Midnight Occult Civil Servants Episode 12 (Final) Review: Shinjuku Ward Nocturnal Community Relations Division

Well… it’s the end of the road for the urban fantasy Midnight Occult Civil Servants and if you’re expecting it to go out with a bang… you’ll most likely be disappointed. Episode 12, ‘Shinjuku Ward Nocturnal Community Relations Division’, takes us back to the series’s episodic case of the week scenario.

Original Japanese Title:

Plot

Arata is tasked with helping out an amnesiac Another find his home.

Episode Highlights

Cold Open: The episode opens with Arata running to meet with an unknown Another that has lost his memories. With the stranger is the Cù-sìth we’ve seen throughout the season, but other than that familiar sight, nothing else is explained. This is especially jarring after the way things ended in Episode 11…

Arata on his own: Everyone else has plans of their own, so Arata is left to deal with the unknown Another all on his lonesome… But, when he brings the guy home with him, both Koharu and Yuki want nothing to do with either and leave the house.

They grow up so fast: Sakaki’s story arch with this sister was an ongoing conflict in the series for a while, so it’s nice to see it getting a bit of a ‘conclusion’. After returning to her normal life, Sakaki and his sister are planning for her life after graduation. Sakaki attends a career meeting at his sister’s school as her guardian and it’s just as awkward as you’d imagine.

Themes and Trivia

Veles: In this week’s episode, the main Another is Veles, a Slavic god of earth, waters, and the underworld. He is often depicted as a bearded man or as a bear and is said to protect livestock from harm.

Comments

Well, that was disappointing… I kind of wish that Episodes 9 and 10 had been the finale of the series since they did a much better job of tying up loose ends and hammering home the overarching message of the series. I’m not saying that ‘Shinjuku Nocturnal Community Relations Divisions’ was a bad episode, far from it. I just expect more from my finales.

The episode follows a random case with an unknown Another that is in desperate need of assistance, due to circumstances beyond his control. Arata winds up taking charge of the case all on his own. The episode just follows the pair as they attempt to discover the identity of the Another and while it’s cute… I couldn’t help but want more. From the beginning, Midnight Occult Civil Servants has stuck to the slice of life episodic format rather than delving too deeply into any one Another/case, so I suppose on principle this episode isn’t too far from the mark…

But, it doesn’t feel like a conclusion either… This week’s episode feels more like a midseason finale or an opening episode and that really doesn’t do the series any favors. I was expecting to be wowed by this series, but, in the end I was just mildly entertained.

That’s it?!

Midnight Occult Civil Servants has finally reached its conclusion and… it didn’t go out with a bang. Episode 12, ‘Shinjuku Ward Nocturnal Community Relations Division’, plays it safe with its finale, which feels more like your run-of-the-mill episode. There’s nothing especially grand going on nor are there any high stakes conflicts left hanging… Overall, I was underwhelmed by the finale.

I’ll be back next week with another Midnight Occult Civil Servants review, but in the meantime, be sure to check out MANGA.TOKYO’s other amazing Spring 2019 reviews!! Midnight Occult Civil Servants is also part of our weekly anime previews.