anything. Koushiro is burdened by the fact that he can’t choose their path and decide firmly on what to do. Nanoka easily suggests that they go home and think about it and reaffirms that as long as she’s with him she’s fine with whatever happens.
Once they go back, they are still unable to decide what to do. Nanoka’s friend, Futaba-chan, seems to have put one and one together and is afraid that what she believes is Nanoka’s problem is rooted the in small talk she used to have with Nanoka about her brother. Nanoka’s mood changed to a state where she seems to be in deep thought all the time, which oozes the possibility that she’s in love. Everyone teased and mocked Nanoka for having a brother complex, but it’s probably only Futaba-chan who may have realized the truth. It’s not easy to deal with such a strange affair even with your closest of friends and Futaba-chan was likely afraid of confronting what she was pushed away from for good reason.
Koushiro went back to his father’s house and apologized, but he never met him in the last episode. His apology is likely tied to his longstanding relationship with his father and the damage he was doing to their family. This also ties with the fact that he asked his mother what she would do if he made Nanoka unhappy and she said she wouldn’t let him get off easily. Koushiro narrates that he is clinging on to every waking moment he spends with Nanoka and he is affirming that he doesn’t want to let go of her.
In the following scene Saeki Zensou, Koushiro and Nanoka’s father, is talking to some business men about turning the park into a suburban shopping mall. A key aspect of their conversation is that Zensou says that if the park were to be gone a lot of people would be sad, but the unnamed acquaintance says there are more people in favor than opposition. Koushiro and Nanoka’s problem is very much like that, no matter how beautiful their love is, there will always be more people in opposition that they can’t fend off.
It seems that when Koushiro goes with Nanoka to the park and play in the mud, lots of what he had lost came back to him. Nanoka is his sister after all. He is approached by a child who tries to give him a cup of mud as a drink. He drinks it knowingly, accepting the gesture as he once did with Nanoka years long ago he had forgotten. When Nanoka comes back, he pauses and takes a good look at her. There’s no evidence of this, but I’m sure he was thinking of her future and how he would never be able to give Nanoka a family.
Nanoka decides to sneak into the amusement park at night, which is where they had their first date. They ride the Ferris wheel but Nanoka is disappointed that it doesn’t move and allow her to see the view of the city at night. Koushiro tells Nanoka to pray and see if they could make it move solely on their prayers. The Ferris wheel did move, if only a little bit, and it surprises them. Even though it moves, Koushiro says that they should stop because what they were doing was stupid, but Nanoka cheers them on. The possibility of moving a Ferris wheel on sheer willpower and prayer is about as equal to Koushiro and Nanoka living life the way they wish they could.
When day breaks and they are on their way out, Nanoka sees a sakura tree among the row of other trees at the park. She grabs a stone and draws an umbrella and writes her family name, Kohinata, on one side, leaving the other side open for Koushiro to write his family name, Saeki. He does so, understanding the purpose. Nanoka tells Koushiro they should come back again and Koushiro agrees. However, Nanoka would like to come every year when it’s spring, and yet again Koushiro agrees. Nanoka accepts it as a promise and Koushiro once again agrees to keep it. Little do they know that the park will be closed and a shopping mall will reside in its place by next spring, once again highlighting the little chance of happiness together they have.
Eventually Nanoka decides to go back home to her father’s house. Koushiro asks if she wants to take a bath first before going, but Nanoka insists she’s fine the way she is. As she is leaving Koushiro stutters as if he has something to say and Nanoka asks him what it is, but Koushiro says it’s nothing. Once Nanoka walks away into the distance he says the words he wanted to say to her but couldn’t find the resolve to do so, “I love you.”
The genius of this open ending is in the fact that Koushiro is clearly serious about trying and so is Nanoka, although forces behind the scenes will tear them apart very soon. No matter how happy your conclusion may be, it is clear that their fate is not to be together as a couple and the damage to their families, Kohinata and Saeki, will leave a scar forever. Koushiro is absorbed in his life with Nanoka but I believe he is contemplating his next move. The intent to change is apparent in his decision to quit his job, the one he chose because he believed if he worked with couples he would be able to bear his lack of feelings by taking in others’ happiness. Now that he’s experienced the emotion he yearned for he doesn’t need to work arranging couples anymore. I’m willing to bet the final scene is the last time they see each other and that Koushiro moves far away with the guilt of abandoning his sister, his family, and his one true love.
This is only one of many interpretations, some of yours may be much more sad involving suicide or an accident, while others may decide to end it with happiness and bet on the slim chance they will be together. One of these may be true, it is all in the juxtaposition of the subtle details of doom for the relationship versus the ongoing hope to succeed. This is why the open ending is such a good fit for this show since everyone has different opinions of incest and everyone will want a different outcome based on those opinions or beliefs.
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