The final year of high school is winding down and Sentaro has not returned. Kaoru has thrown himself back into his studies and risen to the top of the class. He no longer goes by the record shop to play in the basement. Maybe there's no point since Sentaro is gone but Ritsuko misses him. She tries to encourage him to come by the shop but he says he has to study. She suggests he could study at her place. Her father is out for the day.
They try studying but then they start talking about Sentaro. Kaoru misunderstands. He tries kissing her. He says he's glad that Sentaro is gone so that now he has her to himself. She pushes him away. He apologizes and leaves but the damage is done. He doesn't come over to study with Ritsuko again.
Kaoru stops by the record shop one more time. He is there to see Ritsouko. He wants to tell her that he got into university in Tokyo. He shouts up to her from the street. He can't see her. Presumably she is in her room. He thanks her and apologizes and tells her that seeing her made him happy. He leaves without getting a response.
His parents see him off on the train to Toyko. Ritsuko's father shows up with a lunch for him but she is not with him. Just as the train starts to pull away from the platform Ritsuko comes running up. She runs with the train until the end of the platform. Kaoru runs to the back of the train. She waves goodbye and seems happy to have seen him off even though they didn't get to exchange any words.
The story flashes forward 8 years. Kaoru has let his hair grow longer. He is a doctor working at a hospital in Tokyo. He runs into Yurika at the hospital. She is married to Junichi and a few months pregnant. Her hair is still short. She gives him a picture from a wedding she went to recently. She points out one of the people in the picture and asks him if he looks familiar.
Kaoru takes some time off and heads for the island where the wedding took place. He is headed for a church and looking for a young priest. He finds the church. There is a set of drums under a drop cloth. He sits down at the organ and starts to play Moanin'. Sentaro is out walking with some kids he comes back and they start playing together.
The old priest who runs the church comes back and chases them out. As the credits roll they run down the hill in a scene very reminiscent of the opening credits scene. On the way down they run into Ritusuko who got a letter from someone (presumably Yurika) telling her about Sentaro.
I found the end of the episode to be very moving. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I thought that this last episode might be all Kaoru and Ritsuko and that they might get married and wonder what happened to the others. I'm very happy with the way it ended. Toward the end I was worried that Ritsuko wasn't going to show up again. I'm glad that didn't prove to be the case.
On the whole I was very impressed with this series. It probably isn't everyone's cup of tea. It is mostly about growing up, playing music, and relationships. I may watch it again in a few years. I believe it will hold up. What I will be interested to see is how it strikes me knowing how things turn out in the end and the sort of story it is.
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